Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

View excellent information from an organization of doctors dedicated to publishing the truth about the way our nation eats. Learn about fast food, issues with various types of foods, and characteristics of different types of diets. View issues of the day, current notes, and videos of hot topics.
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tag(s): fitness (39), myplate (18), nutrition (140)

Looking for a Wikipedia type resource for living things? Use Wikispecies to learn more about the variety of species of animals and plants on the Earth. This growing database contains information and the classification of a large number of species. Find information about the taxonomy and location. Find relevant links to obtain more information.

tag(s): animals (295), classification (22), plants (146), species (16)

Looking for collection of current science research articles? This is your one stop shop! Science Daily is current, searchable, and interesting! Encompassing many, if not all, areas of science, this site could make your classroom science research easy. The major categories are: Health & Medicine, Mind & Brain, Plants & Animals, Earth & Climate, Space & Time, Matter & Energy, Computers & Math, and Fossils & Ruins.
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tag(s): animals (295), brain (56), climate (84), computers (109), data (151), earth (184), energy (133), fossils (41), matter (47), medicine (57), news (229), planets (113), plants (146), space (222), time (91)

Integrate clean air technology into your physical science units. Re-Energy.ca highlights five basic forms of renewable energy; solar electricity and heat, wind power and energy, and biomass energy. All the necessary background information needed to better understand renewable energy and with a list of valuable links, resources and videos. Included are detailed construction plans for renewable energy models such as a solar oven or wind turbine. The site also addresses larger environmental issues such as global climate change and is dedicated to educating the public on ways to reduce the consumption of natural resources.

tag(s): climate change (99), design (79), electricity (62), energy (133), engineering (129), heat (16), natural resources (37), sustainability (50)

Learn about the body, food, fun, and nutrition with this great site! Take quizzes, find recipes under "Eat," games under "Move," and read bits of information through the "bright papers" under "Learn."

tag(s): cooking (32), fitness (39), nutrition (140)

This website features answers to new science questions everyday. If the simple answer is not enough for you, there are helpful links, and suggested additional reading if you would like a greater understanding of the concept. Even more information is available through using the categorized science facts found on the left side of the screen. Questions are also searchable by keyword. Subjects include: physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, mathematics, geology, engineering, and medicine.
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tag(s): area (53), carbon (17), carbon footprint (5), chemicals (41), coal (6), earthquakes (46), energy (133), engineering (129), fossil fuels (10), fossils (41), glaciers (17), machines (17), matter (47), moon (73), natural resources (37), ozone (7), ph (3), planets (113), prime numbers (26), pythagorean theorem (19), questioning (36), space (222), square roots (15), stars (71), sun (71), volume (34)

This interactive page from the Science Bob site shows how different parts of the body function. Click your way through the brain, digestive system, muscles, senses, lungs and skeleton on this body information resource.

tag(s): body systems (40), brain (56), heart (27), human body (93), senses (20)

This website has a list of exciting and simple experiments. The instructions are clear, concise, and printable! Topics include Newton's Law, making a film canister rocket, a levitating orb, how to make Slime, optical illusions, bend water with static electricity, and many more for a variety of different sciences. Experiments make good use of cheap, recyclable and other easy to find items. Many experiments have video clips of people doing the experiments.

tag(s): chemicals (41), electricity (62), experiments (55), magnetism (38), newton (21), optical illusions (10), rockets (11), sounds (43), volcanoes (55)

This webpage provides weekly answers to student submitted questions. Answers are student friendly, and offer pictures to help explain the answer.

tag(s): questioning (36)

This is a series of easy-to-use exercise videos, coloring pages, this site makes taking care of young bodies interesting for all. Learn about a healthy diet and fitness for young students. Don't miss the link for The PDF document for the Teacher's Guide.

tag(s): dental health (14), fitness (39), preK (271)

Read about Linnaeus' life and achievements on this fascinating site. Follow the link to Linnaeus' blog. (He did send his information to others to comment upon. Would he not find today fascinating?)

tag(s): classification (22), scientific method (48), scientists (67)

Find a vast array of lessons and resources on plant and growing technologies on this diverse site. Lessons include Case Studies that can be examined as an introduction to many Biology and Ecology topics.

tag(s): agriculture (49), ecology (103), erosion (15), plants (146)

This site, created by the Central Park Conservancy, provides some interesting features about the park which includes history and films and famous photographs taken in the park. There is tour and event information, so whether you're planning a virtual field trip or an actual field trip to Central park, this site is worth your viewing.
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tag(s): animals (295), environment (252), national parks (29), plants (146), trees (18), virtual field trips (128)

View animations about complex cellular processes either online or by downloading to your computer. Click on the picture to view and follow the simulation. Click on "Download movie" to download the movie for MAC or PC. There are several topics, some of which include "Bacterial Homeostasis and Tooth Decay," "DNA and Genetic Disorders," "Cellular Respiration," and others.

tag(s): animation (65), cells (83), dna (43), genetics (81), photosynthesis (21), respiration (11)

Use the free online tools at this site to identify species and view album pictures of a variety of living things. Search by keyword or by browsing through the categories. Check out all living things, where a group of organisms can be selected and a variety of categories chosen from there (such as overview, divisions, phylogeny, links to other sites, and references.) Use the ID Nature guide to identify and categorize organisms based upon observable characteristics. Click on a pattern and then "Search" to change the possible organisms, links, and scientific names. Use the global mapper to locate species

tag(s): animals (295), classification (22), species (16)

Looking for real science from real-life scientists? This is the spot for you. EarthSky is loaded with current interviews in all different content areas. Topics include water, energy, health, agriculture, biodiversity, earth, space, and human. Another nifty feature of this website is that you can add the RSS feed to your blog or Google account to keep up with new interviews.

tag(s): biodiversity (36), ecology (103), energy (133), scientists (67)

Science Friday includes a live science show, chat rooms, and a science desk for questions. Science links and mentors are also available. There are experiments to try, and an online library for users. The site features podcasts of broadcasts of the PRN Science Friday shows, and a weekly video. They can be listened to on the site or downloaded through iTunes. Broadcasts can also be listened to live from links on the site. This hands-on site was designed for the user to have a science experience like no other.
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tag(s): agriculture (49), air (102), animals (295), anthropology (10), archeology (28), chemicals (41), child development (24), climate (84), climate change (99), computers (109), ecology (103), ecosystems (83), electricity (62), energy (133), engineering (129), environment (252), experiments (55), genetics (81), habitats (92), insects (69), light (56), magnetism (38), medicine (57), mental health (48), nuclear energy (20), nutrition (140), oceans (149), paleontology (28), planets (113), plants (146), podcasts (108), psychology (65), radio (20), reproduction (7), sociology (23), space (222), stars (71), transportation (30), water (102), weather (160)

This site is a compilation of many math and science resources along with a social networking component. Currently there are almost 2000 activities, lessons, and videos and the site is constantly growing. There are several ways to use the site both as a registered user or without registration. Without registering for the site you can search and access lessons and information through the different search methods such as keywords, subjects, source institution, and more. Free registration allows the site to become much more personalized. After registering, you can make lists of resources for any different topic, share lists or searches with others, add comments, or add your own resources. Most activities on the site are free; however, there are some searches that deliver lessons that are paid - these are clearly indicated and not frequent enough to discourage use of this site. Searches can also filter out any paid activities and return only free items. Teachers may also want to subscribe to the site's blog and newsletter to receive updated information as it is added to the site.

In case you are wondering about the title, SMILE is the Science and Math Informal Learning Educators pathway of the National Science Digital Library (NSDL).

tag(s): resources (84), social networking (61), STEM (297), video (266)

ITSI-SU is a portal for using and creating interactive web-based labs and simulation activities. Brought to you by the research staff of the Concord Consortium, this free online programing uses an assortment of data collection tools from molecular modeling software and web-based simulations to computer sensors (which would need to be purchased if not already in the classroom). Interactives are standards based, thorough, and created with "backward design" in mind. Each activity begins with an inquiry question and a picture with real world relevance. One of the strengths of this program is that it can be used "as is," however all existing activities can be modified by the teacher using them. Any teacher can create new activities of their own as well. Once these activities are created and saved, they can be accessed by other teachers under the "DIY:Other activities area" of the Activities. This added value is something that is rarely found in online lab software. One warning for using this program: it is Java based so modules have to be downloaded. The download takes time and requires tat you "allow" it. Some school computers may block such downloads.

tag(s): modeling (8), problem solving (233)

What is Phenology? It is the study of cycles in nature from bird and animal migration to changing of leaf colors. Many of our actions on the planet are affected by phenology. This site invites the general public to become observers. Identify the variety of plants and animals in your region and submit data after registering. You can also help in recoveringand recording historical data by entering scanned observation cards into a database.
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tag(s): environment (252), food chains (19), resources (84)