Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

If students ever wonder exactly what seashells they managed to collect at the beach last summer, this is the site to use. Clear photos click to an even larger and distinct picture of many varieties. Along with the larger picture are the common name, scientific name, region found, and maximum size. Links on the page include more information about identifying shells, cleaning, preserving, and using as decorations.

This website, created by cartoonists, offers countless experiments (written in the form of cartoons). There are over ten experiment categories including Food Experiments, Mathematical Experiments, Biological Experiments, Electrical Experiments, Experiments in the Office, Sound Experiments, Hobbies Experiments, Science Experiments, Clothes Experiments, Experiments with Light, Experiments with Objects, Experiments with Materials, & Miscellaneous Experiments . Some specific examples include "How to make a Moebius band and how to double the length of a Moebius band," "How to make your tongue into a battery," "How to test an electric fence," and many others. This is not an interactive website, but does offer some very creative ideas for experiments.

tag(s): electricity (61), experiments (55), light (56), sound (72)

The Wilderness Classroom Organization brings educational adventures into the classroom through on-line expeditions. Students can follow expeditions through the Amazon, Peru, Bahamas, and even dog sledding through Manitoba. The site provides archived experiences along with photos, expedition maps and notes from the trail. There are lesson plans, printable pages, standards, podcasts, and more.

tag(s): amazon (11), mississippi (5), peru (5)

Open the microscopic world of science to your students with NASA's virtual microscope. The free software (Win, OSX, Linux) comes with access to over 90 multi-dimensional, high-resolution image datasets, training animations, and videos that teach the basics of microscopy. Students can explore and annotate pre-prepared images as if they were using real instruments in real-time. This resource-rich site is one of NASA's career outreach programs and offers loads of information for students and teachers. Subscribe to the RSS feed to be alerted as new data is added every week. This website requires Java and Quick-Time. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

tag(s): careers (156), data (151), images (263)

The "Perfect Pearl" was created to coincide with a PBS broadcast. However, the information is useful and informative without viewing the program. The topics include "What's Killing the Oysters," "Culture of Freshwater Pearls," "How Many Pearls," and "The History of Pearls." The "How Many Pearls" activity combines the science of pearls with higher-level math skills.

tag(s): environment (252), japan (57)

This fabulous website about wolves and habitats in Yellowstone allows participants to "live" as a wolf, raise their young, explore the wilderness, go hunting, and survive. Students can work alone or with partners, as they learn about wolves in the wild. Students can consult biologists, write original stories, create drawings, and more. This is the first episode; future installments are expected in late 2008. Students and/or teachers must register (free)to use the program. We recommend using a single class/teacher registration or parent/student written agreements for student registrations in order to prevent inappropriate postings "clever" students might make on the community discussion boards. There are also detailed lesson plans (click on Wolf Info > classroom activities). The lesson plans include national science standards.

tag(s): animal homes (57), animals (295), zoology (18)

Leonardo da Vinci is one of history's greatest geniuses. This site looks at Leonardo's work in ways that highlight how comprehensive and interdisciplinary his impact has been. Of course, you can examine his individual works of art, but this site is organized along threads, which you can access through a traditional menu or through an interactive web. Follow Leonardo's influence in math, through his inventions, in his understanding of the human body or his examination of the natural world. There is an abundance of information to learn on this site, however, there are also some just-plain-fun flash-enabled games to play like making the Mona Lisa smile broadly by correctly answering questions about her, practice mirror writing, or see if you can power his glider across a ravine.

tag(s): renaissance (38)

Whether you teach insect basics or the details of biodiversity, this wonderful reference site provides a valuable online guide to insects, spiders, and other bugs. It was started as "labor of love" site by a "bug enthusiast," but has earned enough respect for Iowa State University to host the site. This guide is extremely informative, but don't expect animation and other "bells and whistles". The photographs are up close, the information is detailed, and the guide is very extensive. The guide includes information about classifications, names, habitats, pronunciations, sizes, life cycles, foods, Internet references, and more. "Bug" enthusiasts contribute photos and help identify unknown creatures!

tag(s): habitats (92), insects (69), spiders (10)

Are you "fishing" for a new way to teach your students about the ocean? This website offers a collections of ocean activities, games, activity books, and recreation ideas for students in grades 2-5 (approximately). There are many printable PDF files. Topics include Understanding Marine Debris, Dive into Sanctuaries, Oil Spills and Pollustion, and numerous other resources. There basic are puzzles, interesting articles and many build-it-yourself projects, plus other activities (all related to the ocean).

tag(s): climate change (99), mammals (22), marine biology (31), moon (73), oceans (149), oil spill (13)

Are you looking for a unique way to grab the attention of your teenage students? This interesting website explores the connection between hair and science. Correlations are made between bad hair days and the weather. Three of the "hands on" activities include building a hair hygrometer, the healthy hair test, and creating curls. Some of the articles feature interactive elements that require Flash, but there is still plenty to learn about healthy hair at this site.

tag(s): air (102), weather (160)

Did you ever worry when you couldn't find your car keys or your textbook? This website focuses on memory, mental capacity, the mind, Alzheimer's, and how to improve your memory. There is a unique interactive drawing activity (based on memory) that requires ShockWave. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page..

tag(s): brain (56), psychology (65)

This informative website provides numerous science topics all involving the human body. The links are basically articles (some possess interactive features). Specific topics/articles include self-portrait silhouettes, your body in your mind's eye, watching the brain at work, and peering inside the body (specifically the common techniques used to look inside the human body). Some of the techniques highlighted include PET scan, angiography, CT scan, ultrasound, fiber-obtic imaging, and others.

tag(s): brain (56), human body (93), sound (72)

This site provides beautiful photographs of birds from around the world and displays the locations of many on a map in the sidebar. The birds are categorized alphabetically according to country. If you find yourself viewing information in French, click the small British flag at the top of the page to see it in English.

tag(s): biodiversity (36), birds (46), diversity (40)

This all-encompassing atlas site provides a broad variety of information and activities. The subject areas include agriculture, biology, boundaries, climate, environment, geology, government, history, mapping, transportation, people, and water. All of the subjects incorporate the United States (for example, the agriculture pages discuss the agriculture of the USA). The map features are phenomenal and include both printable maps and "dynamic maps" which are interactive and awesome! Some of interactive maps include topics such as relief and elevation, West Nile virus, volcanoes and more. This site is a perfect addition to any science class that is studying volcanoes, climate, biology and more. It is also useful in a geography class studying the various uses and types of maps.

tag(s): agriculture (49), climate (84), environment (252), geology (62), maps (220)

This site offers up-to-date news on conservation issues and incidents in Africa. Organized by reporters in the different regions of this large continent, the site gives users the option of selecting news, videos, or blogs with videos to keep themselves informed on the very latest events impacting animals, both good and bad. The fastest way to find the animal information is to click on "Find Blogs about Hippos, Gorillas, Colobus monkey, Rhinos, amd other Endangered Animals"

tag(s): africa (148), animals (295), conservation (102), environment (252)

This site provides a good introduction to science fairs to help teachers, students and parents. There are separate sections of information on getting started, choosing a topic, completing the project, displaying the project and the Scientific Method. The section and links on Scientific Method are quite useful, even if your school does not do a science fair.

tag(s): air (102), scientific method (48)

This website provides excellent descriptions for numerous biology concepts. Utilize the resource to simplify the complexities of biology. The site is designed for high school students and advanced biology classes, but some of the activities would be useful with the middle grades, also. The website features animation, interactive challenges, lessons, explicit details about the biology concepts, and other educational activities. Some of the topics include cells, respiration, nutrition, digestion, reproduction, genetics, DNA and many other science/biology topics. Some standards can be found at the "Teachers Lounge" link.

tag(s): cells (82), dna (43), evolution (89), genetics (80), molecules (44), nutrition (140)

This unique program is designed to provide opportunities for students to become more aware of our natural resources, how to keep "common" animals common, and how to read various maps. The website provides a great deal of information for teachers wanting to use this program with their students (see teacher information). The activities could be used in any states, although some of the states already have active projects. This activity could easily be done locally, too, by using a county map. The regional activities provide students with hands-on science activities, field observations, project design and data management. Don't forget to check out the learning modules that provide lesson plans and standards.

tag(s): animals (295), biodiversity (36), diversity (40), maps (220), natural resources (37), resources (84)

This website takes students up close to numerous microorganisms (found in tiny drops of pond water). The activity is examining freshwater microorganisms with an interactive microscope. The microorganisms examined include bacteria, flagellated protozoa, ciliates, green algae, crustaceans, desmids, diatoms, sun animalcules and amoebas, rotifers, worms, and insect larva.

tag(s): atoms (44), bacteria (22), microorganisms (10), organisms (15), water (102), worms (5)

LEAF: Learning, Experiences, and Activities in Forestry was designed to help users identify the trees by their leaves. The dichotomous identification procedure makes it easy to narrow types of leaves by selecting certain characteristics. Although the site is designed for Wisconsin trees, it would be useful for any states in the same climate zone and region. Tree identification cards with color photographs in pdf format are available. A lesson plan for use with the tree identification tools available on this site is offered in both WORD and pdf format. For younger students, there is a link to a parallel, more cartoon-like kids page.

tag(s): trees (18)