| Middle School
- E.ST.M.1 Solar System -"The sun is
the central and largest body in our solar system.
Earth is the third planet from the sun in a system
that includes other planets and their moons, as well
as smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets."
- A
Virtual Journey Into the Universe
Neat interactive site that allows students to
choose a planet in our solar system and view how
the planet orbits, what it's land forms look like,
what it's atmosphere is like, and more. Easy to
navigate. Appropriate for grades 5 and up.
- Astronomy
161-The Solar System
This site has links exporing the solar system
in depth. There are links and resource material
available on a variety of topics. Students
will be able to explore space and find a wealth
of information on many other topics. The
actual photos from space are awsome!
- Captain
Comet
This site has activities and information about
comets in the solar system. There are links
and resource material available if desired.
Kids can navigate through the site easily.
- Exploring
the Planets
This web site provides background information
on space discoveries. It includes facts and figures
for each planet.
- Exploring
the Planets
Awsome pictures and activities about our Solar
System.
- Exploring
the Planets -Cyber Center
The Cyber Center is a simulated research center
at the National Air and Space Museum where you
explore the mysteries of the Solar System. Good
interactive activity that incorporates writing.
Students pick 10 images from the Solar System
out of 23 provided. They look for shapes, colors,
patterns, etc. and make inferences about the features
and planets based upon observations. Part II provides
students with the researcher's observations of
the images from which to compare. Summary involves
charting the data they collected. Lesson plans
and enrichment provided. Grades (6-8)
- Heavens
Above
Must register and login to use data from observations
of: (1) International Space Station, (2) flares,
(3) Space Shuttle(s) and, (4) Iridium satellites.
- Lunar
Eclipse
This site is an animation of a lunar eclipse.
- Lunar
Phases
Outstanding!!
This site steps a student through the motion of
the moon around the earth and the earth around
the sun to show how the shadows made by the sun
cause the phases of the moon.
- NASA
Kids'Club
Interactive Games, Art & StoriesActivities,
Kids'Club, and great NASA Videos
- Nasa's
Planetary Photojournal
Database of NASA images of: (1) planets, (2)
natural and man-made satellites, the sun and,
(4) interplanetary
matter. Background information is also included.
- Ology New
This site was created by the American
Museum of Natural History. It includes activities,
videos, book lists, etc. to cover a wide variety
of astronomy concepts. It would be appropriate
for use with upper elementary or middle school
students.
- Planetary
Sciences
This web site contains NASA archived data on each
planet. Several in-depth links can be accessed
in the section entitled: NSSDC Resources.
- The
Nine Planets Solar System Tour
Informative program gives students extensive data
on each planet in our solar system; also comets,
asteroids, etc.
- The
Solar System in 3-D
Solar system in 3-D images of the Sun, planets,
moons, asteroids, impact craters, tectonic features,
volcanos, and river valleys. Includes a teachers'
guide.
- Scientific
Visualization Studio
Cool source where students can identify and
compare earth and the sun to other planets.
- Solar
and Lunar Eclipses
This site is an animation of solar and lunar
eclipses.
- Solar
System Explanation
Good source for student research on planets
and other things in the universe.
- StarChild:
A learning center for young astronomers- Solar
System, Galaxy, and Universe
Star Child is a learning center for young astronomers.
Developed by the High Energy Astrophysics Science
Archive Research Center at NASA, it contains various
student activities as well as some teacher lesson
plans on the Universe and Solar System.
- Take
A Spin Through the Solar System
Students investigate how 3 planets, Jupiter, Uranus,
Saturn and the Sun rotate around their axes. NASA
images are available so students can do some real
"cyboscience". There are problems for students
to solve, examples of problems and strategies
on how to solve various problems.
- The
Animated Virtual Planetarium
This is a good site of animation of the solar
system. Students can speed up time in seconds,
hours, days, or years and see the changes in our
social system.
- The
Eight Planets
This site has links exporing the eight planets
and other aspects in the solar system. There
are links and resource material available if desired.
Kids can navigate through the solar system as
well as other solar systems and find a wealth
of information. The actual photos from space
are awsome!
- Virtual
Solar System
Virtual 3-D solar system. Must download Viscape
SVR to enable 3-D virtual simulators. In-depth
descriptions and factual information on each planetary
body is also included.
- Windows
to the Universe
Outstanding:
Contains extensive background information on the
universe, and has a strong interdisciplinary focus.
Teacher resources are included, as well as a listing
of external sites where space data can be found.
- Your
Age on Other Worlds
There is a converter that compares your age
in days and years on earth to that of other planets.
It contains many great links including another
converter that compares your weight on earth to
other planets and moons. It has a good summary
of why these differences occur.
- Your
Weight on Other Worlds
This is a good site to meet the objectives of
description and measurement of weight using a
student interactive activity that asks them to
compute their weight if they were on another planet.
The site contains good graphics, easy to follow
instructions for teacher and student. Once the
student enters their real weight it automatically
calculates their weight for all of the planets
and moons of Jupiter. The site requires Java script.
- E.ST.M.2 Solar System Motion -"Gravity
is the force that keeps most objects in the solar
system in regular and predictable motion."
- Astronomy
Interactives
Outstanding!
Over 22 outstanding astronomy Interactives allow
students to manipulate parameters and gain a better
understanding of topics such as Blackbody Radiation,
The Bohr Model, Retrograde Motion, and the H-R
Diagram by watching the effect of these manipulations.
Each Interactive includes an Analysis Tool (interactive
model), a Tutorial describing its function, Content
describing its principle themes, related Exercises,
and Solutions to the exercises.
- Earth
and Moon Viewer
Outstanding!
Interactive program that allows one to view realtime
maps and satellite images of the surface of the
Earth, and moon from various perspectives.
- Explorations
Online Learning Center
Ten animations covering such topics as: Retrograde
Motion of Mars, Constellations by Seasons, Seasonal
Changes in Daylight, The Sun's Motion and Seasonal
Changes, The Earth's Rotation Axis, Ptolemy's
Model of Motion of a Planet, Kepler's Laws, The
Phases of Venus, Celestial Spheres, and Star Rising
and Setting.
- Fear
of Physics - Set up for the Sun, Earth, and Moon
This site has animations your students can set
up to show the relative motion of the Sun, Earth,
and Moon with respect to each other. It also explains
and demonstrates solar and lunar eclipses.
- Kepler's
Third Law
Animation of Earth and Mars illustrating the relationship
between a planet's period and distance from the
sun. Students can apply their understanding of
Kepler's Third Law to the animation.
- Lunar
Phases
Students learn about the phases
of the Moon as they watch the Moon orbit around
the Earth. Very good visuals and explanations.
- Moonlight
Madness
Site describing the phase cycle of the Moon. Complete
with definitions of the phases and actual photographs,
students are asked to correctly label and sequence
the phases.
- NASA
Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive
Archive of NASA astronomy pictures arranged by
category and or date. Easy to search. Includes
"Today's Picture" to allow one to show
a different astronomy picture each day for 5 years.
- Physical
Processes- Earth, Sun Moon
This site can help explain lunar and solar eclipses
based on the relative positions of the Earth,
moon, and sun, and the orbit of the moon. Excellent
animation and student manipulations let the users
watch the orbit of the Earth and Moon. Many supporting
activities.
- Slide
Show for Teachers - Moon Phases
This is a great power point showing the different
phases of the Moon. Great explanations are given
and many illustrations help show the different
phases. Terms such as waning are explained in
detail.
- The Eight
Planets: A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System
Outstanding!
An overview of the history, mythology, and current
scientific knowledge of the planets, moons and
other objects in our solar system. Each page has
text and NASA's images, some have sounds and movies,
most provide references to additional related
information.
- The
Moon
Outstanding!
Contains information and photographs about the
Moon.
- U.S.
Navy Observatory: Phases of the Moon and % of
the Moon's Illumination
Outstanding! Real photographs
depicting the one month's cycle of the phases
of the moon. Also a short video showinga time-lapse
movie of the appearance of the Moon over one lunation.
- Your
Sky
Outstanding!
An interactive planetarium that you can produce
maps in the forms described below for any time
and date, viewpoint, and observing location. If
you enter the orbital elements of an asteroid
or comet, Your Sky will compute its current position
and plot it on the map. Each map is accompanied
by an ephemeris for the Sun, Moon, planets, and
any tracked asteroid or comet. A control panel
permits customisation of which objects are plotted,
limiting magnitudes, colour scheme, image size,
and other parameters; each control is linked to
its description in the help file.
- Your
Weight on Other Worlds
This is a good site to meet the objectives of
description and measurement of weight using a
student interactive activity that asks them to
compute their weight if they were on another planet.
The site contains good graphics, easy to follow
instructions for teacher and student. Once the
student enters their real weight it automatically
calculates their weight for all of the planets
and moons of Jupiter. The site requires Java script.
- E.ST.M.3 Fossils -"Fossils provide
important evidence of how life and environmental conditions
have changed in a given location.."
- Canadian
Rockhound: Geological Magazine
Provides articles and multiple photographs of
rocks, minerals, and gems; as well as tutorials
on rock classification, identification of minerals,
and the rock cycle(available in the Junior Rockhound
section). Rock samples and jewelry available with
price lists. An extensive list of categorized
web links is also available.
- Dinosaur Families - The Field Museum of Natural History
Exhibits
This page will bring a student through a series
of on-line tours that shows the evolution of dinosaurs,
plant, birds, and mammals over billions of years.
There is sound and animation. To begin tours click
on One-line Tours under "Life Over Time" - Life
Before Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs.
- Dinosaur
Theme Page
This site allows you to join an online egg
hunt and catch the excitement of fossil researchers
as they "hatch" fossilized eggs to reveal the
embryos inside.
- Dinosaur
Treks
Outstanding
- Students go into the Dinosaur Trek Museum and
are swept back in time to learn about dinosaurs.
As students search for dinosaurs they learn about
special adaptation that dinosaurs had that helped
them to survive. This game is good for students
in 3rd grade and up.
- Earth
- Our World in Motion
This site discusses how most changes in the Earth
are slow. Earth scientists do a lot of detective
work to find these changes. Appropriate for grade
4 & up.
- Fossil
Dig
Simple experiment with chocolate chip cookies
that students 'find' and act like paleontologist.
The chocolate chips that were picked out resemble
true fossils and the indents that remain from
the chips resemble moulds. Hand out a chocolate
chip cookie to each student for them to eat
- Fossil
Tour
This informative site walks the viewer through
many topics that deal with fossils. There is a
presentation on how dead organisms become a fossil
by being covered with sediments. Also, there are
questions with multiple choice answers to choose
from, along with side information on a chosen
picture.
- Help
Rex Solve the Mystery of the Broken Necklace
The student has the opportunity to examine
a fossil/bone necklace and try to determine which
animal (out of three) the bones came from. An
explanation of what the animal is appears when
the student selects that animal's bones. After
answering their question correctly the student
is allowed to view and learn about other species
that look similar to their correct answer.
- Learning
from the Fossil Record
This site walks through fossils. It
includes a timeline, activities, background information,
and pictures that can be used in the classroom.
Includes dig for students, students act as detectives,
and solve guessing games. (Very useful with the
Scientific Method) This site is a good teacher
resource.
- Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom
This is a collection of photographs of minerals
and gems. The site contains information in regard
to streak, hardness, and other physical properties
of rocks. The rock information can be sorted
by streak, hardness, crystal and chemical group.
This is a general information site. The
images are beautiful.
- Paleontology
- The Big Dig
This site has great pictures and activities and
gives possible explanations for some fossils.
- Paleontological Research Institution
This site provides general information.
- Rocks,
Fossils & The Earth
This site has several experiments all set up for
students to use to investigate rocks, fossils
and the features of the earth. They are written
for third or fourth grade, but could be adapted
for other grades. The copyright says reproduction
for educational use is encouraged if you include
the copyright notice. The site includes lesson
plans for activities.
- Tree
Rings as Records of the Past
This site is a lesson plan of how to use tree
rings to teach about the past. This is a
different types of fossil to use when researching
how we find out the trail to the past.
- Web Minerals
Provides information, characteristics, and images
for a large number of minerals. Images and information
may be used for non-commercial and educational
purposes. Good visuals.
- E.ST.M.4 Geologic Time -"Earth processes
seen today (erosion, mountain building, and glacier
movement) make possible the measurement of geologic
time through methods such as observing rock sequences
and using fossils to correlate the sequences at various
locations."
- Discovering
Dinosaurs
This site has many different activities for students
to explore the possibilitites of finding a dinosaur
of their own. They explore the questions
of where did dinosaurs go?; did you eat a dinosaur
for dinner? and what would you do if you adopted
a dinosaur?. There are teacher resources
and lesson plans. The site is easy to navigate
through and very user friendly.
- Learning
from the Fossil Record
This site walks through fossils. It
includes a timeline, activities, background information,
and pictures that can be used in the classroom.
Includes dig for students, students act as detectives,
and solve guessing games. (Very useful with the
Scientific Method) This site is a good teacher
resource.
- Geologic
Time
This site contains good research information concerning
geological time. Good graphics. Some information
on fossils limited to dinosaurs. To get to dinosaur
information go to the bottom of the site and click
on Dinosaur Floor.
- Learning
from the Fossil Record
This site walks through fossils. It
includes a timeline, activities, background information,
and pictures that can be used in the classroom.
Includes dig for students, students act as detectives,
and solve guessing games. (Very useful with the
Scientific Method) This site is a good teacher
resource.
- Museum
of Paleontology
This is an excellent site that has many different
activities and games for students to interact
with. There are teacher resources and lesson
plans. The site is easy to navigate through
and very user friendly.
- Web
Geologic Time Machine
This interactive page could be used by teachers
and students to see examples of rock types and
fossil evidence for the various time periods.
It is very well organized and researched. Perhaps
a teacher could devise a set of questions for
students to answer as they procede through the
various time periods.
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