California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Longer Days, Shorter Nights
A lamp, four globes, and some signs taped around the room are all you need to set up a solar system simulation for teaching how Earth's tilted axis creates the seasons. (Sticky dots are also needed, but not mentioned in the materials...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Earth's Rotation
After completing the activity, "Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year," zoom in on Earth's rotation using the same simulation setup and this outline. Each class member dons a map of the Western Hemisphere and plays the part of...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Birthday Stars
Space explorers take a virtual trip around the sun right within your classroom! They stand in a circle facing away from the "sun" (a lamp) in the center of the room. As they move according to your instructions, they view different...
California Academy of Science
How Big is Big?
In a math or life science class, "mini-me" models are created with cardstock to reflect a 1:10 scale of students' bodies. Learners measure each others' heights with meter sticks, and then reduce the size by 10. After this exercise, they...
California Academy of Science
Coral and Chemistry
Using cabbage juice as a pH indicator, future scientists explore the effect of increasing carbon dioxide on the pH of the ocean and relate it to the health of coral reefs. Ideal for an earth or environmental sciences course, this lesson...
California Academy of Science
Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
Ice is nice, and its condition on the planet has a significant effect. Junior geoscientists experiment with ice melting in both water and on land to discover how each affect the rising sea level. This detailed lesson outline even...
California Academy of Science
Greening Your Middle School
Middle schoolers redesign their school to make it more energy efficient, and create a model of their design. Learners get together in groups of 5, and they take on the task of making their school more energy efficient. To do this, they...
Scholastic
Study Jams! The Nervous System
Get your class thinking with animations of neurons in action and explanations of how stimuli is transported and processed. This film makes an ideal introduction or review of the nervous system. The parts of the brain and what they...
Scholastic
Study Jams! The Senses: Hearing
How does this sound? It's a rockin' video starring two teenage girls talking about music, hearing, and the ear. Listeners hear that the ear does not only gather sound waves, but also helps us maintain balance. They also will get an...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Population Growth
Along came a spider, who sat down beside her. She screamed, but RJ wouldn't smash it because spiders are a limiting factor for other insects in an ecosystem. In this video, other common limiting factors for populations are listed....
Scholastic
Study Jams! Roots and Stems
Six slides come with information about roots and stems. In addition to the slide show, find a seven-question, multiple choice quiz and vocabulary guide. As a homework assignment, get your class to view the slides, take the quiz, print...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Ecosystems
With the forest as an example, Sam and Zoe talk about the components biotic and abiotic of an ecosystem. They also discuss the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers. This concise clip covers all of the basics. As an introduction...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Scientific Theory & Evidence
Introduce someday scientists to ideas and explanations about how the world around us works by showing this cute cartoon. In it, Mia and Sam discuss what scientific theory is, and how it is important in discovering scientific laws making...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Skeletal System
A dazzling display colorful computer-generated images, x-rays, and photographs create a comprehensive introduction to the skeletal system. With 12 slides in all, aspiring anatomists learn that there are 206 bones in the human body and...
Scholastic
Study Jams! The Digestive System
Mostly made up of colorful diagrams, this presentation winds through the digestive system. Beginning with the mouth, passing by the liver, and then leaving the body, viewers examine the length of the digestive system on captioned slides....
Scholastic
Study Jams! Invertebrates
Stringed instruments play as viewers explore ocean invertebrates through nine nicely flowing slides. The captions describe the eight phyla: cnidaria, flatworms, roundworms, segmented worms, mollusks, arthropods,and enchinoderms. During...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Mosses and Ferns
Mosses and ferns are some of the world's oldest types of plants. Here is a quality 10-slide presentation set to gentle background music for beginning botanists to view and enjoy. Accompanying captions explain that these are both...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Biomes
Do you know the difference between a biome and an ecosystem? Teach elementary ecologists exactly what a biome is with this captivating cartoon! It discusses six biomes: taiga, tundra, deciduous forest, desert, tropical rainforest, and...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Aquatic Ecosystems
Mia's friends are fish-sitting while she is away on vacation. Zoe divulges to Sam that different animals need different habitats, and that there are both freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. Examples of the kinds of organisms found in...
Scholastic
Study Jams! The Circulatory System
The topic of this video is sure to get hearts pumping! Mia and Zoe just finish racing and discuss what is going on in the circulatory system. They expound on the capillaries, veins, arteries, the structure of the heart, and the...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Heredity
Mia wishes her blue hair was inherited so that she wouldn't have to dye it, but Sam explains that eye color is. The video does not expound upon the concept of alleles. It does, however, describe inherited traits vs. learned behavior, and...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Plants with Seeds
Are your blooms doomed? Not if you plant your seeds in the proper condition! Cartoon character teenagers explore seed-bearing plants, germination, and seed dispersal. They compare gymnosperms with cones, angiosperms with flowers. They...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Angiosperms: Seeds in Fruit
Flowers are lovely, but they are also very practical if you are a plant! In this video, kids learn that without a flower, there would be no seeds. They also find out about the two types of seeds: monocots and dicots. Pollination and...
Scholastic
Study Jams! Plant Adaptations
Mia video chats with Sam from Hawaii! They talk about plant adaptations that allow them to live in particular environments. Examples include the flexible stems and leaves, or floating seeds and flowers of aquatic plants. The adaptive...