Jason Okamoto
Lanakila Elementary
HI

Energy

Sun, Apr 29, 2012 11:07 PM
A good variety of energy related resources

This SciGuide is divided into 3 themes; Recognizing Energy, Thermal Energy, and Changes in Energy. Within each theme there are a variety of resources ranging from student interactive websites, lesson plans, to general background information. Some of the better sites are the ones that are interactive for students to explore this abstract concept. For example one of the more interesting sites allows students to build and test their own roller coaster to examine the effect of friction and to examine the difference between potential and kinetic energy. Other useful sites such as the Wisconsin KEEP site and the Energy and Change site provide background information for students in kid-friendly terms. Overall, the SciGuide is a nice collection of useful links when developing a unit on this difficult concept. It can come in really handy when you're short on time and need some extra ideas.

Resources and Human Impact: Grades 5-8

Wed, Nov 16, 2011 1:58 AM
Good variety of resources

This SciGuide had a good variety of resources including articles, interactive websites, and general information. It was divided into 3 main themes: Addressing Resource Use, Environment as a System, and Environmental Degradation. It is definitely more suited to upper elementary or middle school as some of the resources require higher level reading skills. Some of the more interesting links did not work, such as the Build-a-Prairie and Watershed games from the Bell Museum. These looked interesting and would have even been useful to students of younger ages. Overall, I think that you could find a lot of information and ideas to get started on a unit on environmental issues or maybe even to develop a service learning project.

Organisms: Grades K-4

Wed, Oct 26, 2011 2:58 AM
Useful, but not for all levels

This SciGuide is separated into three themes: Community, Ecosystems, and Environment. Each theme is further divided into topics or keywords such as behavior, plant and animal species, food webs, etc. It is easy to navigate and find information. The only problem with the SciGuide is that although it says K-4, many of the activities and links are most suitable for students in higher grade levels. There is often a lot of reading or information that uses higher level vocabulary and requires better reading comprehension. Also, some of the links were inactive. There were a few interactive sites such as the Build-a-Fish website by the Shedd Aquarium and the Hatch to Catch activity that would be very engaging for students. I will probably use a few of the resources; however if you are looking for things at a lower level, you will probably have to adapt some of the information and activities to make therm more accessible for your students.