debbie oestreicher's List: Science - Plants

The Great Plant Escape is a wonderful interactive website created by the University of Illinois Extension for fourth and fifth grade students. Every school that I know of teaches a plants unit at some point in the curriculum. This is a great way for your students to interact with their learning in science class. Each lesson in The Great Plant Escape introduces students to plant science. Activities engage students in math, science, language arts, social studies, music and even art. The Great Plant Escapeincludes six mystery cases that students must help solve. They do this in a variety of ways depending on the activity. This site can be played in English or Spanish making it great for your ESL or ELL students as well as those kiddos learning Spanish as a second language!

Exploring the Secret Life of Trees is a neat interactive site for 3rd through 5th grade students designed to help them gain an appreciation of trees, observe trees in every day life, and develop an interest in learning more about trees. Students will learn about the basic parts of a tree and their functions. They will also learn about conservation and renewable and non-renewable sources. There are several suggestions for using the Secret Life of Trees site in the classroom. These activities meet objectives in science, math, fine arts, language arts, and social sciences. Use the Secret Life of Trees as an introduction to a larger unit about trees. The site can be used with an interactive whiteboard or projector with the whole class or as a center activity in the classroom

Dr. Arbor Talks Trees focuses on tree anatomy and physiology. Students will learn some of the basic inner workings of trees, how trees grow and develop, the many uses of trees and their bi-products, and some basic chemical principles. The website is designed for 6th through 8th grade students (although I think it is appropriate for 4th grade). Dr. Arbor is the guide through this interactive website. Students learn all about trees and their inner workings through a series of activities. This is a great site to use for Arbor day, but the topic is appropriate year-round as part of the science curriculum. The website could be used with the whole class on an interactive whiteboard or projector, or navigated by students individually in the computer lab setting. There are great free resources on this site, be sure to check them out!

Discover the Forest is a site that has fun games and activities for students to complete online and a great booklet to print out full of activities to complete outside. Students can head over to the Discover the Forest website and listen to animal sounds, create leaf rubbings, learn how to use a compass, and match animal tracks.

UPM Forest Life aims to teach about forest sustainability through an outstanding ‘hike’ through the forest. Along the way, students can click on points that will reveal videos, pictures with information, and sounds. Students will learn about forest planning, harvesting, regeneration, respacing, thinning, transport, recreation, training, berry picking, bird watching, hunting, fishing, natural forests, valuable habitats, deadwood, forest structure, water, and native tree species. Students will also learn about the various animals that call a forest home. This is an outstanding way for students to learn about tree species, habitat, and animals because it is learning through exploration. UPM Forest Life will teach them in a way that no textbook can.