3 Sites every teacher should try this year

Newsela is a site that offers a wide variety of current events articles for students to read. Users can browse for articles by searching one of their eight categories and many articles come with ready made quizzes. What separates Newsela from other sites is the ability to set the articles to varying reading levels. Any article can be set for lexile levels ranging from a low of 530 up to 960 which is an invaluable feature in today's heterogeneous classrooms. The site is free to use but they do offer additional features for a fee.

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Kahoot is a great tool for creating formative assessments and review games for students of any age and it will be an instant hit as soon as you use it with your students. Creating Kahoots is very simple and intuitive and it allows you to add text, images and even  videos. Kahoot doesn't require any student information and kids simply use a special code to join your game. Kahoot also allows you to add YouTube videos to play at the beginning and when the game is over you can download your student's results to see how they did.

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Tackk is a great site where students can easily create online posters that can be shared via email, social media or be embedded onto a webpage or blog. As soon as you arrive on the website you can start creating your poster by editing their ready made template. The site is simple to use and users can easily add a title, body text, pictures, videos, and even songs. Content can be added from YouTube, Instagram, Vimeo, Sound Cloud, Hulu, and Spotify. Tackk is free to join and it is one of those great websites that anyone can use and students should enjoy.

35 outstanding education websites to explore

Below you will find a collection of some the best resources I have discovered over the past six months. While there are many you may have seen before, I am confident that there are some that may be new to you as well. You will find lesson plans, videos, worksheets, graphic organizers, games, project ideas, and list goes on. Give yourself plenty of time because there is a lot to see. Enjoy.

Turtle Diary
Here at Turtle Diary, you can find a large selection of games, videos, worksheets all tailored for young learners up to 3rd grade. The site has hundreds of games that support learning in math, science, and ELA. All the resources on this site can be searched by age, topic, or type of resource. The site is free to join for teachers but there is a fee if you want to add students.

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EZ School
EZ School is an educational site with a wide variety of resources for most teachers. If you teach math, science, social studies, ELA, or a foreign language, then EZ School has resources for you. There are games, quizzes, worksheets, articles, and videos that students and teachers can access for free. The site is easy to navigate as their resources are categorized by grade, subject, and resource type.

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4Kids.org
This educational site is produced by the University of Kansas with the purpose of stimulating kids desire to learn. The site offers many fun educational opportunities with links to fun science, math, and history websites as well as a nice selection of games. They also feature current events articles for younger learners and allow kids the chance to write to the site about future publications, as well as an “Ask Amy” column which responds to questions submitted by readers.

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Game Classroom
Game Classroom offers lessons, videos, games, and worksheets for students up to grade 6. Their website states their goal is to provide students, parents, and teachers with the best interactive homework help the web has to offer. Students will enjoy the sites huge collection of math and language arts games while parents and teachers will find the site's library of lessons to be helpful. Teachers and parents will also enjoy their library of videos as well as their large selection of both printable and online worksheets.

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FREE Educational Resources

The Federal Registry for Educational Excellence (FREE) website contains a massive collection of education resources. Animations, primary documents, photograph collections, videos, maps, articles, and the lists goes on and on. If you have never visited this incredible collection of educational resources for all subjects and grade levels, then you really have been missing out. For all that our government does wrong, their collection of FREE educational tools and materials is quite extensive and very useful.

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Graphic Organizers

There are many places on the web where you can find graphic organizers but it may take searching through several sites before you find the right one. The next time you need a graphic organizer, start here at this collection of graphic organizers from the Vermilion Parish. They have collected the best organizers from around the internet into one large collection for you to use.

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CK-12

CK-12.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to education. Their website offers a large collection of resources for students and teachers like Brain Genie which I previously shared. The bulk of their resources are math and science centered where students can learn about chemistry, physics, algebra, and geometry just to name four. They also offer resources for other content areas as well including history, English, and SAT prep. Their website is free to join and offers a wealth of learning resources and activities. Their site offers articles, quizzes, interactive lessons, videos and students can keep track of their learning as they complete lessons and activities and members can upload their own resources to the site as well.

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Gilder Lehrman Institute

History teachers will want to spend some time here at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website. It features great resources such as this American History by Era which allows you to learn about American history by era and or theme. There is also a section dedicated to primary sources which is also categorized by era. In their Programs and Exhibitions area there is an online exhibitions page which includes enhanced audio, videos and slideshows about history. The site also includes a multimedia section with hundreds of videos as well as a community section where members of the site can communicate and share information. Suffice to say that the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History  is a fantastic resource for history teachers and students.

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Chronicling America

Chronicling America, from the Library of Congress, is a site that contains a huge database of historic newspaper pages from the years 1836 to 1922. Their homepage features "newspapers from 100 years ago today" but users of the site can use their extensive search option to look for year, state, topic, newspaper, dates, and even language. Here is a clip from a newspaper when I searched "World War I, New York, 1918."

Chronicling America could be a good tool for student research from a particular era or topic. If you are a history teacher you owe it to yourself and your students to take some time to browse around and see what the site has to offer.

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Newsela 

This website helps students develop close reading and critical thinking skills by offering current event articles with varying levels of text complexity. Lexile levels of an article range from 2nd grade up to 12th grade which allows for differentiation within the same classroom. The articles are categorized by war/peace, science, kids, money, law, health and arts. Many of the articles are accompanied by quizzes that provide quick feedback. Newsela is currently in beta and is free for all teachers. I think you will find Newsela to be a valuable resource for your students.

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RSA Animate 

RSA Animate is a You Tube channel from RSA.org that contains a series of  thought provoking videos about education, economics and a variety of other important topics such as this one about human behavior and what motivates us. After watching this video you will want to share it with your bosses, managers, CEO's, politicians and other people in power. One of my personal favorites is  this one that describes the changing paradigm shift in education by Sir Ken Robinson. RSA Animate currently has 18 videos in their collection and I highly recommend you check out their collection of videos.

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Problem Attic

The school year is more than half over and end of the year state exams are looming. If you teach science, social studies, math, or ELA at the secondary level then you should really take a look at Problem-Attic. With this site you can quickly and easily create review tests and quizzes as well as flash cards for your students to use. Problem-Attic has a test bank of over 80,000 questions from old New York State Regents exams as well as science, math, and social studies state assessments from around the country. It is free to join and so simple to navigate. You name your test, browse their huge question bank, select your questions, format the test, and you are done. Problem-Attic is a fantastic tool for teachers because it will help you save your most valuable resource, your time.

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Learners TV 

Learners TV is an online resource that provides thousands of videos, lectures, tests, and animations on a wide array of college subjects and disciplines. The website currently has over 29,000 video lectures on topics such as biology, history, law, philosophy, and economics to name a few. This website is an excellent way for college students to support their classroom instruction and best of all it is free to join.

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Sketch Toy

Here is a website that allows you to draw a picture on their website and share it on your Facebook page. One advantage to Sketch Toy is their "graph paper" background to help you keep your art centered and symmetrical. They also have a feature that makes your art vibrate much like an old cartoon. If drawing is your thing, why not give Sketch Toy a try.

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Daily Infographic 

Daily Infographic is a website that features the best and most dynamic infographics found on the world wide web. If you are searching for an infographic about a specific topic then this website can help you as well. You can use their search bar or just select the category that interests you and they will more than likely have the infographic you were looking for. If you really enjoy their site then you can subscribe to their site and have daily infographics emailed to you.

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Google Tutor

Seems as though just about everyone uses some type of Google product these days. Google Tutor is a site that wants to be your resource for all things Google. They are one of the leading websites for news, tips, and tutorials for Google and their products and services They are not affiliated with Google, but are just huge fans of Google who want to share their passion with the world. If you have any Google related questions, go to Google Tutor and they should have the answer.

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365 Things to make you go hmm 

This site has nothing to do with the C&C Music Factory song. It is a resource from a site called Sparky Teaching that challenges students to think and respond to a question. 365 Things is a good warm up activity or or writing prompt. Students can leave their response on the website or teachers can display the question and have students respond at their desks on paper. Either way, 365 Things to make you go hmm is an good resource for any teacher to spark think, writing, or conversations within the classroom.

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eQuiz Show

When I first discovered eQuiz Show, I knew I had to write about it on this blog. eQuiz Show allows you to create online Jeopardy style games which you can use in the classroom or students can play them from home to review. Creating the games is very easy and you can always edit them at any time. A password is required to edit any quiz so no other user can edit your quiz unless they have your password. Teachers, if you are looking for an engaging way to review with your students, then really should give eQuiz Show a try.

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Embed Plus

Embed Plus is a tool that enhances viewing You Tube videos by giving you full control like you have with DVD players. Embed Plus allows you to fast forward, rewind, pause, instant replay/loop, play in slow motion, zoom, crop, and mark chapters. It is available as a Chrome extension or Word Press plug in and can also be embedded into a blog or website.  Check out Embed Plus and you will likely be changing the way you watch You Tube.

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Every Slide
With Every Slide you can turn your average presentation slides into an interactive educational experience for your students. You simply have to upload your presentation and then add polls that your students can respond to with their own devices. The polls can be text, true/false or multiple choice and you can add them ahead of time or as you go. Students can join the presentation by typing in a code which is visible at the top of your presentation. This is a powerful tool and best of all, it is free for teachers.

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Flip Quiz
Most teachers are always looking for ways to make formative assessments more fun and engaging. Flip Quiz (in Beta) allows you to create Jeopardy style review games and you don't have to possess any technical know how. Once you sign up you can easily create your first game in a short amount of time and your students will love playing along. Thank you Doug Peterson (@dougpete) for sharing this via Twitter.

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Populr
This site allows you to create a simple single page poster with text, images, and videos. Once you sign up (it's free) you simply add the elements and then publish the final product. Elements can be added from your computer, social media sites such a s Flickr, or added from the web. One of the best features on Populr is that it allows collaboration on a page which is great for group projects. Finished projects can be shared via email or your favorite social media sites.

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Pastbook
Here is a terrific site for creating an online photo album or scrapbooks. This site also allows collaboration which make it ideal for group projects. Signing up does require an email address but no other personal information is needed. The site is very simple to use as all you need is to add pictures and then text to accompany each picture and the site does the rest. Once you are done the book can be downloaded as a PDF to be handed in or students can share the book with the teacher.

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Fodey
Fodey is very useful a website that allows you to write your own newspaper story and headline. The site also allows you to change the name of the newspaper as well as the publishing date which makes it a perfect tool for social studies projects. Once the story is completed you can download it to your computer or use a screen capture tool to save the image. While this is a perfect tool for history projects, this website is great for any subject area.

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Newspaper Generator
This newspaper generator by Homemade Gifts Made Easy is very similar to Fodey but it has several features that make it more a powerful tool. First, it allows you to add a picture to your story which helps to make the finished product more interesting to students. Second, there seems to be no limit to how much text you can write. The finished product can be saved as a pdf by right clicking on the image. However, the story you write will be accompanied by several "nonsense" stories that come with the site.

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Paste to Grid

This website (currently in beta) allows you to easily create a photo collage which can be used on a website or as part of a student project. Choose one of the 14 grids and then add pictures and the final product can be saved to your computer as a jpg file. This tool can be used along with the Newspaper Generator above by Homemade Gifts Made Easy to create a nice newspaper project. 

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Brother Creative Center
This powerful site by Brother allows you to generate posters, newsletters (mailers), calendars and brochures. Each type of document comes with a collection of dynamic templates which a simple to edit. Projects can be saved for later editing and then be printed or saved to your computer when they are done. This site is a great online alternative to Microsoft Publisher and it is free to use.

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Fake Movie Poster

Creating a movie poster is a great school project. With this simple website, the task is that much easier. Students simply upload an image, add a few details for the text and then share their completed poster with the teacher. This project works is a great for history, science, or as a final project after reading a novel.

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Photovisi

Here is another website to create great poster projects. With this site you can add many photos to create a collage or other types of posters. The site features many templates as well as a wide selection of other enhancements to make stunning posters.

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Be Funky

This site is better known for its photo editing but it also allows users to create photo collages. You select your layout, add your photos and then add text and your project is done. Final products can be saved to your computer, shared to Flickr or other social media sites.

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Poster My Wall

Yet another terrific site for creating poster projects for the classroom. The site is easy to use and navigate. Just select a template and change or add content as you desire. Every aspect of a poster template can be changed and you can add more pictures or text if you need. Once done there are a variety of ways in which the final poster can be shared including email.

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Mural.ly

Mural.ly is a fantastic online tool that appears to be intended for business but would work really well in the classroom. The site allows you to create online poster like presentations by adding pictures, text, websites, documents, and a host of other bells and whistles. The site also allows others to collaborate on the poster with you by a simple email invite and then they can join in. Mural.ly is a great resource for group projects and it is free to join and free to use.

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Word Draw

Word Draw is a site that offers free professional looking templates for newsletters, flyers, labels, and resumes. The sites newsletter templates are categorized for education, business, family, holidays, and by month. The templates must be downloaded and are compatible for all versions of Microsoft Word.

These templates can also be utilized for a class newspaper, projects or even reports. 

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Tackk

Tackk allows you to create online posters that can be shared via email, social media or be embedded onto a webpage or blog. As soon as you arrive on the website you can start creating your poster by editing their ready made template. You can easily add a title, body text, pictures, videos, and even songs. You can add content from You Tube, Instagram, Vimeo, Sound Cloud, Hulu, and Spotify. Creating an online poster with Tackk is so easy to do. 

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Picovico

With Picovico, you can turn simple photographs into cool videos. Once you sign up (it's free) you begin by choosing a video template and then adding your pictures from Facebook, Flickr, or your computer. You can set the order of your pictures, add captions to them and add text slides if you wish. Next you add music, either from their library or add your own from your computer. Your last step is to add a video title and any additional text and you're done. Completed videos can be uploaded to You Tube or Facebook and can even be embedded into a website or blog. The site does have a 30 picture maximum but that is long enough for most people.

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50 websites that help make learning science fun

Without a doubt my most popular posts have consistently been science websites. Below, I have combined all the science websites that I have shared so far and have added nine new ones. Whether you have been following my blog, or if this is your first time, I promise you will find many great resources for your students.

Try Science
Try Science is a very cool site that offers many resources to get kids to love science. There are over 50 experiments that kids can perform either online or at home. The site offers virtual field trips to different locations around the world. There are science games and online adventures for kids to play. Everything the site offers is based in science and will help kids understand and appreciate science.

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Quarked
This fun website provides a fun way for kids to learn about the subatomic universe. The site comes with lesson plans for teachers but the kids will love all the online activities the site provides. Your students can learn about the science of the subatomic world by following the subatomic roadmap and then learn more form the site's scientific glossary. Your kids can demonstrate their learning from the site's many games and fun activities that help make the process more enjoyable.

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Windows to the Universe
Your initial impression is that this is another astronomy website and you would be correct but when you look deeper you will find there is more here than meets the eye. Students can learn about the planets, the sun, stars, space weather, and other objects found in space but they can also learn basic information about other sciences as well. The site offers images, video, audio, and other multimedia related to space as well as online games and activities.  Information pertaining to biology, chemistry, geology and physics are also covered here though not as in depth as their astronomy content.

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Strange Matter
This site is dedicated to helping students learn about material science but in a fun way. There are dozens of online activities that help students to learn about the properties and structure of different materials like aluminum and glass and why it is important to recycle. The site also has hands on experiments that can be done at home or in the classroom. There is also a 60 page downloadable guide to help assist with these experiments.

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Amazing Space
This cool website allows students to explore the amazing world of outer space with a wide array of features. You can view incredible photographs from the Hubble telescope, learn about the different objects found in the universe and even participate in interactive games and activities designed to increase student interest. Be aware that many of the games and activities require, Java, Flash, or Shockwave plug ins so they may not work with some devices.

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Space Weather
Students who visit this site can learn of the powerful forces that exist throughout our universe that often aren't' as widely discussed. Their educational sections are titled "Amazing Plasmas", "Living with a star", "Protective Shield", and "Storm Alert." Each section has informative articles and pictures to assist with the learning process and the site offers downloadable educators guides as a resource. The site also contains 10 games as well as other interactive learning opportunities.
http://www.spaceweathercenter.org/

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Kids Astronomy 
This site is one of four science based site by the Kids Know it Company. Their Astronomy site provides information, animations, videos, activities and games that support the learning of outer space and help to make the process more fun. Kids can learn about the planets, constellations and other space based objects. Their site currently has seven games as well as a "build your own planet" activity. If you are interested in biology, dinosaurs, or geology you can find their links to their other science sites on the right hand side of their web page.

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Understanding Science

Understanding Science focuses on being a fun, accessible and free resource that accurately relates how science works. The site provides a wealth of resources which are categorized by age level but can be searched by content or resource type. There are videos, images, charts, experiments and other resources all focused on science. The site contains a nice collection of  graphic organizers and posters designed for science teachers as well as tips for teaching.

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Science Clips
This BBC website provides students with the opportunity to conduct science activities online. It is targeted to students ages 5 to 11 and the site's activities are sorted by age group. Each age group is given 6 activities that they can perform with topics such as light and shadows, life cycles, using electricity, and forces in action. Each activity is accompanies by a quiz that checks the student's understanding.

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Learn 4 Good
This site has a large collection of science based online games for students grades 3 through 12. The site's nearly 30 games consist of games based on physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, brain teasers and puzzles. If you are looking for a fun way for students to practice science concepts, you can never go wrong with these science based games.

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Rader's Biology 4 Kids
This site is one of 5 websites by Andrew Rader Studios that focus on science. The site provides basic biology information about cells, microorganisms, plants, invertebrates and animals. The best feature found on this site is the collection of more than 25 online quizzes that students can take to test their general biology knowledge.

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Rader's Cosmos 4 Kids
This site from Andrew Rader Studios focuses on the wonders of space. Here you will find basic information about planets, stars, galaxies, and other space related topics. This site has 4 online quizzes and as well as space related wallpapers and a slide show about Saturn's Moons.

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Rader's Geography 4 Kids
This science site from Andrew Rader Studios is all about the Earth. If you are studying geology, the atmosphere, biosphere, or climate then be sure to visit this site because it is full of basic information on those topics and more. This site contains over a dozen quizzes as well as live web cams, wallpapers, and even beautiful panoramas from around the world.

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Rader's Chem 4 Kids
As you can see in the title, this site from Andrew Rader Studios is all about chemistry. Students who are learning about atoms, molecules, elements, reactions and even biochemistry can find a lot of information here. The sire contains a glossary and an encyclopedia like page called "real world examples" with pictures and chemical formulas of of chemicals and chemical reactions. As with the other sites, you can find online quizzes to test your knowledge of chemistry.

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Rader's Physics 4 Kids
The final site from Andrew Rader Studios is about the world of physics. The site provides information about motion. light, heat, electricity, magnetism, and gravity. You will find a dozen quizzes to test your knowledge of these things and other information found on the website.

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Science and Nature
This collection of cool games and activities comes from Smithsonian Education. Whether you are studying astronomy, geology, zoology, anatomy or physics, you will find an activity to include in your lessons. Since this all comes from the Smithsonian, you know you can rely on its quality and accuracy.

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ACS - Science for Kids
The American Chemical Society put together this collection of science related resources. If you are looking for experiments, lesson plans, activities or games, this site has them all. This resources aren't all about chemistry either. There is educational materials related to physics, geology, and anatomy as well.

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Science from Kids.Gov
This collection of free resources from the Federal Government combines the best from their various departments. You can learn about chemistry, astronomy, geology, life science and more. There are lesson plans, activities, videos and games to play for students of all ages.

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Zoomsci
This hige collection of engaging science activities comes from the PBS show Zoom. Chemistry, life science, physics, and geology are all represented in this extensive selection of educational resources. For even more, click on the "Parent/Teacher" section for lessons and hands on activities.

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Science Interactives
Annenberg Learner is a site that I have repeatedly recommended to teachers of all disciplines. Their educational interactives are some of the best resources you will find anywhere. Science teachers should make a point to check out their huge collection of science based learning activities. They are sorted by grade level or use their search bar.

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Inner Body
Inner Body provides detailed views of the inner working of the human body. Choose the body system you wish to explore and the site will show you detailed pictures and information about the systems different parts and how they work together. The site is a terrific resource for secondary and college level learners but probably a little too detailed for younger students.

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Sea and Sky
When studying the oceans or the heavens be sure to check out this website. You will find a great deal of educational material including reference guides, pictures, activities, news and games. Students studying the oceans or space will likely enjoy learning about these two unique places with the resources this site has to offer.

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EPA - Students for the Environment
This government sponsored site provides students and teachers with educational resources about the environment.Lesson plans, games, and project ideas are just a few of the things found on this site. Students can also take quizzes, calculate air quality and learn how their actions impact the environment.

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Science Kids

Science Kids is one of the best science websites for kids that I have seen so far. It is rich with content that students will find interesting, fun, and engaging. Science Kids offers experiments, quizzes, games, fun facts, pictures, videos, and more. I cannot possible do this site justice is a few sentences. Science Kids is a fantastic website to learn about science.

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Science Sparks 

Science Sparks wants kids of all ages to love science. The site is full of simple experiments that can be done at home or in the classroom whether it's physics, biology, or chemistry. There is a section for preschool kids and one for students 5 years old and up. They also have an area just for kitchen experiments.

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Optics 4 Kids
Optics 4 Kids is a website from the Optical Society to help kids learn about the science of light. Students can learn about terms such as refraction and reflection or watch videos in their media library. There is an area for optical illusions and another with fun hands on activities. There are classroom materials available by going to the "About" section or you can find them here.

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Funology
Here is a website that shares great ways that parents can interact with their children in a fun and educational way. Their science section contains dozens of fun, hands-on experiments that can be done at home or in school. There is also a section with fun facts and trivia about animals, bugs and insects.

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Make Me Genius 
This site primarily features science videos for students grades 1 - 7 on a wide range of topics. The site also has science based quizzes, tests and cool facts. The site also shares PowerPoint presentations and worksheets for teachers.

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Hey! LHS Kids
This is a fun science website from Lawrence Hall of Science which features many opportunities for kids to have fun with science. Their "Explore your world" area at the top part of the page features 10 science experiments kids can do at home. As you scroll down the page there are games, quizzes and pictures from the Lawrence Hall of Science.

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Jefferson Lab
Jefferson Lab is a site with a collection of teacher and student resources. Look around and you'll discover hands on activities, science based games and puzzles, cool videos and a teacher's section. This site is a joint project between the  U.S. Department of Energy and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

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NOAA Education Resources
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or NOAA) offers this portal to NOAA sponsored educational materials for teaching concepts and processes related to ocean, coastal, climate, weather, and Great Lake resources. Here you can find hundreds of educational resources centered around weather, ocean life, and climate.

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Exploratorium

Exploratorium is a digital library collection for lifelong learning from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The site contains hundreds of interactive learning activities and even more educational videos. You can browse their extensive collection by topic or activity. There is so much to see and do, be sure you block a chunk of time before you begin exploring.

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The NASA Space Place 

The NASA Space Place has been around for 15 years but it is still one of the best educational science 

websites around. There are hundreds of learning activities and educational games all centered around space

and technology. You will find hands-on projects that kids can do with ordinary materials. Activities include 

interactive games, puzzles, animations and interactive demonstrations of science and technology concepts. 

Even though this site may not be new to you, it is likely new to your students.

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Seriously Amazing

Seriously Amazing is the name of an incredible website by the Smithsonian. It is an interactive learning web page where anyone can learn more about art, science, history and other cultures. The page is a mosaic of questions and pictures and you can explore the page by simply clicking one of the many choices. Seriously Amazing is a terrific website and it will engage curious learners for long periods of time.

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Science and Innovation
Energy.gov, the website for the U.S. Department of Energy, contains multiple layers of educational material for students and teachers. Their science and innovation section provides links to articles and videos on physics, biology, chemistry and environmental science. These resources could prove useful for high school and college level instruction.

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Energy Kids
Next you'll find the science education section which when you first view it seem rather plain. There are a number of videos but looking deeper you'll find the Energy Kids area which is full of  energy-related kid's resources including games, riddles, field trips, and classroom activities. The site also contains a teacher's guide with lessons for students of all ages. 

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Energy Star Kids
Finally there is the Energy Star Kids section which explores energy conservation and is targeted for elementary level learners. This page does include information, games and a parent/teacher area with lesson plans.

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Everyday Mysteries
The Library of Congress website has a very cool science area called Everyday Mysteries where students explore science based questions and mysteries. There dozens of "mysteries" for students to examine from ten science based categories. Each "mystery" comes with a detailed explanation and pictures to help the student learn more about the topic. There are also additional resources given for those who are doing a research project.

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The Why Files

The Why Files is a website that helps students understand science through current events or maybe it helps kids understand current events through science. Either way, the site provides a variety of opportunities for students to learn about science in interesting ways. The home page looks like a newspaper and contains a few news stories from around the world. Each story explores is explored from a science perspective and includes pictures, diagrams, and charts to help students understand the topic. In addition to news, the site contains a classroom activities pages with discussion questions and quizzes from stories found on the web page. There is also an interactive section where students can learn about science based concepts through games and activities. Due to its focus on current events, the Why Files is just as useful to social studies teachers who may want to use it for current events and infuse some cross curricular science content.

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Science (and More) to Music
Science (and More) to Music is a very neat website where you can find songs about a wide variety of topics from science, to social studies and even math. The songs are all written and performed by the sites creator Dr. Lodge McCammon. Some of the songs contain lesson support material, some have videos, and all songs have lyrics that accompany the music. Science (an more) to Music is a fantastic resource for teacher to utilize.

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Science Bob
Science Bob (AKA Bob Pflugfelder) is a website that wants to make science more fun and interesting for kids. The site offers a variety of learning opportunities for visitors including a science questions and answers section, and research section with a huge collection of links to websites, and science fair ideas. The parts that kids might find most interesting are the three areas set aside for science experiments. There is the experiments page which lists materials and instructions for simple experiments that can be done at home or in the classroom. There is the experiments blog which is another page that shares simple experiment ideas only this page has pictures. Finally, there is the video page where you can watch Science Bob perform even more amazing science experiments. Science Bob is a fun and educational website that teachers and parents should take the time to explore. Teachers can integrate ideas from the website into their lessons while parents can use the website to help support their children's education.

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Symphony of Science
Symphony of Science is a project that combines science videos with music to create new and novel ways to learn science concepts. The videos are from well known scientists like Carl Sagan and Bill Nye and the content shared ranges from dinosaurs, to astronomy, to global warming. Symphony of Science videos are an excellent resource to support science curriculum in the classroom of from home. Science teachers and students should take the time to watch these videos and bookmark this site because their library continues to grow.

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Succeeding with Science
Sellafield Ltd.'s science education section is built around fun and interactive educational games, activities, and videos to help students learn and love science. The student activities are sorted by age range from 4-7 years up to 16+ and there is also a teachers section. Each activity come with PDF lesson plans and support materials as well. Science teachers at all levels should find this site to be useful way to support their curriculum.

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Periodic Videos
Periodic videos is a science based website that features videos about all the elements on the periodic table. The site is the creation of video journalist Brady Haran, featuring real working chemists from the University of Nottingham. The site also contains other science based videos based on molecules, science based road trips, the symbols of physics and astronomy and more. Science teachers and students will likely find the site both fun and educational.

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Understanding Science

Understanding Science is a site with a variety of resources to help increase student understanding of nature and process of science. The site offers options that will help both the science student and the science teacher. The site's Understanding Science 101 section and their resource library are places where students can explore to increase their content knowledge. Teachers can visit the sites various Teacher's Lounges to help with lesson plans, teaching tips and educational strategies.

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Science Made Fun
Science Made Fun wants kids to love science by showing how fun science can be. The site is colorful and makes silly sounds as you move your mouse around the page. Kids can read science trivia, science jokes, and play science games. The site also has just over a dozen experiments that kids can perform in school or at home under the supervision of their parents.

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BBC's KS2 Bite Size

This site from the BBC offers information, games, and quizzes on a wide variety of scientific topics. The site is very simple to navigate with only three categories: Living Things, Materials, and Physical Process. Each category contains the specific topics such as food chains, microorganisms, changing states, and  friction just to name a few. Each topic has opportunities to learn, play games, and take a quiz on the topic. 

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EurekAlert

EurekAlert is a science based site that offers a large collection of kid friendly, science based new articles. Their collections of news stories is extensive and would work well with the new Common Core State Standards. In addition to their news articles, they do have science trivia as well as a collection of science videos. 

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Love My Science

Love my Science offers a large selection of fun science experiments that can be performed safely at home or in school with everyday objects. There are well over one hundred experiments that cover biology, chemistry, and even physics.  The site also has fun science games and trivia for kids to enjoy.

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Cells Alive

Cells Alive is the place for students to go when learning about cells. They cover cell biology, microbiology, immunology, and microscopy while offering the type of features that keep kids engaged.Using animation, games, and puzzles, this site will help kids learn about cells. The site also has quizzes, worksheets, and a cell cam for kids to watch.