Each year DISCUS will survey published lesson plans and award cash prizes to the authors of the best lessons. The first place lesson will receive $200. Second and third place prizes will also be awarded. Build and submit your best lesson plan idea now for a chance to win! More details coming soon.
Continue Readinghttp://chemistry.about.com/In a shallow saucer of milk, place some drops of different color food coloring (in the center, or near the outside rim). The food coloring will just sit there. Using a cotton swab, or an eye dropper, apply a small amount of dishwashing liquid somewhere close to or far away from the food coloring drops.
Continue ReadingOur booth is set up at the 2010 Texas State Fair. This is our first time, but we will run a booth every year until at least 2014. Already, we have had a great time sharing our excitement for science with fair-goers of all ages. As DISCUS Director, I have to give my utmost thanks
Continue ReadingOn Monday, September 20th, 2010, we went live with the new look of the DISCUS website that you see now. As DISCUS Director, I want to personally thank Rajat Mittal and her team, Aditya Mone, Duy Anh, and Anitha Royappan, from the U.T. Arlington Electronic Research Administration, for putting this together and getting it working. Special thanks go to Aditya
Continue ReadingThis book is developed and distributed by the many contributors behind BrainPOP.com. It provides a wide ranging overview of many things cool and interesting in the world of science. The book is mostly full of various information and science facts (Did you know…?), but it also has a bunch of activities and projects intersperseed throughout. A
Continue ReadingVisit your local library or bookstore to pick up this compendium of fun and engaging science projects and experiments (multiple editions available, published by Barron’s Educational Series). These activities appear to be best suited for elementary to early middle school-age students; they cover a wide range of subjects, including life science, geology, chemistry, and astronomy, among others. The
Continue ReadingJABE Educational Software is a software package that has many stand-alone programs, which can be used to illustrate various physical concepts. Importantly, on their site, there are also several free utilities available. One of them is a graduated cylinder graphics program (meniscus.exe), which was used to make the pictures shown here. This can be a great
Continue ReadingOver the years I’ve learned I do not have to purchase everything I need from a chemical supplier. A classic lab every science teacher knows and loves is Chemistry in a Bag. In its simplest form, a spoonful of calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate are placed in opposite corners inside of a ziplock baggie. Then
Continue ReadingThink-Pair-Share is a versatile teaching strategy that emphasizes peer-learning in order to grasp new concepts. Students who have been introduced to a new concept are given the opportunity to contemplate new material. They then pair together with another student and share their understanding of the concept. This strategy can be used during virtually any lesson, especially
Continue ReadingMany of the lesson plans which currently populate the DISCUS website have been developed by current and aspiring teachers. Soon after the grant which funds DISCUS was awarded (summer 2009), Jennifer Cruze and I instructed a Science Education course at U.T. Arlington, where we had a fantastic bunch of teachers working to earn their MAIS
Continue Reading