Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

This site is a large list of animal-related links. Some of the links listed are not suited for the primary grades. This site could be used in a classroom for research on animal topics if the links had previously been selected. Most suitable for upper elementary and middle school students.

tag(s): mammals (22)

Scroll to the bottom of the home page to find links that work for News, Features, Birds, Conservation and more. Visit the "Bird Conservation" link containing several online projects and "Ask an Audubon Expert" where students can email questions to a scientist. Both are great options for those new to Internet collaboration.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): birds (46), conservation (102)

Discover videos and animation, adventures in STEM, online lectures, citizen science, and more on this Education Resource page. Scroll through the slides at the top and choose a topic, or choose from the menu on the left. Levels are divided into grades K-6, 7-12, and Undergraduate. Once you land on the page for your topic there will be more links on the menu to the left. Each topic has a complete teaching module, structured classroom activities, and digital data or images.

tag(s): amphibians (17), animals (295), biomes (110), birds (46), caves (7), citizen science (27), climate (84), climate change (99), earthquakes (46), ecosystems (83), environment (252), erosion (15), floods (10), fossils (41), geology (62), mammals (22), minerals (13), plate tectonics (22), rock cycle (12), rocks (35), soil (16), tsunamis (15), volcanoes (55), water (102)

Here's a site which offers answers to imponderables such as, "Why is the ocean blue?" The site offers numerous articles of interest. You can join (for a fee), but the articles are available for free. The site is published by the British periodical New Science.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): DAT device agnostic tool (147)

tag(s): biomes (110)

tag(s): biomes (110)

tag(s): biomes (110)

A teacher's collection of links and activities for ocena, currents, climate, and weather, this ia a "plain vanilla" site but gets lots of traffic as a starting point for lesson planning and instruction. Some of the questions for students to answer are right there on the page

tag(s): biomes (110)

tag(s): biomes (110)

This is the site map for EPA's EE-Net site, a comprehensive collection of environmental education resources for schools at all levels. This site covers everything from introductions for primary students to "real science" activities for older students. This site is a wonderful resource for unit planning.

tag(s): conservation (102), ecology (103), pollution (52)

This set of lesson units, designed by Scripps Institute, offers more than a dozen topics dealing with ocean environments and inhabitants. Many of these lessons include hands-on activities that can require only minimal equipment. The units also include extension activities to make the content suitable for secondary or upper elementary students.

tag(s): oceans (149), whales (11)

This site from the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse offers on-line laboratory materials - primarily color photos of laboratory slides - which are sorted by major classifications. The result is an on-line resources which can supplement in class activities or help compensate when suitable laboratory facilities or materials are not available. The structure of the site makes it suitable for either sequential use of to reinforce specific topics.

This site is a collection of data about the evolutionary history and characteristics of organisms using branches of a tree to link data. Very extensive database.

This site, from the Smithsonian Institution's "Art to Zoo" series, contrasts two marine ecosystems: the coast of Maine and the reefs of the Carribean. The entire unit, including teacher guide, discussion questions, and lesson plans, is available as a series of downloadable Adobe Acrobat PDF files which can be printed and used in the classroom or at home. (A color printer works best, of course.) You can download the Adobe Acrobat reader from the TeachersFirst Toolbox.

tag(s): oceans (149)

Much in the news as a possible site for oil drilling, this official site about the ANWR provides brief summaries of the habitats and ecosystem of this unique arctic environment. Useful as an example of efforts to preserve fragile ecosystems, and also as a supplement to the study of arctic biomes.

tag(s): arctic (40)

Here's the complete site for those interested in learning about Monarch butterflies. It offers Monarch information on dozens of topics, at a variety of levels. You can find out about migration, mating habits, even how to raise monarchs. This is a great starting point for a butterfly study.

tag(s): butterflies (13)

This site offers an extensive list (and information) about the amphibians, birds, insects, mammals, and plants of the rainforest. The site is also part of the TeachersFirst biomes lessons section. http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/biomes. If you are teaching about the biomes of the world, be sure to check out this site!

tag(s): animals (295), biomes (110), habitats (92), rainforests (18)

This site offers a great deal of information about the coniferous forest: temperature, vegetation, location, maps, and more. This website is also part of the TeachersFirst. If you are teaching about the biomes of the world, be sure to check out this site!

tag(s): biomes (110), forests (30)

This site offers information about energy, including games and videos, for students and provides curriculum materials for teachers. Students can read and learn about the history of electricity, power safety tips, and learn about "green" power. Games include Power Bandit, a word search, crossword, and jigsaw puzzles. Beware of the Energy Vampire explains to students how to save energy, and which appliances use a lot of energy. There is a large inventory of videos showing different types of energy production plants, explaining power production through the use of coal and nuclear reactors, and the history of the TVA. Teachers, be sure to check out the teacher's section of the site which includes lesson plans and activities for elementary through high school. Engaging and colorful.

tag(s): electricity (61), nuclear energy (20)

Learn about the life and careers of many famous scientists by viewing intriguing videos. Find out about scientists such as Richard Feynman, Rosalind Franklin, and Gregor Mendel through interviews with scientists in their field today. Don't let the cartoon figures fool you: these videos are not "juvenile." The scientists included may not be household names to everyone, but the videos make their work accessible and interesting. At the time of this review, there were over a dozen scientists included, and more were being added regularly. Note that the actual videos are hosted on YouTube so may not be accessible in some schools.

tag(s): biographies (94), darwin (13), scientists (67)