site for teachers | PowerPoint show | Acrobat document | Word document | whiteboard resource | sound | video format | interactive lesson | a quiz | lesson plan | to print
Classify This! - You are challenged to classify groups of animals, finally arriving at a distinction between complete and incomplete metamorphosis. Following the interactive classification you will take a quiz.
Classifying Animals - When you classify an animal you place it in the group to which it belongs
Water Critter Key: Life in a Pond - Pick a critter from the aquatic critter key game. Look at your critter and choose one of the descriptions given. Then, follow the links that you think are correct.
What is the Key to Classification - explanation of what a key is and how to make one [if you use the links page you will find many dead links]
Identify Organism - Create and apply a simple classification key to identify an organism 0807.5.2
Classroom Activity: Make a Dichotomous Key - construct a dichotomous key to identify people (or another group of items) in a classroom, using questions based on gender, hair length/color, glasses (or not), clothing color, etc
Dichotomous Key - This key will be testing your knowledge of animals you already know about,
so that you will recognize how to use a Dichotomous Key.
Invent A Key for Echinoderms - Students will make observations and use their understanding of classification to create a dichotomous key which will help distinguish several echinoderms.
Taxonomy, Classification, and Dichotomous Keys - Scientists have discovered quite a few new creatures on planet Pamishan. They need your help to identify and classify them. Use the dichotomous key to identify these creatures.
Biomes in a Box - students are asked to build a three-dimensional model of a biome in a box
Build a Fish - Build a Fish by choosing a body, mouth, and color/pattern, and then release it into the reef! In the process you will learn about adaptations that help the fish survive in their environment.
Change in Biodiversity - Prepare graphs that demonstrate how the amount of biodiversity has changed in a particular continent or biome 0807.5.6
Virtual Field Trips - In this investigation, you'll take virtual field trips to several protected places. Explore the Web site of each place to discover the unique features that make it worth protecting.
Fossils - Create a timeline that illustrates the relative ages of fossils in sedimentary rock layers 0807.5.7
How fossils can form - This animation shows the formation of a cast and mold, one way that fossils can form. Casts are copies of fossilized plants or animals. Molds are hollow impressions of the fossil. This process takes thousands or millions of years.
Harry Potter and the Dichotomous Key - In this lesson, students use Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans to learn about classification and dichotomous keys
Survival - Analyze structural, behavioral, and physiological adaptations to predict which populations are likely to survive in a particular environment SPI 0807.5.2
Exploring Evolution - In this interactive web lab you will explore the many lines of evidence scientists use to reconstruct the evolutionary histories of organisms. Along the way you will solve a mystery, compare bones and DNA, and look for fossils.
Natural Selection - the driving force behind the evolutionary process
Predict Survival - Analyze data on levels of variation within a population to make predictions about survival under particular environmental conditions SPI 0807.5.3
Science in Action - "Science in Action for Conservation" looks at two Field Museum sites that demonstrate how scientists and communities work together to conserve biodiversity.
Compare Fossils - Compare fossils found in sedimentary rock to determine their relative age SPI 0807.5.5
Teaching Measures - links to length, mass, or capacity activities and printables - good for using on an interactive whiteboard for a whole class activity
Transparency Master - use this high quality picture of a block of metal on a triple beam balance as a review for your students
Using a Graduated Cylinder - [L and mL] a whole class activity for reading a scale, estimating and converting between units or
Using a Graduated Cylinder - [mL only] a whole class activity for reading a scale, estimating and converting between units or
Using a Platform Scale - practice using scales like the one in a doctor's office, five Gregs will drop on the scale, waiting to be weighed, see how quickly you can weigh them or
Using a Ruler - [15 cm ruler] a whole class activity for reading a ruler, estimating and converting between units or
Using a Ruler - [30 cm ruler] a whole class activity for reading a ruler, estimating and converting between units or
Density - Calculate the density of various objects 0807.9.4
Interactions - Determine the types of interactions between substances that result in a chemical change 0807.9.8
Create a Safe Endothermic Reaction - use as a demonstration or vary the amounts of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate to make an experiment
Create a Safe Exothermic Reaction - Vinegar is used to remove the protective coating from steel wool, allowing it to rust. When the iron combines with oxygen, heat is released.
Periodic Table - Identify the atomic number, atomic mass, number of protons, neutrons, and electrons in an atom of an element using the periodic table 0807.9.10
American Elements - This commercial site offers an interactive periodic table.
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev - We will never be able to attribute to a single individual the development of the basic building blocks of writing. Yet we do know the name of the man who devised the method of classifying the basic building blocks of matter. Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev!
Periodic Table - This common chemistry tool is presented as a PowerPoint show with web links to pages about each element. Invisible buttons are used on slide 2. (There are 109 invisible buttons on one slide.) Download the show and take a look!
Proton Don - a FunBrain game using a periodic table that contains the elements' symbols and their periodic numbers.
Matter - Recognize that all matter consists of atoms SPI 0807.9.1
TechTopics: Matter - interactive Flash movie about matter divided into six topics
What is Matter? - students explore in depth their own understanding of what constitutes "matter" and work together as a group to create a definition for matter.
Chemical Change - Identify the common outcome of all chemical changes SPI 0807.9.2
Element Properties - Use the periodic table to determine the properties of an element SPI 0807.9.9
American Elements - This commercial site offers an interactive periodic table.
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev - We will never be able to attribute to a single individual the development of the basic building blocks of writing. Yet we do know the name of the man who devised the method of classifying the basic building blocks of matter. Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev!
Periodic Table - This common chemistry tool is presented as a PowerPoint show with web links to pages about each element. Invisible buttons are used on slide 2. (There are 109 invisible buttons on one slide.) Download the show and take a look!
Proton Don - a FunBrain game using a periodic table that contains the elements' symbols and their periodic numbers.
Effect of a Change in Temperature - [scroll to the bottom of the page] a java applet allows students to see the effect of increasing temperature on a reaction.
Law of Conservation - Recognize that in a chemical reaction the mass of the reactants is equal to the mass of the products (Law of Conservation of Mass) SPI 0807.9.11
Earth's Magnetic Field Interactive - drag the compass around in the space near Earth to observe the shape of out planet's magnetic field [from Windows to the Universe] or
Exploring Magnetic Fields - [grades 6-8] lesson plan from Science Net Links - includes activity sheets to print and links to other related lesson plans
Mass and Weight - Explain the difference between mass and weight 0807.12.5
Gravity in the Science Lab - Select Gravity in the list of labs. The illustration is shows the effect of changing distance from the earth's center. Next, click on Solar System Weight Guide near the top of the gravity window. Enter your weight and see how much you would weigh on other planets. Click on the book in the bottom left corner to read about gravity.
Magnets in My Kitchen - click on objects to see how magnets are used in common household devices
Earth's Magnetic Field - Distinguish among the Earth’s magnetic field, a magnet, and the fields that surround a magnet and an electromagnet SPI 0807.12.3
Earth's Inconstant Magnetic Field - Our planet's magnetic field is in a constant state of change, say researchers who are beginning to understand how it behaves and why. [includes a link to a streaming audio version of this page]
Measuring Mass and Weight - Distinguish between mass and weight using appropriate measuring instruments and units SPI 0807.12.4
Gravity in the Science Lab - Select Gravity in the list of labs. The illustration is shows the effect of changing distance from the earth's center. Next, click on Solar System Weight Guide near the top of the gravity window. Enter your weight and see how much you would weigh on other planets. Click on the book in the bottom left corner to read about gravity.
Gravitational Attraction - Determine the relationship among the mass of objects, the distance between these objects, and the amount of gravitational attraction SPI 0807.12.5
Scientific Investigation - Design and conduct an open-ended scientific investigation to answer a question that includes a control and appropriate variables 0807.Inq.1
How Science works: Types of Variables - Explains the difference between 'categoric', 'ordered', 'discrete' and 'continuous' variables, with examples.
How Science works: Variables - Explains the meaning of 'independent', 'dependent' and 'control' variables, with examples from typical practicals.
Identify the Controls and Variables - worksheet to print and use in class [the author of this activity probably violated copyright by using Simpson's characters, but you will not be guilty if you use it in class]
Tools and Techniques - Identify tools and techniques needed to gather, organize, analyze, and interpret data collected from a moderately complex scientific investigation 0807.Inq.2
Bird Sleuth: Investigating Evidence - this module consists of five investigations which give students the chance to learn science by doing science
How Science works: Taking measurements - Explains the ideas of 'variation', 'range' and 'mean (average), and explains the difference between 'accuracy' and 'precision'
Evidence - Use evidence from a dataset to determine cause and effect relationships that explain a phenomenon 0807.Inq.3
Experimental Design - Review an experimental design to determine possible sources of bias or error, state alternative explanations, and identify questions for further investigation 0807.Inq.4
Identify the Controls and Variables - worksheet to print and use in class [the author of this activity probably violated copyright by using Simpson's characters, but you will not be guilty if you use it in class]
Select Tools - Select tools and procedures needed to conduct a moderately complex experiment SPI 0807.Inq.2
Teaching Measures - links to length, mass, or capacity activities and printables - good for using on an interactive whiteboard for a whole class activity
Transparency Master - use this high quality picture of a block of metal on a triple beam balance as a review for your students
Using a Graduated Cylinder - [L and mL] a whole class activity for reading a scale, estimating and converting between units or
Using a Graduated Cylinder - [mL only] a whole class activity for reading a scale, estimating and converting between units or
Using a Platform Scale - practice using scales like the one in a doctor's office, five Gregs will drop on the scale, waiting to be weighed, see how quickly you can weigh them or
Using a Ruler - [15 cm ruler] a whole class activity for reading a ruler, estimating and converting between units or
Using a Ruler - [30 cm ruler] a whole class activity for reading a ruler, estimating and converting between units or
Data - Interpret and translate data into a table, graph, or diagram SPI 0807.Inq.3
Bar Graph - Enter data to create a bar graph, then manipulate the graph's maximum and minimum values
Circle Graph - Enter data categories and the value of each category to create a circle graph (similar to "Pie Chart" but the user can define the data set)
Data Interpretation Games - Numerous activities on using and interpreting data - Activities include bar, pie and line graphs, data collecting and much more
Data Interpretation Practice Test - [25 questions] practice reading tables and a variety of charts; column, pie, and pictogram - answers at the end of the test
Data Picking - students collect data, enter tally marks or numbers and then select which graph is appropriate
Fun and Sun Rent-a-Car - students use tables, graphs, linear functions to solve a real-world problem
Graphing Skills - What's the point? find the point on the grid
Heads I Win - predict the likelihood of tossing heads or tails and graphs the results of coin tosses (Author - Michaél Dunnivant)
The Hot Tub - a fun activity asking students to tell the story behind a graph and relate slope to rate of change
Interpreting Column Graphs - students practice by answering ten questions about the graph [not available on 6/1/2009]
Interpreting Data - survey a small group by clicking on each of the children, turn the tally marks into two types of graphs and then go back and take a different survey
Magic Bullets: Chemistry vs. Cancer - In this activity students will work with data about cancer deaths. The purpose of the activity is to give students some experience in reading and interpreting graphs.
site for teachers | 
PowerPoint show | 
Acrobat document | 
Word document | 
whiteboard resource | 
sound | 
video format | 
interactive lesson | 
a quiz | 
to print
