Shared by an elementary, middle and high school science teacher.
Younger Students
Number Line Frog Hop (Addition and Subtraction)
Live a frog's life as you hop along a number line in search of flies. Learn how addition and subtraction can be represented as movement along a number line. Fred the frog may even help you get better at adding and subtracting two-digit numbers in your head by decomposing them into tens and ones.
Mascot Election (Pictographs and Bar Graphs)
A brand new school is opening and it is time to elect the school mascot! Students can choose the Eagle, Lion, Bear, or Wolf. Voting results can be displayed in a table, tally chart, pictograph, bar graph, circle graph, or dot plot. You can change student votes by selecting a group of students and clicking a mascot.
Pattern Flip (Patterns)
In the Pattern Flip carnival game, you are shown a pattern of cards. The first cards are face-up so you can see the pattern, and the rest are face-down. Can you guess which animals are on the face-down cards? Use one of the preset patterns, or make your own custom pattern. Good luck!
Density
Measure the mass and volume of a variety of objects, then place them into a beaker of liquid to see if they float or sink. Learn to predict whether objects will float or sink in water based on their mass and volume. Compare how objects float or sink in a variety of liquids, including gasoline, oil, seawater, and corn syrup.
Growing Plants
Investigate the growth of three common garden plants: tomatoes, beans, and turnips. You can change the amount of light each plant gets, the amount of water added each day, and the type of soil the seed is planted in. Observe the effect of each variable on plant height, plant mass, leaf color and leaf size. Determine what conditions produce the tallest and healthiest plants. Height and mass data are displayed on tables and graphs.
Older Students
Measuring Volume
Measure the volume of liquids and solids using beakers, graduated cylinders, overflow cups, and rulers. Water can be poured from one container to another and objects can be added to containers. A pipette can be used to transfer small amounts of water, and a magnifier can be used to observe the meniscus in a graduated cylinder. Test your volume-measurement skills in the "Practice" mode of the Gizmo.
Forest Ecosystem
Observe and manipulate the populations of four creatures (trees, deer, bears, and mushrooms) in a forest. Investigate the feeding relationships (food web) in the forest. Determine which creatures are producers, consumers, and decomposers. Pictographs and line graphs show changes in populations over time.
Cannonball Clowns (Number Line Estimation)
Launch clowns from a circus cannon and try to hit the target. Drag digit cards on the control panel to set the launch distance and choose an appropriate unit of distance. After practicing your clown-launching skills on a number line, move on to the Big Top, Football Field, School Buses, the Golden Gate Bridge, and more!
Graphing Skills
Create a graph (bar graph, line graph, pie chart, or scatter plot) based on a given data set. Title the graph, label the axes, and choose a scale. Adjust the graph to fit the data, and then check your accuracy. The Gizmo can also be used to create a data table based on a given graph.
