Links+&+Activities

Links & Activities:
[|Cost to Drive]: Calculates how much it costs to drive anywhere. [|Green Any Site]: Each time you click, advertisers make contributions to environmental sites. [|Explore Science]: Gizmos! Online simulations that power inquiry and understanding.

[|Environmental Education for Kids] - EEK!, an online magazine for grades four to eight created by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, is packed with short articles and activities about animals, plants and environmental issues. The name might sound scary, but the site is lots of fun -- it's a place to share stories about your outdoor experiences, make nature-inspired art projects and find out about seasonal events.

[|The Green Squad] - This NRDC website shows you how to identify and solve environmental problems. Guided by four environmentally conscious students known as the "Green Squad," you can can explore a colorful virtual school room by room, and use the mouse to locate potential hazards. Parents and teachers will find the site useful as well -- the school's library and parent-teacher room offer a wide range of fact sheets and environmental resources.

[|ElectroCity] ElectroCity is a new online computer game that lets players manage their own virtual towns and cities. It’s great fun to play and also teaches players all about energy, sustainability and environmental management in New Zealand.

[|Project FLOW] (Fisheries Learning on the Web) Curriculum on the Great Lakes fisheries is now available online via Michigan Sea Grant¹s web site, Fisheries Learning on the Web (FLOW). Four new and revised classroom lessons and hands-on activities help educators and students observe and identify Great Lakes fish, understand the fundamentals of fish habitat and life cycles, and learn how scientists monitor the movement of fish populations. The new FLOW lessons were developed in collaboration with fisheries experts at the University of Michigan and reviewed by Michigan science teachers. All lessons meet state and national science education standards and benchmarks and are designed for educators and students in grades 4 through 8.

[|Environmental Resource Guide]- This series of 15 lessons is designed to increase critical thinking skills such as observation, comparison, analysis and problem-solving. Written and tested by teachers, these lessons are technically accurate and include objectives and activities. Fact sheets and free lesson plans are available for download.

[|HippoWorks] Helps Teach Kids about Global Warming HippoWorks has recently introduced a 12-part cartoon series that was designed to help children learn what they can do to stop Global Warming. “One by One, Ton by Ton, Let’s Stop Global Warming” was formed to give kids an idea of how important environmental issues are. This is a great teaching tool for teachers and can be used to help promote energy conservation, awareness about endangered animals and other important environmental issues.

[|Walden Media] Supplemental Lesson Material Walden Media is offering supplementary material to their video and visual publications. They are offering lesson plans to assist teachers that seek to bring the classroom experience to a new and exciting level. All of the lesson plans comply with national standards and are composed by fellow educators to ensure that teachers are receiving the best material available.

[|ABC’s of Ecology] The Ferry Beach Ecology School has set out to provide this fantastic supplement to traditional classroom learning. This program seeks to educate children about how they fit into the ecological structure around them. Educators are provided with over 230 illustrated pages of hand-on activities to use in their classroom. ($)

[|Dr. Seuss “Horton Hears a Who”] The EPA has joined forces with 20th Century Fox to help kids understand the importance of energy efficiency. Using their new movie, Dr. Seuss’ “Horton Hears a Who” children can learn about energy star ratings and how they can make a difference in their homes. All of the resources are available free online or can be ordered if a hard copy is preferred. [|pdf]

[|Free Insect Teaching Kit] The first 500 educators to respond to a survey that the Entomological Foundation is conducting will receive a free copy of the science education kit once it is developed. The survey is intended to help determine the needs of K-12 educators regarding the use of insects in teaching science.

[|Rain Bird - The Intelligent Use of Water -] Teaching Curriculum Rain Bird has teamed up with Stefanie Saccoman, Ph.D. at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, to design an elementary school curriculum that presents students with the opportunity to explore the critical role water plays on Earth in the same manner that scientists and engineers do in the field, through research and experimentation. Geared for use by students in grades 3-6, the Explorations Into Water teaching curriculum is ideal for educators and/or parents to use as an engaging resource to teach students about the properties of water and the importance of water conservation in an easy-to-understand, educational, fun and interactive way. The curriculum is well organized, self-explanatory and easy for teachers, parents and students to use for related course work, projects or research in natural history, ecology, biology, physics and chemistry.

[|Go Wild in New York City] (National Geographic, 2005) is an action-packed, kid-focused introduction to the ecology of cities. The book combines basic science with mind-bending city-specific facts and photos (including child-pleasing spreads on cockroaches, rats and squirrels; and sidebars on topics like horse manure, trash and worms) and junior citizen scientist projects. Extensive online and offline resources are provided in the end pages, and the book's Web site features chapter-specific teaching plans created for GO WILD by the Urban Science Education Center at Teachers College.

[|Kids Gardening Thematic Explorations] A garden or habitat is a living laboratory for learning real-world skills, and the Thematic Explorations Library opens the door to a green curriculum. Looking to boost skills in measuring, calculating and problem solving? Check out Honing Math Skills in the Garden. If it's social studies that needs a hands-on component, how about Growing Cultural Understanding? Other topics include Gardening for a Sustainable Future, Cultivating Literacy in the Garden, and the newest topic Linking Gardens and Nutrition.

[|Operation: Resilient Planet] Operation: Resilient Planet puts students on a mission to investigate the health of our environment and discover how to protect our planet's ecosystems. Students will visit some of Earth's most diverse ecosystems to uncover the mysteries of our planet - side by side with host researchers such as Bob Ballard and Sylvia Earle.

[|Monster Storms:] This free, online curriculum is designed to better teach students (grades 5-8) how powerful storms form and how advancing technology is used to understand and forecast weather. The five to nine-week core science unit covers key middle school National Science Education Standards, and can be aligned to state standards as well.