In our Teaching with the Next-Generation Science Standards series, we focus not only on teaching science content but also teaching students to think like scientists. The standards are divided into three dimensions-practices, cross-cutting concepts and disciplinary core ideas. It’s important to keep all three dimensions in mind when planning science instruction so students have access to the correct content at the correct level of rigor. In our workshop series, we share many free online resources to help educators design NGSS-aligned units of study and assessments. Though we share many more through our series, here are five which always seem to be loved by our participants.
This site offers a ton of valuable information connected to the standards. One particular part of the site that always interests participants is the next-generation science sample assessment which can be used with students.
If you are struggling to find a way to teach students to read science research, check out this site which provides annotated science research papers along with other teaching materials. The site can help students think through the components of quality research.
Newsela is a fantastic site where students can read tiered nonfiction texts, which helps with differentiation in the classroom. Many of the science texts correlate with the suggested storylines found in NGSS.
Phet has been a favorite of science teachers for years, offering free online simulations in the areas of physics, biology, chemistry and math.
Yes, it’s a popular television show but the PBS Design Squad site has some great resources for educators too. The lessons nicely integrate the engineering practices while the supplemental videos of the scientists in the field are engaging and show the relevance of learning the science behind the lesson.
It’s a wonderful time to be an educator with such high-quality teaching resources available at our fingertips. These are just a few we hope you can utilize to enhance the instruction in your classroom.