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Hi! My name is Megan and I'm currently studying Elementary Education. One of my classes this semester is teaching Science, I would just like to know what outside resources you find most beneficial for teaching science? I know that there are always different lessons on websites like Pinterest... but more specifically I was wondering if there is any particular website companies, or specific workbook companies, or books that you find essentially the most helpful when planning your lessons for a classroom? Also... do you LOVE your textbooks? or use them primarily for a reference?

Hi Megan, similar to you I am currently studying Elementary Education. One of my classes this semester is also teaching Science. Outside resources that I found most beneficial for teaching science was the NSTA and visiting science centers. A particular company I liked was Flynn Scientific; they are essentially very helpful when planning your lessons for a classroom. They also have worksheets and activities to keep students interested. In my class, we do not use a textbook, rather the NSTA and the private forums. However, my professor is very skilled in her field so she has lots of outside resources like Wonderful Science magazines she shares with us.
 
Additionally, a great resource for you to use would be visiting science centers. They usually provide students with activities and hands-on work that is great to structure a lesson around.
 

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I don't know of any good books off hand. I live in Alaska and a fun activity I recently experienced was printing off different pictures of animals in different molting seasons. Like Alaskan Hares, Ptarmigan, beaver, polar bear, weasels etc. Laminate the pictures and have your class go outside and choose a classmate to be the prey and cover their eyes while the other classmates try to hide the animals in the grasses and bushes in your school yard. This was a great activity to talk about adaptation and survival of the fittest.