States of Matter
The purpose of this page is to provide educational resources to second grade teachers and students.
1. State of Matter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_matter
This web page is associated with The Wikimedia Foundation, Incorporated and was last modified on January 27, 2007. Because Wikimedia is a nonprofit organization formed to spread knowledge, I am confident that the information provided is unbiased and accurate. The site is free from factual and grammatical errors and does not include advertisements. In addition, the website is extremely easy to use because there is a column on the left-hand side of the screen for navigation, tools, and searching. This website would not be suitable for elementary students due to the complex language used, but it would be a great resource for young adults and teachers to use. It is helpful that teachers and other users can click on highlighted vocabulary words within the text to link more in-depth information.
2. States of Matter http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/state.html
This web page is affiliated with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated on March 16, 2006. There is a link at the bottom of the page, which enables users to get in contact with Tom Benson, Editor and NASA Official of the web page. Because a NASA official maintains the web page, I am certain that the information is accurate. The content is very straight forward and supplies detailed information and graphics about the three main states of matter and plasmas. The site is directed more towards adults because the molecular structure of protons, neutrons, and electrons is discussed at levels elementary students would not comprehend. The thorough information and visual graphics provide teachers with a large amount of background information on states of matter.
3. Change is Cool! http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science/sciber00/8th/matter/sciber/change.htm
This website is affiliated with the Utah State Office of Education. This webpage is authored by and updated by Glen Westbroek. Although the webpage was designed for an eighth grade curriculum, the webpage would be a great resource for elementary teachers to use because the information provided is relevant, detailed, and easy to comprehend. The website is free from factual and grammatical error. The design of the website is very appealing and includes lots of color and graphics. At the bottom of the webpage there are “next” and “back” buttons which allow for easy navigation to other relevant topics.
4. How Can You Force a Physical Change in Matter? http://teacher.scholastic.com/dirt/matter/index.htm
This website is affiliated with Scholastic. The author of this webpage is “The Dirtmeister” a.k.a. Steven M. Tomecek, who is an active geologist and director of Science Plus Incorporated. There are many ways of contacting Mr. Tomecek listed within the website. The page is specifically meant for the use of science teachers. The website is very eye-catching because of the color and animation used. The webpage is very easy to navigate because of the site map. Teachers may click on a link that provides background information on matter; they can also link useful experiments. In addition, teachers are given explanations of how the simple experiments and teaching methods correlate with performance standards. Overall, this webpage would be extremely beneficial to elementary teachers because it gives information about matter and teaching techniques all in one place.
5. Physical Changes to Matter http://deakin.edu.au/education/resources/sci-enviro-ed/early_years/physical.php
This website is affiliated with and copyrighted (2007) by Deakin University. This webpage was last updated on September 13, 2005. The entire webpage is dedicated to helping educators better teach about physical changes to matter. Because the webpage was designed by a university and is free from grammatical errors, I am positive that the information provided is accurate and unbiased. The webpage is laid out very nicely, with bold headings that make finding useful information quick and easy. There is even an entire section on students’ misconceptions of physical changes, which will help teachers catch problems with understanding matter before they arise. It is also very easy to navigate other resources within the website because of the links along the left hand side and top of the screen.
1. Gas, Liquid, or Solid http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/states_of_matter/index.html
This webpage is part of The Learning Site, which provides online activities and resources for students and teachers. The website is produced by Harcourt School Publishers in order to provide students with the opportunity to use technology along with their textbooks. This webpage is an interactive, animated video. Elementary students are able to click on any of the three states of matter and view how the particles move around. The webpage also shows children the relationship between temperature and state of matter. The directions for navigating through the interactive animation are in large print and are at the appropriate reading level for second graders. In spite of the fact that the date of the last update is absent, I am confident that Harcourt School Publishers The Learning Site is a reliable web resource.
2. Changing States of Matter http://www.chem4kids.com/files/matter_changes.html
This is a copyrighted website (1997-2007) affiliated with Andrew Rader Studios. The web page was produced by Kapili Islands, who develops educational science websites. The content is very accurate, informative, and is written specifically for the use of children. Large print and many colorful graphics are used; these design techniques are very helpful and appealing to elementary level children. Also, the site map is extremely easy to navigate and provides links to many other useful pages about matter within the website. Children will be able to gain a lot of valuable information about matter form this website.
3. Gases Around Us http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/gases.shtml
This website is affiliated with and produced by the British Broadcasting Company. The web page is located within the “Learning Resources for Home and School” section of the site map, which gives me confidence that the information provided is useful for the purpose of education and is accurate. This is an interactive webpage that is very suitable for children because video clips, written text, and audio clips are provided to help users learn how temperature affects state of matter. When children click the “What’s Next” link they are able to easily navigate through harder or easier activities in order to gain a better understanding of the states of matter and how they change. This webpage gives children the opportunity to have fun while actively learning about matter and changes in matter.
4. Strange Matter http://www.strangematterexhibit.com/index.html
This is an interactive website with incredible graphics and animations. This website would be perfect for elementary students to use and explore matter. Kids can navigate effortlessly through numerous activities within the website that are fun and educational. The activities correlate wonderfully with the performance standard I have chosen. The one of the best parts is the link “zoom inside stuff” because there is an interactive video clip of an aluminum can being magnified to atomic size, which helps young students better understand that all matter is made of very tiny particles. Although this web site does not specify an author, it is affiliated with and linked with 21 different national museums and science centers. Because of the affiliation with so many well known museums, I am confident that the information is accurate and can be used for the purpose of educating elementary students.
5. Matter http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/textbook/4gradecover.html
This website is affiliated with New York University and MathMol. The author, Sheila M. Estacio, links her contact information at the bottom of the webpage. The webpage was designed for elementary students to gain a better understanding of matter. Large print, relevant graphics, reading level, and links to vocabulary words are appropriate for the developmental level of second graders. The website has a very straight forward site map, which would be very easy for elementary students to navigate on their own. In addition, the students are asked questions with in the text, which they are able to type the answers in and find out the correct answers. In spite of the fact that the date of the last update is not included, the website is affiliated with a respectable university and the information provided is accurate and relevant.
