After Science4Us! Review...

Well after slamming Science4Us!, I thought I should list science resources for K-2.
1. Apologia Young Explorers Science is one of the best elementary science series I've ever encountered.  Every one of the texts has loads of hands-on activities.  The journals are loaded with even more resources.
2.  Scratch from MIT teaches kids to code.  I think coding games trumps playing educational games.  Now this is science.
3.  NASA's Kids Club is free, interactive, online program.
4. PBS Kids Squad is also interactive and free, too.
5. Steve Spangler has videos (and experiements, galore!). So, if you want to see a demo before trying the lab. Go here first.
6.  Science is Fun is from Shakashiri, who's been developing materials for young people for decades. Try an experiment.
7.  TOPS Learning Systems have free experiments to try.  These books are all fabulous and require inexpensive equipment.  Lots of value, especially, if you can buy these used.

NSTA Review: Science4Us!

Science4Us! Is an online, interactive science book, a software program with apps available.  The book has elements of a Learning Management System embedded in the program: lessons plans and student assignments which allows the teacher to select class activities for a computer science session.   I tried the program with both an iPad and a Dell laptop and was much more successful accessing programs with the laptop.  The app downloaded to an iPad quickly.  My demo login information went unrecognized; so I couldn’t evaluate the app.  (I might mention that Virginia is misspelled in the student drop-down menu.)   However, the program loads quickly and is easy to navigate on a laptop.   Science4Us! makes adding and editing student assignments intuitive.  This book has loads of videos, games, and activities for both teachers and students.  The graphics and animation feel clumsy and the educational songs are weak.  Smartphones are ubiquitous; kids expect high quality video animation and graphics. Science4Us! doesn’t deliver engaging animation.  The science content is solid; but, will a child watch a video if the narration is irritating and the message is too repetitive?  The Science4Us! website offers free ‘hands-on’ activities, such as slime, or sorting buttons, which are fine.  But, is this program a good value?  Home-school families may join for a monthly fee of $7.95 per student.  I imagine the price for a large school district is much lower.  I don’t think this is a good value, even as a tool for science review or enrichment, especially in light of the broad number of free resources online, such as those from NASA.   Instead, early elementary-aged children (K-2) would profit more from ‘hands-on’ science lessons mixing, using magnets, and measuring, especially if the lessons are prefaced with good non-fiction science books and a lively class discussion.

Home-schoolers: The Young Explorers Series and Homescience Tools vastly outperform this program.

Chemistry and Physical Science TOPS

This lab from TOPS Science dovetails well with Density.  Check it out!

TOPS Learning

If you haven't heard of TOPSScience, try this sample lesson.  All of their lessons use simple equipment and materials, even Electricity and Magnetism.  I've used these two for Physical Science.  Stellar resources!

NSTA Review: Bluespace

http://www.nsta.org/recommends/ViewProduct.aspx?ProductID=23238

NSTA Reviews: Voyager's Greatest Hits

Voyager’s Greatest Hits by Alexandra Siy is clever. Siy organizes her book about the Voyager Planetary Mission into eight  ‘tracks’ or chapters; the software used on Voyager 1 and 2 is on eight track recorders.  Imagine forty year old eight tracks still running?  Who knew eight track software could be updated?  Voyager’s Greatest Hits is chock-full of information about the two Voyagers and their epic journey.  Siy had fun writing this book, which has loads of literary, cultural, and musical references, such as Track Four about Saturn, titled, ‘Lord of the Rings’ (p. 25) or ‘Freebirds’ (p. 57) to describe the two Voyagers leaving our solar system.  Siy weaves some planetary history into the Voyager story.  For example, in Track 3, ‘King Jupiter’, Siy discusses Galileo’s discovery of Jupiter’s moons in 1610 (pp. 15-16) and the discovery of Jupiter’s ‘Great Red Spot’ by Robert Hooke and Giovanni Cassini in 1665 (p.17). Siy’s prose draws the reader into her story.  In Track 7, Cosmic Cruisers, under the heading, ‘Suspended in a Sunbeam’, she writes, “She found Neptune, a blurry blue bead in a sapphire-specked sea.  There was Uranus, smeared like a drip of wet paint.” (p. 49) I haven’t mentioned the images!  Throughout the book are images from two Voyagers, the Hubble telescope, and a variety of observatories and collage images.  Siy includes diagrams, too.  Voyager’s instruments are labeled in an excellent diagram. (p.12). The Glossary (pp 68-69), the lists of additional resources (pp 70-72), and the index (pp 73-74) will help a budding astronomer to learn more about Voyager, especially the website, ‘Where are the Voyagers right now?’ (p.70)  Voyager’s Greatest Hits has been carefully researched and packed with new information about the planets at the far reaches of the solar system. Siy concludes with Track 8, ‘Voyager’s Alien Playlist’, a description of the ‘Golden Records’ (pp59-63), a message from Earth to aliens finding Voyager. Imagine selecting the songs to record!  Librarians should put this title at the top of their STEM  wish lists particularly for upper elementary-aged children.  This book is sure to become a classic.

CD spinners

It's summer and our favorite seven year old, Paul, needs ideas to stay engaged. I've used these spinners for a variety of programs.  I bet you'll have most of the equipment on hand: bottle caps, CDs,  markers, copies of the template, marbles, and glue, preferably a glue gun.  Mocomi has one with detailed instructions. Mathwire and  Heidisongs have more templates here.  Make loads of copies of the templates, save the bottle caps, and scrounge CDs.  Let your kids experiment with complementary colors using crayons, markers, and sharpies.  

Google Classroom

Guess what?  Google Classroom is available to anyone with a gmail account!  Free!  I used Google Classroom a few years ago when I worked part-time for a private school.  I loved how easy it was to assemble assignments, notes, and materials for my students, especially when they were absent.  Home-school moms and Co-ops may want to take a look.  You can post videos, blogs, and PDF files. I like how it organizes the material into classrooms or topics.  Try it!