Dow's Science Resources

This video guide accompanies Bill Nye The Science Guy Nutrition Episode (Season 4 Episode 2). Answer key also included.

The Plastic Problem – A PBS News Hour Documentary -Video Guide introduces students to the plastic pollution problem, including details about recycling shortfalls, microplastics, and great pacific garbage patch. The video is 54 minutes long and the key is included.

This video guide covers the craft in the American West, with insights into saddlemaking, boot making, Native American Artistry, and Hawaiian Arts. I use it in my STEAM class to create interest in handmade artistry. The episode is 50 minutes and the videoguide is comfortably paced. This product includes an answer key.

This video guide is really useful describing outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, bacterial diseases such as typhoid, and issues such as ethical concerns about quarantine and public health. The episode is 50 minutes in duration. The answer key is included.

This resource is helpful to reinforce the difficult vocabulary in the biotechnology unit such as recombinant DNA, cloning, transgenic organisms, and genetically modified organisms, and insulin production. It also helps to make the topic of biotechnology more relatable. The slides describe how biotechnology is used in medicine, agriculture, industry, and the environment, as well as some ethical concerns involved. The slides include a concept check where students are asked to sort each bioengin

This video guide accompanies Crash Course Episode 'The Hydrologic and Carbon Cycles: Always Recycle! Ecology #8'. The video guide key is also included.

This video guide accompanies the movie " A Million Miles Away" based on the book by Lara Avery. This movie is available for streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime platforms for free. This movie can be used in classes that discuss human perseverance, engineering, ethnic studies, or Hispanic heritage in science. The movie is 1 hour 52 minutes, and will take 2 class periods to complete.

This slideshow follows standard 8.E.1.2 (Summarize evidence that Earth’s oceans are a reservoir of nutrients, minerals, dissolved gases and life forms). It describes the major ecosystems of the oceans, including estuaries, mangroves, and deep ocean. There are some imbedded videos of related content, a link to a build your own coral lab, and estuary lesson resources as well.

This trophic cascade and keystone species video from www.biointeractive.org (linked in the worksheet) is a good introduction to the topic. This video guide goes along with the 20 minute video to keep students on track and engaged. The key is also included.

This self-guided review is a Google Slides document containing a virtual fossil game, video clip with questions, and a short guided tour of the Smithsonian Museum's megalodon exhibit. The activity also includes practice with concepts such as the law of superposition, index fossils, radiocarbon dating, sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. It could be used as a class activity, homework, or substitute plans. The activity takes 60-90 minutes to complete.

This activity is a web based lab activity that uses the PhET Colorado simulation platform to introduce the topics of natural selection, limiting factors, and carrying capacity. Students can follow the steps to explore what predators and limited food do to population, as well as the effect of camouflage on the survival rate of rabbits.

This group project is a creative way to talk about primary productivity, sustainability, or engineering with your students. This activity usually takes my students two 90 minute periods to create, and students generally enjoy thinking about how future Earth might be, and how they could solve future problems. The scenario presented is a future Earth (2079) reaching carrying capacity of 11 billion people. The task for each group: they must come up with a plan with how to increase primary produc

I developed this worksheet to go along with our water testing lab in 8th Grade science. It includes information about water quality, biomagnification, and eutrophication. You will need a water testing kit of your own to accompany this worksheet.

This worksheet is a helpful to practice hypotheses and identifying independent variables, dependent variables, and control variables. It usually takes 30-45 minutes to complete.

This video guide accompanies the second episode in the PBS Evolution Series. There is a key included.

This fossil fuel web quest takes guides students through the climatekids.gov website to give students some interesting facts on the history of fossil fuels and aligns with the standards related to energy and sustainability. A key is also included.

This is a fun review assignment I created for my own 8th Grade students. There is a short rap written by me to review a few topics, in a memorable way, along with a challenge for the students to create their own version of a study rap. It encourages creative writing, review of terms and concepts in a new and memorable way. The product also includes the recording of my rap, to get their creativity flowing!

This bundle of ecosystem coloring pages includes the following topics: abiotic/biotic factors, animal classification, fresh water aquatic ecosystems, autotroph/ heterotroph feeding relationships, decomposers, food chains, food webs, domains of life, kingdoms of life, taxonomy, and trophic pyramids. This is a good review tool to use in your classroom.

This activity is designed to take 60-90 minutes to complete. Students are given the opportunity to choose 3 out of 9 possible tasks related to 8th grade standard 8.4.L.2. It can also be adapted into individual activities or project.

This foldable is part of my Energy Resources unit for 8th grade interactive notebook. This foldable helps students to understand the trade offs between different lightbulb choices including cost, energy use and life.