On Beyond Bugs! -Book

Rabe, T., & Ruiz, A. (1999). On beyond bugs!. New York: Random House.

This exciting book brings the reader to a better understanding of bugs. The Cat and the Hat explains many different types of bugs, including honeybees, grasshoppers, black ants and many more. Each of the bugs he gives a characteristic of or explains how they get food or their colonies. To conclude the book he tells the author all the wonderful things that bugs do for you, and for me! I would use this book to begin a lesson on bugs, and also include it in my library for a self read. 

The Magic School Bus Fights Germs- Book

Egan, K., Bracken, C., & Cole, J. (2008). The magic school bus fights germs. New York: Scholastic Inc.

On this adventure with Ms. Frizzle and her class they enter the throat of one of their classmates. While they are in her throat they see a lot of germs and red and white blood cells. The book teachers students things like: what germs are, how to keep germs away, why your throat gets red when you are sick, what antibodies are and much more. Students learn about different ways to keep germs away and how to treat your body when you get sick. I would use this book when teaching a lesson on personal hygiene or keeping your body healthy. 

The Magic School Bus- Arctic Adventures - Book

Herman, G., & Cole, J. (2004). The magic school bus arctic adventure. New York: Scholastic
This children's book sends Ms. Frizzles class on an adventure to the Arctic. The students discover many different kinds of animals, and share different interesting facts that they know about them such as learning about caribou, they work hard to find their food. They dig in the snow to uncover plants to eat. The students also discover the temperature difference as well as the light change. I would use this book to begin a discussion on the Arctic.

What do you see prop box- Lesson plan

This is an example of a prop box that can be used in a science center. The students investigate in this prop box by seeing what happens when they look through water to see something. The students are to look through the different bottles containing (bottle 1-empty, bottle 2-glitter water, 3-water, 4-cooking oil).  The students will then answer the questions on the graphic organizer. The different object are things that the students will look at through the selected bottles. They will describe or dry what they see on the graphic organizer.

Physical Science- Lesson Plan

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/introduction-to-physical-science.cfm

This lesson plan will begin teaching Newton's law. It will answer questions such as: What are Newton's laws? What is inertia? The students will be investigating Newton's laws by rolling marbles and trying to get them out of the circle by hitting them. Doing this investigation activity will leave a lasting memory in the student's minds about Newton's law. To conclude the activity the students will explain Newton's law.

The Path To Mars- Lesson Plan

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/the-path-to-mars.cfm

This lesson plans has the students comparing Mars and the Earth. The children will do this by researching the planets at designated websites. They will first compare the pictures of the two planets and give the characteristics of each, and then what are the same and different about each of them. Students will then do further research on each of the planets and make a poster of the pictures and information that they found. 

Bridges! -Book

 

Johmann, C. A., Rieth, E. J., & Kline, M. P. (1999). Bridges!: amazing structures to design, build & test. Charlotte, VT: Williamson.

This children's book uses bridge building basics to walk the reader through creating a bridge. The author incorporates science and creativity to help guide the reader to creating the most realistic and functional bridge. This would be a great center activity for students to experiment with testing their knowledge on building bridges.

Why Do Elephants Need the Sun? -Book

 

Wells, R. E. (2010). Why do elephants need the sun?. Chicago, Ill.: Albert Whitman & Co..

This book gives details to its readers as to the many different needs of the sun and what the sun does. It gives a lot of information about our sun including fun facts to keep the reader interested. This book would be a great way to learn more about the sun after studying our solar system.

The Planets in our Solar System- Book

 

Branley, F. M., & Malley, K. (1998). The planets in our solar system. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

This book gives many different facts for children about our solar system. These facts include the planet Earth takes 365 days to go around the sun and 1,000 Earths fit inside Pluto! This book is great for younger students who are just exploring the different aspects of the solar system. I would use this book to introduce the solar system to my class.

Magnetism & Magnets- Book



 

Flaherty, M., & Moores, I. (1999). Magnetism & magnets. Brookfield, Conn.: Copper Beech Books.

This book brings magnet investigations to life. It contains many new activities that children can experiment on their own! The experiments investigate the forces of magnetism and what different shapes and sizes of magnet will do. This book could be used to introduce magnets and magnetism into the classroom.

Gregory’s Shadow- Book

Freeman, D. (2000). Gregory's Shadow. New York: Viking

 Gregory is the groundhog that the community is counting on to tell them if they are going to have 6 more weeks until spring. A few days before February 2nd Gregory loses his shadow. Throughout the book Gregory is trying to find were "Shadow" went. Soon they find each other and they present themselves to the community on Groundhog Day, February 2nd.  I would use this book to begin a lesson on shadows.

Where Butterflies Grow- Book

       Ryder, J. (1989). Where butterflies grow. New York: E.P. Dutton.

This story goes through the stages which a caterpillar takes to become a butterfly. The author makes a point to make the reader feel like they are the caterpillar growing into butterfly and all the many things that you would see as a small caterpillar and then into a beautiful butterfly. The author concludes the book with describing the beautiful butterfly and the amazing markings that each butterfly has. This book can be brought into a unit about the changing and maturing of animals.

Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Butterflies & Moths- Book

Arnosky, J. (1996). Crinkleroot's guide to knowing butterflies & moths. New York, N.Y.: Simon &Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Jim Arnosky makes exciting books for children to see the differences between butterflies and moths. The author describes the many different parts of both the moth and butterfly and compares the two. To finish the book he describes all the different kinds of butterflies and moths and also what they eat and where they live. This could be used in a science unit discussing the differences between many different animals.

Creating a DNA Fingerprint- Website

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/body/create-dna-fingerprint.html



This interactive webstie will lead students into being investigators. To begin the students will learn a little about DNA's and what is included in each person's DNA. They will then begin their investigation by reading "The Crime", then find out who the suspects are. After this the students will create a DNA fingerprint to fing out who the culprit was of the crime.

Tornadoes- Website

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/forces-of-nature/

This website gives explicit information about tornadoes. Questions are answered like: What a tornado is, what causes tornadoes, characteristics of tornadoes, the damage tornadoes do, how tornadoes are forecasted, and how a you can create a tornado. This website lets children use interactive activities to learn first hand what different aspects of a tornado are. To conclude each student would create their own tornado and see what damage it would do to a specific area.    

Weather - Website

http://www.edheads.org/activities/weather/

This website is an interactive activity to teach children about weather. You can make your own weather, predict the weather and so much more! Children will have the opportunity to learn hands on what weathermen do and how they get their information. This activity would be best for grades 4-9.

Animal Database - Website

http://www.kidsbiology.com/animals-for-children.php

This website gives children a lot of information that they need to know on MANY different kinds of animals. Each of the different animals has all of the different kinds of that animal. You first pick the type of animal you want to view and then the species in that animal. Most of the animals have pictures and a short description of their habitat and  statistics about that animal.

Amusement Park Maker- Website

http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/index.html



In this interactive website children can create their own amusement parks! To begin the students will read explanation of the physics behind the roller coaster or carousel they choose to build. The students then have the chance to build their own roller coaster and test out if it would work. Each of the pieces that the students can add on to the roller coaster gives an explanation of which piece would be best. To conclude your roller coaster you get a fun and safety rating and why your roller coaster would be safe or not be safe.

Science Friday- Website

http://sciencefriday.com/

Science Friday includes many different blogs, articles, and videos of different subjects that are happening in the world of science. Some examples include: Living it up in Space, a video blog about two NASA astronauts that were aboard the International Space Station answer questions about what happened while they were away.  How Humans and Insects Concurred the World, a video blog discussing evolution and natural selection in the Social Conquest of Earth. 

Travel Through Space - Website

http://zunal.com/introduction.php?w=133959



This webquest brings third through fifth graders on an adventure through space. The students go on an adventure because "Earth is overheating and has decided to open vacation resorts on the other eight planets in our solar system. NASA has employed you as a member of a fact finding team with Interplanetary Travel Agency. This agency is interested in providing information and presentations about various vacation packages to the planets in our solar system." The task of the students would be to make a brochure of the planet they vacationed on, included true details of things they would see on that planet.

How Plants Grow- Website

http://zunal.com/tasks.php?w=143650



This is a webquest adventure that will bring Kindergartners-2nd grade through the stages of a plant's life. This webquest will let the students investigate what plants need to survive, the parts of the plant, and their functions. In this investigation the students will watch videos, fill out graphic organizers, and make a poster of a plant's life. To conclude the students will plant their own seeds and watch their flowers grow.

Charades- Lesson Plan

Title: Animal Charades

Essential Question: How can children use pictures of animals to describe and act out animals, giving true descriptions and characteristics of each animal?

Materials: Squares of paper with animals on them, bowl

Animals: cat, dog, giraffe, monkey, elephant, turtle, horse, cow, fish, kangaroo, rabbit, bird, lion, sheep, bear, and pig.

Procedure:

·        Give direction of charades

o   one child picks one object out of the bowl

o   The child will act out or describe the animals they see on their paper

·        Go over each animal, asking what color it is, what sound the animal makes, or what does this animal do?

·        Choose one child to go first

·        The rest of the children will guess what the actor is acting or describing.

·        The person to their right goes next.

·        Repeat this until the time runs out or each person has gone.

  This lesson focuses on everyday animals to play a game of charades. Charades is a game in which players guess a word or phrase from  pantomimed clues. The students will act out the animals, giving clues to their guessers. This is a fun activity that can be used for spelling  or vocabulary words.

Forces- Lesson Plan

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/forces.cfm

This lesson plans deals with the idea of forces. Students will have to make predictions of gravity, and what will happen to the surface type, wind resistance, and size of slope. The class will split up into different groups and will experiment with each other's luge tracks and see if they meet the requirements needed to work to best of their predictions.  

Investigating Shadows- Lesson Plan

Student Learning Map

Course/Subject: Science                                     

Topic: Shadows                                                      

Key Learning: (this is linked to the Unit Essential Question) Learning about the elements to make a shadow

Unit Essential Question: (the Unit EQ) What elements do we need to make a shadow?

Concept: Look at our shadows and observe them	Concept:	Concept:
Lesson Essential Questions: What elements do we need to make a shadow?	Lesson Essential Questions:	Lesson Essential Questions:
Vocabulary: Shadow Observing Comparing Disappear Reappear	Vocabulary:	Vocabulary:

Additional Information/Resources: Gregory’s Shadow by Don Freeman Chalk

Flashlight Pens Black pieces of paper

Acquisition Lesson Plan

Plan for the concept, topic, or skill-not for the day     Name: Corene Fahnestock

                                                                                                Topic: Shadows

Essential Question: What elements do we need to make a shadow?

What do students need to learn to be able to answer the Essential Question? Assessment Prompt: Looking at our shadows and seeing what they look like and how we can make them change. (if it is not sunny- use the flashlight to see the shadow of the pens) Assessment Prompt: Drawing around the shadow (if it is not sunny outside- use the flashlight as the sun and pens as the “people” then draw the shadow you see on a piece of paper. Assessment Prompt:

Activating Strategy: Read Gregory’s Shadow ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key vocabulary to preview: Shadow        disappear Observing     reappear comparing

Teaching Strategies: Graphic Organizer:

Instruction: TP: “What is a shadow?” Read Gregory’s Shadow on page 3 ask, “Is that how our weather is today?” page 4 “What could that shadow be?” page 23 “What should he do?” AP#1:Go outside to look for our shadows. ( if not sunny out, and not raining, go outside to see the shadows, even though you won’t be able to see them ask, “do you see your shadow?” students: “no” Teacher Prompt: “why do you not see your shadow?” ST: “there is not sun shining on us” If the sun is shining go outside and ask TP: “Look at the ground, can you see your shadow?” TP : “What does your shadow look like?” TP: “Can you make your shadow smaller? Bigger?” TP: “Can you find a place where you don’t have shadow?” TP: “What happens to your shadow then two people stand close together?” If it is not sunny have the students do this same activity with the flashlight being the sun and the pens being the “people” ask the same questions as you would if you went outside and observed the shadow. AP #2: while outside observing our shadows have each child get with a partner, then give them a piece of chalk. TP: “With the chalk one partner is going to stand still while the other partner draws their feet and shadow. You and your partner will then switch” In my classroom we would then come back out at noon and then end of the day to see our shadows and see how they change. If it is not sunny outside- you can do this same activity with the flashlight by drawing the pen’s shadow on the paper. TP: “To see what happens at different times of the day move the flashlight around the pen” AP #3: Assignment:

Summarizing Strategy: I would take the students outside to see the different shadows throughout the day, to see that you must have the sun to make a shadow. Each time we would go outside we would stand where our feet were the first time and see where the shadow moved to! TP: “Why is our shadow moving?” This would show that we need the sun as our main element to make a shadow and also that our shadow moves during the day due to the sun moving.

This lesson plan will help students understand why we have shadows and what makes them, what elements are included in a shadow. Students will investigate with shadows by exploring outside, seeing where they have a shadow and when their shadow disappears, and why that happens. To conclude students will use a flashlight to represent the sun and find shadows using object around the room. 

Magnets- Lesson plan

Student Learning Map

Course/Subject: Physical Science                      

Topic: Magnets                                                      

Key Learning: (this is linked to the Unit Essential Question) How magnets are used to push and pull objects.

Unit Essential Question: (the Unit EQ) Is it easier to push or pull an object using a magnet?

Concept: Using magnets to push or pull a paper clip through a maze	Concept:	Concept:
Lesson Essential Questions: It is easier to push or pull an object using a magnet?	Lesson Essential Questions:	Lesson Essential Questions:
Vocabulary: Magnet Magnetic	Vocabulary:	Vocabulary:

Additional Information/Resources: Magnets (1 per student) Maze (1 per student) Crayons Paper clips (1 per student) 3 different styles or sizes Magnetism & Magnets

Acquisition Lesson Plan

Plan for the concept, topic, or skill-not for the day             Name:Corene

                                                                                                Topic: Magnet Maze

Essential Question: Is it easier to push or pull an object using a magnet?

What do students need to learn to be able to answer the Essential Question? Assessment Prompt: Students will take one magnet, one style/size of paper clip and maze. Put the paper clip on top of the maze and the magnet on the bottom. Push or pull the paper clip through the maze. Assessment Prompt: Students will pick a different size/style of paper clip and push or pull it through the maze. Assessment Prompt: The students will then make their own maze on the back with a crayon of their choice. Try to push or pull the paper clip through the maze.

Activating Strategy: What is a magnet? How do magnets work? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key vocabulary to preview: Magnet Magnetism Push/pull

Teaching Strategies: Graphic Organizer:

Instruction:  While showing the students a magnet TeacherPrompt: “Does anyone know what this is?” Students: “a magnet” TP: “does anyone know how a magnet works?” Let students answer Read page 6 “Why it works” AP#1: Using the maze, one style of paper clip, and magnet; put the magnet under the maze, the paper clip on top of the paper over the magnet. TP: “please use the magnet to move the paper clip through the maze” TP: “What can your magnet do?” TP: “Will the magnet work through the table?” TP: “Will your magnet pull the paper clip?” AP #2: TP: “pick a second style of paper clip and try the activity again.” Give time to create maze and try paper clips through maze. TP: “Is this paper clip easier or harder to bring through the maze?” AP #3: flip the paper over and draw your own maze with a crayon. TP: “was this maze easier or harder than the original maze?” Assignment:

Summarizing Strategy: After using the magnet and different paper clips was it easier to push or pull the paper clips through the maze? What paper clip was easiest to move through the maze?

In this lesson the students will investigate with magnets. The students will use magnets to push/ pull through a maze, investigating which is easier and why. To conclude the lesson they will make their own maze, and see which maze was easier to use with different size paper clips. 

Cycles of Life- Lesson plan

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/cycles-life

The students will experiment with different insects by watching them change from larva to pupa to adult, an insects metamorphosis. Students will daily write down the changes that their insect is making, discussing which stage of life it is in. By the end of this lesson the students will have recorded each stage that the animals has gone through and have the understanding of the stages as well as habitats for insects. 

Dig Into Springtime Science - Lesson Plan

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/dig-springtime-science

This experiment helps children understand the habitats, anatomy, invertebrates  and growth of worms. In this activity children will experiment with the worms by looking at them with flashlights and see how the worms react to the light.  

A Fungus Among Us- Lesson plan

http://kids.discovery.com/activities/science-experiments/a-fungus-among-us

A science experiment that helps children understand how and why mold grows. The experiment includes putting four different objects in baby food jars and then one that is "controlled." In the baby food jars you will put a string that you have placed on your desk, window, floor, and other objects and watch how the mold grows! The end result will show that colonies of bacteria will grow on each of the pieces of string but the controlled one!

NASA Blog- Website

http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/newui/blog/viewpostlist.jsp?blogname=spaceward_bound

This blog tells of a journey from Matthew Reyes' adventure to United Arab Emirates. This Spaceward Bound adventure is a unique kind of science and educational program.  This experience is a hands on experience that travels along while scientists explore the world.

Water Cycle- Website

www.zunal.com/webquest.php?w=136151

This webquest gives great detail to the different parts of the water cycle. It includes activities, short video clips, and games to engage students in learning more about the water cycle. To conclude this exercise there is a task of completing a poster on a diagram of the water cycle. This project is geared for grade 3-5.