Science and Math Review with Study Jams

Hello all,

There do not seem to be many tools to support students with the general science MAPS test.  There seems to be numerous resources available to students to improve their reading, language, and math scores. Beyond the MAPs test, it's nice to find additional study resources to reinforce concepts that go along with the science curriculum or from time to find resources that refresh students' memories of past science topics. I have found Scholastic's Study Jams fulfills both purposes of curriculum support and concept review from past years. Study Jams are available for both science and math. Many of the science Study Jams feature a video or slide show followed by test yourself questions. The questions are scored at the end and the reasoning for the correct answers is revealed by looking at feedback for each question.   Study Jams seems to be geared toward the 5th-8th grade crowd.  I've especially found it beneficial for the 6th grade reinforcement of topics. The test yourself questions work well for team trivia battles.

Happy studies,

Mrs. A

I Still Don't Understand Chemistry!

Hello All,

After a vacation or illness it can be challenging for some students to get back on track.  Ugh, when some are stuck on a new concept it can be helpful to see information presented a few different ways.  I have found the Mr. Causey’s World Presents Chemistry site to be a useful resource for chemistry tutorials.   On Mr. Causey’s Video Academy YouTube channel the short videos, usually less than ten minutes, are well done and beneficial for high school chemistry students.  If one has time to explore further, Mr. Causey’s World and Mr. Causey’s Video Academy also cover other areas of science and math.

Happy exploring,

Mrs. A

Rader's Physics for Kids

Hello All,

There is a terrific site called Rader’s Physics for Kids.   Many physics concepts are introduced here without relying heavily on mathematics.  While the site name states for kids, it proves to be of value for secondary students who need to review or need clarification on material being learned.  Major concepts covered include motion and mechanics, electricity and magnetism, heat and thermodynamics, light and optics, and modern physics (nuclear, quantum, etc.).  Rader’s Physics for Kids also offers a number of quizzes for students to self-check for understanding.  The site relies heavily on text; reading comprehension may be a challenge for some students.  The content ranks mostly between a 7th to 10th grade level according to Readability-Score.com.

Andrew Rader with the help of volunteers created Rader’s Physics for Kids along with many sites including Chem4Kids, Biology4Kids, Geography4Kids (Earth science), Cosmos4Kids, and NumberNut.com.  All of these science sites and the math site can be found at Kapili.com.  The sites have received various recognitions since 1997.

Happy exploring,

Mrs. A

Secondary Content Review...

On and off, it’s good to brush up on content.  Sometimes it is more a matter of looking for a source that will better reach students or to save the teacher time in creating videos/presentations for flipping lessons. Online learning is a great place to start.   Two sites I like that cover a variety of subject areas including science are Khan academy and  Hippocampus.  SparkNotes is another outstanding site covering many branches of science and other subject areas.  While the first two sites have video presentations, SparkNotes is truly in a written note format. 

Happy learning,

Mrs. A