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Virtual Volcano!

July 8th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Thursday, July 8, 2010 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Discovery Channel: Virtual Volcano

Age Range: 9 and up (Younger children may enjoy some aspects, with parental guidance.)

The Discovery Channel offers this terrific, free Virtual Volcano animation where you can learn about the geography and geology of our world, discover the three types of volcanoes, and build your own volcano and watch it erupt!

When you get to the site just click on “enter” to explore global tectonic plates and see where volcanoes are located throughout the world.  Use the menu to learn more including:

*Global Perspective – Find out where the “Ring of Fire” is located and see the layers that make up our planet including earth’s crust, upper mantle, lower mantle, outer core, and inner core.

*Volcano Types – Find out the differences between Stratovolcano, Cinder Cone, and Shield volcanoes.

*Inside a Volcano – See the Magma chamber and learn about the central vent, crater, fissures and more.

*Virtual Volcano – Build your own volcano! Adjust the gas and viscosity settings to build a volcano – and watch it erupt!  (Be sure to turn your speakers on.)

This engaging and fascination presentation is an adjunct to a Discovery Channel episode on the ancient city of Pompeii that was buried and destroyed by ash from an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Don’t miss this website exhibit of Pompeii: The Last Day, a companion to the broadcast.

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Posted in Science, Social Sciences

Physics In Pictures!

July 6th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Tuesday, July 6, 2010 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Physics Central: Physics In Pictures

Age Range: 10 and up (about middle school and beyond, but younger children may enjoy aspects of the site as well)

Want to get your physics on?  This is the place!  The American Physical Society sponsors this exciting website that demonstrates through multi-media technology, how things work and the importance of physics to everyone. You’ll find free information on the physics of light, sound, matter and more in the form of articles, animations, and videos.

The site is massive, so I’m featuring one of the most engaging sections for this review called “Physics In Pictures.” It provides virtual “illustrations of nature’s infinite variety and humankind’s ingenuity.”

Each picture and title entices you to want to know more. You can explore the science content by reading a brief explanation and then further your learning with links to stories on related current physics research. Your brain can take a quick dip in the physics waters or dive in and soak it all up.

When you get to the site, you’ll see some featured “Physics Pictures” that include:

  • Perfect Spheres to Test Einstein
  • A Free Floating Plasma Orb or Squid Ghost
  • Dust Devils on Mars!

Click on any one to learn more. Then, if you look at the menu on the right side of the screen, you’ll see a list of “Physics in Pictures by Topic” that includes:

  • Atomic
  • Biology and Medicine
  • Chaos
  • Computational
  • Earth Science
  • Light
  • Matter
  • Sound
  • Space and the Universe
  • Subatomic

Click on a topic to explore more. When you’re through, use the menu at the top of the screen and click on “Ask & Experiment.” You’ll be rewarded with experiments to try at home along with other activities sponsored by this website.

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FREE “Journey to the Stars” DVD from NASA

June 8th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Tuesday, June 8, 2010 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
NASA: Journey to the Stars

Age Range: 5-18 (Grades 5-12)

NASA and the American Museum of Natural History have produced a planetarium show about the stars in our cosmos including exploding stars, giant stars, dwarf stars, neutron stars, and even our own star, the Sun!

But you don’t have to go to a planetarium to experience it, because NASA will send you a Journey to the Stars DVD absolutely free!

Your free DVD comes with a free Teacher’s Guide and activities for grades 3-12 that are fun, innovative, and meet national science standards. (Preview the guide at the website.)

The DVD is narrated by actress Whoopi Goldberg who takes you on a virtual trip through time and space. “Best of all, the show is dead-on accurate. Visuals depict stars using real data from NASA spacecraft and the finest theoretical models modern science has to offer.” You can even watch a YouTube video about the true-life science in Journey to the Stars.

When you get to the website you’ll see an introduction and information about Journey to the Stars. Read the information and click on “The journey begins here” near the bottom of the page to request your free copy of the DVD. Or simply click HERE to order your DVD now.

Don’t miss this opportunity!

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Posted in Science

Free Multi-Subject Lesson Snips

May 26th, 2010

Recommended Website:
Lesson Snips

Age Range: 5-13 (about grades K-8)

I am continuously AMAZED by the educational material available for free on the Net. While this is not a multi-media site, it does offer free, multi-subject lessons and worksheets for teachers in downloadable and printable pdfs. The lessons can be tweaked for homeschool use.

For the purpose of today’s review, I’m focusing on the Language Arts portion of the site – but you’ll be happy to know there are “Lesson Snips” for Math, Science, and Social Sciences as well.

When you get to the Language Arts page, you’ll see a menu of the available lessons covering topics such as:

  • Parts of Speech — including individual lessons on verbs, irregular verbs, nouns, proper nouns, pronouns, personal pronouns, intensive and reflexive pronouns, articles, prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions, adjectives, infinitives, gerunds, participles, direct and indirect objects, interjections and more.
  • Reading — including identifying vowel sounds and sounds in word families, reading comprehension, sequencing, understanding plot, identifying the problem and solution, framing questions (who, what, where, when, how, and why), understanding narrative poetry, rhyming, and more.
  • Spelling, Writing, and Vocabulary — including basic sentence structure, capitalization, synonyms and antonyms, homonyms, using similes and metaphors, using the right tense, etc.

Click on any lesson and a new page opens with a lesson summary, the objectives, and the suggested grade range. Click on the “Get Lesson” button to download and print out the lesson and associated worksheets.

While there is a “schoolish” quality to these lessons, many of the suggested activities or the subjects covered would interest a vast array of learners and, with just a tweak, can accommodate a variety of learning styles.

If nothing else, review the menus in each subject category — you’re sure to find inspiration for introducing new ideas and topics to your kids.

Enjoy!

P.S. If you enjoy recommendations for outstanding resources, such as the ones above, you’ll love my book, Carschooling. Get your copy today!

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Posted in Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Sciences

NASA’s SciJinks!

May 25th, 2010

Recommended Website:
SciJinks

Age Range: 9-18 (grades 4-12, depends on the activity)

This NASA website provides free information about weather, space, atmosphere and satellites through engaging multi-media animations, images, activities, games and downloadable teacher resources.

When you get to the site you’ll see a featured presentation in the center of the screen. Directly to the left, you’ll see a menu that includes:

  • Weather — Learn from topics such as, Ask a Weatherman, Weather Folklore, Write a Weather Adventure, Bad Weather Joke Machine and more.
  • Hurricanes and Storms — Find out how a hurricane forms? Watch a “Parade of Floods.”
  • Clouds, Water, and Ice — Check out a “Gallery of Glaciers,” try some of the “Classroom Activities” that can be tweaked for homeschool use.
  • Tides and Oceans — Discover what causes tides and why they’re weird sometimes. View a “Gallery of Oceans.”
  • Atmosphere — Get the answer to the age-old question, “Why is the sky blue?”
  • Seasons — Learn why the Earth has seasons.
  • Satellites and Technology — Make a weather satellite, learn all about GOES, and be “Spuzzled!” Lots of great satellite info here.
  • Space Weather — Learn how weather on the sun affects us, check out the weather on other planets, enjoy a “Gallery of Space Weather.”

You can also click on the horizontal menu near the top of each page that includes:

  • Fun & Games — A selection of fun games from the extensive menu described above.
  • Now I Get It — A selection of popular topics from the extensive menu including “What is the Scientific Method” along with ideas for a weather science project.

Book mark this one — you’ll want to return many times to enjoy it all.

Enjoy!

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Posted in Science

Be a Web Ranger! (CSAW)

April 1st, 2010

Hi! It’s Thursday, April 1, 2010 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
WebRangers

Age Range: 8-16 (Approximately. There is something for kids of all ages at this site. Non-readers will need assistance.)

A Maryland ClickScholar suggested this free online WebRanger program for kids with over 50 games and activities that teach about national parks, monuments, and historic sites, provided by the National Park Services.

This is a companion website to the real-time Junior Ranger program that kids can join at national parks throughout the U.S.

The timing here is terrific because National Parks Week is April 17-25, 2010 and during that time all 392 national parks are waiving entrance fees! Many of them are also offering educational and entertaining activities including historical reenactments, living history, guided tours, volunteer clean-up programs, and much, much more.

Not only that, but National Junior Ranger Day is Saturday, April 24, 2010 and children can participate in fun learning activities (that include history, art, science, & nature) to earn a Junior Ranger patch. Get the details and a list of National Parks offering Junior Ranger Programs HERE.

When you get to the WebRangers site, you’ll see a video screen that provides an overview of what’s available at the website. Click on “Enter.” A new page opens that offers you the opportunity to sign up to become a WebRanger or just visit the site without registering.

I suggest you click on “Visitor” on your first experience and just look around and play the activities (rated Easy, Medium, and Hard) in these categories:

  • People – Learn about U.S. Presidents, Thomas Edison, Paul Revere, George Washington Carver, Eleanor Roosevelt and more.
  • History – Discover arctic artifacts, set sail on a whaling voyage or a Navy war ship in 1812.
  • Nature – Discover dendrochronology (tell time with tree rings) and take The Puma Challenge!
  • Animals – Pack a virtual dog sled, protect bald eagles, and help baby sea turtles find the ocean.
  • Science – Test the water quality, virtually explore tidepools, find out what dinosaurs ate.
  • Puzzles – Break the alpha code names for national parks, send a message with a signal flag, go on a website scavenger hunt.
  • Parks – Play “Name That Park,” help a ranger, learn the 10 essentials for having fun and staying safe in parks.

Click on any topic and a new page opens with a menu of multi-media online games and activities that teach as they entertain. From simple match games to challenging quests, you won’t believe the amount of content delivered.

Book mark this site, you simply can’t see it all in one visit. This site earns a ClickSchooling Award (CSAW) for excellence.

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Posted in Science, Social Sciences

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