Teacher Resources
Gardner, Robert. Earth’s Cycles: Green Science Projects About the Water Cycle,
Photosynthesis, and More. Berkeley Heights: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 2011.
This informative text is paired with hands-on science projects that illustrate the scientific method and that show how our actions effect the environment and its natural cycles. Many of these experiments have great suggestions for potential extension activities and science fair projects.
McGraw-Hill Education. “Light and Plant Growth.” Glencoe. Accessed August 3, 2016.
http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/LS12/LS12.html. In this virtual lab, students can perform an experiment to test what colors of the light spectrum cause the most plant growth. They will calculate the plant growth by measuring the height of each plant under different colors of light. By comparing these measurements and creating a line graph, students can determine which colors of the spectrum cause the most plant growth.
NGSS Lead States. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States.
MS.Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2013. http://www.nextgenscience.org/topic-arrangement/msmatter-and-energy-organisms-and-ecosystems.Provides an overview of performance expectations, science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts.
Sneideman, Joshua and Erin Twamley, Renewable Energy: Discover the Fuel of the
Future With 20 Projects. White River Junction: Normand Press, 2016. This book
discusses the pros and cons of different energy sources. It shows students future jobs in the field of renewable energy and provides hands-on projects, essential questions, online sources, and student prompts.
University of Reading. “Measuring the Rate of Photosynthesis of Elodea.” University of
Reading. Accessed July 20, 2016. https://www.reading.ac.uk/virtualexperiments/ves/preloader-photosynthesis-full.html. This virtual experiment allows students to measure photosynthesis with different light intensities using an Elodea, an aquatic plant commonly used as aquarium vegetation.
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