YouTube is an amazing resource, with videos on just about any topic. There are animations, videos of demonstrations that you might not be able to do in your classroom, and records of talks by famous scientists. The SciLinks webwatchers have been including them as teacher resources in SciLinks for several reasons: Some of the comments about the videos may contain inappropriate language and some of the “related ” videos suggested on the page may be irrelevant (as well as inappropriate) for the classroom. A recent Free Technology for Teachers blog describes the View Pure tool that strips away the extra “stuff” on the YouTube site, if teachers want to share YouTube videos without all of the extras.

I just discovered another source for videos. The BrightStorm site has “thousands” [their words] of video segments on topics in math and science. The science videos I looked at are not glitzy or loaded with eyepopping graphics and soundtracks with popular music. They basically consist of a teacher at a board, sometimes with an animation. There are three tabs underneath—a summary of the key points, a transcript of the audio portion, and a space for students to log in and post a question. These videos could be useful for students who miss a class, who would benefit from hearing (and seeing) an alternative explanation, or as an overview of the topic students could access outside of class.  Best of all – no ads, unrelated links, or off-color comments!  There are also resources (free) for test prep (SAT, AP, etc.) The collection is worth a look.

Graphic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/3556397980/

All you earlybirds out there are in for a treat this month if you look eastward just before dawn (and the weather is clear).  Four planets will be engaged in a slow-motion dance, aligning themselves differently day by day in a tight segment of the sky.

NASA has created a nice video describing the phenomenon:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The last few days of the school year are a challenge—the time in between the final projects/assessments and the last day of school. Students assume that the year is over, and to stay “busy,” they are sometimes inundated with videos or word puzzles. I often used this time for science activities we didn’t get to during the school year or topics that were beyond the curriculum goals. I’ve discovered some resources that could be helpful in keeping students engaged with new ideas and activities.

From Facebook, I learned about NASA Brain Bites.  These are short videos (the ones I looked at were less than two minutes) that relate space travel and exploration to topics of interest. These could be used as writing prompts or discussion-starters. This is another classroom resource from NASA.

On Twitter, I follow Neil deGrasse Tyson, who recently noted that NOVA Science Now has resources on the Teachers’ Domain site—video clips (about 5 minutes), animations, and lesson plans (mostly at the secondary level) with links to other resources.  Other NOVA resources are available on the Nova Teachers page.

Although I don’t live in or near New York City, I still subscribe (free) to the newsletter of the American Museum of Natural History. The April edition has K–8 resources related to the theme of its new exhibit The World’s Largest Dinosaurs. Most of these activities can be used without attending the exhibit (but if I get to NY this summer, it’s on my list of things to do!).

In the April issue of The Science Teacher, the Idea Bank column spotlighted the tool Dipity (short for serendipity?). This tool lets teachers or students create, manage, and share timelines. For the entries, you can add descriptions, pictures, links to videos and other sources. Although a timeline can be made public, only those with account information (setting up an account is free) can edit it. Timeline assignments are nothing new—but what makes this intriguing is its online presence, where students in a class (or several classes) can collaborate and share their work. “History of Science” activities come to mind, but this tool seems tailor-made for interdisciplinary projects. For example, a social studies unit on the industrial revolution cross-referenced with science discoveries and inventions. How about a timeline of the school year, with links to events and activities from your class? A recap of a sports season, complete with photos or video?

In the video above, a third grader gets to use a rather striking example of 21st century technology to talk about some common topics in science, namely earthquakes and volcanoes.

Tomatoes...fiery color and cool completeness

How does a tomato go from green, marble-like sphere to juicy red brilliance? Chemistry, that’s how. In the case of tomatoes, the plant bathes the fruit in ethylene molecules when the fruit reaches an edible size, and this hormone triggers the fruit to ripen.

We are into week eight of the weekly, online, video series “Chemistry Now,” and the chemistry of food moves into the garden as a source of interesting video and lessons. As we’ve written before, please view the video, try the lessons, and let us know what you think.

By the way, Pablo Neruda penned an “Ode to Tomatoes,” the source of our caption for the picture above:

“…the tomato offers
its gift
of fiery color
and cool completeness.”

I can’t think of anybody who better represented both fiery and cool personas than Neruda. Props to whoever knows why Neruda’s tomatoes showed up juicy and ripe in December; add your comment below.

Photo: Manjith Kainickara

Through the Chemistry Now series, NSTA and NBC Learn have teamed up with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create lessons related to common, physical objects in our world and the changes they undergo every day. The series also looks at the lives and work of scientists on the frontiers of 21st century chemistry.

Video: “The Chemistry of Tomatoes” (one in a 6-part Cheeseburger Chemistry series) outlines the role ethylene plays in ripening tomatoes (and other fruits); the role of lycopene in color change; and diffusion of gas.

Middle school lesson: The Ripening Tomatoes lesson gives students an understanding of how tomatoes ripen and what conditions allow them to ripen the best and allows students to observe a chemical change that happens in nature.

High school lesson: In this Ethylene Gas Investigation, students design and conduct an experiment  to observe the ripening of tomatoes under different conditions, evaluating the effectiveness of various strategies for ripening tomatoes including the role of ethylene gas.

You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans:

Here’s a taste of NSTA San Fran. More on this later, but many of the tech tools are open-ended allowing for student/teacher defined uses. Overall, the future looks like a fun place to teach!

Click here to view the embedded video.

One thing about attending a NSTA conference, you get to try local cuisine, as well as an occasional unusual treat. I just spoke to this teacher from Pittsburgh who told me he sampled a scorpion in the exhibit hall. The chef didn’t recommend any sauces so as not overwhelm the scorpion’s natural flavor. It also sounds like the big ones can be juicy. But that was just one part of his NSTA experience!


Click here to view the embedded video.



It’s been a busy morning at the national conference. Although the exhibit hall didn’t open until 10 a.m., many sessions started much earlier. I had to chance to talk to some attendees between sessions and it sounds like everyone is looking for something a little bit different, but all with the same goal—to be a better educator.

Whether from the East Coast or the West, attendees are looking for ways to fill gaps in their own knowledge and excite their students about science education.

Click here for the Table of Contents

I must admit I’m a fan of mystery novels—from Nancy Drew to Sherlock Holmes, from Agatha Christie to Tony Hillerman. I enjoy trying to follow the clues and the thinking process of the protagonist. In contemporary stories (and TV programs), it’s also interesting to see how science is part of the investigation.

The interdisciplinary activities that are shared in this issue show how learning science can be embedded into interesting and purposeful activities that can be applied to everyday events. High school teachers could adapt these activities and use them as club activities or for those days in between units. I’ve noted the SciLinks topics that would support the content or include additional activities. [For starters, try Forensics]

The Case of the Missing Zooxanthellae is whodunit simulation in which students analyze clues to solve a mystery. One of the clues in this case is DNA. I’ve seen activities that had students string beads to illustrate DNA molecules, but in this activity, students “analyze” DNA models to solve the mystery. The article also includes a Reader’s Theatre-type script and background information on the topic for the teacher. [SciLinks: Coral Reefs, Cnidarians, DNA Fingerprinting]

The author of Who Stole the Doughnuts describes in detail the lesson that she and her colleagues developed, complete with a crime scene, suspects, and activities for students to analyze clues in hair and soil samples, handwriting, fingerprints, and footprints. She concludes by saying “… it was difficult to tell who had more fun—the students or the teachers.” Perhaps it would be effective to share the fun and have the students use what they learn to create additional mysteries for younger students. [SciLinks: Fingerprints]

To solve the mystery in Spooky Suspects, students analyze unknown substances to determine the presence of protein, sugar, starch, and lipids. Rather than isolated lab exercises, students see the application of these tests. [SciLinks: Proteins, Lipids, Starches]

If you and your students are thinking of creating your own whodunits, the article The Move to Movies: Instruction That Engages has suggestions for using video editing software (that now comes with many computers). Perhaps you or a student will be the next Alfred Hitchcock!

It’s no mystery that students are interested in electronics and music. A Middle School Sound Study shows how to incorporate those interests into a unit on sound, culminating with students building speakers for an MP3 device. [SciLinks: What Is Sound?, Waves, Resonance, Characteristics of Waves, Using Waves to Communicate]

A Coprolite Mystery: Who Dung It? should be very appealing to middle schoolers. I learned that a coprolite is fossilized excrement, and it’s an example of a “trace fossil” rather than the actual remains of an animal. (Owl pellets are another form of indirect evidence). The author provides a lot of background information, photographs, and class activities. [SciLinks: Fossils, Excretory System]

Flooded! describes activities to help demystify the relationship between climate change and sea level. [SciLinks: Water Cycle, Sea Level Change, Change in Climate]  Although it’s not technically a mystery or whodunit, the article Windmills Are Going Around Again demystifies this renewable resource with activities (using the 5E model). Several years ago, I was part of a PD workshop that used wind energy as the focus for helping teachers develop inquiry lessons. Two resources (also mentioned in the article) that we found useful were Kidwind and Wind from the US Department of Energy. [SciLinks: Wind Energy]

One mystery to many teachers is the misconceptions people have about the reason for the seasons. Just in time for the equinox, the Scope on the Skies column focuses on this topic. [SciLinks: Reasons for the Seasons, What Causes Earth's Seasons?]

It’s easy for students to focus on the novelty of these mysteries and whodunits. It’s essential, therefore, for teachers to help students make the connection between these engaging activities and the science behind them.

What makes the simple hamburger bun the perfect stage for a juicy hamburger? An airy lightness? The sweet earthy taste and smell of yeasty dough? A hint of shiny brown sugars carmelized onto the surface of the bread in the baking or toasting process? White, wheat, potato? With or without sesame seeds?

Or it is merely a delivery mechanism, a way to keep the meat, toppings, and condiments all contained, and all conveniently pick-up-able in an entirely edible package?

We are into week seven of the weekly, online, video series “Chemistry Now,” and the chemistry of food is not yet exhausted as a source of interesting video and lessons. As we’ve written before, please view the video, try the lessons, and let us know what you think.

Photo: Eurok

Through the Chemistry Now series, NSTA and NBC Learn have teamed up with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create lessons related to common, physical objects in our world and the changes they undergo every day. The series also looks at the lives and work of scientists on the frontiers of 21st century chemistry.

Video: “The Chemistry of Bread” (part of a 6-part Cheeseburger Chemistry series) uses bread-making to illustrate and explain how yeasts work to convert starches and sugars in flour to CO2 gas (fermentation); effects of heat on gas; and gluten protein structures.

Middle school lesson: In Bubbles and Bread, students  investigate the chemical reactions that form gases and cause bread to rise.

High school lesson: This Chemistry of Leavening Agents in Bread Making lesson will enrich student concept knowledge of chemical reactions in a comparative study of leavening agents used in bread making.

You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans: