“Students as Scientists” Resources for 6th-12th Grades
Unit Wide Resources
- 6th-12th Grade Teacher’s Guide – download the PDF for full access to all lessons and activities
- “Students as Scientists” teaching slides – includes all slides in one Google Slide file; teaching notes are included; to edit or share with your class please make a copy or download
- Project Notebook – a Google Doc that you can download or make a copy and then edit and provide digital access to students
- Spark Guides – quick and easy activities to spark student curiosity
Inclusive Teaching Resources
- “Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework” by the New York State Department of Education
- “Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice” – a book by Geneva Gay
- Project Biodiversify – provides many different resources to incorporate a diversity of people into your curricula
- 500 Women Scientists – a resource for educators seeking the expertise of women and gender diverse STEMM professionals
- Skype a Scientist – a database of thousands of scientists who will connect with your class so students can get to know a professional scientist
Lesson 1
Lesson Resources
- Teaching slides – used in Activity 1, 2, and 3 – found in the Unit Wide Resources section above
- “Meet a Scientist” reports – used in Activity 1 – a digital copy of the reports, these reports are also included in the Resources Pages of the Teacher Guide
- Project Notebook – used in Activity 1 and 3 – you will use the “Meet a Scientist” and “#ScienceFails” pages in this lesson
- “Vultures: SIGHT or SMELL?” article – used in Activity 2 – a digital copy of article, this article is also included in the Resource Pages of the Teacher Guide
Optional Resources
- “Vultures: Sight or Smell?” comic – optional for Activity 2 – a digital copy of the optional comic that would take the place of the “Vultures: SIGHT or SMELL?” article, comic is included in the Resource Pages of the Teachers Guide
Extension Resources
- Meet a Real Scientist resources
- Project Biodiversify – provides many different resources to incorporate a diversity of people into your curricula
- 500 Women Scientists – a resource for educators seeking the expertise of women and gender diverse STEMM professionals
- Skype a Scientist – a database of thousands of scientists who will connect with your class so students can get to know a professional scientist
Lesson 2
Lesson Resources
- Teaching slides – used in Activity 1 – found in the Unit Wide Resources section above
- Project Notebook – used in Activity 2, 3, and 4 – you will use the “Class Observations,” “See the Big Picture,” “Take a Tiny Hike,” and “Observation vs. Inference” pages in this lesson
- Phenomenon Resources – used in Activity 2 and 4
- Short Videos and GIFs of Phenomena Curated By NGSS – a collection of short videos and GIFs
- Crow Uses a Plastic Lid to Sled Down Roof Over and Over Again
- California Quail Foraging
- Galapagos Tortoise Getting A Drink Of Water
- Peregrine Falcon Preening
- Giraffe, Elephants, and Zebras At A Watering Hole
- Polar Bear Taking A Stroll
- American Toad Calling
- Mountain Goat Drinking and Grazing
- Greater Blue-Ringed Octopus On The Move
- Bat Hanging Upside Down Before Flying Away
- Wallaby Running Across A Yard
- Cornell Live Streaming Bird Cams – a collection of feeder and nest cams hosted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Explore Live Cams – a collection of live-streaming wildlife cams from around the world
Extension Resources
- Nature Journaling Over Time
- Teacher Resources for Nature Journaling – John Muir Laws provides free resources and whole books dedicated to teaching nature journaling
- Spark Student Curiosity through Outdoor Exploration – a spark guide to engage students in nature journaling – COMING SOON!
Lesson 3
Lesson Resources
- Teaching slides -used in Activity 2 and 4 – available in the Unit Wide Resources section above
- Project Notebook – used in Activity 3 and 5 – you will use the “I Wonder List” and “Testable Question” pages in this lesson
- “Tools of Science: Testable Question” video – used in Activity 4 – a video produced for Rutgers University, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences that guides students through refining their original question into a testable question. Video is also embedded in the teaching slides.
Lesson 4
Lesson Resources
- “The Many Ways to Share My Investigation” resource – a list of final project formats that can be edited to include only those final projects you want your students to complete
- “The Effect of Temperature on Chickadees” article – used in Activity 1 – a digital copy of article, this article is also included in the Resource Pages of the Teacher Guide
- Project Notebook – used in Activity 2, 3, and 7 – an editable Google Doc that can be edited to meet your needs and shared digitally with students. Students will be exploring the rest of this resource in Activity 2 and completing “Practicing Background Research,” “My Investigation: Background Research,” “My Investigation: Hypothesis,” “My Investigation: Variables,” “My Investigation: Location and Materials,” and “My Investigation: Methods” pages.
- Teaching slides – used in Activity 4, 5, and 6 – found in the Unit Wide Resources section above
- “Will a Fake Cat Scare Birds?” article – used in Activity 6 – a digital copy of article, this article is also included in the Resource Pages of the Teacher Guide
Optional Resources
- Lesson 4 Pre-assement Quiz – optional quiz to assess your students understanding of variables
- “Variables in Your Science Investigation” article – optional article
- Resources for Teaching about Reliable Sources
- Evaluating Online Sources – a lesson where students will locate and verify reliable sources of information
- KQED for Educators – free media literacy teaching and learning hub for educators and students. You’ll find professional development courses, classroom resources and unique tools that allow students to practice critical thinking, media making and civil discourse.
- Resources for using Claim, Evidence, Reasoning method
- Some Resources to teach CER (Claim Evidence Reasoning) in Science – a NSTA forum where teachers post CER resources
- CER (Claim Evidence Reasoning) in Biology – an animated video about CER by the Amoeba Sisters geared towards students
- CER – Claim Evidence Reasoning – video by Bozeman Science geared towards teachers
- Data Literacy Resources
- Dataspire – many different resources for teaching your students about data
Lesson 5
Lesson Resources
- Teaching slides – used in Activity 2 – found in the Unit Wide Resources section above
- “Choosing Graphical Displays and Analyses” resource – used in Activity 2 and 3 – an editable Google doc to help guide students in exploring data
- Project Notebook – used in Activity 3 – an editable Google Doc that can be edited to meet your needs and shared digitally with students. You will use “My Investigation: Data Analysis” and “Graphical Display Checklist” pages in this lesson.
- “What’s Wrong With This Picture?” resource, used as an assessment
- “What’s Wrong With This Picture?” answer key, assessment answer key
Optional Resources
- Data Analysis Programs
- CODAP – a free online data analysis program with tutorials and resources for teachers
- Tuva – a free online program to explore, visualize, and analyze data
- Infogram – a online program to create infographics, charts, and maps; free and paid versions
- ArcGIS for Schools Bundle – free online mapping software
- Data Literacy Resources
- Dataspire – many different resources for teaching your students about data
- The Data Visualisation Catalogue – an interactive website that explains lots of different graphs in detail and provides good visuals
- From Data to Viz – an interactive website that helps students determine which graph type to use based on their data
- Partners In Data Literacy – many different resources for teaching students about data
- “Not Another Bar Chart!” video – a recorded webinar to help guide your students to using more than just a bar chart to explore data
Extension Resources
- Play Data Games
- Data Games – Playing computer games creates a lot of data and in Data Games, students learn to analyze data that are saved, learning math and data skills to help them win
- Data Puzzles – Each Data Puzzle is connected to a specific scientist who has contributed their own or related real datasets for the puzzles
- Charty Party – a game of absurdly funny charts where your students learn about graphs without even realizing it
- Explore eBird Data
- eBird website – use the Explore tab to explore this global database
- eBird Kits – classroom kits that are centered on eBird
Lesson 6
Lesson Resources
- Teaching slides – used in Activity 1 – found in the Unit Wide Resources section above
- Project Notebook – used in Activity 3 – a Google Doc that can be edited to meet your needs and shared digitally with students. You will use “Interpreting Data Practice,” “My Investigation: What’s My Story?”, and “Peer Review Checklist” pages in this lesson.
- “The Many Ways to Share My Investigation” resource– used in Activity 3 – a Google Doc that can be edited for the types of final projects you are allowing
Opportunities for Students to Share Their Investigation
- Journals for submitting research
- Journal of Emerging Investigators – a science journal and mentorship program publishing research by middle and high school scientists
- The National High School Journal of Science – peer reviewed journal to submit original research
- STEM Fellowship Journal – an open-access, peer-reviewed journal that is dedicated to supporting young researchers in high school and university
- Journal of Student Research – an academic, multidisciplinary, and faculty-reviewed journal
- Journal of High School Science – a peer-reviewed STEAM publication
- Young Scientist Journal – a publication for recognizing high school scientists and is a product of the Vanderbilt Collaborative for STEM Education and Outreach
- Curieux Academic Journal – a youth-led nonprofit founded to publish exceptional research by high school and middle school students
- Journal of Research High School – an open-access online research journal that publishes academic work prepared exclusively by high school researchers
- Other ways to share investigations
- Science Outside – an online platform where both professional scientists and citizen scientists can share stories and experiences from science done outdoors
- Science Fairs – find a science fair near you to submit your investigation
- Celebrating Art – a free art contest where individual students or whole classes can enter
- The Art of Conservation – a free contest that focuses on fish and birds
- Schooled by Kids: Presentation Skills, Part 1 – a video to help students learn how to give presentations
- Please contact us if you know of other opportunities and venues for students to share their work
Optional Resources
- Data Literacy Resources
- Dataspire – many different resources for teaching your students about data
- Peer Review Resources
- “How To Give A Good Peer Review” – video of young students telling how to give good peer review
- “Giving Feedback for Peer Review” article – Purdue University provides pointers for giving constructive peer review
- “How to Give Constructive and Actionable Peer Feedback: Students to Students” video – video by university students to help other students give good peer feedback
- “Teaching Kids to Give and Receive Quality Peer Feedback” article – provides tips on how to create a culture of feedback in your classroom
- Lessons for Sensemaking
- Sample Final Projects
- “Correlation Of Socioeconomic Status and Lead Concentration In Tap Water In Missouri” – an article published in a peer-reviewed journal
- “Backyard Science [Garden Slendar Salamander]-Hip Hop Science” – video example
- “Kindergartners As Experts” – if kindergartners can share results, so can 6th-12th graders
- Student Google Slide Example – younger students share their results in a Google slideshow
- How to Make Better Graphs – The Data Ink Ratio – video on how to make graphs communicate the story you want to tell