Students identify text features in nonfiction, as they continue to study cells' function as building blocks of organisms, and summarize the requirements for cells to live.

Review some of the cycles that recycle matter through Earth's biospheres.

A free CK-12 account is required to view all materials.

This ZOOMSci video segment shows how to create self-contained environments and explore how plants grow under different conditions. [3:24]

A very nicely designed website that introduces the scientific method and, upon clicking on each process, provides more detailed information.

CK-12’s Life Science delivers a full course of study in the life sciences for the middle school student, relating an understanding of the history, disciplines, tools, and modern techniques of science to the exploration of cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, evolution, prokaryotes, protists,fungi, plants, animals, invertebrates, vertebrates, human biology, and ecology. This digital textbook was reviewed for its alignment with California content standards.

Imagine 31 numbers have been organized in ascending order in a list by a computer program. Now the program has to find a number in the list, but it can only look at one number at a time. Is it easier to find the number now, than if they were in a random order?

A fun music video exploring the different types of amphibians and their characteristics. [2:17]

Studying the evolutionary history of viruses Shannon Bennet is facinated by the life history of parasitism. Where do these Viruses occur in nature, how many of them are there, and how do they switch into new hosts?

Without the work of decomposers, living organisms would eventually use up all the raw materials in the environment, and dead organisms and wastes would pile up. This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" describes the role of decomposers in the living world. [3:06]

Students design and conduct experiments to determine what environmental factors favor decomposition by soil microbes. They use chunks of carrots for the materials to be decomposed, and their experiments are carried out in plastic bags filled with dirt. Every few days students remove the carrots from the dirt and weigh them. Depending on the experimental conditions, after a few weeks most of the carrots will have decomposed completely.

Learn all about marine mammals at this fun site from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. Explore different species, learn about migration, gather and graph marine data, and more.

Animated introductory film on the basics of organisms from the Kingdom Fungi. Learn about what they are, how they live, and why they are important to us. [5:34]

In this video segment from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad breaks down an action into a series of steps in order to program a robot to do what they need it to do. [4:50]

This content package is a curated collection of STEM instructional resources to support the introduction and exploration of programming and robotics in grades 3-5. Resources include lesson plans, engagement activities, ebooks, digital texts, and videos.

Some vertebrates have fins and some have limbs with digits to move across land. Discover these creatures with limbs and digits from who they are to who they were and how they evolved.

Learn the basics of an algorithm and it's use in computer programming. [5:27]

Khan Academy learning modules include a Community space where users can ask questions and seek help from community members. Educators should consult with their Technology administrators to determine the use of Khan Academy learning modules in their classroom. Please review materials from external sites before sharing with students.

Create lessons to show that plants use air and water primarily to grow with help from the resources on this site. Use the work samples, phenomena, assessment templates, and videos to help students understand the requirements of plants to live.