Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This well-organized site from U.C. Berkeley provides middle and high school students with an introduction to cladistics (a way of organizing living things by common ancestry and evolutionary relationships) and involves students in posing hypotheses about past life based upon evolutionary history. The site was created with support from the National Science Foundation.

tag(s): dinosaurs (43), evolution (89), fossils (41)

Stories From the Fossil Record provides middle school students with a basic understanding of how fossils can be used to interpret the past. There are four different pathways to explore biodiversity, geologic time, paleoecology and past lives. Created by U.C. Berkeley with support from the National Science Foundation, this is an extremely well-organized site.

tag(s): biodiversity (36), diversity (40), evolution (89), fossils (41), paleontology (28)

This extremely well-organized site from U.C. Berkeley introduces students to the history of life and how it results in today's biodiversity. The site includes two different levels for grades K-4 and 5-12, making this an introduction that can be used in virtually any classroom setting. There is a Teacher Guide with lesson plans, handouts, assessments, related activities and much more. Created with support from the National Science Foundation.

tag(s): biodiversity (36), diversity (40), evolution (89), fossils (41)

This site from U.C. Berkeley introduces students to geologic time, the evidence for events in Earth's history, relative and absolute dating techniques, and the significance of the geologic time scale. Suitable for grades 5-10, the site uses animation effectively and is well-organized. Created with support from the National Science Foundation.

tag(s): evolution (89), fossils (41), geologic time (12), logic (161), paleontology (28)

Created at U.C. Berkeley with support from the National Science Foundation, Getting Into the Fossil Record helps students gain a basic understanding of what a fossil is and how a fossil forms. The site is designed for two levels: grades 5-8 or grades 9-12.

tag(s): fossils (41), geology (62), paleontology (28)

This earth science site virtually engages students in scientific research. Middle school students join "science mentors" to gather data and interpret direct and indirect evidence to propose multiple hypotheses of what life was like in Montana 60-70 million years ago. Created at U.C. Berkeley with support from the National Science Foundation, this is an extremely well-organized site.

tag(s): fossils (41), paleontology (28)

This is the online companion to an exhibit currently running at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Download the Ipix plugin to take the virtual tour of the exhibit, check out the live butterfly webcam, or view quicktime movies of butterflies in action. This is a great online excursion for students who don't have their own butterflies to observe. The videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): butterflies (13), insects (68)

Here's another great site from San Francisco's Exploratorium. Learn how researchers study the jungle, both on-site and in the laboratory. Users with high-speed connections will enjoy the Quicktime movie interviews with the scientists - further proof that science can be engaging, interesting, even fun. A few resources on this site require Flash, most don't, and there is a lot of information here.

tag(s): forests (30), jungles (5)

Here's a venerable site from U.C. Berkeley that offers a simple, graphic illustration of geological time scales and terminology. This one would be useful for an introductory geology course, as part of a fossil study, or to help students understand just how old "old" can be.

tag(s): fossils (41), geology (62), paleontology (28)

This large metasite offers a well-organized collection of scores of links relating to the study and categorization of insects. Like most sites of this nature, there are no explanations of the links, so you may have to hunt to find what you're after. We've included this one because of the number of resources the authors have found.

tag(s): insects (68)

This is a site for earth science teachers. It offers a collection of resources, professional development opportunities, and a huge archive of data sources for earth science activities. The site itself assumes significant technical capabilities on the part of the user, especially for the use and implementation of the data sets. This site could be a gold mine for teachers with the appropriate technical skills

tag(s): data (151), maps (220)

Designed for elementary students, this introduction to rainforests is colorful, nicely designed, and easy to follow. There's plenty of good content, well illustrated, and assembled for easy access by students or teachers. The artwork is particularly strong for a site of this nature.

tag(s): biomes (110), forests (30), jungles (5), rainforests (18)

Here's an elegant and detailed look at the ecological threats to several dozen areas around the world. The content is keyed to serious adult users, so secondary science students will find this one useful with some vocabulary assistance. This would be a good supplementary resource for a study of the interactions between humans and their environment.

tag(s): biodiversity (36), diversity (40), ecosystems (83)

The San Diego Zoo's panda pages offer a plethora of photos and other information about China's most reclusive citizens. Besides being undeniably cute, pandas make a great preservation study with some interesting international overtones. It now includes a live webcam stream of the pandas 24 hours a day
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): animals (294), china (81), endangered species (27), species (16)

Here's a collection of science lesson plans covering disciplines from geology to earth science, chemistry, and general science. Each includes complete procedures, standards references, and discussion. Some of these lessons use video clips as an integral component, so teachers will want to plan accordingly.

tag(s): dna (43), evolution (89), genetics (80)

This companion site from the PBS American Experience series offers a profile of John Wesley Powell's first exploration of the Grand Canyon. While the teacher's section is closely linked to the film itself, the site offers interactive maps, biographies, and background information on the discovery of one of America's natural wonders.

tag(s): explorers (64), rivers (16)

Try this elementary science page if your curriculum includes the study of air, air pressure, and the effects of temperature on air, buoyancy, and the like. Much of the content is devoted to hot air and helium balloons, but there's plenty of science for the younger set here.

tag(s): air (101), temperature (34)

The Exploratorium's climate change site is a data analysis goldmine. There are dozens of examples of how the earth's climate has or has not shifted over the past 100 years, and most of these have detailed graphs illustrating the data. Middle and high school teachers will find this one a great tool for illustrating both the science and the math behind the efforts to monitor the earth's climate.

tag(s): climate (84), weather (160)

Here's a factual information site about sharks that offers a strong dose of reality for those concerned about shark attacks. You can find details on the species most common on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Hawaiian coasts, along with explanations on why many of these species are threatened or endangered.

tag(s): oceans (149)

This is a thoroughly developed unit on Antarctica developed in Australia. Topics include landform origins, ecology, wildlife, a section on the extremes of climate, and a lesson on the international scientific efforts underway on the continent. There are also lesson sheets for students on various species that inhabit the region.

tag(s): antarctica (30), arctic (40), ecology (103), landforms (39)