Science is a significant part of human culture and represents one of the most successful of human thinking capacity. Science in the classroom is so important! Students build upon standards from PreK-6th grade. These standards are taught specifically for the according grade. Students use the strategies and methods from early on to help build up to more complex lessons.

• Watch this video as Neil deGrasse Tyson explains why science is so important! (This video is great for educators and parents).

• Show this video to your class to get them excited to learn about science in the classroom!

• Read this article that discusses 5 important reasons to teach science at home!

Sample Lesson- Stop Motion Activity:

• Standard:

  • • First Grade- 1-LS1-1. Use evidence to explain that (a) different animals use their body parts and senses in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water, and air, and (b) plants have roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits that are used to take in water, air, and other nutrients, and produce food for the plant.

• Essential Questions-

  • • What do you think will happen to the radish? Will it grow roots?

    • Will the radish grow bigger or get smaller?

    • Will the radish change colors or texture?

• During this lesson, students will place a radish in a cup of water for two weeks, taking pictures each day to show how the radish changes over time. The cup of water should remain in the sunlight and not moving from the same spot.

• Students will make observations and make predications what they think is going to happen.

• They will put the pictures all together on a stop motion app to show the changes.

• Students will share with their classmates their stop motion video.

• Stop Motion Video example!

  • • Your stop motion video will look different compared to this one!

Here are some useful resources to use at home and in the classroom...

• Mystery Science: is hands-on that engage students in videos about natural phenomena with activities to go along with the lesson.

  • Teachers can use Mystery Science as whole group instruction to fully explain and discuss a science topic that might be difficult to understand. After, teachers can have their students work individually to further their exploration. The students can work in small groups and all discuss their understandings which can lead to knew understandings.

• Explore.org: is a website that students can use to see live animals streamed from their device.

• Google Expeditions: is is an immersive learning and teaching tool that lets you go on VR trips or explore AR objects.

• YouTube- Virtual Reality 360: is a virtual field trip right from the classroom or at home!

  • Teachers can use this to show an animals habitat, space or the butterfly's life cycle!

• iNaturalist is an online network of naturalists, scientists, and biologists built on the concept of mapping and sharing observations.

• https://www.discoveryeducation.com/

Click on this article for more science apps!