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Resource Page
**This can be a page where we can post resources relevant to curriculum design and instruction.**


 * "[|Encyclopedia of Life]is a global effort to gather and share the wealth of information of every creature on earth" -- this is a REALLY cool website. They have partnered with research scientists and organizations to put together an accurate encyclopedia of information of almost 2 million species.


 * The first website I came across when I started this program at Fordham was [|Middle School Science]. This website is run by a NJ teacher who includes everything she does in her classroom. Her day to day lessons, the contents of her students science notebooks and lesson plans that span all science disciplines. She also includes her favorite science teaching links. The website has been like a mentor to me when I first started the program and felt overwhelmed at the idea of creating lesson plans (that was until I realized that there was an enormous amount of resources available on the Internet!). CM


 * I'm all about free stuff, especially when it comes to teaching. I think some of you have heard of Project WILD, but those who haven't need to check it out. Project WILD is a wildlife conservation education program for K-12 educators. Project WILD provides participants of its professional development workshops with a free (over 500 page) curriculum guide. In the guide are lessons that range from K-4, 5-8 and 9-12 grade levels. The lessons are divided according to topics such as, habitats, changes and adaptations, interdependence, human impact and many more. There are Project WILD coordinators for each state. In New York the Project WILD workshops are run by the Department of Environmental Conservation. [|Upcoming Project WILD workshops] There are other workshops that are part of the Project WILD curriculum including, Growing Up WILD (for younger elementary school children ages 3-7), Flying WILD (focused on birds) and Aquatic WILD (focus on aquatic environments). Each of these workshops also comes with their own curriculum guides. I highly suggest checking out a workshop when you can they are FREE and the resources are simply amazing. Oh! And also if you email the coordinator for your state they can email you the state standards that each of the lessons in the curriculum guide meets. CM


 * In my posting on Wild Explorations, I mentioned a National Geographic documentary on the wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park. There is a [|website] that has the links for 4 of these documentaries that are free to watch - I showed one to my class once and they liked it. The whole series is called "Strange Days on Planet Earth" and there's one on climate change, invasive species, predators, and 'troubled waters'. There's actually more to this set but these are the four that we have access to on this page. The documentaries are GREAT and really interesting - but more for the high school level, not middle school. - NT


 * I have recently come across a great website that I wish we had when creating our ecology unit. It is run by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. It is all about ecosystem studies, ecology, food webs, and environmental literature. If you go to the following section of their website, Educators page, [|Cary Institute] you will find links to professional envelopment, curriculum, and lesson plans on a variety of things ranging from activities you can do both in and out of the classroom. You also can search by topic which is nice. There is even a nature of science category. What I found particularly interesting was that they had an entire ecology unit of study that was to be conducted within the school yard. I thought this was great because you may not always have access to lots nature surrounding to the school. But what really drew me to the site and got me interested was that a majority of their material is based on the Hudson River. They have plenty of charts, diagrams, maps interactive, games and videos for both students and teachers. They even have whole units and lessons planned around the Hudson River. So instead of just teaching the water cycle or a food web, you would do it through the river which so many children know and have access to. [|resource page of website]. Furthermore you can even have someone from the group that runs the site come into the classroom or they give tips for conducting your own experiments on/at the river and then uploading the data. I think that this is a great resource that can be used throughout the year. - KB


 * This is a cool site that website that lets students do virtual knee replacements and hip procedures. [|Knee Surgery] and [|Hip Replacement] are both user friendly, really informative, and have great audio/visual effects. I think its a really fun activity for kids to do during a body systems unit. NT


 * A website that I use a lot when planning my lessons is [|Scilinks.org]. It is connected to a Prentice Hall Biology Textbook and the NSTA. I actually do not use the textbook with my students but I picked it up in my last student teaching placement. It is excellent for pictures/diagrams to explain topics and interstices that can be used for a lesson. For example if you are teaching the cardiovascular system there is an interactive where the students can make blood travel through the heart. All of the topics are linked together as they would be in a textbook. Also there are plenty of resources that it connects you to outside of the book. If you search the nervous system it connects you to pages and pages of educational websites that either have lessons, activities, video clips, or explanations for you. Overall there is plenty to keep your lessons diversified. - KB


 * Another great website that I often turn to when teaching genetics is the University of Utah [|Teach.Genetics] site. The website has an entire print and go lesson plan index that covers such topics as: bioethics, addiction, brain biology, cells, cloning and many more. Along with the Teach.Genetics website is the companion student website Learn.Genetics. The site has detailed yet easy to understand pictures and animations, it is definitely worth looking over if you are starting your genetics unit. CM


 * I have always thought of myself as a visual learner so it is important to me to find animations for my students. I especially try to find animations when we are discussing abstract topics, such as genetics. The [|Cold Spring Harbor][| Dolan DNA Center] website contains an entire library of various biology animations. Besides animations the website has different learning tools to investigate DNA - such as the Gene Boy DNA analyzer tool. The Dolan DNA Center also often has free professional development workshops for teachers on how to implement their website's resources into the classroom. CM


 * When I first started to look into teaching I was amazed at all the resources that are out there for teachers old and new alike. While I am a bit technology illiterate I have been able to figure out Google Reader. Google Reader if you have not used it is great for keeping track of blogs that you subscribe to (RSS button on a blog). It also offers some great suggestions of other blogs that may suit your interests. To get back to the main idea of this post, through a blog of a blog I came across one of the most comprehensive and resourceful blogs: Free Technology for Teachers. The author of this blog provides resources for all subject areas and all grade levels. I have starred so many of his posts that I wonder when I will have the time to investigate them all. I highly suggest subscribing to this blog. [|Free Technology for Teachers] CM


 * Because we are currently creating our own blog at the moment, I thought it would be a good idea to post an example of an educator created blog. I have skimmed through it and it seems like it is a really great resource. It is concerned with linking science curriculum to the national science standards. It provides searchable lessons and activities by topics on the side as well as current events. It also allows other teachers to reply to the post and let others know what they have tried in the classroom and what they thinks work. Another benefit to the site is that everything is archived so you can pull up older articles on many different topics. Here is the link, enjoy! - KB NSDL


 * This is the website that I shared while presenting my mock technology fair piece, but I thought it applicable to post the education community page that has access to the lesson plans. As you will see there are many different subjects as well as grade levels represented with the lessons. Learning the basics of GIS is relatively easy, there are also tutorials online ( [|gis] ) or the link Francesca sent us from the zoo ( [|zoo link]). Enjoy your new exploration of GIS, and remember it doesn’t have to be super complex for the students to get the ideas of how to read and create maps.[|Education Community] -LR


 * Harvard Project Zero is a website from an education research group at Harvard's graduate school of education. I found it interesting as it has various research projects going on in many different disciplines. I liked that it is current research and it incorporates the arts and thinking a lot. I think that the arts are overlooked a bit in education and in the particular in the science classroom we can tap into that creative side of students. Project Zero also has some great ideas for getting students thinking. I found it to be an interesting website and i hope you do to! [|Harvard Project Zero] -LR


 * This is a teacher run blog that focuses on technology use in the classroom. She basically reviews different types of technologies than tells you about how she implements them in her classroom. What's great is that she always gives you a link to another website where you can find out more about the actual piece of technology. Also I like that she tags her posts in different formats so you can either search through her tags or archives by either subject like science or social studies or by the the piece of technology you are interested in using like webcams or podcasts. This blog is called robin's technology tips: Integrating technology one classroom at a time. [|link to blog] - KB


 * While at the above blog and reading through her posts she put up a link to a site called wallwisher.com. It is a cool site that is just a blank space where you can post a question, comment, link, or video and people can put up there responses in post-it note size responses (160 characters). I think that this could be great for classroom use. If you were in a technology school you could post a do now question and students had to post a response and the class could see the results in real time and read everyone responses. But a great feature of it is that you could make it anonymous if you asked them an opinion question. This could even be used at the end of class as an exit question for the kids to answer before they leave but they have to attach their name to it if you want them to. I also like the idea of students using it the week before a test. They can post review questions they have and other students can answer them or the whole class can over them together. I like the idea that it can build community within the classroom and gets everyone involved in a quick and exciting way. I have created a board for us so we can check out and use it. [|Zoo Posts] - KB


 * This website is a great resource for pictures and a basic starting point for student research. A lot of the information is from wikipedia so not a totally reliable resource but a starting point. There is also a part where your students can contribute to the project, so if you do an investigation-share your results of what is in the area! It is a great introduction to community share. Your students can also experience organisms from various locations around the world and see what other students are posting. [|iNaturalist] -LR

> [|__DNA Tube__]Having difficulties finding ways to relay the heavy content of genetics to students so that they can make meaningful discoveries? While developing curriculum on my unit on Genetics, I came across DNAtube.com. I have used the video’s in my prezi presentations by creating a FREE account and downloading the videos. You need a converter, as the files down load in flv format and prezi only takes wmv, PDF, jpeg, gif, bitmap etc. I suggest downloading the free file converter program Foxtab video converter. The site offers videos ranging from Cell Biology to selective breeding dogs. Bring genetics alice in the classroom! > I have used videos on transcription and translation. Students responded to them well. One students even created a near perfect narration to a silent playing of the transcription video. DNAtube.com is a great tool for incorporating media literacy in a standard based curriculum!-JB
 * Genetics Goodies

> Regents Pro by LindenI am a big fan of inconsequential competition in the classroom. I believe that it is fun and if it is goal centered students will attain standards. One application that I came across and used in the classroom is the NYC regents preparation application for phones that have Android functions. Take advantage of its multiple choice questions and flash card activity that outlines the entire content of the curriculum. I would never use it exclusively to teach content to high school students, but it is suited for a great way to get students answering questions and talking about science. I employed a rapid fire in which the class was divided into two sections. Each section would send up a representative. Students answered question for extra credit points. The team that won the first round by having the most points of 15 question would go onto the bonus round. I use the flashcards activity to award additional bonus points for each consecutive correct answer. TRY IT!!! Educational pocket technology at its best!-JB []
 * Standard Based Assessment goes Android


 * [|__Exploring the Cell__] The world of the cell is as alien and intimidationg to our students as the contents of space is to our astronauts. Often times students get a slight understanding of the powerful cities that combine to form complex organisms known as cells, however it is difficult psychologically for students to wrap their heads around the minuit components of life. This site offers a pdf that teachers can use and have students read in order to get a full grasp of what cells do. I believe that it shines light on how marvelous the microscopic world is and furthermore it creates a better understanding for how life works. This a wonderful way to explore the world of cells, I would suggest incoprorating microscope work and slides if you plan on using this in the classroom.-JB


 * Another genetics goody [|__Genetics home reference__] Students may not be able to understand the relationship between the nucleus, chromosomes and genes. This website offres and in depth look at where genes are located on chromosomes, which genes are on which chromosome and also gives decsriptions for different genetic disroders associated with each gene. The site also has a reproducible manual for teachers and jeopardy review board. This is geared for inquiry based reseach projects that involve reading and interpreting diagrams of chromosomes. This is a great way to explore genetics! It has every gene that has been discobvered in humans archived!!!-JB


 * This is an Evolution site on the Tree of Life[| http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org]/ It is the one Francesca showed me on saturday, it has some great interactives and videos and much more!! -LR


 * This website is from University of Colorado Boulder and has great simulations and lesson plans that accompany them too. It in not just for biology, but also physics, chemistry earth science and even math. We are used the natural selection simulation and the students enjoyed it. My school is also using a lot of the chemistry simulations in place of notes as our chemistry teacher is still out with injuries. THe students have said that they like them but they sometimes still need more information, which is kind of expected. So they are a great supplement to lessons or students can try them at home too. [] Be sure to go to the "for teachers" section to see all the activities and then also the simulation tab it you are only looking for a simulation. -LR


 * Thinking about starting each day with a fun or interesting fact (my inclusion teacher was talking about this), this could be a good email list to be on. It sends you once scientific fact at day. [] You can also go back and look at past facts. Just a little extra thing to engage students or get them thinking. -LR


 * This may be what Tom was telling us about during our stream testing day, but it looks like a great way to get your studnets involved in inquiry investigations on the environment. It is the GLOBE Program. Here is the link: [] Here is what the site says about it: T he Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE ) program is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and education program. GLOBE's vision promotes and supports students, teachers and scientists to collaborate on inquiry-based investigations of the environment and the Earth system working in close partnership with NASA, NOAA and NSF [|Earth System Science Projects (ESSP's)] in study and research about the dynamics of Earth's environment. I think it is cool that it connects students with schools in other countries. -LR


 * The BBC has some really interesting articles and materials in terms of science and education. Here is a link to their site for teachers: [] It kinda has a bit more to do with learning in the UK but there are some good ideas here too. Another link is to their Science and Nature Page: [] which has great links to various pages. They have great images, videos and podcasts. Theonly issue I have found is that some of the videos are not able to be viewed in my area, not entirely sure what that means, but the podcast work!! (and the british accents are fun) -LR


 * NASA has a section for educators as well but I am pretty sure that they are working out some kinks to some of their materials and there is a bunch of math stuff. http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html But they do have a teacher resource called CORE http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/core/home/index.html which provides for a minimal cost (: materials and resources that have to do with things such as the mars rover. If you are studying space or robotics this could be a potential investment. -LR
 * How Stuff Works? If you like to see instuctional videos on how stuff works in science or in other disciplines then this is a great tool. Furthermore, it is filled with content such as Protein Synthesis is like building a house. These videos and the literature that is also on the site inform in a simpler way that texts or lectured. I have used it to strengthen the simile that protein synthesis is like a house. I suggest browsing the site and finding interesting material that can be taught in any science course. The site was developed by Discovery. []