Posts Tagged ‘science’

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Ground Hog’s Day Fun for K-12!

February 2nd, 2012

Hi! It’s Thursday, February 2, 2012 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Groundhog.org

Age Range:  All (with parental supervision)

Today, February 2nd, is Groundhog’s Day! In North America the groundhog is said to wake from winter hibernation and crawl out of its burrow. If the groundhog sees his shadow, he gets frightened and returns to his den for another six weeks, prolonging winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, he emerges from his home and spring begins. The “official” groundhog is named Punxsutawney Phil. He lives at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

At this official (and ad-supported) website you can watch a podcast of the Ground Hog’s Day proceedings at Gobbler’s Knob and get lesson plans and fun educational activities designed for grades K-12. 

NOTE: This site gets so much activity on February 2nd, that you may get an error message.  Don’t let it deter you.  Keep trying or wait until tomorrow and try again. The lesson plans and educational activities (including weather science) can be done anytime. So, bookmark this site to access them when there’s less traffic. 

You’ll also find “Groundhog’s Day Fun” free activities and coloring pages to print out that young children will enjoy at my UniversalPreschool.com website.  

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Kids Do Ecology!

January 31st, 2012

Hi!  It’s Tuesday, January 31, 2012 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Kids Do Ecology

Age Range: 8-12 (approximately with parental supervision)

The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara, California offers this multi-media website for kids to teach them the science of ecology.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of choices that includes:

*Learn About Ecology – Get an introduction to the study of ecology, learn about endangered species, find out about careers in ecology, and enjoy interviews with ecologists.

*Data Science – Discover the scientific method! Learn to analyze data and present results. Design your own ecology experiment.

*World Biomes – Learn about the 5 major biomes including aquatic, desert, forest, grassland, and tundra. Discover the flora and fauna that thrive in each.

*Marine Mammals – Meet Blue, Grey, and Humpback whales, a variety of dolphins, and sea otters!

Each section contains clickable links to information, videos, sound, and fun facts.  You can also check out some classroom science projects and an assortment of links to other science websites.

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Birds, Bats, & Wildlife!

January 24th, 2012

Hi!  It’s Tuesday, January 24, 2012 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
50Birds.com

Age Range: All (There’s something for everyone here with parental supervision.)

This commercial website offers an amazing archive of free resources, information, and activities about birds, bats, and endangered or extinct wildlife.  There is a great deal of content mixed together with products for sale such as bird and bat feeders, t-shirts, and other items.

When you get to the site you’ll see an icon menu that features FREE, printable wildlife coloring pages, printable plans for building a birdhouse, and a drop-down menu featuring a wide variety of birds such as:

  • Eastern Bluebird
  • Black-capped Chickadee
  • Mourning Dove
  • Peregrine Falcon
  • Red-tailed Hawk
  • Starling
  • Woodpecker
  • Chimney Swift
  • Beewick’s Wren
  • And many more!

Click on any one and a new page opens with information about the bird, an illustration, its scientific classification, a habitat map, and free printable plans for building a nesting box that suits that particular bird.

To see what else is available at this site for free, place your cursor over the items on the horizontal menu (with gray lettering) at the top of the home page that includes:

*Birds – You’ll find the same information you accessed from the home page along with information on bird migratory law. Plus, you can access “The National Bat Museum” with terrific info on bat species, an online gallery of bat illustrations, and links to free resources such as plans for building bat boxes.

*Houses & Feeders – Get free woodworking plans for building bird houses and bat houses, and plans for building bird feeders as well.

*Bird Gallery – Learn about birds of the world, endangered species, extinct birds, and print out some bird artwork.

*Wildlife Galleries – Print out free calendar pages featuring birds and other wildlife. Learn about endangered and extinct animals, cats, turtles, alligators, and more. You’ll even find links to other educational websites for kids. (Parents, as always, should preview the sites and supervise all Internet use.)

 

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Fun Renaissance Interactive!

January 19th, 2012

Hi!  It’s Thursday, January 19, 2012 and time for History at ClickSchooling! 

Recommended Website:
Learner.org: Renaissance

Age Range: 14-18 (grades 9-12, with parental supervision)

This website is part of the extensive Learner.org resource for teachers. It offers an interactive exploration of the Renaissance (14th-16th centuries), a time of scientific, artistic, economic, political and social rebirth as Europe (and Italy in particular) emerged from the Middle Ages. 

When you get to the site, you’ll see a brief introduction. Navigate this interactive by using the menu on the left that includes:

*Out of the Middle Ages – Learn how the bubonic plague (aka “Black Death”) resulted in a new middle class population, the resurgence of city living, and a new economy. Click on links to primary source documents, museum exhibits, and more.

*Exploration and Trade – Find out how scientific improvements in navigation tools and cartography led to advancements in exploration and trade. Don’t miss the interactive, “Become a Spice Trader” and find out if your trading skills will lead to riches or ruin.

*Printing And Thinking – Discover how Gutenberg’s printing press forever changed the lives of people worldwide as they transitioned from papyrus to paper. It launched a rebirth of classical studies in Latin and Greek, and led to the emergence of “The Humanist Philosophy” and also the Protestant Reformation.

*Symmetry, Shape, & Size – Explore Renaissance architecture and music. See how the merging of art and science affected mathematical perspective and consequently Galileo’s work in astronomy, Fibonacci’s numbers, and more.

*Focus on Florence – Find out why this Italian City was a focal point of the Renaissance period. Meet the Medici family. Learn about the spiritual and religious beliefs that were prevalent. Discover the art of Boticelli and Michelangelo.

In every section you’ll find links to additional resources to explore. A few lead to error messages, but most of them work. That said, if you click on the links you’ll visit other websites that I have not reviewed. So parents, as always, should preview and determine suitability of content.     

 

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Free Nature Science Activity Worksheets!

January 17th, 2012

Hi!  It’s Tuesday, January 17, 2012 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
NatureDetective.org

Age Range: 5-11 (about grades K-6, with parental supervision)

This terrific United Kingdom nature education website offers a variety of free worksheets with activity ideas designed to inspire outdoor learning.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of nature activity worksheets that cover topics such as science, literacy, drama, numeracy, art, music, and more.  Simply click on a topic of interest and a new page opens where you can download and print the pdf file to do the activities off line.

Once you’ve checked out the worksheets poke around the rest of the site. You’ll find a paid subscription program for residents of the U.K, and some “Free Packs” for worldwide
visitors that teach kids about:

  • Winter
  • Minibeasts
  • Trees
  • Birds
  • Outdoor Play

And much more!  Click on any topic and a new page opens with details about what the pack contains. If you want the pack, simply sign up to have it emailed directly to your inbox. (You can read the privacy policy before you register.)

You’ll also find an assortment of free wildlife-based online games. Some are archived on the site, and some lead to other websites. Parents, as always, must preview these sites to determine suitability of content and supervise all Internet use.

Overall you’ll find a lot of online and offline activities to encourage learning about natural sciences. 

 

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Why Pluto Isn’t A Planet & Much More!

January 12th, 2012

Hi!  It’s Thursday, January 12, 2012 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Spitzer/Caltech

Age Range: 9 and up (approximately, with parental supervision)
 
My son recently posted a video on his Facebook page explaining why Pluto isn’t a planet anymore. (Once a homeschooler, always a homeschooler.) It was on YouTube, but the source was The Spitzer Science Center (sponsored by NASA and CalTech). 
 
They have a series of free multi-media videos called “Ask An Astronomer” that include brief explanations to complicated stuff by scientists. The videos use animations to illustrate the explanations. Other titles inc lude:

  • Where is the center of the universe?
  • Why is the sky blue?
  • Why aren’t there any green stars?
  • Infrared: More than your eyes can see!
  • What happens when galaxies collide?
  • What’s between the stars?
  • What will happen to Earth when the Sun dies?
  • How do you discover an asteroid?
  • How can we see a black hole?
  • What is a Brown Dwarf?

And many more! 
 
If you poke around the rest of the site you’ll find other cool videos and podcasts as well.

You may wonder why I decided to feature this science resource on “Social Sciences” day at ClickSchooling. It’s because the downsizing of Pluto was historical, and I like to encourage cross-curricular connections. Sometimes students will resist a subject like science, for example, but be fascinated by an important event in history that gently leads them to an enjoyable exploration of science. The content of this website has that potential.

And while you’re exploring, you’ll be covering a variety of “subjects” including language arts, math, science, history, social studies and more. It’s all connected!  :)

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