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The Great Sunflower Project 2010

February 25th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Thursday, February 25, 2010 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
The Great Sunflower Project

The Great Sunflower Project is on for 2010! Join this nationwide endeavor to help biologists reach their goal of documenting bee pollination in the US and developing strategies to protect and restore native bees where they are threatened. To participate you simply:

  1. Sign up at the website.
  2. Get and plant “Lemon Queen” sunflower seeds.
  3. Once your plants have flowered, count the number of flowers on your plant with pollen.
  4. Use the instructions and data sheets provided at the website to record the number of bees that visit your sunflower over a period of 15 minutes.
  5. Enter your data online at the website.

 The parameters have changed slightly for 2010, and the folks at The Great Sunflower Project are in the process of modifying the data entry form on the website to reflect the changes. It isn’t quite finished, however, that shouldn’t stop you from getting your seeds in preparation to plant as soon as night temperatures stay above 55 degrees in the area where you live.

Last year, The Great Sunflower Project distributed free Lemon Queen sunflower seeds. Due to increased costs, they are asking people to get their own Lemon Queen sunflower seeds at a local nursery or store, or pay $3.00 (covers padded mailers and shipping) to order them directly from The Great Sunflower project.
  
That said, you can still get FREE SEEDS for children in kids’ programs and school groups who participate in the project. I contacted the “Queen Bee” (who goes by the name of Gretchen LeBuhn) and asked if homeschoolers qualify for free seeds. She wrote:

I love having homeschooling families participate. The real issue is the cost of mailing. So, if they can group together [i.e., request on behalf of a homeschool support group], I’d be happy to send free seeds. Individual homeschool families can also send a business sized, self-addressed, stamped envelope (with first class postage stamp on it) to:

Gretchen LeBuhn
The Great Sunflower
Department of Biology
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132

Include a note that explains you are a homeschooler who wants to participate in The Great Sunflower Project, and Gretchen will put seeds in the envelope and mail it back to you. You STILL have to sign up to participate online at the website, where you’ll also find instructions for planting the seeds and caring for your sunflowers.

You’ll also receive the free eNewsletter with updates on what the researchers are learning about bees.

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Posted in Science, Social Sciences

Free Video Lessons in Chemistry, Biology, and More! (CSAW)

February 23rd, 2010

The Khan Academy
http://www.khanacademy.org
 
Age Range: 11 and up (Approximately middle school through high school and beyond; some young children may enjoy aspects of these presentations that range from the fairly simple to quite complex.)

A big THANK YOU to ClickScholar Mary Burns for suggesting this website whose creator has set the heartfelt goal to provide a world-class education to everyone for free. The brainchild of Salmon Khan (whose background is in math, computer science, and investment management), this non-profit virtual school provides over 1000 videos via YouTube covering:

  • Arithmetic
  • Algebra
  • Biology
  • Calculus
  • Chemistry
  • Differential Equations
  • Geometry
  • Finance
  • Physics
  • Probability
  • SAT Preparation
  • Statistics
  • Trigonometry 

You’ll also find informative courses in Banking, the Credit Crisis, Venture Capital, Investing, Economics – and there are even challenging Brain Teasers!  

When you get to the site, scroll down the page to get to the extensive menu of video lessons.  Click on any lesson and the YouTube page opens where the video begins to play.  Because the videos are on YouTube (with its random ads and commentary), PARENTS, AS ALWAYS, SHOULD PREVIEW AND SUPERVISE to determine suitability of content. 
 
Mary wrote, “I’ve looked at ‘Introduction to the Atom,’ (under Chemistry) that was about 25 minutes long. Mr. Khan explains the concepts while he illustrates with a light pen (like you’re looking at a chalkboard). It was very engaging and easy to watch.”

Testimonials at the site convey students’ enthusiasm for this approach. I usually don’t quote extensive text from websites, but Mr. Khan’s explanations for his style of teaching is worth noting verbatim:

“I teach the way that I wish I was taught. …Viewers know that it is the labor of love of one somewhat quirky and determined man who has a passion for learning and teaching. I don’t think any corporate or governmental effort–regardless of how much money is thrown at the problem–can reproduce this.”

He goes on, “A lot of my own educational experience was spent frustrated with how information was conveyed in textbooks and lectures. There would be connections in the subject matter that standard curricula would ignore despite the fact that they make the content easier to understand, enjoy, and RETAIN. I felt like fascinating and INTUITIVE concepts were almost intentionally being butchered into pages and pages of sleep-inducing text and monotonic, scripted lectures. I saw otherwise intelligent peers memorizing steps and formulas for the next exam without any sense of the intuition or big picture, only to forget everything within a matter of weeks. These videos are my expression of how the concepts should have been expressed in the first place, all while not compromising rigor or comprehensiveness.”

Based on the videos I reviewed at the site, Mr. Khan is succeeding in his mission. In addition to the instructional videos, visitors can log in and do problems online for further practice and comprehension. The program  keeps track of your work and indicates what you’ve mastered and what needs more work.

The video lessons are just part of Khan’s much larger vision to build software covering the topics in the videos as well as simulation games to provide applied understanding of the concepts. Bookmark this site, you’ll want to return often as they add new material.

This website earns a ClickSchooling Award (CSAW) for excellence in using technology to deliver a better, more meaningful education to everyone for free.

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Posted in Math, Science

Virtual Field Trip to Avocado Farm

February 19th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Friday, February 19, 2010 and time for a Virtual Field Trip at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Avocado.org: Virtual Tour

This avocado grower’s website offers a free virtual tour, “The Avocado: From Seedling to Supermarket” that explains how avocados are grown, harvested, and prepared for consumer consumption.

When you get to the site, the video will launch with an introduction. Then, you can select a stage in the avocado production process, and watch a video depicting it. The stages include:

  • Growing Stage (7 min video)
  • Harvesting Stage (2 min video)
  • Packing Stage (3 min video)
  • Ripening Stage (2 min video)
  • Shipping Stage (1 min video)

When you’re through watching the videos, use the menu (and drop-down lists) at the top of the screen to:

  • Explore the history of avocados
  • Grow your own avocado tree
  • Discover the varieties of avocados
  • Learn some “Fun Facts” about avocados

Under the “Kids” tab on the menu, you’ll find:

  • Fun, interactive, avocado-themed games
  • 4 printable science and social studies activities (designed for classroom teachers, but suitable for home education as well)
  • Recipes for parents to try with their kids at home

There’s an amazing amount of content on this site about nutrition and the avocado agriculture industry as well.

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Posted in Science, Social Sciences, Virtual Field Trip

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Free Science Activities & Lessons (K-16)

February 16th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Tuesday, February 16, 2010 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Understanding Science

Age Range: 5-22 (Grades K-16. Parents, as always, should preview site to determine suitability of content.)

ClickScholar Cie recommended this website (produced by the University of California Museum of Paleontology and funded by the National Science Foundation) that provides fun, accessible, and free resources with activities that communicate the dynamic nature of science, how it really works, and how it affects us all everyday.

The goal of the site is to offset the “impoverished version” of science as a simple, linear, and non-generative process that is taught in classrooms – and improve students’ ability to critically assess scientific evidence and understand the strengths, limitations, and basic methods of science.

When you get to the website you’ll see a variety of ways to get started. Take a tour of the website or jump right into the 8 lessons called, “Understanding Science 101.” You’ll see other featured lessons and presentations that you can explore as well.

To get to the free science activities, click on “For Teachers” on the menu tab near the top of the homepage. A new page opens. Scroll to the bottom to find a grade level key. Click on a grade level and a new page opens. Scroll to “Getting Started” and below it, click on “Sample Starting Activities.” Here is just a example of what is available in each grade level:

*K-2 – Exploring Liquids is an activity in which students use their senses to investigate and observe three liquids. They see, hear, touch, smell, and taste to collect data and to ask and answer questions. This lesson can be used to introduce how scientists work. Students share knowledge, observe, draw and record, explain their reasoning, and ask additional questions.

*3-5 – Tennis Shoe Detectives has students make observations, examine data, and form hypotheses about a set of footprints and what they can tell us. This activity provides a good opportunity to clarify the difference between the observations we make and our interpretations of those observations.

*6-8 – Exploring Bouncing Balls — In this lesson, students explore the physical properties of a variety of balls and how they bounce (i.e., their bounciness or elasticity). The point of the activity is not necessarily to have students arrive at a precise explanation for the phenomena they are investigating, but to provide students with an opportunity to participate in and reflect on the process of science.

*9-12 – The Checks Lab — Students construct plausible scenarios to explain a series of bank checks. As students examine additional canceled checks, they revise their original hypotheses with new evidence. In the process, they learn how human values and biases influence observation and interpretation.

*13-16 – Umbrellaology — Based on a classic philosophical exercise (Somerville, 1941), students are asked to read a letter that describes detailed data collected on umbrellas. Their task is to determine whether or not umbrellaology represents science.

In addition to the sample activities, you’ll also find tips for assessing your student’s ability, tips for teaching science, and a variety of free lessons as well.

There is a great deal of free content here. Bookmark the site to return as desired.

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Posted in Science

Virtual Tour – See How Diamonds Are Made

February 13th, 2010

Hi! It’s Friday, February 12, 2010 and time for a Virtual Field Trip at Clickschooling!
 
Valentine’s Day is almost here. Have you noticed all of the advertisements for diamond jewelry? At today’s websites, you can take a brief Virtual Field Trip to see how diamonds are man-made in the lab, and watch an animation of how diamonds are made in nature. Before you take these tours, it will enhance your experience to learn a little about diamonds. Visit the sites in the order listed below to get a multi-faceted understanding of how diamonds are made.
 
Recommended Websites:

Age Range: 7-16 (approximately, varies depending on website)

ThinkQuest: Diamonds for Kids

ThinkQuest offers this site for kids that explains how diamonds are created, and also discusses the properties of diamonds as gemstones such as the carat, clarity, cut, and color.

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Time.com: How Diamonds Are Man-Made
 
This website contains a short slide-show and scientific explanation of how real diamonds are synthesized in the laboratory.

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How Diamonds Are Made in Nature

This website offers an animation of how diamonds are formed in the earth’s crust.

 

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Posted in Science, Virtual Field Trip

The Science of Valentines and Chocolate

February 9th, 2010

Hi!  It’s Tuesday, February 9, 2010 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Science Project Ideas for Kids

Age Range: 6-12 (approximately)

Science wiz, Janice VanCleave, offers a scientific method for making Valentine’s with a secret message. At her website, you’ll find free instructions (with a helpful illustration) on how to make these special cards.

After you make a Valentine for your sweetie or semi-sweetie, explore this website:

Exploratorium’s The Sweet Science of Chocolate

Age Range: 9-17 (approximately)

At this Exploratorium Museum online, you can watch a 2-hour web cast about chocolate. Watch as the ancient Aztec chocolate drink, “xocoatl” is made, while its history is explained. Listen as scientists describe why chocolate makes you feel good, how it affects our bodies, and why it’s good for you.

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Posted in Science