ATOMS2XP Additional Websites from Summer Institute
WEATHER WEBSITES
Storm Events Database
http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~storms
This website allows you to search the NCDC (National Climatic Data Center) Storm Event database to find various types of storms recorded in your county or use other selection criteria as desired. Other criteria include tornadoes, hail, wind speed, number of injuries, number of deaths, the amount of property damage, and the amount of crop damage. (Richard Campbell)
Project Atmosphere Australia Online
http://www.schools.ash.org.au/paa2/
This website is an online project that was developed in Australia by teachers and has grown to include teachers, students, and meteorologists from all around the world. One of the objectives of this project was to learn about weather in other areas and how it affects the people that live there. Also found here are classroom activities, which include puzzles, art, songs, animations, graphs, forecast, and much more. You will also find challenge activities, discovery activities, a teacher support section, and weather topics and questions. There is much more to be found here so be sure to take the time to browse this site. It will be worth it! (Diane H. Thompson, Lee Dell Sturgis)
Edheads – Weather Activities
http://edheads.org/activities/weather/index.htm
This site is actually part of another website that I found and wanted to add to the list for you to see. It has activities for the students in the classroom as well as a few lesson plans for the teachers. There is also a weather glossary as well as a teacher’s guide. (Paige Peeples)
Miami Museum of Science – Rain Gauge
http://www.miamisci.org/hurricane/rainmeasure.html
This site connects from the Miami Museum of Science and contains information about weather equipment such as the rain gauge and activities that may be incorporated into the classroom using the equipment. (Alicia Epps)
Clouds R Us
http://www.rcn27.dial.pipex.com/cloudsrus/activities.html
This is a creative website for teachers and students. The site is full of projects, games, and activities on weather, forecasting, wind, precipitation, etc. Most of the projects are simple and very inexpensive. (Ollie Tolliver)
Exploring the Environment
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/
This site is very helpful. The site contains information for severe weather, hurricanes, and weather maps. The link to click on for the maps is “Weather or Not”. (Judy Hester)
Cloud Identification
http://www.mlms.logan.k12.ut.us/science/weather/cloud_types.htm
This site allows the student to identify clouds. It uses real cloud pictures. The student will try to match the picture with a cloud name and it tells the student if they are right or wrong. (Penny Mitchell)
Cloud Imaging
http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/clima/imaging/cldfr.htm
This website would be used to enhance the students understanding of cloud patterns and the weather associated with each type. The student would use the graphic box to look at the various types and use them to assist them in developing each type of cloud during the lab where they would build each type on cardboard using cotton balls and string as well as glue and colored markers. This chart also illustrates how the layers of the atmosphere stack-up upon each other. (Tim Horton)
Welcome to the Weather
http://www.wunderground.com/
This site is a good resource for weather maps and statistics. (Richard Cooper)
PHYSICS WEBSITES
Physics Classroom Projects
Air Pressure
http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ph9603.html
At this site, you will find a mini-lesson that demonstrates how air pressure works. The objective of this lesson is to have students work in groups and experiment with various activities on air pressure. This lesson is one from the SMILE PROGRAM that was listed in your Physics resources during the Summer Institute. To get to the main page, go to the bottom of this lesson plan and look for the link. (Derek Bell)
Pro Teachers – Simple Machines
http://www.proteacher.com/110064.shtml
The Pro Teacher archive is a growing collection of tens of thousands of ideas shared over the years by teachers from a across the United States and around the world. All the lessons, experiments, or activities found on this page, deal with the topic of simple machines. (Richard Campbell)
Amusement Park Physics
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/parkphysics/index.html
This website allows you to use Physics and apply it to the real world of amusement park rides. Even if you don’t have an amusement park nearby, there are interactive activities found right here. Also found here is a Physics glossary, explanations to the interactive activities, and a resource list for teachers who wish to do further study. An excellent site! (Lee Dell Sturgis)
Math and Science Activity Center - Units and Measurement
http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/units.htm
This site gives background information on the Metric System as well as historical context and definitions of the base units of the Metric System. Also found is the name and symbol of each base quantity and derived units. (Jessica Cole)
Math and Science Activity Center – Volume
http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/volume.htm
At this website, you will find a list of steps that explains how to calculate the volume of an object. Students can use this interactive activity to practice their mathematical skills. (Jessica Cole, Willie Fay Thompson)
Superposition Principle of Wave
http://www.phy.ntnu.edu.tw/oldjava/waveSuperposition/waveSuperposition.html
This site has an online simulation and detailed explanation of the principle of superposition of waves. There is also a manipulative component to this site, which allows you to change the properties of the waves themselves.
Physics for Beginners
http://physics.webplasma.com/
This site is wonderful for those who feel that they fall short in the physics department. It contains a whole lot of information on concepts in physics as well as an equation solver. How great is that? I think this would be a great addition to anyone’s favorites. (James Rowzee, Tim Horton)
Edheads – Simple Machines
http://edheads.org/activities/simple-machines/
This site is actually pretty cute and contains a fairly good amount of information on simple machines. It could be useful to students as well as teachers. There are activities for use in the classroom as well as a few lesson plans for the teachers. It does, however, have a few other resources, which adds to its appeal. (James Rowzee)
The Magic of Motion
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/sammotionst.html
This is a website for teachers and students. It gives lots of information on Motion. It houses several activities on speed and velocity, acceleration, distance and displacement, forces and changes, acceleration of falling objects, and Newton’s Laws of Motion. It also has word searches, crossword puzzles, and on-line quizzes. (Ollie Tolliver)
Swift: Classroom Materials: Newton’s First Law of Motion
http://swift.sonoma.edu/education/newton/newton_1/
This is a website for teachers. It gives background information on Newton’s Laws of Motion. It also gives activities and experiments for each law. (Ollie Tolliver)
Introduction to Free Body Diagrams
http://eta.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/fbd/intro.html#friction
This site has a good explanation with graphics of free body diagrams showing the forces acting on a body. This site is a good resource for students who need additional assistance with these types of representations. This is a good resource for teachers as well. (Pamela Ward)
Go and Play: Friction
http://eta.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/fbd/intro.html#friction
This site has a good simulation of friction. The user can adjust the coefficient of friction and observe how the speed/ acceleration changes. (Pamela Ward)
Triple Beam Balance
http://www.ohaus.com/products/education/tutorials.asp?source=2
This site gives a tutorial on using the triple beam balance. It also has an area that lets you practice reading the balance. (Penny Mitchell)
Quia
http://www.quia.com/
I used this interactive site in my Physics lesson plan when teaching the three laws of motion. This is a website that can be accessed by teachers and students. It is free for thirty days. Teachers can post quizzes and other activities that students can use. There are also other activities that were posted by other teachers that can be used. (Vanessa Wigfall)
Newton’s Laws of Motion
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/newton1.html
This site provides literature for the teacher and the student. Activities with procedures and examples can also be found. (Vanessa Wigfall)
Physics and Acoustics of Baseball and Softball Bats
http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/bats.html
This website offers insight into the science of the hitting aspect of softball and baseball. It helps to explain how science plays such a key role in the art of hitting. (Tim Horton)
How the Physics of Football Works
http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/physics-of-football4.htm
This website offers the teacher a unique way to connect physics to students who might not otherwise see the importance of the subject to them. (Tim Horton)
GENERAL WEBSITES
Access Excellence
http://www.accessexcellence.org/
At this website, you will find a plethora of science information. Science Updates is always being updated with articles to keep you informed of what’s going on around the science world. The Graphics Gallery has some really good diagrams that are labeled and have explanations as well. At the Activities Exchange, you will find several activities collections to choose from. Under the Activities-To-Go heading, there is a search section that allows you to search by subject, such as environmental science and genetics, and grade level. (Diane H. Thompson)
CELLS alive!
http://www.cellsalive.com/index.htm
This website is provided to any teacher with Internet access. Many aspects of this website can be used in PowerPoint lectures, and student projects. Several parts of this site were used in the Summer Institute, for example, the mitosis animation. (Diane H. Thompson, Lee Dell Sturgis)
Teachers.Net – Lesson Plans
http://www.teachers.net/cgi-bin/lessons/sort.cgi?searchterm=Science
This link provides lesson plans submitted by actual teachers. All lesson plans located on this page are science related. They are not, however, all middle school related. But, each lesson is clearly labeled as whether or not it is senior, middle, elementary, pre-school, or advanced. (Derek Bell)
The Science Spot
http://www.sciencespot.net/
This website offers lesson plans, activities, worksheets, and project ideas for middle school science educators. The Science Classroom offers lesson plans, links and worksheets. The Science Club offers class or club project ideas. Daily Science Trivia is a list of trivia questions that have been separated into topics for use in your classroom. The Puzzle Corner is where you can find word searches, crosswords, games, and more. These are just a few great things that can be found at this site. (Richard Campbell, Richard Cooper)
Discovery School.com
http://school.discovery.com/
This is a great website for teachers. It contains a link to many lesson plans. These lesson plans are broken down by grade level as well as by subject area. This site also contains several other types of teaching tools such as clip art, crossword puzzles, and information about science fairs. Also found here is a great newsletter and a custom classroom, for which you have to register. This site is worth a visit! (James Rowzee, Alicia Epps)
Teachnet
http://www.teachnet.com/
This is great site for teachers. Teachers can visit this site and place their own ideas here for others to use. You will also find lesson plans here on several different subjects spanning many grade levels. There is also a link to a section called Power Tools, which are ideas and tips to help you save time and make teaching easier. The best part about this site is the amount of ideas that are shared on this site. (James Rowzee)
The Science Page
http://sciencepage.org/
This website has a large collection of different science related websites. It also has links for lesson plans, activities and labs. The science sites are quite diverse and cover subjects from Biology to Paleontology. There is much more that can be found here and it is worth taking the time to look around. (James Rowzee, Willie Fay Thompson, Richard Cooper)
Middle School Science Lesson Plans
http://www.middleschoolscience.com/
This website is a collection of lesson plans done by a middle school science teacher that taught science for 8 years. There are many things that can be found here including lesson plans for teachers, instructional materials, sample activities, ideas for class procedures and lab exercises, just to name a few. There are many topics covered, such as life science, chemistry, physics, and earth science. This site is worth looking at. (Jamie S. Temple, Pamela Ward, Penny Mitchell, Joe Garrett)
ScienceVIEW
http://scienceview.berkeley.edu/showcase/index.html
This website has links to several really cool interactive lessons. Some of the subjects that can be seen here are chemistry, physics, and life science, just to name a few. This is a great site for interactive activities that can be used by either the teacher or student. (Jamie S. Temple)
School Express
http://www.schoolexpress.com/
This site is another general educational website where you can find lesson plans, activities, and worksheets. Also found here is home school curriculum and home study activities. (Jamie S. Temple)
School Clip Art
http://www.school-clip-art.com/
This website has free clip art that can be used for educational purposes. These images can be used on worksheets, lesson plans, quizzes, tests, exams, puzzles, and homework. (Jamie S. Temple)
Scirus
http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/
This site is a science search engine. I have included it in my resource list because most science teachers don’t know it is available. This site gives science information only. There are journal articles available for research. I would consider it mainly a teacher resource. (Judy Hester)
Science Lesson Plans and Resources
http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edsci.htm
This site provides links to lesson plans and resources for all grade levels and all science areas typically taught in K-12 schools. (Willie Fay Thompson, Richard Cooper)
Science Activities Manual: K-8
http://www.utm.edu/departments/cece/samk8.php
This site provides hands-on activities based on the National Science Education Standards. It covers many science topics. (Willie Fay Thompson)
Science Activities
http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science/core/8thgrd/sciber8/teacher/8corelat.htm
This site provides literature for the teacher and the student. Activities with procedures and examples can also be found matched to their correct standard. (Vanessa Wigfall)
PBS – Science
http://www.pbs.org/science/
This is a very educational site that deals with science and technology. It is a site of an educational source that has been trusted for many years. (Joe Garrett)
Science Magazine
http://www.sciencemag.org/
This site is a good resource for teachers. It gives updated information in the development of science that will lead to good classroom discussions. This site is not meant for students, necessarily, but for the teacher to get the information from and relay onto the students. (Joe Garrett)
Education World
http://www.educationworld.com/science/
This site provides many ways to engage students in the learning process. It also covers several areas in science. (Joe Garrett)
Science Resources for Teachers
http://www.sitesforteachers.com/resources_sharp/science/sci__index.html
This site provides several links to other sites that are extremely beneficial to middle school science. It includes lesson plans, activities, and instructional materials. (Joe Garrett)
Why Files
http://www.whyfiles.org/
Wow, this site has a little of everything. Touting itself as “the science behind the news”, it deals with many of the issues affecting the planet today. There is a section that has science related pictures as well as an archives section to look at past articles. This is a good general research site. (Richard Cooper)
Science Activities
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/letsnet/noframes/subjects/science/index.html
This is a MSU site! I found a lot of cool things here that deal with teaching and it was very informative and helpful. Much of what I researched had little to do with the lessons we designed but more just looking around. I was satisfied that I could find useful information from this site. (Richard Cooper)
SMILE
http://www.iit.edu/~smile/index1.html
This site seems to be a workshop compilation much like ours. The highlights are of things that occurred at the SMILE workshop. I found many things I could and did use in developing my lesson plans. (Richard Cooper)
Free Stock Photography
Fotosearch Stock Photography has a massive collection of atmospheric images including all different types of clouds, weather, and satellite views. There are thousands of photos of Cumulus clouds alone (see http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/cumulus-clouds.html), and over 90,000 images of clouds generally (http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/clouds.html)! Browsing through the archive is free, and there are no access charges, registration requirements, or usage limits.
Cirrus Clouds - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/cirrus-clouds.html
Cirrostratus Clouds - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/cirrostratus-clouds.html
Cirrocumulus Clouds - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/cirrocumulus-clouds.html
Altostratus Clouds - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/altostratus-clouds.html
Altocumulus Clouds - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/altocumulus-clouds.html
Stratus Clouds - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/stratus-clouds.html
Stratocumulus Clouds - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/stratocumulus-clouds.html
Nimbostratus Clouds - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/nimbostratus-clouds.html
Cumulus Clouds - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/cumulus-clouds.html
Cumulonimbus Clouds -http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/cumulonimbus-clouds.html
Thunderstorms - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/thunderstorm.html
Lightning -http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/lightning.html
Hurricanes - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/hurricane.html
Tornado - http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/tornado.html