WXXI Education has curated a list of useful Science learning resources (lesson plans, content collections, partner sites, interactives, and printables) for students and educators in grades 6-12.
To support instruction, WXXI Education has pulled together a list of educational resources available through PBS LearningMedia:
PBS LearningMedia: Science Subject Area – Explore natural phenomena and scientific practices with videos, lesson plans, and interactive tools.
- Earth and Space Science
- Life Science
- Physical Science
Practices and Nature of Science - Instrumentation, Measurement, and Units
All of the above topic areas are available as PBS LearningMedia Science One-Sheets to share with students and educators. One-sheets include a clickable link and QR code for easy access.
Favorite Science Collections
There are tons of Science tools available through PBS LearningMedia, here are WXXI Education’s top 5 Science collections:
1. NOVA: Gross Science: Why do we smell different when we’re sick? Why does cheese smell like feet? Why don’t vultures get sick from eating rotting meat? Science is filled with stories: some of them are beautiful and some of them are gross. Really gross. Gross Science, a YouTube series hosted by Anna Rothschild, tells bizarre stories from the slimy, smelly, creepy world of science. In this collection, you’ll find original short-form videos and DIY experiments from Gross Science, which is produced by NOVA and PBS Digital Studios. Learn about amphibians that eat their mother’s skin, strange uses for bacon, how poop can be used to cure an infection, and more gross science topics.
2. California Academy of Sciences: The California Academy of Sciences is a renowned scientific and educational institution dedicated to exploring, explaining, and sustaining life on Earth. Based in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the Academy produces free online courses, award-winning Planetarium shows, short science videos, K-12 training toolkits, and compilations of teaching strategies for the science classroom.
3. NOVA: The NOVA collection on PBS LearningMedia contains over 1500 resources from NOVA’s broadcast and digital productions that educators can use in their lessons to spark and enrich student knowledge of STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics). NOVA’s resources are primarily designed for use in middle and high school STEM classrooms.
4. NASA Planety Sciences: In these videos and interactives from NASA, catalogued and adapted by WGBH, explore the exciting discoveries from NASA missions about the planets, moons, and other objects in our solar system. You’ll also find interactive lessons for middle and high school students and for teacher professional development!, as well as three professional development videos from WNET showing planetary science in action in a high school classroom.
5. Nature: This collection of science videos and media-enhanced lesson plans draws upon the powerful documentaries of public television’s award-winning natural history series, Nature. The video segments have been carefully selected to engage students with key curriculum concepts. The lesson plans incorporate hands-on activities, online resources, and video to interactively and creatively address topics and standards in Life Science/Living Environment and Earth Science.
Additional Science Resources from Partner Organizations
Annenberg Learner Series – Educator Science Resources