Science Resources
Kinetic
City: Mission to Vearth (http://www.sciencenetlinks.org/tools.cfm?DocID=54&Grade=3-5)
http://www.kcmtv.com/
Description
Kinetic City: Mission to Vearth is a web-based science program for children in
grades three through five. Produced by the
American Association for the Advancement of Science and funded by the National
Science Foundation on the strength of its
outstanding evaluations, the program turns standards-based science content into
a game that kids can play either in class or after school.
Using the Resource
The program
combines online fun and hands-on learning. With each new mission, a computer
virus called Deep Delete distorts the
science on Planet Vearth. Children learn what happens on Vearth as a result, and
then try to save the planet by re-learning the lost
science. They do this by forming teams and performing five learning activities
over a two-week period, including:
* an art activity called a Smart Art;
* a writing activity called a Write Away;
* a hands-on experiment or demonstration called a Fab Lab;
* a physical challenge called a Move Crew, and:
* an online science simulation or demonstration called a Mind Game.
Once all the teams have performed these five activities and re-learned the lost
science of Planet Vearth, they take their Mission to
Vearth challenge: a computer game that tests their science knowledge. In it,
they use their Brain Trains to gobble up Deep Delete
viruses, and earn Kinetic City Power Points for themselves, their teams, and
their Clubs.
NSDL —
National Science Digital Library
http://nsdl.org/
The National Science Foundation’s free, online resource for science,
mathematics, engineering and technology education. Includes
lesson outlines and connections to free resources such as ARKive database of
images of life on earth and ASEE’s Engineering K-12
Center, to the Library of Congress online collection of the Wright Brothers
photographs.
A word of warning on this site: the alphabetical listing is tricky. For example,
the Just In Time Teaching site (JiTT) is listed under “W”
as in “Welcome to JiTT”.
DLESE (The
Digital Library for Earth System Education)
http://www.dlese.org/dds/index.jsp
DLESE supports
Earth system education at all levels by helping educators and learners find,
use, and create online educational
resources about the Earth. DLESE's free services provide access to
scientifically accurate, grade-level appropriate resources that are
effective for teaching and relevant to the Earth system.