Build a Dinosaur
Learn about dinosaur parts while constructing your own. (K–2)

Practical Tips:

1. Do you want a fun way to teach students about dinosaurs? Display the activity on Whiteboard and have student volunteers construct different parts of the dinosaur. Have students write down what they have learned about dinosaurs in their Scientist Notebooks.

Go to Build a Dinosaur
Go to Teacher's Guide 

Max's Math Adventures

Practical Tips:

1. These are great activities to use with your students to jump-start a unit of study. Read the funny riddle/word problem together as a class. Discuss and highlight important information and vocabulary. Use the activity page on the Whiteboard to model how to solve the problem by breaking it down into steps. Activity pages can also be printed out so students can take notes.
2. For students who need extra practice with a skill and problem solving, the activities found in Max's Math Adventures are great to use as reinforcement activities.

Go to Max's Math Adventures
Go to Teacher's Guide 

Going Bug-gy!
Discover insect facts and fun. (K–4)

Practical Tips:

1. "Going Bug-gy!" is a great resource for teaching students about different insects during a bugs unit of study.
2. Teach and model the skill: identify the parts of a feature article by projecting the article on the Whiteboard and reading through it together. Students should have a printed copy of the article so they can label the feature article parts: fact, opinion, story, and voice.
3. Use the "Monster Bugs" game as a center during a bugs unit of study.

Go to Going Bug-gy!
Go to Teacher's Guide 

Weather Watch
Experiment with online weather tools. (K–8)

Practical Tips:

1. Use the Whiteboard to introduce types of clouds. Print out the PDF and have students go outside and spend time watching clouds. Take the quiz as a class when they are finished observing clouds outside.
2. Have students test their knowledge of weather and use their inference skills with the "Interactive Weather Maker."

Go to Weather Watch
Go to Teacher's Guide 

Math Maven's Mysteries
Solve math problems with the clues Math Maven uncovers. (3–5)

Practical Tips:

1. Model with students how to problem solve by looking for key words and important information. Choose one of the mysteries to solve together as a class and print out a copy of the mystery for each student. Then read the mystery together, and on the Interactive Whiteboard model underlining key words and important information needed to solve the problem.
2. Choose another mystery and give students a copy. Have students work in pairs to underline key words and important information. Choose one group to explain their thinking on the Interactive Whiteboard. Students can discuss the similarities and differences of what they underlined.
3. Print out a copy of a mystery to have students complete as a warm-up. Once students have finished their work, go over the problem on the Interactive Whiteboard, underlining key words and information needed to solve the problem.

Go to Math Maven's Mysteries
Go to Teacher's Guide 

Science Explorations
Teach students to think like scientists. (3–10)

Practical Tips:

1. As a class, search for the clues to identify the animal that lives on the Galápagos Islands by "feeling around" with the Whiteboard. Once a clue is found, students can turn and talk to a partner about how to describe the clue and then use it to try to infer which animal it might be. They will revise their guesses as they find each clue and gather more information. Guesses can be shared with the whole class as each clue is found. Students can use a scientist's lab sheet to record their findings as they work. Use the "Investigate" section of Level 1 as a general introduction to adaptation. Have students work in groups or pairs to brainstorm ideas about the questions. Or use in a small guided group to enhance inference skills.
2. Use Level 2 of the Galápagos Islands section to teach inferring and drawing conclusions with small guided reading groups. Print out the information about shell types. Students have to use information they read about the different kinds of turtle shells and the different islands and put all the information together to infer which island each turtle lives on. Students will practice supporting their answers with facts from the text. Use the "Investigate" activity as a practice center after this lesson.
3. Use the "Classify Bugs" activity in the "True Bugs" section as a center when studying bugs and insects.
   

Go to Science Explorations
Go to Teacher's Guide