Teacher Resources

Welcome to the Online Resources section! Browse through the selected web sites with information for science educators.

Standards & Instruction | Classroom Resources | Resources within Illinois

Classroom Resources

• Academy Curriculum Exchange
  (http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/)
  The Curriculum Exchange is an area where teachers can find a variety of lesson plans for science and other subjects. These lessons were done by a consortium of teachers from 14 states dedicated to improving the quality of education in the rural, western, United States, particularly the quality of math and science education.


• Access Excellence - Activities Exchange
  (http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/)
  Visit this site for an assortment of great lessons and activities for junior high and high school biology!


• ActionBioScience.org
  (http://www.actionbioscience.org/)
  This site provides lessons for high school and undergraduate levels to accompany its peer-reviewed articles examining bioscience issues. Lessons are written by educators and correlated to NSES standards. Articles and lessons focus on issues in biodiversity, environment, human genome, biotechnology, evolution, new frontiers in the sciences, and education.


• Blue Web'n
  (http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/)
  Browse the content table for an assortment of lesson plans, projects, and online resources for astronomy, chemistry, life science, and much more!


• Connecting Outdoor Instruction to the Illinois Learning Standards (COIILS)
  (http://web.stclair.k12.il.us/splashd/schlyrd.htm)
  The Online Schoolyard and Classroom Investigations web page offers teachers and students an opportunity to conduct any of over thirty different science investigations and then submit and share their data online with others doing the same investigation.


• Earth Science Site of the Week
  http://webs.cmich.edu/resgi
  Mark Francek at Central Michigan University compiles and distributes a very informative E-newsletter aimed at earth science teachers, providing exciting websites, inspiration, and humor. To enroll on this E-newsletter contact him at  Mark.Francek@cmich.edu or go to his resource page found at the link above.
   
• Education World: Science Center
  (http://www.education-world.com/science/)
  A collection of lessons, activities, and links to online resources for elementary and secondary science educators.


• Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plans: Science
  (http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/lessons.cgi/Science)
  A large collection of lesson plans and activities for K-12 organized by topic!


• Eduscapes
  (http://www.eduscapes.com/)
  One of the best resources for incorporating technology into your classroom!


• ENC Lesson Plans & Activities: Science Topics
  (http://www.enc.org/weblinks/lessonplans/science/)
  A large collection of lesson plans and activities organized by topic! Also visit their Curriculum Resources area for information about thousands of teaching materials for K-12 math and science.


• Fermilab For Educators
  (http://www-ed.fnal.gov/educators.html)
  This page provides links to an assortment of resources for educators from Fermilab, such as the Teacher Resource Center, Fermilabyrinth, or SIMply Prairie.


• Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE): Science Resources
  (http://www.free.ed.gov/subjects.cfm?subject_id=41)
  A large collection of educational resources supported by agencies across the U.S. organized by topic area!


• Illinois Department of Natural Resources
  (http://dnr.state.il.us)
  There are links to a wide variety of teacher education and enrichment programs, publications, and FREE posters and materials for the classroom.


• Inquiry-Based Science Project Challenging Problems
  (http://web.stclair.k12.il.us/splashd/chllgepg.htm)
  This web page offers students an opportunity to experience inquiry-based science that challenges them to design and conduct an investigation after receiving only the problem and the data to be collected online. Teachers of this approach become guides on the side.


• The International Wolf Center
  (http://www.wolf.org/)
  The International Wolf Center provides online curriculum including an interactive wolf quiz for students, scientific wolf articles and research, and educator resources. The Wolf Center also offers workshops and adventure learning vacations across North America.


• JASON Project
  (http://www.jasonproject.org/)
  JASON XIV is ready and offers even more new features than previous expeditions. How may I help you learn more about this award winning multimedia, multidisciplinary program. The Foundation would like to help you get the best pricing. We also are interested in doing staff development in more areas. Your inquiry will bring a quick response. I will fill your requests quickly and supply ONLY what you request. Thank you for your continued support of the JASON Project and/or the JASON Academy.


• Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators
  (http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/)
  Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators is a categorized list of sites useful for enhancing curriculum and professional growth. It is updated often to include the best sites for teaching and learning!
  
  
• Middle School Chemistry - Big ideas about the very small
  (http://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/)
  View and download fully developed lesson plans that you can use to teach an entire middle school chemistry unit.  Each activity, as well as the entire 610 page book, is available for free download in PDF format.  The website also has a multimedia section, complete with molecular model animations and videos, and information on upcoming workshops based on the book.
  
  
• Middle School Science
  (http://www.middleschoolscience.com/)
  This site provides an assortment of great lesson ideas and activities for middle school students. Also visit the Middle School Science Teacherspage for a collection of links to sites by middle school science educators.


• NASAexplores
  (http://nasaexplores.com)
  Every week this site provides two new articles about a current NASA Aerospace Technology or HEDS project. The NASAexplores educators adapts the articles for three grade levels: K-4, 5-8, and 9-12 and provide lesson plans/activities to support the concepts related in the article. Also visit the Resources area for a list of links to other NASA sites for educators!


• Dr. Demo's & NERDS
  (http://scied.unl.edu/pages/mamres/pages/demos/demo.html)
  Visit this site from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Science Education for Dr. Demo's Science Demonstrations and other great ideas to add excitement to your classroom!


• Pharmacology Education Partnership
  (http://www.thepepproject.net)
  Provides 6 modules of basic biology and chemistry using pharmacology themes. All free. Wonderful animations and graphics!


• Project Look Sharp
  (http://ithaca.edu/looksharp/)
  Provides free kits for K-16 education in the areas of social studies and environmental studies.  Four recently completed kits for secondary and college level science provide educators with engaging multi-media resources and lessons for integrating media analysis into the studies of Global Warming, Endangered Species, Chemicals, and Resource Depletion.
  
  
• ProQuest K-12 Education Solutions
  (http://www.proquestk12.com)
  ProQuest offers a growing family of classroom-focused, subscription-based educational resources that support the 21st Century information literacy needs of teachers and students across all curriculum areas, including eLibrary, SIRS, CultureGrams, ExploreLearning Gizmos, Voyager Expanded Learning, Reading A-Z, and more.


• Science NetLinks
  (http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/)
  Science NetLinks strives to be a comprehensive "homepage" for K-12 science educators. Search their library of reviewed web sites and lessons by selecting a science benchmark topic.


• SpaceWander
  (http://www.spacewander.com/USA/english.html)
  Bob Antonovich of the JASON Project recommends this Website. The Hubble Telescopic photos are simply awesome!


• Teacher's First
  (http://www.teachersfirst.com/)
  Teachers First is a rich collection of lessons and web resources for K-12 classroom teachers. Materials are arranged by subject area and grade level, making it easy to locate lesson plans and associated web resources quickly. Don't miss the Content Matrix and Mind Stretchers!


• The Gateway
  (http://www.thegateway.org/)
  The key to one-stop, any-stop access to high quality lesson plans, curriculum units and other education resources on the Internet! Use their site search to find the resources you need at the click of a mouse!


• The Science Spot
  (http://sciencespot.net/)
  From lesson plans to links to great sites for teachers and students, this site offers a wealth of resources for middle school science educators! Don't miss the Science Classroom with lessons aligned with Illinois Learning Standards and links to online lesson plan collections organized by topic!


• The Solution Site
  (http://www.thesolutionsite.com/)
  The site contains K-12 lesson plans that give the students more active involvement in their learning. Use the Find A Unit section to see all they have to offer for science and other subjects!


• University of Arizona MCB Outreach
  (http://www.mcb.arizona.edu/outreach.cfm)
  An assortment of lesson plans developed by Science Connectors or modified by Science Connectors from existing activities. These activities cover a range of grade levels, but most of them may be easily modified to fit individual classroom use.


• Web for Teachers
  (http://www.4teachers.org/)
  This site provides a variety of resources to help you integrate technology into your classroom! Don't miss TrackStar and RubiStar!


• Wisconsin Society for Science Teachers
  (http://www.wsst.org/)
  This is Wisconsin's Science Teachers homepage. Check it out for information about the society's exciting conference in March, located in the Wisconsin Dells!


• Whale Times
  (http://www.educationdegree.com)
  A nonprofit marine science website for kids and teachers. This year Whale Times has teamed up with 3 amazing groups of scientists to bring ocean science, exploration, and conservation into K-12 classrooms. Each program brings STEM topics (plus language arts and other disciplines) to life in a unique way.