Kids' Web Classroom: Models and Designs
This section provides kid-appropriate sites that
you might want to let your students explore on
their own, or with your guidance.
Batteries Movie
Check
out this animated movie from BrainPOP that explains and
illustrates exactly how batteries work. The explanation gets
a little complicated, so the visuals are especially helpful
in keeping it from getting too confusing.
Cars Movie
The
friendly animated science folks at BrainPOP offer this short
movie that explains how car engines work, carefully
illustrating the roles of the pistons, fuel, spark plug, and
more. This is a good movie for students learning about
vehicles and for adults who'd like to know more about how
their cars work.
Inclined Plane Movie
This animated BrainPOP movie uses a question about ramps as
a starting point to explain what inclined planes are, what
work is and how inclined planes can modify work, as well as
where inclined planes show up in everyday life.
Levers Movie
BrainPOP reveals how levers work through clever animation.
They explain how levers magnify effort, detail the parts of
levers (lever, load, fulcrum) and show real-life examples of
levers and their applications, all in an appealing, kid-
friendly way.
Paper University
As
the site proclaims, this is "the place where students and
teachers explore the world of paper." Great graphics and
information make this site friendly, and there are many
useful sections, including facts about paper, recycling, and
the environment; links and resources for students and
teachers; science activities that use paper; and papermaking
projects.
How Paper Is Made
The
Idaho Forest Products Commission's website for kids offers
this section that explains each step of how paper is made.
There's also a very nice short movie linked at the bottom of
the page that clearly explains how paper tissue (as used in
toilet paper, facial tissues, and napkins) is made.
Lego Clock
While this
project—building a real working clock out of
Legos—is in all likelihood much too complex for
recreating in your classroom, it could be a very useful site
to share with students who have a passion for Legos. And it
might remove a bit of the mystery of how clocks work by
knowing that they can be build with such simple components.
Take a look at
this other site for more images of a fully functional
Lego pendulum clock.
Line and Point Symmetry
This teacher has created short and pictorial
descriptions and mini-lessons dealing with line and point
symmetry. This site is very helpful for illustrating exactly
what symmetry means.
Physics4Kids: Motion
This site takes the time to break down the terms involved in
discussing motion and mechanics, such as acceleration,
vectors, friction, and velocity, and strings the subjects
together in a sensible narrative. It's especially good for
middle school aged students.
Simple Machines Made Simpler
Singaporean students created this site, and they
offer clear, comprehensive explanations of simple machines,
as well as a worthy photo journal of the simple machines
they located in and around their school building. This site
is useful for the content as well as for their student
perspective.
