The Challenge of Materials

Check out The Challenging of Materials to find lots of cool and interesting facts on Materials. Created by the UK Science Museum, this site examines materials we find in our everyday lives, which make life easier or more difficult, depending on your perspective.

Evolution

This site is for those who would like to know how species change and learn about evolution. To get as much information as possible on this topic, be sure to lick on all the links provided on the home page.

REACH: Educator's Guide to the Olympics

The Education Department of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic winter games provides an amazing 140-page guide for K-6 educators and students. Teachers will love the lesson plans and worksheets. Students researching school reports will enjoy the Fact Sheets and Questions & Answers.

Human Cloning: Right or Wrong?

Should governments ban human cloning? Or should they limit it for certain purposes, such as curing deadly diseases or helping infertile couples reproduce? A difficult decision to make. What do you think?

A Complex System of Chemical Communication

Did you know that mice use urine to mark their territory and attract mates? That's right, the yellow stuff carries pheromones, trace chemicals and MHC fragments, a chemical used to mark their individual smell. Does it contain another chemical messenger? To learn more about the science of mice urine, follow this link.

Free Lesson Plans

Check out Daily Lesson Plans at:

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/
lessons/archive.html

to find hundreds of free lesson plans for grade 6-12 students. To find lesson plans, you can use the keyword search option or browse by subject.

What's great about this site is it provides lesson plans that show students how math is used in real-life situations. For example, "You Bet!” a math lesson plan, gets students to explore the mathematical probabilities involved in gambling and how these factors affect people's behavior.

The Odds on Climate Change

If you're talking to your students about the environment and climate change, here's an interesting article from the CBC web site. People in Nenana, Alaska have been betting on the exact date and hour of the spring thaw for 84 years. Their betting pool records are providing scientists with clear evidence things are heating up.

For the full article go to:

http://www.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/
view.cgi?/news/2001/10/25/
alaskbet011025

Aboriginal Canada Information Project

Aboriginal Canada Information Project is intended to provide an avenue to share knowledge, interests, and effective practices connecting the Aboriginal community from around this country and the world. The Aboriginal Canada Network's vision is to create an atmosphere connecting the Aboriginal community with each other and sharing the aboriginal experience with those who desire this experience.

http://www.aboriginalcanada.ca/nativel.html#0

Elementary Science Lessons

You can find early elementary lessons at:

http://www.reachoutmichigan.org/funexperiments/
agesubject/earlyelementary.html

The topics covered are:
- Astronomy
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Earth Science
- Physical Science
- Technology

Even though this site is aimed at elementary students you might find an activity that you can adjust to fit your grade level.

Tulalip Elementary School

The following link is to the Tulalip Elementary School in Marysville, Washington. The school's population is 95% Aboriginal. Students in the "advanced computer" class developed and maintain the site.

http://www.msvl.wednet.edu/elementary/
tulalip/home.html

The site contains some really good examples of how local knowledge can be used in teaching and learning.

Some of you will be particularly interested in the Native Math section. Check out the link on probability which describes a stick game called Smitali.

Science Experiments

Visit Hunkin's Experiments to find cool cartoons that will have you experimenting with food, light, sound, objects, materials and a whole lot more! Cartoonist, broadcaster and engineer Tim Hunkin developed all the experiments you’ll find on this site.

http://www.hunkinsexperiments.com/

Visit Tim Hunkin's other site, a cartoon encyclopedia called The Rudiments of Wisdom at

http://www.rudimentsofwisdom.com/

to find almost everything there is to know about a variety of topics such as Engineering, Materials, Science, Medicine, etc.

A fun site to explore with your students!

Funology

Check out Funology - The Science of Having Fun at:

http://www.funology.com/

You'll find lots of fun, creative science activities, games, magic tricks, jokes & trivia.

A great site for kids! The cool animal facts link is really interesting!

Climate Change

The weather is on everyone's mind. In some places it's sizzling hot, in others unseasonably chilly. Scientists and Environment Canada tell us to expect more extreme and unusual weather events. Here are more sources that will help you and your students explore what's going on.

http://www.oneworldjourneys.com/climate/

http://www.exploratorium.edu/climate/index.html