HomeschoolRecess's Community Shared Websites

Free "History of Science" Lesson Plans for 6-12 gr.

Ellen — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:57:45 +0000

link

Free "History of Science" Lesson Plans for 6-12 gr.

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/ufhatch/pages/05-SecondaryTeaching/NSF-PLANS/contents.html

Written for teachers, these are interdisciplinary lesson plans. Some consist of only one or two activities, while others could fill a semester or more. The lessons I've read are clear, fully explained, and include extensive bibliographies. Most are written with the expectation that students will be working in a group. They could a be a valuable resource for a homeschool science club.

Some of the lesson plans would be a fabulous add-on to a history or book club. The Lewis and Clark Scientific Adventure would be a wonderful way help kids appreciate challenges and importance of their famous journey, or a great accompanying activity after reading The Captain's Dog

Cell Craft Flash game

Ellen — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:28:17 +0000

link

Cell Craft Flash game

http://www.kongregate.com/games/cellcraft/cellcraft

This engaging strategy game leads players through the parts of the cell and their functions. Reading is required, and the topics covered are on a middle school and high school level. There is nothing about the game that is inappropriate for younger kids, except that it's probably too hard. Here's the description from the developer's website:

CellCraft, is a thought-provoking strategy game set in the microscopic world of single-celled organisms. Players take on the role of a simple amoeba who must survive and thrive in various hostile environments.

Players must make, use, and transform resources like ATP, glucose, and amino acids, as well as the cell's various organelles, including mitochondria, lysosomes, and the endoplasmic reticulum. The player must hunt down and digest organic material, survive waves of infectious viruses, and more. Players can earn "extra lives" by splitting their cell through mitosis. In-between levels, the player has the opportunity to "splice" their cell's DNA in order to change its capabilities, and adapt to differing circumstances.

CellCraft was commissioned by Anthony Pecorella of Wake Forest University, through a generous grant from the McArthur foundation.

This is a long, challenging game-- I spent about an hour playing, and gave up on level 5 (it's fun but I just can't spend anymore time on it right now). I can't promise that there isn't something inappropriate beyond that, but it doesn't seem likely to me.

Please be aware that the site hosting the game has links to the other games on their site, and not all the games are appropriate.

London Lives 1690 to 1800 Crime, Poverty and Social Policy in the Metropolis

Ellen — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:11:38 +0000

link

London Lives 1690 to 1800 Crime, Poverty and Social Policy in the Metropolis

http://www.londonlives.org/

A fascinating site which allows users to learn about the lives of the poor in London between 1690 and 1800. A large number of documents have been digitized and are available for online browsing. In addition, researchers have gone through the documents and compiled biographies of many people. Because many of the documents come from the criminal justice system, the biographies include quite a few criminals, but the biographies I read were not explicit. Intended for adults, but could be interesting for older homeschoolers.

A description of the project from the website:

London Lives makes available, in a fully digitised and searchable form, a wide range of primary sources about eighteenth-century London, with a particular focus on plebeian Londoners. This resource includes over 240,000 manuscript and printed pages from eight London archives and is supplemented by fifteen datasets created by other projects. It provides access to historical records containing over 3.35 million name instances. Facilities are provided to allow users to link together records relating to the same individual, and to compile biographies of the best documented individuals.

Children of the (Industrial) Revolution | National Museum Wales

Ellen — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:47:05 +0000

link

Children of the (Industrial) Revolution | National Museum Wales

http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/childrenoftherevolution/

An online unit study about what it was like to be a working class child in Wales during the Industrial Revolution in the early to mid 1800s. The unit includes information from primary sources, period illustrations and videos (obviously, the video are modern), and gives a detailed look at the topic. Booklists are included to allow you to delve further, although many of the books may be difficult to find outside of the UK. Most appropriate for middle school or high school students, it could easily be spread over a month or more. The "work" section may upset sensitive kids, but is powerful and presented sensitively. Younger kids might enjoy the videos in the "education" section, and the interactive tour of a period home.

Beti Bwt's Wash Day | National Museum Wales

Ellen — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 19:06:01 +0000

link

Beti Bwt's Wash Day | National Museum Wales

http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/2460/

A fun and detailed video showing how women did the laundry in Wales before there were washing machines. Includes a song in Welsh about Beti Bwt's washing misadventures (pronounced Betty Boat). The site also has an online quiz reviewing the information taught in the video.

Xtimeline.com- Create interactive timelines for free!

Ellen — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:07:00 +0000

link

Xtimeline.com- Create interactive timelines for free!

http://www.xtimeline.com/

This is a free service that lets users create timelines online, and has plenty of timelines available for searching on a number of topics and time periods. When you create your timeline, you can choose whether or not to share it with the general public, and with whom to share editing.

The service is loading very slowly for me at the moment. Hopefully the issue will be corrected soon.

Regulating genes: an interactive genetic mutation game

Ellen — Tue, 25 May 2010 14:45:29 +0000

link

Regulating genes: an interactive genetic mutation game

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/interactives/regulating-genes/index.html

From NOVA, this is an online game that lets you introduce mutations to the genetic code of a bug, and see the results. The game highlights why different cells express different genes, and how different mutations affect gene expression differently. Includes background information, a lesson plan (under teacher resources) and a student worksheet (under student resources). Be aware that an audio recording of an article titled "sexual canibilism" (about spiders) is highlighted in the sidebar of this page.

Now I need to finish this write-up, because my daughter needs to mutate some bugs.

Insects Lesson Plan for K-2

Ellen — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:01:21 +0000

link

Insects Lesson Plan for K-2

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/insect-investigations-for-prek-2/a/1257/

Ideas and links for little ones wanting to know more about bugs. Includes tie-ins to more basic scientific concepts like classification, and habitats.

National Geographic Xpeditions: online & offline geography activities and lesson plans

Ellen — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:28:40 +0000

link

National Geographic Xpeditions: online & offline geography activities and lesson plans

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/

There are 2 ways for homeschoolers to use this website: parents can use the included lesson plans (grades 1-12 are represented) to teach about specific topics, or students can explore the virtual "Xpedition Hall" independently and learn about mapping and geography. The lesson plans are creative and use materials from respected scholars and artists. The Xpedition Hall requires reading, and is best suited for middle school age or older. The tasks in the Xpedition Hall emphasize understanding and applying geographic techniques and information, not rote memorization.

Glogster- an online alternative to lapbooks or posters...

Ellen — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:31:54 +0000

link

Glogster- an online alternative to lapbooks or posters...

http://edu.glogster.com/

I just learned about this fun way for kids to demonstrate what they've learned about a topic. It's called a "glog" and it's a kind of online poster-- kids can drag and drop text, photos, and video in the free version. Upgrade to the premium version (best suited for a co-op, price is "per-Teacher") to add drawings, powerpoint and spreadsheet data.

A great alternative to posters and lapbooks for kids who struggle with crafts, or moms or who struggle with mess crafts inevitably cause.