Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Have a high speed Internet connection? (Most schools do) Then you MUST visit these 3D virtual tours of beautiful sites all over the world with your students. Read the Welcome message on the home page for directions and details, then explore the current features and several years of archives for 3D virtual tours from major world capitals to true "experiences" such as Times Square and white water rafting. Even the tour of a Banyan tree will amaze you. Bring the world into your classroom for geography, landforms, world cultures, foreign language study, or literary settings. Be in the midst of festivals or atop the Sydney Bridge.

tag(s): images (263), landforms (39), virtual field trips (128)

Learn about plate tectonics as you manipluate plates with the computer and watch the resulting changes in the earth's surface. Read detailed explanations with animated images. Then try the Plate Tectonics activity to manipulate the plates yourself. There is also information about the various scientists who made relevant discoveries about tectonics and what they found. Though one interactive requires Shockwave, there is a text version of it. Also, there is soooo much more offered on this site that it is worth your visit.

tag(s): earth (184), earthquakes (46), landforms (39), plate tectonics (22)

This is a companion site to a PBS series on the forces world wide that are affecting global population. There is a wealth of information here on historical trends in population growth, the impact of population on the environment, and the continuing imbalance between the rich and the poor in the world. Although there are still flash-enabled slide shows illustrating global population growth over history, they are few. Don't miss the Teachers Guide in the right menu. The teacher's guide gives further information about using the resources in the classroom.

tag(s): demographics (13), environment (252), population (51)

This site provides an organized and user-friendly explanation of the history of plate tectonics as described by the U.S. Geological Survey. It includes a lot of detailed information as well as photographs and diagrams. This site has some tough reading depending on the reading level of the user. Allow plenty of time to take in all of the information.

tag(s): earth (184), earthquakes (46), geology (62), plate tectonics (22), volcanoes (55)

This site provides an organized, easy-to-read explanation of the formation of the Grand Canyon. It includes a lot of detailed information and photos that are fascinating to peruse. Allow plenty of time to enjoy all of the information. Click on the link for the USGS website on plate tectonics for an added bonus!

tag(s): geology (62), logic (161)

This site takes readers on a detailed, fourteen-day adventure down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. The trip includes breath-taking photos and a few videos of the river, canyon walls, plant life and local animals. The site maintains a wealth of knowledge on geologic history. Be prepared for some lengthy reading.

tag(s): geology (62)

Explore the sea on the Seasub Cousteau or the sky in Starship Sagan using this interactive site. Offerings include in-depth information, photos, links, and vehicle explorations about each of the two realms. Detailed descriptions of sea life forms as well as a virtual tour of the solar system accompany startling photos and accurate data. An additional feature provides links to the latest news about astronomy, space science, NASA, oceanography, marine biology, and coral reefs. Topics range from dark matter to deep sea creatures.This site requires Flash for the games only. There are some beautiful images with excellent information to learn from .

tag(s): coral (11), marine biology (31), nasa (30), reefs (5), solar system (110), space (222)

This website truly has something for every science teacher. If you are teaching a new science topic or want to review an already introduced science concept - you must visit this website. This website provides free PowerPoint presentations on over 100+ science topics. There are presentations for grades K-5 and 6-12. If you do not have PowerPoint software, some of these presentations may not open, depending upon how the site-creators saved them. This site has heavy advertising at the top of the landing page. Scroll down to find the presentations.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): air (102), animals (295), matter (46), periodic table (46), plants (146), solar system (110), water (102)

Grab your winter coats, and let's head to Antarctica. This website is phenomenal and truly has a wonderful variety of information for students. This website provides information about Antarctica, video clips, lesson plan ideas, maps, news and much, much more.

tag(s): antarctica (30), arctic (40), environment (252), polar (10)

Help your elementary and middle school students learn about water quality and conservation - and what human behaviors affect them. Explore run-off, home and garden habits, aquatic life, terminology, and more in these simple interactive pages. If it's about water, you can find it here, along with activities to help your students understand. One link requires purchase of a CD, but there is plenty to do without spending money! Middle school activities include the activity sheets in PDF format.

tag(s): conservation (102), earth (184), earth day (60), environment (252), water (102)

Find the perfect lesson plan for your grade level as you study water or plan for Earth Day. Each level has a several activities, many hands-on.

tag(s): conservation (102), earth (184), earth day (60), water (102), water cycle (22)

This highly interactive website (created by the National Museum of Natural History) teaches students about the Earth. Topics include, "If Rocks Could Talk," "Plates on the Move," "Making Rocks," "Mysterious Planets," and more! There is also a link, "Stuff To Do" which provides activities to do away from the computer. Some of the interactive links require Flash, but there is a whole lot more to do and learn that doesn't.

tag(s): atmosphere (22), earth (184), rocks (35)

Engineering Resources is a K-12 website that contains a multitude of information including lessons correlating to national and state standards. Search for activities and ideas by grade level and curriculum topic using the Search and Advanced Search buttons. Narrow choices provided in the curriculum section by filtering options to include lessons, activities, complete units, and more. Maker Challenges offer a variety of experiences for hands-on learning with topics including titles like A Doghouse Design Project and Create and Control a Popsicle Stick Finger Robot. Other site options allow you to search by educational standards and provide information and resources for teaching engineering to students in grades K-12.

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A great resource for environmental news and resources run by a non profit organization since 1991, Envirolink is an award-winning bipartisan, well-organized and updated reference source for educators, students, and all those with environmental awareness. It is actually a hotlist of environmental topic links, sorting by the type of environmental concern. Users should be aware of any agendas the different organizations may have.

tag(s): conservation (102), environment (252), news (229)

For everything everyone wants to know about volcanoes, look at this webpage which includes data on current eruptions, startling photos, links to videos of volcanic activity, links to lesson plans, volcano FAQ's, and a glossary. Video links require the Quicktime plugin. The Kids Door takes you to portins appropriate for younger students and virtual field trips to volcanoes suitable for any age.

tag(s): disasters (37), volcanoes (55)

Visualize patterns of change in Earth's atmosphere and environment using these activities from NASA and actual earth images to bring the concepts to life. Each activity is spelled out in the teacher information so you can use visual data to demonstrate the concepts. There are complete questions to ask and animations for each activity. Each one is a comparison over time to illustrate change. Your students will actually get practice OBSERVING. Allow time to download the animations.

tag(s): climate (84), environment (252), pollution (52)

Listen to songs to teach important (and less important) science concepts. This collection of MP3 files was generated from an old set of records (yes, those round vinyl things that had scratches). While the actual copyright holder information is a gray area, you can feel safe in playing the songs from the site. Most likely, these songs from the 1950s and 60s are past copyright at this point. In any case, you can click to play from smaller or larger file versions. Be patient while they load, even over a broadband connection. It will be worth the wait to teach parts of plants, the water cycle, weather, motion, energy, electricity, and MANY other topics with just a computer and set of speakers to help students retain the information. Most of the content is elementary to middle school age, but some is high school level. Learning support teachers seeking alternate study strategies will love this one!

tag(s): animals (295), energy (133), mammals (22), motion (47), plants (146), space (222), water (102), water cycle (22), weather (160)

This information-packed site focuses on calendars through the ages. It includes sections on the astronomy of calendars (e.g. moon cycles), the history of calendars, differences among various international calendars, derivation of the names of the months, and loads of other trivia about calendars.

tag(s): calendars (37)

Take action against global warming and depletion of the ozone layer. Start by using this site's CO2 calculator to estimate your personal impact on the environment and check out the things you can do in your home and travels to improve your behavior. Note: this site is the companion to the documentary An Inconvenient Truth and gets a large amount of traffic, making it very slow to operate at peak times. You may want to use it as a whole-class activity or at-home enrichment if it is running slowly for you at the time you choose to use it.

tag(s): energy (133), environment (252), ozone (7)

NOVA provides a wide array of information on global dimming, a crisis due to the masking effect of pollution on the true impact of global warming. See interactive timelines of global change, some creative pollution solutions, and more. There is a complete teacher's guide, including hands-on classroom activities and extensive related links. This site is a companion to the PBS television broadcast. Though a few links still require Flash, there is so much more information at this site that it is worth a visit

tag(s): climate (84), climate change (99), earth (184), earth day (60), pollution (52), sun (71)