My Science Box

http://www.newyorkscienceteacher.com/sci/movies/index.php

A great list by subject for videos, including worksheets! The Super Size Me worksheet even has before AND after questions.

Please click "Add Child Page" to recommend videos to show in a science classroom. Please include the following info: (and attach study guide please if you have it!)

 - Title

 - Distributor (PBS, National Geographic, etc.)

 - Where found (Berkeley Unified Digital Library, Explo Library, Blockbuster, Netflix, Etc.)

 - Science Concept Targeted (DNA ethics, volcanoes, Bad Science)

When I suddenly fall ill, or otherwise don't want to take 10 hours to plan a sub lesson, I usually go online to http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/ and plug in some vocab words for some puzzles (they have some pre-made banks of words also!)

I make four puzzles using the exact same list of words. I usually start them with the word search (even non-readers can do this!) then go on to word scramble, then crossword. This because they need to know the words pretty well by the time they get to the crossword - also, the word search has the word bank on it.

http://www.newbaybridge.org/classroom/

Here's a great web resource:

http://wise.berkeley.edu 

When I was little,I heard about Sir Issac Newton's math.

Now this math is harder but simple.

1:34->5<=(31)

 2:<<<<<<<<<<(10)

 3:34+23>=(56)

>=1 less <=1 more

Summary
The Lawrence Hall of Science in the hills above UC Berkeley offers fantastic hands-on workshops and exhibits related to earthquakes and plate tectonics. The middle school program, “Earthquakes: Whose Fault Is It?” provides an excellent introduction to seismology. The program begins with a large puzzle of the Earth’s tectonic plates to introduce the idea of plate tectonics and begin a discussion of the location and movement of the tectonic plates. Students then investigate earthquakes and learn to read real and simulated seismograms. Finally, students use seismic recordings to locate the epicenter of an earthquake. Afterward the workshop, the permanent outdoor exhibit, “Forces that Shape the Bay” provides a free-form venue to explore plate tectonics through hands-on exhibits. The other exhibits and planetarium are also worthwhile.

Marin Headlands: photograph of Marin Headlands from the Golden Gate Bridge by Christopher BelandSummary
The Marin Headlands contain the geologic record of a great deal of plate tectonic action that can be used to piece together the history of the formation of California. Briefly, around 180 million year ago, the North American plate collided with a now subducted plate called the Farallon plate. As the Farallon plate dove under the North American plate, bits and pieces of the Farallon plate were scraped off. These bits and pieces can be found in the Marin Headlands in several distinctive rock formations: pillow basalts (at the Point Bonita Lighthouse), chert (near Rodeo Lagoon), and sandstone (at Rodeo Beach). By closely observing these rocks and figuring out how they formed, an understanding of how California itself was formed may be inferred.

Earthquake TowerSummary
In this project, students construct drinking straw towers that must withstand the shaking of a shake table. One by one, 250 gram sandbags are loaded onto the towers. The towers must remain standing for 1 minute from the start of the simulated earthquake. Students then have 2 minutes to repair any damage before another sandbag is loaded and the next earthquake test begins. Students quickly learn basic principles of earthquake engineering and architecture as well as the team skills that are a basic part of all science and engineering fields.

Summary
Students take what they know about earthquake, volcano and mid-ocean ridge distributions (The Big One and Plate Patterns) and put it together with what they know about convection in the Earth’s mantle (Journey Through Earth and Convection in a Pan). They revisit what they know about how earthquakes are created, by the sudden release of energy as plates collide or rub together (but not so much when they split apart). They look for patterns in their world maps, observing that mid-ocean ridges and dense earthquake/volcano zones tend to lie on the opposite side of plates. With this information, they can infer the direction that the plates are moving. Next students build a model illustrating seafloor spreading and discuss the magnetic and seafloor age data that support this model. Finally, students codify the different types of plate boundaries, describing the various features and characteristics of each.