Science
Online Resources
Lessons, virtual field trips, standards-based resources
Free. Songs, Lessons, and Projects
YouTube channel updated every Tuesday and Thursday- each video has standards alignment
The OK Go has created some of the most intriguing music videos of our time. They bring their unique genius to these viral videos on science lessons about gravity, math, simple machines, sensors, chain reactions, and more. Further resources include videos, activities, and PDF lesson plans.
Do you want activities that meet you where you live, whether your “classroom” is an active volcano, the shark tank at the local aquarium, or your own kitchen table? You’ve come to the right place. howtosmile is a collection of the best educational materials on the web
Fun, engaging ready-to-go lessons & experiments
Instructional Strategy Ideas for Science Vocabulary
Cloze Reading
Cloze reading is an instructional strategy where users are required to fill in the blanks within a passage with correct words. Students may have the option of choosing words from a word bank. Cloze reading can be a useful instructional strategy to use with science vocabulary. Teachers can create their own Cloze reading passages to easily fit specific content and/or grade levels or use science passages from books or websites.
Free: Newsela https://newsela.com/ and Read Works https://www.readworks.org/
Guess the Covered Word
Guess the Covered Word is similar to Cloze reading. Instead of having blanks within the passage, the complete passage is written on chart paper and sticky notes are used to cover up content vocabulary words. (You can use this strategy with a Smart Board instead of chart paper.) The students will use their knowledge of the content to uncover the word. The sticky notes may show how long or short the vocabulary word is in the passage, which may benefit struggling students. Begin by reading the sentence and have the students brainstorm a list of words that make sense in the sentence. It may be useful for the teacher to slowly uncover the beginning or ending of the word and have students continue guessing the correct vocabulary word.
Frayer Models are used to develop understanding of key concepts and vocabulary, draw on prior knowledge to make connections among concepts, compare attributes and examples, think critically to find relationships between concepts and to develop deeper, understanding of word meanings, make visual connections, review key vocabulary before a quiz, and to create a word wall for quick reference of word meanings.
Taboo is a game where a word is given at the top of the playing card. Underneath the word are 4-5 other words the students can not say in order to get their team to guess the word. This requires students to think even harder about their vocabulary word.
Crossword puzzles are a game in which words, guessed from their definitions, are fitted into a diagram of squares. The crossword has words written horizontally (across clues) and words written vertically (down clues). Correctly deciphering a crossword requires correct spelling, which may mean practicing dictionary skills. Making inferences, evaluating choices, and drawing conclusions are important skills required for completing crossword puzzles.
Students are more likely to remember science vocabulary if they have a good understanding of root words. For example, photosynthesis can be broken down into smaller words and taught as: photo = light, synth = make and isis = process. It can help students remember that photosynthesis has something to do with light and the process of making something.
There are a variety of ways to play BINGO in the classroom. Students can fill in the 25 squares from a word bank of science vocabulary, the teacher can have the cards ready with pictures instead of words, or the teacher can have the words pre-written on the cards. The teacher should have the definitions written on index cards and pull the cards one at a time. Students will mark the square with a counter if they have the word that matches the definition the teacher read. Free - make your own bingo cards https://myfreebingocards.com/