This video segment from NOVA: "The Shape of Things" follows the growth of a duck embryo, from a single fertilized egg cell to a complex, hatching duckling.
In this video profile produced for Teachers' Domain, meet teacher Dustin Madden, an IŰ__óíupiaq who hopes to inspire students to take an active role in protecting the natural environment by giving them a foundation in math and science.
In this jigsaw, students will graph various Bald Eagle population numbers and determine the impact humans have had on the eagle. Specifically, they will investigate why the Bald Eagle was listed as endangered, the affects of DDT on eagles, and the affects of lead. Based on an original activity titled "Bald Eagle Population Graphing" from The Raptor Center, University of Minnesota http://www.cvm.umn.edu/raptor/prod/groups/cvm/@pub/@cvm/documents/asset/cvm_66866.pdf
This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center describes El NiŰ__óío, how it forms, and the chain reaction of consequences it triggers around the globe.
This list of carefully selected books for grades K-5 highlights nonfiction about climate proxies, those preserved physical characteristics, such as fossils, that scientists use to reconstruct past climates. Also highlighted are a few books that provide information about two past climatic events -- the last ice age and the Dust Bowl. In each issue of the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, the virtual bookshelf recommends books that accurately portray the theme drawn from the principles of climate sciences.
Students will explore and create a healthy ecosystem, once established they will then introduce additional variables which may harm the ecosystem and determine which hazards should be avoided.
This activity begins as a classroom investigation, but may extend to a field investigation where students will determine the effects of air temperature on seed germination. This is accomplished by developing investigative questions, recording, and analyzing data.
In this media-rich lesson, students learn how global warming is changing the Alaskan environment and examine the consequences of climate change on the region's human and wildlife inhabitants.
In this animation produced by WGBH and Digizyme, Inc., see how molecules of DNA are separated using gel electrophoresis, and how this process enables scientists to compare the molecular variations of two or more DNA samples.
Scientists discuss whether or not endocrine disrupting chemicals, which may cause birth defects and other health concerns, should be controlled in the absence of conclusive proof, in this video segment adapted from FRONTLINE: Fooling with Nature.
This feature, adapted from Interactive NOVA: "Earth," follows the path of energy as it is transferred via the food chain from one type of organism to another.
This video segment, adapted from NOVA, describes the energy flow in a coral reef, including its food web.
Spreadsheets across the Curriculum module. Students build spreadsheets that allow them to calculate the different values needed to examine energy flow through agroecosystems.
This classroom activity introduces students to energy flow through organisms, producers & photosynthesis, and consumers & respiration.
This issue of the free online magazine, Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears, explores the Sun's role in warming Earth, the albedo (reflectivity) of Earth's diverse surfaces, and how the decline of Arctic sea ice is affecting Earth's energy balance. Science lessons introduce the concepts of solar energy, reflection, and absorption to elementary students. The issue also includes an overview of the natural resources and energy sources found in the polar regions as well as lessons that allow students to develop the concepts of natural resources, energy sources, and energy efficiency.
This article highlights children's literature about light, heat, and energy sources for use in the elementary classroom.
Students are introduced to genetic techniques such as DNA electrophoresis and imaging technologies used for molecular and DNA structure visualization. In the field of molecular biology and genetics, biomedical engineering plays an increasing role in the development of new medical treatments and discoveries. Engineering applications of nanotechnology such as lab-on-a-chip and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) microarrays are used to study the human genome and decode the complex interactions involved in genetic processes.
Under the "The Science Behind Harry Potter" theme, a succession of diverse complex scientific topics are presented to students through direct immersive interaction. Student interest is piqued by the incorporation of popular culture into the classroom via a series of interactive, hands-on Harry Potter/movie-themed lessons and activities. They learn about the basics of acid/base chemistry (invisible ink), genetics and trait prediction (parseltongue trait in families), and force and projectile motion (motion of the thrown remembrall). In each lesson and activity, students are also made aware of the engineering connections to these fields of scientific study.
In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn how what you eat, drink, or smoke may affect the instructions your epigenomes send to your genes, and as a result, change how your DNA is expressed.
This article aligns the concepts of Essential Principle 2 of the Climate Sciences to the K-5 content standards of the National Science Education Standards. The author also identifies common misconceptions about heat and the greenhouse gases effect and offers resources for assessing students' understanding of interactions among components of the Earth system. This article continues the examination of the climate sciences and climate literacy on which the online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle is structured.