Background Information for Material Properties
and Change
 
On this page, you'll find links that fellow
teachers and KSN staff have recommended. These
links are tools to help guide your background
research on the topics covered within your kit.
comprehensive chemistry info | matter, mixtures, and changes of
state | wood | paper | fabric
| measurement
Comprehensive Chemistry
Information
Chem4Kids
Colorful,
easy-to-read, and divided into handy categories, this site
provides great foundation information in student-friendly
language. It'll be useful for you as well as older students.
Be sure to look at the Matter section.
Hyper Chemistry on the Web
Designed by students, this site seeks to be a
comprehensive chemistry web resource for students and
educators. You may find some good extension activities in
the "experiments you can do at home" section, and the
glossary and history sections may also be useful.
Science is Fun in the Lab of Shakhashiri
Professor Shakhashiri from the
University of Wisconsin created this fun and accessible
site. While seeming to target his students, the site is
actually interesting and useful to a much wider audience,
including elementary and middle school teachers. Don't miss
the "Chemical of the Week" and "Experiments You Can Do at
Home" sections.
Teachers' & Students' Information from American Chemical
Society
The American
Chemical Society (ACS) has created this section of their
website specifically for educators and students to learn
more about the field, featuring articles, event
announcements, and thoughtfully collected links. These pages
are especially nice because they address the needs and
interests of a wide range of learners, from young children
to high school and college students. In the K-12 section,
take a look at the WonderNet, Kids & Chemistry, and
FACETS sections.
The pH Factor
The Miami Museum of
Science designed this visual site to help young learners
explore the concept of pH through clickable activities that
use everyday items such as lemons, baking soda, vinegar, and
water to promote understanding. The pages are equally useful
for students and teachers. Make the Teacher's Guide your
first stop on the site, as it explains how to use the site
to the best advantage.
For more in-depth chemistry resources, take a look
at these links:
CHEMystery
While this
virtual chemistry textbook caters to the needs of high
school chemistry students, it can be a good resource for you
to research the basics. Created by students, the language is
very clear and the topics are well explained. The
States of Matter section may be particularly
relevant.
Chemistry Links
Here
resides a truly massive collection of chemistry links. If
you're researching a chemistry question, the chances are
very good that you'll be able to find a link here that will
help you out.
Related kits: All kits
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Matter, Mixtures, and Changes of
State
Matter
Using simple and
accessible language, this site walks you though the basics
of understanding matter, its properties, and the states of
matter.
States of Matter and Changes of State
The ExploreZone provides this basic
reference page to explain briefly what the states of matter
are and how changes of state happen, using friendly language
and graphics, including a link to a good Exploratorium
experiment at the bottom of the page.
Mixtures
This useful
page uses simple examples (tap water, concrete, and salt
water) to explain the basics of mixtures.
Mixture Definition
Fact Monster provides a simple and thorough explanation
of what a chemical mixture is, and explains how it differs
from a compound. This page is a more appropriate reference
for you than for your students.
Liquids
Easy
language and pictures help to explain what a liquid is and
what its chemical properties are. This is a handy basic
page.
Water
This section of
a ThinkQuest site thoughtfully explores the subject of water
in great detail with very pretty photographs and
illustrations. This site discusses the history of human
investigations of water; the water molecule; water's various
states of matter (and related experiments); special forms of
water (like snow), the water cycle, the earth's water, and
drinking water.
Solutions
This page
offers an adult-learner primer on the basics of
solutions—what they are, the characteristics of
solutions, and the heat involved in the creation of
solutions.
Compounds and Mixtures Movie
The friendly animators at BrainPOP use the tasty
medium of brownies as a jumping-off point to explain the
difference between compounds and mixtures. The movie images
are very helpful in illuminating these sometimes-tricky
concepts.
Buoyancy Movie
Simple
examples and visuals help to explain what buoyancy is and
how it works in this animated BrainPOP movie.
States of Matter Movie
This animated mini-movie from BrainPOP explains solids,
liquids, gases, and plasma using language and everyday
examples that would be easy for young learners to understand
and follow.
Related kits: Water (FOSS), Solids and Liquids
(STC), Changes (STC), Chemical Tests (STC),
Properties of Matter (STC/MS), Liquids (Insights),
The Mysterious Powder (Insights), Changes of State
(Insights), Solids and Liquids (FOSS), Mixtures
and Solutions (FOSS), and Floating and Sinking
(STC)
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Wood
Wood
Learn about what
wood is (biologically and chemically) as well as wood's many
commercial uses in this short, two-page article.
Forests Are for Kids!
This site created by the Idaho Forest Products
Commission seeks to help kids learn about forests and the
products that we get from trees, like paper and wood. Take a
look at the "Stuff We Get from Trees" and "Paper Making"
sections in particular.
Related kit: Wood (FOSS)
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Paper
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.
From Pulp to Paper
This kid-friendly site walks you through the steps of how
recycled paper is made. The animated visuals help the story
make sense for younger students.
How Paper is Made
The
Kids section of the Idaho Forest Products Commission website
does a very nice job of easily explaining how paper is made
from trees and existing paper, and includes a kid-narrated
video of this process at the bottom of the page.
Paper
This article
from Fact Monster explains what paper is, how it's made, and
a history of how it was introduced to the world. This could
be a useful background reference for you if you would like
to share some information about the history of paper with
your students.
Related kit: Paper (FOSS)
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Fabric
Textiles
If you're
looking for textile basics before discussing fabric with
your class, you'll find information about the various types
of textiles, how textiles are printed, and a brief history
of fabric making throughout the world.
Fabric Online
This ThinkQuest site (created by two students)
explores the world of fabrics and fashion. The
sections on textiles (in which they explain how
different types of fabric are made as well as
their history and origin) and apparel (in which
they discuss the roles of climate and culture on
the types of clothes people wear) may be
particularly useful and interesting.
Fabric History
Fabric
has a long and global past, and you can find the details of
its developmental history on the timeline on this page.
Includes natural and man-made fibers.
Related kit: Fabric (FOSS)
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Measurement
Measurement Resources
This page from The Math Forum at Drexel University offers
a tremendous number of measurement activities, as well as
links to other measurement resources for educators.
Measuring Up
Brought
to you by the Yahooligans Kids' Almanac, this page shares
some "old and new ways people have devised to keep track of,
compare, and define quantities of things." These quick facts
could complement a class discussion during a comparing and
measuring lesson.
A Dictionary of Units
When studying measurement, this page could be a handy
reference as it provides a summary of most of the units of
measurement to be found in use around the world today (and a
few of historical interest), together with the conversion
factors. This site favors the "standard units" of the S I
(Systeme International).
Related kits: Comparing and Measuring (STC),
Balancing and Weighing (STC)
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