The International Snow Leopard Trust [Macromedia Flash Player, RealOne Player]
http://www.snowleopard.org/
The International Snow Leopard Trust (ISLT), based in Seattle, Washington, "is the oldest and largest organization focused solely on developing successful strategies for protecting the snow leopard and its habitat." Visitors to the ISLT Web site can read up on interesting cat facts, find the latest related news, browse descriptions of global conservation efforts, and more. Click on Classroom to access information about ISLT's "holistic package for teachers far from snow leopard counties to help their students understand different aspects of mountain biodiversity and conservation." Overviews of lesson plans ranging from grades 1 through 8 are provided. Interested users may contact ISLT via email to receive the free lesson plans. The lessons titled "All Ears for Adaptation: A lesson in ear design" (grades 1-6) and "Prey and Predator: A lesson on Interaction' (grades 1-8) have the most direct life science focus. The site also offers terrific snow leopard photos and video footage. [RS]
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Dogs: Wolf, Myth, Hero & Friend [pdf]
http://www.sdnhm.org/exhibits/dogs/index.html
This Web site is the online companion to "the largest and most comprehensive traveling exhibition ever created to explore the history, biology, and evolution of dogs and the role of dogs in human societies." Currently at the San Diego Natural History Museum, the exhibit "uses the familiarity and love of these four-legged friends to explore science and biological concepts." The same goes for the downloadable Teacher's Guide, which contains exhibit-based activities that could be modified for the classroom as well. The Teacher's Guide also includes plenty of background information, vocabulary, stand-alone classroom activities, and an answer key. The site offers a number of other engaging features, such as the kid-friendly Canine Corner, full of fun facts and additional references that could also be of use in the classroom. [RS]
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Two on Kelp Forests from the Birch Aquarium
Voyager: Giant Kelp
http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/learning/learning_res/voyager/kelpvoyager/index.html
Voyager: The Sheltering Forest [RealOne Player]
http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/learning/learning_res/voyager/creaturevoyager/index.html
The Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography offers these two Web sites as part of the Aquarium's online educational series, Voyager Science. Geared toward younger kids, these sites introduce the kelp forest and related concepts with great photos, informative descriptions, and a few interactive activities. Giant Kelp focuses on the kelp plant itself, including the many (and often surprising) commercial uses of kelp products. The Sheltering Forest focuses on the many animals that make their home in the kelp forest, emphasizing the interdependence of organisms in the kelp ecosystem. Simple at-home experiments and online activities are also included. [RS]
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Biochemistry Online: An Approach Based on Chemical Logic [pdf, Microsoft PowerPoint, Chime]
http://employees.csbsju.edu/hjakubowski/classes/ch331/bcintro/default.html
Biochemistry Online is a Web-based textbook developed by Dr. Henry Jakubowski for his first-semester biochemistry students at the College of St. Benedict / St. John's University. While a few features of this Web site are specific to Dr. Jakubowski's course, the online textbook should be of use to any biochemistry student. Biochemistry Online follows a topic order and conceptual framework intended to "create a coherent and sequential understanding of biochemistry, not a fragmented one without logical connections among topics" -- a common shortcoming of traditional textbooks. Loads of diagrams and 3-D animations are incorporated into the book's nine chapters, which begin with lipid structure and end with signal transduction. Dr. Jakubowski frequently updates Biochemistry Online with the latest relevant findings published in Nature, Science, and Chemical and Engineering News.
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Biotechnology Risk Assessment Data: Facts and Conclusions [pdf]
http://www.riskassess.org/
This Web site from the University of Florida and the US Department of Agriculture is "designed to help provide answers to these questions and necessary background information to understand the process of gene engineering and the available data relating to the safety of GMOs and the risk assessment questions asked." In the Just for Teachers section, users will find detailed fact sheets on a range of topics, such as gene flow between crops and weed species, seafood safety, transgenic insects, and more. The site also lists a number of lesson plan links, including lab exercises in DNA extraction and manipulation. [RS]
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Science NetLinks: Science Update About Lying [RealOne Player]
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/sci_update.cfm?DocID=171
This Science Update from Science NetLinks offers students (grades 6-12) an interesting look at the psychology and phenomenon of lying. The lesson focuses on how the Fundamental Attribution Error relates to lying. Students listen to or read a transcript of a Science Update broadcast about research in this area, then tackle a set of discussion questions. In addition to understanding the topic, students must demonstrate an understanding of independent and dependent variables in the experimental process -- a valuable lesson in and of itself. Links to additional resources are included. [RS]
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Rainforest Alliance: For Kids and Teachers
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/kids&teachers/index.html
The Rainforest Alliance, a non-profit international conservation organization, is dedicated to protecting "ecosystems and the people and wildlife that live within them by implementing better business practices for biodiversity conservation and sustainability." This particular Web page from the Rainforest Alliance offers a number of activities and other learning materials for the classroom, or just for fun. Kids can download a Tropical Coloring Book, learn about the different types of frogs in the Frog Pond, and much more. Teacher's can take advantage of suggested classroom activities for a range of grade levels and download rainforest fact sheets. The site also provides a handy list of museums, zoos, and botanical gardens with rainforest exhibits for possible field trips. [RS]
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Human Genetics: A Worldwide Search for the Dominant Trait -- Do You Have It?
http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/genproj/index.html
This Web site provides instructions for a genetics-based collaborative project from the Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education. This survey-based project helps students ages 12-18 understand genetic inheritance by "gathering a great deal of information about specific, easily-seen human features," formulating hypotheses, and testing these hypotheses using data compiled by themselves and by students around the world. The project, which spans the fall semester, is open to interested students free of charge. Registration opens in the fall, and a helpful teaching guide is included. [RS]
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