Smart Move!
This is a simple activity to visualize a communication system. In order to do this the students encode, decode, transmit, receive and store messages. They will use a code sheet and flashlight for this process. They will also maintain a storage sheet from which they can retrieve information as and when it is required.
Water reclamation plant
In this video clip, students see how wastewater is treated at a water reclamation plant. One of the plant's operators gives Bob the Vid Tec (a children's programming host) a tour of the plant, describing along the way what happens at each step in the water treatment process. For example, the operator explains that microorganisms are used to consume human waste in the biological nutrient removal step. Bob also talks with another plant operator about why kids should learn about wastewater treatmen
Box Plot 2
This activity allows the user to explore maximum, minimum, median, upper quartile, lower quartile and outliers while learning how to draw box plots.
A Private Universe
This site describes and provides access to a twenty-minute video documentary on education research for grade 5-12 educators. With its opening scene at a Harvard graduation, this video program explores why so few students truly grasp basic science concepts. The program traces the problem through interviews with Harvard graduates and their professors, as well as with a bright ninth-grader who has some confused ideas about the orbits of the planets. This site also provides individual program descri
University of Iowa : burn oat hulls for economic, environmental benefit
What is an alternative energy source that is available today? This article, part of a series about the future of energy, introduces students to a pilot project of burning oat hulls at the University of Iowa power plant. Students read that the burning of oak hulls instead of coal provides for cleaner air and additional space in landfills. Copyright 2005 Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
Blue Planet Challenge - A natural history of the oceans
This very interactive site uses a variety of games to explore ocean related subjects. The games cover such topics as tidal zones, deep ocean species, ocean currents, general animal life of the ocean, symbiotic relationships, water pressure, human impact on ecosystems, and the habitats found at the South Pole and along the California coastline. There are help tabs added to the games called Species Fact Files and Infobursts where a player can find out more information on a particular topic if need
Lobster's Violin: Why They do it
This two-minute radio show focuses on why spiny lobsters make sounds using soft body parts. While the sounds of a lobster play in the background, the show's guest scientist explains that the spiny lobster, being an arthropod, goes through a molting process in order to grow. It produces these sounds to ward off predators when its new outer skeleton is not yet hard. The show, which is from the Pulse of the Planet radio program, is available here in audio and text. Copyright 2005 Eisenhower Nationa
Tessellate!
This Java applet enables students to create tessellations, which are patterns on a plane that do not overlap. The student selects a hexagon, rectangle, or triangle to distort by dragging edges and the newly formed corners. Users can select colors for the pattern, and a button displays information in a second window. The window lists the coordinates of the vertices, angle measures, side lengths, area, and perimeter for the shape. From the applet page, What, How, and Why buttons open pages that ex
Factoring Special Products
Choose the correct steps to factor a polynomial involving perfect-square binomials, differences of squares, or constant factors. Use the feedback to diagnose incorrect steps.
Maths: Number : Short and long division
Worked examples of short and long division problems. For long division, an applet gives a step-by-step demonstration of the procedure; the pace at which the learner views each step is controlled by the user.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration : Climate Homepage
This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website provides climate information and data. This site offers a variety of product links to climate monitoring, climate at a glance data, U.S. drought assessment, global climate change information, weather observation stations and more. Users can also link to organizations which participate in climate research such as the National Climate Data Center, Ocean Climate Laboratory and the National Weather service. This site is an excellent resour
How are Earth's spheres interacting?
This Earth science investigation leads students through a brief introduction of the spheres of the Earth and an exploration of the interactions among the spheres. The seven-step investigation incorporates a mixture of informational text, questions, and images. After reading about and interacting with an image of the four main spheres (the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere), students are introduced to the concept of sphere interactions as part of the larger Earth system. Text, que
Alfred Wegener
This brief biography of the originator of the Theory of Continental Drift, Alfred Wegener, covers his background and some of his other work in addition to his 1912 book, The Origin Of Continents And Oceans. In addition, the site explains the evidence that brought Wegener to his conclusion, the early rejections, and his final vindication. It also provides information about some of his personal interaction with others. In addition, there is a link to information about his work in Greenland.
Teacher's Toolkit : Reforming cookbook labs
The majority of ancillary materials provided with any textbook includes a large quantity of labs that have step-by-step instructions. Although it is important in science for students to learn how to follow directions, offering only cookbook labs limits students' access to exploration. Presented in this article are 11 different ways of altering cookbook labs so that students understand the intention of the procedure. The altered labs do not fully achieve the status of inquiry-lab, but they are a
Tech Trek : The latest in handheld microscopes
Microscopes have come a long way since their invention in 1590. New technologies in handheld microscopes encourage interactivity, exploration, and observation of specimens in real time, very often allowing students to see living microcosms that are difficult to observe. The ideas presented here will update your knowledge of the technologies available for examining the structure and function of living things in the middle school science classroom.
Minerals
This site provides an in-depth look at mineral properties and identification. An alphabetical listing of common minerals allows the user to see a picture and view physical properties of the particular mineral. Properties of minerals are explained, including cleavage, hardness, crystal form, and luster. There are also downloadable labs for crystal models and mineral data sheets. Dichotomous and hardness keys are given for easier mineral identification.
Ecological Footprint: Overshoot
In this two-minute sound segment, the director of the Sustainability Program for the public policy group Redefining Progress discusses the concept of your ecological footprint. This is the amount of nature it takes to support your lifestyle. He says that if we use more than can be replaced by nature we are in a condition called overshoot. He suggests that this can continue for a while but eventually someone will have to pay with a lower standard of living. This site is from an archive of a daily
Fossil Fuels
How much does the United States depend on fossil fuels? This web page, part of a site on the future of energy, introduces students to fossil fuels as an energy source. Here students read about the uses, benefits, and limitations of fossil fuels. There is also information on how these fuels are distributed geographically and how they affect the U.S. economy through supply and demand. Thought-provoking questions afford students opportunities to reflect on what they've read. Articles about clean co
Observe how glaciers erode bedrock surfaces
In this interactive Earth science resource, students are first presented with six different photographs showcasing how glaciers can erode bedrock. Students are instructed to click on each labeled image to see an enlarged version of it. In the enlarged view, each photo is accompanied by a sentence or two that explains the glacial erosion shown. The images include features such as cirques, medial moraines, and striated bedrock. Copyright 2005 Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
The beginnings of probability
These pages present, in terms of a fictional story based on true events, the problem that inspired the development of mathematical probability in Renaissance Europe by French mathematicians Pierre de Fermat and Blaise Pascal. Two equally skilled players are interrupted while playing a game of chance for a certain amount of money. Given the score of the game at that point, how should the stakes be divided? Outlined here is, first, the particular solution and then the general solution based on a c
