Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Find your way to the "home of the best science demonstrations on the web." Included are videos, interviews about chemistry, physics, and science and "Extras." Find videos such Walking on Water, The Heisenberg Uncertainty, The Sweat Episode, The Bernoulli Effect, Inertia, Pendulums, Protein Folding and many others. Interviews with scientists give a clearer explanation of scientific concepts. If interested, subscribe by rss feed, email, or iTunes. Videos are mp4 files, so you may need to load a plug-in or "allow" your browser to play them.

tag(s): electricity (61), light (56), matter (45), motion (47), newton (21), optics (11), scientific method (48), waves (14), weather (160)

Do Lectures are like TED Talk videos, inspiring talks from people who are changing the world. Choose to view talks about Big Ideas, Challenging Talks, Funny Talks, Informative Talks, Inspiring Talks, and Soulful Talks. Some examples of titles are Why Going Down Mountains is Harder than Going Up and Why is Beauty Such an Important Word? Search by topic (business, creativity, environment, food, sport, technology, or well-being) or by speaker. Learn more about lecturers by clicking the link to their bio, or find similar videos with the links included with each talk. Share videos easily on social networking sites with buttons included with each talk, or use the embed code to embed talks into your blog or website. Even more simply, copy/paste the url for the video to share it.

tag(s): business (52), careers (156), creativity (86), debate (42), environment (252), nutrition (140), psychology (65), sociology (23), video (266)

Know your Einstein from your Eddington with this informative site that profiles some of the greatest scientists. Learn about their contributions to science and society and how their discoveries affect us today.
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tag(s): inventors and inventions (80), scientists (67)

Find hundreds of useful charts and diagrams that illustrate philosophy, english, history, science, current events, and more for free, online viewing. You will find PDFs, posters, timelines, etc. Learn about topics such as: Most Famous Paintings, World Leaders Timeline, Muppet Voices Chart, New Seven Wonders, Human Evolution Timeline, and more. General "subjects" include Social Studies Charts, Most Popular Charts, Psychology Charts, Philosophy & Religion Charts, English Charts, Science Charts, and many others! The site is selling charts and downloads, but you can view the site for FREE. Zoom in to see details using the View menu in your web browser or touchpad zooming on Macs.
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tag(s): art history (102), charts and graphs (171), grammar (137), multiple intelligences (7), myths and legends (37), poetry (193), politics (118), psychology (65), religions (95), solar system (110), space (222), timelines (56)

iBioSeminars features lectures and videos about biology, ecology, health (and more) that begin with broad introductions and progress to specific research. Search by top picks or category. You can also try entering a biology term in the search box. Click on Teaching Tools to find related materials for use with the lectures. Many lectures are as long as an hour. Don't miss the "short clips" menu for videos more applicable in high school settings. Subtitles in English, Spanish, and French are also available. You can subscribe to the lectures using iTunesU. The videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): cells (82), ecology (103), energy (133), evolution (89), medicine (57)

Confused about climate change and the evaluation of the data? View this free site from the EPA that compiles current greenhouse gas emissions data into an interactive map. This site visualizes the biggest emitters. Included are polluters of more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. Unfortunately, not shown in the data are the smaller polluters. When using the site, keep in mind that polluters like transportation, residential, or agricultural sources are missing. This tool is useful for looking at how industry and power contribute to climate change, and which type of fuel source (coal provides 50%) provides power generation. Click on the US map and then specific blue circles (the numbers inside represent the total number of facilities) to zoom in and find the list of facilities in the left navigation panel. Clicking on each facility brings up the data of emissions. Search by specific gas emission (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, or methane). Change the overall view by list, map, or graph to customize how best students view the data.

tag(s): carbon dioxide (9), climate change (99), fossil fuels (10)

Love science? Find ideas, extraordinary information, and experiments on this entertaining site. Listen to the weekly science podcasts and archives that cover a vast array of topics including those that may seem unbelievable. This realistic and scientific site looks at topics like aliens and telepathy as well as ballistics and volcanoes. Find in-depth information explained with scientific clarity, even complex topics, explained in terms that everyone can understand and from multiple perspectives.

tag(s): experiments (55), genetics (80), oceans (149), podcasts (108), volcanoes (55)

Nano has become a buzz word in our language, but what does it really mean? Find out by looking at this site from Stanford University. Do you have billions of things to do, and no time for things that are as small as a billionth of a meter? You need to make time to learn about this tiny scale that packs a mighty little punch today in science, technology, and even in our global economy. Make some time for this teeny tiny stuff because it's big, very big! This website provides a set of thorough, hands-on lesson plans that are excellent for magnifying this microscopic concept.

tag(s): inventors and inventions (80), measurement (122), microscopes (10)

Explore the science behind the food you eat. View interesting short videos on food science. The films cover a variety of topics: sensory science, food security, nutrition, and crop technology. YouTube hosts the videos, and they can be shared by embedding or using a link. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): nutrition (140)

Explore an impressive set of science and engineering animations to help explain difficult concepts. View animations and posters. Understand what the visual is about by reading the background information. Animations and posters cannot be used off the site without purchasing, but this is an excellent resource for viewing and sharing in its online version. Topics include different types of engines, how an eye works and vision problems, convection, waves, and more. There are also several animations about geometric solids.
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tag(s): atoms (43), cells (82), colors (63), diseases (66), dna (43), earth (184), electricity (61), energy (133), engineering (129), geometric shapes (134), light (56), machines (17), molecules (43), solar system (110), sun (71), vision (44), waves (14)

A picture is worth a thousand words; a map with information is worth many thousands more. The World Atlas map powered by Esri is unique with its many layers of information. Layers include temperature data, habitats, volcano locations, natural resources, and more. The map uses street view and high detail aerial maps. Zoom into any aspect of the Earth, regardless of political boundaries (thanks to NASA, the World Bank, and Spotzi data). Browse from a variety of themes available including animals, temperatures, and tectonic plates. Use the search bar to zoom in to a specific area. Several tools are available along the top including a measuring tool.

tag(s): business (52), diseases (66), ecology (103), environment (252), natural disasters (18), natural resources (37), resources (83)

Frank is about the facts and dangers of drugs use. This realistic view of drugs' effect on the body and on a person's life is a fresh (and "frank") approach to the topic. Sections of the site include how to react to pressure to try drugs and what to do if you believe a friend is experimenting with drugs.

tag(s): difficult conversations (57), drugs and alcohol (28)

This teacher-created Forensics site is a stunning compilation of ideas, resources, and laboratory activities to keep you supplied in forensic thinking for a good long time. Lesson plans, worksheets, and even puzzles are available for downloading and printing here. Fuel your interest in forensics and increase your scientific background knowledge at the same time.
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tag(s): forensics (12)

This site offers a highly visual way to draw people of any age into science and a fascination with materials, living things, and forces that make up our world. The collections are the result of an annual competition at Princeton University and were produced as a result of actual scientific research. Click on each image to view a description of the background of the image. Click on other years at the bottom of the screen. These images are simply stunning!

tag(s): images (263), photography (130)

This easy to use site is a large collection of maps and data sets for access by the public. Find maps, data, and charts for almost all countries. Choose from data categories that include Per Capita Income, Government Debt, Housing, Energy Consumption, Agricultural Production, and more. Select a data set to view. Choose the available countries from the drop-down. Export, download, or embed the data into your blog or site. Peruse community boards for information on statistics and apps for sharing on Knoema. Upload data and create presentations and pages with the data simply and easily. Find tutorials about all you can do with Knoema here.

tag(s): charts and graphs (171), countries (73), data (151), maps (220), statistics (121)

Interested in learning more about how different blood types interact? Fascinated by medical practices? Try this interactive blood typing activity. This game is fun yet has solid science behind it. The simulation has no real blood, but is engaging with fake blood and ill patients. Drag the syringe from the spot where it resides to the patient, drop for it to "draw the blood," then drag it over each tube to deposit in each of the blood samples. Drag your mouse over the tubes and the blood types to compare samples and make decisions about blood types. Once you have made your decision, drag your blood to the IV pole of the picture, and the cartoon will generate a message that lets you know whether the bag of blood was a successful transfusion or not. Learn through trial and error if you are unsure, and no "blood" will be spilled!

tag(s): cells (82), genetics (80), heart (27), human body (93)

Scale of the Universe 2 zooms into the smallest parts of atoms and out to the largest items in the solar system. Use your mouse or click to view objects that vary incredibly in size. Use this tool to get a sense of the size of the universe through the relationship between familiar and unfamiliar objects. Click on the object, and an information box pops up. Click on the musical note in the upper right corner to silence the music. Spend many hours perusing the variety of information on this site.

tag(s): atoms (43), measurement (122), planets (113), space (222)

This site shows the scale of items from the atom to the universe by using an interactive Infographic. Choose from nine items to begin comparison. Use the blue dot to zoom in and out by sliding it up and down. The dial gives the difference in size. Be sure to view the Infographic full screen.

tag(s): animals (294), atoms (43), earth (184), measurement (122), planets (113), space (222)

The Dayton Regional STEM Center offers lessons, units, and curriculum materials in STEM subjects for grades K-12. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math resources are abundant at this center for hands-on STEM! Primarily it is a curriculum resource for teaching. Click on each search topic (by grade level, subject, or industry) and find a list of topics from which to choose. There are captivating hook videos about power and propulsion, sensors, manufacturing, humans and medicine, and air vehicles. Lesson ideas are complete and well thought out. Some have downloadable activities, some are video clips, some are tangible hands on activities, but all are thought provoking. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable.

tag(s): aircraft (16), atmosphere (22), aviation (40), data (151), energy (133), engineering (129), equations (119), functions (52), geometric shapes (134), magnetism (36), measurement (122), number sense (69), oil (22), operations (72), ratios (47), robotics (24), scientific method (48), solar energy (34), space (222), statistics (121), STEM (297), teaching strategies (50), water (102)