Resources To Start Off Your Week 64

     Okay so I realize that it is technically Tuesday… not Monday… but I got swept up with the busy schedule of the long weekend and forgot to post yesterday! The good news is that we have finally started seeding our fields so my fiance, father-in-law and our extended family had a busy weekend cultivating and beginning to seed. They also had to move our cattle from the yard out to the various pastures as well so they were working VERY hard over the long weekend.

     For me, the weekend consisted of getting caught up on housework, moving vehicles around for the guys in the field, and attempting to do some prep work for school. Part of that included finding some neat resources that I thought fit in perfect with my science and math classes that I am going to have in September! As always, I will be adding these to my list of resources under the Fav Websites heading.

1 ) Wonderopolis
– Have you ever wondered…..? This website is a great resource to explore
  all of those random and thought-provoking questions that the innocence of
  childhood brings up. Why do stink bugs, stink? Is the 5 second rule really
  true? Can you tickle yourself?
– Wonderopolis allows users to search through various “wonders” that can
  be narrowed down by subject area and grade level. Each “wonder” includes
  text, videos, and images to help explain the question.
– The website also features a “Wonder of the Day” that could be built into a
  morning routine or used as an activating strategy for science classes. I think
  this website could be really neat for drawing students into science classes and
  encouraging creativity and, well, wonder. 
– http://wonderopolis.org/

2 ) PBS: Design Squad Nation
– This website, which is part of the PBS website, features some great hands-on
  activities and ideas to get students engaged in engineering. Users can pick from
  a variety of topics such as structures, simple machines, electricity, etc and find
  a plethora of lesson plans, animations, and videos!
– Teachers can use the lesson plan/activity ideas or use the animations and videos
  as supplementary materials for their own lessons. I am definitely going to be using
  this with my students in the upcoming year as components of this are included in
  both our Grade 7 and Grade 8 curriculum.
– http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/

3 ) Scholastic: Study Jams
– One of the fun things I try to include in my classes is a music lesson to meet the
  needs of my musical learners and provide a new, engaging opportunity for my
  students. More often than not, this is provided in the form of various YouTube
  videos put out by other teachers/students, but Study Jams has now provided
  a new platform for this!
– Put out by Scholastic, Study Jams features math and science songs to help
  students learn and understand various vocabulary and concepts. Students
  can watch videos, test their knowledge, and sing along with songs created for
  educational purposes.
– While it states that it is created for elementary students I would use certain
  videos with middle years and it would be a great website for differentiating
  instruction.
– http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams