JFYNetWorks provides online resources to support remote learning in all core subject areas. To support the STEM curriculum, we have developed this annotated guide to science resources. It lists free resources in all domains of science, and details activities, multi-media lessons and teacher guides for all levels. We hope it will be helpful to teachers, students and parents.
-> Christa McAuliffe Center for Integrated Science Learning
-> The Source Book for Teaching Science
-> National Science Foundation
-> PBS
-> National Science Digital Library
-> CK-12
-> NSTA-Freebies for Science Teachers
-> We Are Teachers
-> National Education Association Stem Resources
-> Thoughtco
-> khan Academy
-> Professor Dave Explains (Science and Math)
-> Crash Course (Science and other subjects)
-> The Amoeba Sisters(Biology)
-> High School Biology Lectures(Biology)
-> Stanley Bergkamp (Physics)
-> James Dann (Physics)
-> Michael Farabaugh (Chemistry)
-> PBS Digital Studios, Physics
A project of Framingham State University, this website is a curated list that will help parents, students and educators looking for free resources they can use via remote learning. These resources are at a variety of levels, from pre-k to high school. The site has 3 parts. A key section is STEM at Home. This section is a curated list of free resources. When you click on a topic, you will see a list of resources with a short description. For each resource the descriptions give you a basic summary, type of activity, area covered, and appropriate age group. This is a work in progress and users should check periodically for updated resources. There is a wide variety of activities including digital labs, interactive lessons, demos, videos animations, and tutorials. This site also includes math activities that teachers can assign and parents and students can work through together. There is also a section of science sites in Spanish and Portuguese. STEM at Home also lists videos, webcasts, and WGBH broadcast options. Another section of the website is the DIY Universe. In this section you can create your own exhibit or multi-media show in three areas: Stars, Solar Systems, and Origin/History of the Universe. Users can access these resources as a parent, teacher or student. Another section, ISS image of the Week, provides images from the International Space Station with linked educational activities. Last, but not least there is a link to webinars that will help teachers and parents hone their remote learning skills. This is one of the best websites for easy access to a wide variety of resources.
This is a collection of free resources that provides everything from illustrations and simulations to exercises you can use with your students. Although some of the links are inactive, there are plenty of resources to use. The website gives resources in all the major areas of biology. There are simulations, illustrations and online textbooks in each area. There are also informative online spreadsheets with data that can be used as the basis of many assignments. This site includes lesson plans that teachers can use to create online assignments for their students. Although this website emphasizes biology, there are resources for chemistry, physics and earth science. There are many resources to choose, but teachers will have to pick from a long list to find what will work best for their students.
This website provides resources in all areas of science. The links take you to a list of resources for each area. One advantage of this website is that it identifies the appropriate grade range for many sites. You can click this link to go to any subject area. In addition to science there are links for math, social science, computing and education. Some of these listed resources, such as Cells Alive or Chem4Kids have been around a long time, but that doesn’t mean they still don’t have valuable information. This site is also a collection of resources. Teachers can choose and assign specific activities to their students.
This website has a very large collection of resources and activities in almost every subject. Once you choose an area, you can filter by grade and type of activity to narrow your choices. There are complete interactive lessons and activities. Most activities have support materials so that teachers have a complete assignment for students. Activities are varied and there are games, multiple choice and short answer questions for students. Teachers can create classes and give students assignments. Teachers can view student activity and these reports can be exported to Excel. The program is fully integrated with Google classroom.
This is a large collection of resources. Activities vary and some activities are more comprehensive than others. The teacher can filter by grade, standards and subject. Although this website is known for science, teachers can choose activities in life science, applied science, physical science, mathematics and history.
You can enter this site as a teacher or a student. If you are a teacher or a parent, you should look at their webinar which gives advice on using their program. This website includes resources in science (starting at grade 1), math (grade 1 through college), and social studies. Teachers can use the Flexbooks. These are online textbooks that have accompanying activities. There also individual activities and videos available. For example, students can move the chromosomes to display the phases of meiosis this site does not filter by Massachusetts standards, you can use the Common Core filter. This site is very comprehensive. [account creation required]
These resources have been vetted and recommended by the National Science Teaching Association. You can filter by type of activity or key word. There are activities for students, but there are also publications for professional development. If you are looking for activities, use the filter by keyword and select the other materials category.
Here is a list of virtual classroom platforms, online quizzes and assessments, video lessons, and even complete curriculum plans. These resources are not generally free, but they will be available at no cost right now. Some of the resources offer at least a 30 day or more free trial. There are many things to choose from. They provide a short description of each listed resource and what type of offering will be available during school closures.
A short list of high-quality activities you can use. There are only 7 resources listed, but they have some very good activities. Not everything listed features complete activities. Activities range from K-12.
Thoughtco provides resources for educators in all areas of science. In each area, you can find lists and articles. These resources can serve as the basis of an activity, but they are not interactive and the articles do not include comprehension questions. Teachers would have to develop questions and accompanying activities to convert these resources into complete assignments. This website also includes humanities resources.
If you prefer your students to work with a more traditional method, then choose Khan Academy. Khan Academy provides a very comprehensive selection of short videos and accompanying online exercises for some topics. The videos are lecture style and the video is basically an explanation in a mini-lecture. It’s not for every student, but some students really do better with Khan’s straightforward approach. Teachers can enroll classes and check on student progress with reports.
This website is sponsored by Harvard. You have to sign up, but it’s free. There are online learning assets, including videos, assessments, and simulations. The focus is biology, but some other topics are included. Teachers can create online classes and teach lab skills remotely. Right now the virtual experiments might be particularly useful for teachers seeking alternate methods to provide continuity through remote learning.
This website has videos that cover important concepts in high school biology. The videos have clear, colorful explanations, and some have accompanying worksheets contributed by teachers. There is a section of draft assessments organized by Next Generation Science Standards. This website connects to the wonder of science- https://thewonderofscience.com/ -you can choose assessments, videos, and resources. Teachers can find resources for earth and physical science too.
This is a large collection of resources. You can filter by level, activity, and topic. Activities include videos with a pdf teacher guide and student handout. There is also a small section on earth science.
Concord has a large collection of resources. Some of these activities are simulations that teachers can use to design a lesson for their students. If you have your own webpage, you could post the links to the activities and also add questions. Other activities already have accompanying questions.
This website, a joint effort between Busch Gardens and SeaWorld, has a variety of activities. Although it features K-12 activities, many of the activities are geared for lower grades. Both students and teachers can access activities geared for them. In classroom activities, there are workbook style lessons. Teachers can download these activities and assign them. Teachers can substitute class discussion sections with written responses or Google hangouts. There are also teacher guides in many areas that are online textbooks with reading and assignments. Another useful, dynamic section is Saving a Species. This section has many videos and a teacher toolbox goes with the videos. The videos are on YouTube, so students can watch these shows on their tablets, laptops, phones or smart TV.
This website includes complete activities for teachers that make great e-learning lessons. Some of the activities are better for classroom work but there are many activities that feature a video. You can give directions to your students to complete the activities on their own or you could do this work as a group by Zoom or Google hangout. The advantage of these activities is that they include a teacher guide, a student activity sheet and an answer key. These documents are in Word and pdf format, so you can decide what works best for you. These activities cover 14 different areas of high school chemistry and there are hundreds of lessons for your students. There are also activities for middle and elementary school students.
This website includes a collection of resources that you can use to teach topics. There is good information, but many of the activities are not as dynamic or interactive as other websites.
This website is similar to Concord’s biology page. There are 165 resources for teachers to use. These activities vary. Some are simulations and other activities are meant for classroom work (although some activities might be done at home through teacher instruction). Lessons vary from activity general plans to complete lessons with accompanying guides for students and teachers.
This website has a large collection of resources for physics teachers. There are many links to varied resources that include online textbooks, interactive activities, physics videos and complete physics lessons with varied activities.
This is a very large collection of resources that varies in quality and functionality. Some activities are excellent, but others are either non-functional or old-fashioned. Since this is a large collection of sites, it definitely worth investigating. Some activities require a sign-up to use. There is a short description of each website, so you can quickly decide if this activity would work well for you.
The Physics Front has complete lessons and online activities. You can browse by course, level, or topic.
Although this is a very basic website, you might want to use it if your students have limited access to online curriculum. Some of the materials are simple to download, so students could access the work easily on their phones.
This is a collection of activities that students can do at home. This site is useful for teachers looking for activities to assign or parents trying to engage kids in stimulating work.
Teachers can find lessons plans to download and activities for their students on a wide variety of engineering topics.
In this large collections of resources, you can filter by subject, topic, lesson type and grade level. You can also choose a curricular unit with multiple activities. There is a time estimate and description for each activity.
This website emphasizes practical activities that teachers can assign. The activities focus on creating inventions. There are separate activities that focus on many high interest topics such as the relationship between engineering and tattoos or 3-d printing.
Professor Dave offers short simple video explanation on a wide range of topics in science and mathematics. These videos are mini-lectures. Although the videos are good, teachers will have to develop accompanying lesson plans or pull activities from another source.
These are short, easy to understand explanations on many topics. You can study biology, chemistry, engineering, math history and many other subjects. They are colorful and easy to understand. The videos have caption options, which will be helpful to ELL students.
Two high school teachers started this channel to demystify science. These are fun, colorful videos that your students will enjoy. Some of the videos may be suitable for middle school students. They also have a website that has GIFs, handouts, resources, and science comics. You can also access the videos from this website.
If you prefer more traditional lectures, try this channel. This is not a complete course in biology, but there are 28 videos on YouTube. The narrator has some interaction with the students, but mainly lectures. The videos have good graphics and they vary in length. They also have a website http://www.interactive-biology.com/highschoolbiology/ You can view the videos on the website and there are a few games (flash based).
These videos focus on higher level physics and chemistry topics. The teacher covers AP Physics, Honors Physics and AP Chemistry. These videos are traditional classroom lectures and each video is 45 minutes to an hour. The explanations are good, but they are not flashy. You get a high-quality detailed lecture on physics and chemistry topics. This will appeal to students who like detailed explanations and prefer a lesson that mimics a classroom setting.
James Dann gives short explanations on a variety of physics topics. The videos are mini-class style lectures, whiteboard demonstrations, students performing experiments and physics demos.
This channel provides a complete chemistry course with class lectures, concept video demos, labs and unit quizzes (with explanations).
This channel is sponsored by PBS. These are high-quality videos that are engaging and easy to understand. There are experiments you can try at home, as well as a group of video puzzles to experiment with and figure out.
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Compiled by Joan Reissman, the MCAS Maven.
