Children learn how seasonal weather changes affect everything, from the behavior of animals to the way we dress and play.
In this activity, learners investigate how different materials repel or absorb water. Learners use spray bottles to explore how everyday items like sponges, cardboard, feathers, etc. respond to water differently. This activity also introduces learners to the scientific method as learners make predictions about which materials will absorb or repel water.
This 440-page report explores how students in pre-K through grade 8 learn mathematics, with a focus on number and operations, and recommends how teaching, curricula, and teacher education should change to improve mathematics learning. (A 39-page summary, Helping Children Learn Mathematics, is catalogued separately.) The authors identify five interdependent components of mathematical proficiency and describe how students develop this proficiency. The report presents a portrait of mathematics learning: research findings on what children know about numbers before they arrive in pre-K and the implications for instruction; details on the processes by which students acquire mathematical proficiency; what is known from research about teaching for mathematics proficiency and developing proficiency in teaching. Visitors to this website may read the full text online, download a copy (pdf), or purchase a hard copy.
During World War Two, a fierce battle between American and Japanese forces on Kwajalein atoll left a trail of debris on the deep lagoon floor. This lagoon now has one of the largest collections of well-preserved aircraft in the world. In this video, as part of the first ever film crew allowed onto this secret military base, Jonathan explores a B-25, F4-U Corsair and Dauntless dive bomber still sitting on the bottom of the ocean, as if ready to take off. Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.
How long does a baby elephant stay with her mother? What do you call a baby goat? Young children learn some interesting facts about the lives of baby animals in this original video from KET.
In this video, Jonathan treks all the way to Antarctica to investigate life south of the polar circle. Along the way he dives in the majestic kelp forests of Patagonia, where crabs rule the sea floor. Once he arrives in Antarctica, his adventures continue. He swims with penguins, dives under an iceberg, meets a massive jellyfish 3 feet wide, and has an incredible encounter with a Leopard seal, the apex predator of Antarctica. Part 1 finds Jonathan diving in Ushuaia, Patagonia in Argentina before boarding the ship to Antarctica, then he finally gets to Antarctica and meets some penguins! This program won a New England Emmy Award! Please see the accompanying lesson plan for educational objectives, discussion points and classroom activities.
In this video, Jonathan treks all the way to Antarctica to investigate life south of the polar circle. Along the way he dives in the majestic kelp forests of Patagonia, where crabs rule the sea floor. Once he arrives in Antarctica, his adventures continue. He swims with penguins, dives under an iceberg, meets a massive jellyfish 3 feet across, and has an incredible encounter with a Leopard seal, the apex predator of Antarctica. Part 2 finds Jonathan continuing his exploration of Antarctica including an encounter with a Leopard seal. This program won a New England Emmy Award! Please see the accompanying lesson plan for educational objectives, discussion points and classroom activities.
In this video Jonathan visits the New England Aquarium as a volunteer aquarist for a day to learn what it takes to care for thousands of fish in dozens of exhibits, up to the massive 200,000 gallon Giant Ocean Tank (GOT). What he finds is an eye openerŰÓitŰŞs not all fun and games. Maintaining an aquarium is serious work. But it does have its benefits, as Jonathan discovers while diving in the GOT and feeding the sharks. This segment won a New England Emmy Award! Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.
The ability to ask and answer questions while reading is essential to comprehension. This article discusses instructional strategies used to teach questioning and provides many online resources. The article appears in the free, online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle, which explores the seven essential principles of the climate sciences for teachers in k-grade 5 classrooms.
Squirrels and chipmunks are just two of the animals you might see. Backyard Wildlife, an original KET video, encourages children to explore the world outside their back door.
Squirrels and chipmunks are just two of the animals you might see. Backyard Wildlife, an original KET video, encourages children to explore the world outside their back door.
In the open ocean around the Bahamas, pods of wild Spotted Dolphins frolic in the sunshine. Sometimes, they get bored and approach boats. In this educational video, Jonathan joins dolphin expert Wayne Scott Smith to learn how dolphins interact with each other. Jonathan learns how to play the Bandana Game, a game of -keep away- that the dolphins invented and like to play with Scott. Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.
In this activity, learners observe hard parts of sea creatures (shells, molts, etc.) to better understand marine environments. A series of questions is provided to help guide learners through observations, and there are suggestions for adapting the questions to fit older and younger audiences. Background information is provided about gastropods (e.g. whelks), mollusks (e.g. clams, mussels, oysters), echinoderms (e.g. sea stars, sand dollars), and crustaceans (e.g. crabs). The activity is written for use in a science museum or aquarium, but could also be used anywhere you can set out the examples and have learners interact with them. You could even adapt the activity for exploring outdoors at a tide pool or similar place.
In this outdoor activity, learners become beachcombers as they walk on a sandy beach in search of evidence of life. Learners gather examples and consider how the collected artifacts reached the beach. Learners then match their artifacts with the living organism that created each, while also telling stories about how the artifact might have been used. This activity can be done with learners of various ages, but the level of details in identifying and describing what its found can be varied according to age.
The stated mission of this blog is "To make the nightly math problem as common as the bedtime story." Each day Laura Bilodeau Overdeck and her husband John post an interesting fact or scenario about everyday life and related math problems at three readiness levels. They include a page of suggestions for how to use these problems with children. This is a good source of problems for teachers and parents, as well as a model for adapting problems to meet different needs.
In this activity, learners investigate different types of bird beaks using household items which mimic different beak examples. Participants will then learn how beaks are adapted to the type of foods a bird eats.
In this video, Jonathan joins Charlie Donilon on his shark charter boat in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and learns about how shark tagging has shed light on the biology of and behavior of Blue sharks. Tagging has shown that these incredible swimmers actually migrate completely across the Atlantic ocean. Jonathan tries his hand at tagging a shark and then swims with Blue sharks. We also learn that Blue sharks are not nearly as vicious as they have been reputed to be, and the divers are actually able to pet the sharks! Please see the accompanying study guide for educational objectives and discussion points.
In this activity, learners develop an understanding of cylinders and volume as they compare two sizes of popcorn buckets.
In this challenge, learners have to figure out in what order to combine five solutions to change the color from clear, to yellow, to blue, and back to clear. The five chemicals are potassium iodide, sodium thiosulfate, sodium hypochlorite (Clorox bleach), soluble starch (Niagara spray starch), and water. The color changes indicate chemical reactions, and the lesson includes some background information about the reactions that create different colors. Suggestions are given for guiding learners through systematic approaches to making the different combinations and observing the results, and for explaining to different age groups what happens when the solutions are combined.
In this sunny day, outdoor activity, learners observe changes in shadows over time. The activity also helps to develop a sense of the Earth's motion. Since this activity requires some passage of time for a noticeable change in shadows, it is best done at the beginning of an event or a series of activities so learners can revisit their tracings after a period of time. At museum or planetarium settings, this might be a good activity to set up at the entrance for visitors to do at the beginning and end of their visit.