Journeys & Transformations: British Columbia Landscapes
This website from the Royal British Columbia Museum introduces students to five important environments found in British Columbia: Mountains, Forests, Grasslands, Waters, and Cities. Each environment section includes topical features under the following headings: Nature, First Peoples, and History. Examples of feature topics include Mammals in Winter, Clothing From the Land, Life in the Ocean, and Introduced Species, to name a few. The aesthetically pleasing website keeps text to a minimum as it
Jackson Laboratory - Mouse Genome Informatics: The Gene Expression Database
A very unique biomedical research institution, "The Jackson Laboratory, a non-profit institution, is the world's largest mammalian genetic research facility." As such, Jackson provides universities and hospitals worldwide with millions of mice -- representing more than 2,500 varieties -- each year. This website offering from Jackson Laboratory, located in Bar Harbor, Maine, allows visitors to solicit valuable information on the mouse genome. "The Gene Expression Database (GXD) is a community res
DNA from the Beginning: An Animated Primer on the Basics of DNA, Genes and Hereditary
Maintained by the Cold Spring Harbor Research Laboratory and the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, this animated DNA primer (last mentioned in the February 19, 1999 Scout Report) now has three major sections -- Classical Genetics, Molecular Genetics, and Genetic Organization and Control. Each section covers several concepts by description and in animation, along with interviews and biographies of scientists, a quiz to test your understanding, and related Web links. This is a well-organized site with
Urban Aeronautics
This Web site introduces the X-Hawk, "a vehicle that has the [vertical takeoff and landing] capability of a helicopter, but without the exposed rotors that make it dangerous or impossible for helicopters to maneuver in complex urban and natural environments." It has received considerable attention from the media, as is apparent from the press clippings provided online. The Film and Downloads section has a technical document that was presented to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronau
IOL: InterOperability Lab
The University of New Hampshire has compiled this excellent collection of resources on networking and computer technology. Over twenty categories are represented, including emerging technologies such as 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Very high rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL), and wireless standards. Many of the resources are papers or tutorials written by researchers at the UNH InterOperability Lab, while others are links to various academic and industry efforts. The site is suitable for a broad audie
Assistive Technology
People with disabilities represent a significant portion of the US population, and accessible technology (AT) helps make their lives easier. Further development of AT is an important objective in today's world.To learn about the fundamental concepts of AT and browse related reports, the National Assistive Technology Research Institute at the University of Kentucky (1) is an excellent place to start. It explains the six types of AT and considers legal mandates, with plenty of other features, too.
The Boxes Go Mobile
To display the results from the previous activity, each student designs and constructs a mobile that contains a duplicate of his or her original box, the new cube-shaped box of the same volume, the scraps that are left over from the original box, and pertinent calculations of the volumes and surface areas involved.
Bubbling Plants
Students learn a simple technique for quantifying the amount of photosynthesis that occurs in a given period of time, using a common water plant (Elodea). They can use this technique to compare the amounts of photosynthesis that occur under conditions of low and high light levels. Before they begin the experiment, however, students must come up with a well-worded hypothesis to be tested. After running the experiment, students pool their data to get a large sample size, determine the measures of
Hanging Around
Students learn about weight by building a spring scale and observing how it responds to objects with different masses.
Vector Voyage!
In this activity, students will use vector analysis to understand the concept of dead reckoning. Students will use vectors to plot their course based on a time and speed. They will then correct the positions with vectors representing winds and currents.
A Merry-Go-Round for Dirty Air
Students observe and discuss a cup and pencil model of a cyclone to better understand the science behind how this pollutant recovery method functions in cleaning industrial air pollution.
History and Mathematics: Magic Squares and Stars
In this activity, students research the history and legend of the Chinese mathematical puzzle known as the Magic Square, and explore various methods for reconstructing magic squares. Students will use number sense and arithmetic facts to find missing numbers in a magicsquare and/or magic star, and follow the directions given in words and diagrams to create a magic square of odd order.
Earth on Edge : Ecosystems
This site provides information about the six ecosystems on which life on Earth most heavily depends: agricultural, forest, freshwater, grassland, coastal, and urban. It is part of a Public Broadcasting System (PBS) project, which includes a discussion guide. Ecosystems are described as communities of interacting organisms and the physical environment in which they live. The goods and services that ecosystems provide are said to form the foundation of human economies. Ecosystems purify air and wa
Teachers' Days, Delights, and Dilemmas: Wayside Teaching
Wayside teaching is all about building and sustaining positive relationships with students. Before we explore this concept further, take a moment to examine your wayside teaching attitudes, approaches, and actions by completing the self-analysis in Figure 1.,Volume 42, Number 3
Quick take on Pythagoras and his theorem
A topic once reserved for high school geometry, the Pythagorean theorem is now part and parcel of the middle school curriculum. These resources offer visual demonstrations that can make the abstract theorem more concrete for students and lead them in analyzing the mathematical relationships involved, as recommended by the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. The last resource offers background information on Pythagoras himself.
Lines of best fit using least squares
Fit a line to the data in a scatter plot using your own judgment. Then compare the least squares line of best fit.
Indicators of Middle School Implementation: How Do Kentucky's Schools to Watch Measure Up?
Using responses of school personnel to a statewide survey, this study examined the perceived level of implementation of key tenets of the middle school concept as outlined by This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents (National Middle School Association, 2003) in schools designated a Kentucky School to Watch as compared to nondesignated schools.,Volume 32, Number 6
Literacy for Middle School Students: Challenges of Cultural Synthesis
What does research suggest for middle level readers? Stronger attention to the literacy learning of middle level students and a greater degree of interplay between researcher and practitioner agendas.,Volume 28, Number 1
Difference of Squares
This lesson uses a series of related arithmetic experiences to prompt students to generalize into more abstract ideas. In particular, students explore arithmetic statements leading to a result that is the factoring pattern for the difference of two squares. An excellent teaching idea on how to help students walk the bridge from arithmetic to algebra.
Synergy, Percussion 1-Introduction
Synergy is a percussion quartet. This teacher-made tutorial video provides step-by-step playing instructions for the piece of music titled Synergy. (01:51)
