Great, free Educational Games from NOAA about oceans and air

NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has some great, free, educational games that teachers can use with their students.

There are over 25 different games and interactive activities that cover topics about water, air, the oceans, environmental issues and ocean life. Many of the games and activities are hosted on other sites, but gathered here for easy access

WaterLife: Where Rivers Meet the Sea is a game based on the ecosystem of a United States west coast estuary. It helps students learn about estuaries, food webs, and why estuaries are essential to ocean life and to humans.

This is a great way to have students learn about the oceans, air, and the environment while having fun playing a game.

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Nature Works Everywhere - free resources for learning about nature's factory

Nature Works Everywhere is a great, free site from The Nature Conservancy and Discovery Education. The site has resources to help learn about how nature works and the fact that nature is a factory, making many of the things we need.

There is an interactive online game that helps students discover the connections between everyday items and nature's resources, interactive lesson plans about topics like pollinators, forestry, coastal erosion and more, videos about how nature works to benefit us and how we can preserve nature, and a section about scientists working to preserve nature and keep it productive. There are even some virtual field trips.

Check it out and share it with your colleagues: http://www.natureworkseverywhere.org/

Related:

Tons of Great Resources from Discovery Education

Great Resources from Discovery Education 

Turfmutt - environmental lessons and resources

Science of Everyday Life

Explore the Blue - lessons about water for all subjects

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Google Earth Day - resources to celebrate Earth Day, Everyday

Earth Day was this past Sunday, April 22nd, but we shouldn't just do things to help our planet one day out of the year.

Google Earth Day is a great site that has some great resources to help anyone celebrate Earth Day, Everyday.

The site has information on starting your own garden, finding discount seeds, connecting with other gardeners, gardening tips, recipes, helping find a community garden, and much more.

http://www.google.com/campaigns/plantforearthday/



Related:

Earth Day Resources for Educators

Google Resources for Education - tips, resources, links, help, how-to's, apps, lesson ideas, and more.

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Earth Day is April 22 - here are some great resources for educators

Earth Day, April 22nd, is a great time to talk to your students about the environment. Many schools, including most in Connecticut, will be on break during that time, but you can always talk about it after break.


Earth Day was started in 1962 as a way to bring attention to environmental issues. As polution increases, and the environment is continually affected by humans, it is a great time to get our students thinking about environmental issues. 




Here are some resources you can use with your students:





National Environmental Education Week - This week (April 10-16) is Environmental Education Week. This site has an entire section with resources for educators that includes curricula, quizzes, professional development and more. 







Earth Day Network - this is another great resource for teaching about the environment and Earth Day. The educator resource page has lesson plans, Green your School guide, grant programs and more to help educators. 

Science Museum Climate Science Info Zone - information and resources on climate change, carbon footprint, and more. 

Think Green from Discovery Education - Think Green is another great free resource from Discovery Education that contains lesson plans, videos, and activities for teachers to use in their classroom. The resources are sorted by grade level and are interactive and educational. 


You can also go to the Think Green Resource Page to search for more resources by grade, topic, or resource. 




Discovery Education, Siemens STEM Academy also has some great resources. 


Every classroom can, and should, talk about Earth Day and the environment. We all need to help make sure that the Earth will be a healthy, viable, place for generations to come. It's also a great way to incorporate STEM topics into any classroom and relate STEM topics to the environment. 


English classes could write about the environment, including persuasive essays and letters on different topics. 


History classes could look at the history of Earth Day and the Environmentalist movement, along with the history of different environment events. 


Science classes can delve into the science of the environment, energy resources, energy production and more. 




What do you do for Earth Day in your classroom?




Some More Environmental Resources


Discovery Education Dawn Junior Wildlife Champions-free lesson plans about oil spills and wildlife

The Road Ahead - resources on electricity generation from Discovery Education

Discovery Education Turfmutt - environmental science lessons

25 Free Resources from Discovery Education

Discovery News - science news

Disney Planet Challenge - project based environmental contest with resources

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STEM and our Planet - Environmental issues in STEM Education

National Environmental Education Week is next week, April 15-21, 2012, right before Earth Day. The site for it has some great resources for teachers, including lesson ideas and resources.

One resource that I like is an infographic entitled "STEM and Our Planet" that has information, data, and resources for relating STEM Topics to the Environment.

The infographic and the site are great ways to incorporate Environmental issues and science into STEM topics.

Related:

STEM Resources for Educators and Students

Great Earth Day Resources for Educators
Glogster Earth Day Contest - great education project with prizes

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National Wildlife Federation resources for Educators

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) has some great resources for educators on their web site. There is a news section, wildlife animal information and resources, environment and global climate change resources, and much more.




They have wildlife cameras that you can view, such as the Eagle Cam, an incredible Wildlife Library with information about different animals and species, and Wild Places where you can virtually visit and explore some great wild parts of America.

There are outdoor activity guides and things to do outside, Wildlife news reports, and Global Climate Change resources.



The Kids Page is well done also, explaining topics with children in mind, animations, videos, explanations, and even mobile apps.


The NWF also offers free webinars on a variety of topics.


This is a great resource for teachers and students to use when studying wildlife, nature, and the environment.

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