Rainforest Links

Dr. Blythe's Rain Forest Education Web Site
http://www.rainforesteducation.com
Take a tour of each layer of the rain forest with photos and sound.

Global Volunteers
http://www.globalvolunteers.org/1main/costarica/conservation.htm
Learn more about what you can do to help protect Costa Rica's rain forest. Check out the People and Land section for a wealth of information about Costa Rica's people, history, and geography.

66 Costa Rican Rain Forest Facts
http://www.pbs.org/tal/costa_rica/facts.html
Pretty self-explanitory.

RAN: The Rainforest Action Network
http://www.ran.org/info_center/teacherstudent.html
A great resource to learn more about the Earth's rain forests and learn what you can to protect them. Great lesson plans and activities to do with students.

The Rain Forest Alliance
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/
Great Rain Forest information for learners of all ages. Check out the Teachers and Students section for a great list of activities to get you pro-active!

Take a Walk in the Costa Rican Rain Forest
http://www.pbs.org/tal/costa_rica/rainwalk.html
A great virtual tour of Costa Rica's La Selva biological reserve.

World Rainforest Information Portal
http://www.rainforestweb.org/
A wonderful resource full of rain forest facts and photos, and ways to get active in saving the Earth's rain forests.

5th Grade Rain Forest Web Quest
http://falcon.tamucc.edu/~edtech/summer.5310.1999/mflores
A really well-conceived web quest that is ideal for 5th graders, but could be used in a variety of classroom settings.

Pollution Links

EPA's AIRNow for Kids
http://www.epa.gov/airnow/aqikids_new
A fun activity for kids to learn about the air quality index where they live.

Water Savers
http://www.fi.edu/guide/hongell/water.html
A Community Science Action Guide is a quick and interesting look at how to lower water consumption.

The Water Cycle
http://www.kidzone.ws/water

The USGS Water Science for Schools
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/mwater.html
The best resource for information about the Water Cycle and general water basics I've found on the web.

The Ocean's In Trouble!
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/grant/oceanpollution
A great web quest for 4th - 6th graders.

Pollution Solution
http://www.mi.mun.ca/mi-net/enviro/pollut.htm
A good look at how pollution affects animals, plants, and other aspects of life.

Global Warming

The EPA's Global Warming Web Site for Kids
http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids/
It's a great web site full of facts, activities, resources, and Stuff For Teachers.
The Natural Resources Defense Coalition's findings on Global Warming http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/
It's a great resource for a more in-depth look at the factors, facts, and issues surrounding global warming trends.

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_3_1.htm
A slightly advanced introduction to Greenhouse gases, ozone layers, atmospheric composition, and climate. It also includes a few activities for the classroom.

EPA's Global Warming Comic Book
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/missoz/index.html
A virtual comic book of a news reporter who has to get the scoop on Global Warming

The Sierra Club's 10 Things You Can Do To Prevent Global Warming (pdf)
http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/tenthings/2003august.pdf

The Environmental Defense Fund's Global Warming Game http://globalwarming.enviroweb.org/dosomething/dosomething_frameset.html
This interactive game a good way to learn about ways to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, and what the effects of doing so are.

Science Teacher's Stuff
http://www.scienceteacherstuff.com/globalwarming.html
Science Teacher Stuff's list of facts, activities, and links geared toward K-12 educators.

Global Warming Web Quest
http://www.itsco.org/webquest/class/kelly/

Volcanoes

University of North Dakota's Volcano World!
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vw.html
Probably the most-user friendly web site out there about volcanoes, volcanology, and volcanologists.

The USGS Volcanology Web Site
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov
A good web site by the USGS that does a good job of explaining how volcanoes work in depth. There are also good links to the different active volcanoes of the world.

Costa Rican Volcanoes
http://tornado.brevard.edu/reynoljh/costarica/2003/crvolcanoes.htm
A photographic journey to all of Costa Rica's active volcanoes. Good photos and minimal text.

Costa Rican Volcanoes
http://www.habitatcostarica.org/brigades/volcano.htm
Text only facts, stats, and records about Costa Rica's active volcanoes.

Exploring the Environment
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/volcanoes/volcano.html
Explore North America's volcanoes. This web site is really resourceful and a big help to answering any questions about volcanoes in general.

Enchanted Learning - Earth
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html
If you haven't used Enchanted Learning before now's your chance. It's a great resource for teachers. Go to the Physical Science Section and check out their Activities and Links Page. There's a very cool Plate Tectonic Puzzle that goes along with a quiz.

Volcano Web Quest
http://coe.west.asu.edu/students/jsampson/clarquest.html
A very good volcano Web Quest.

Ocean Life

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration web site
http://www.noaa.gov/
This site offers good news and educational information about the Earth's oceans.

Missouri Botanical Garden's Index of Salt Water Animals
http://mbgnet.mobot.org/salt/animals
Ocean animals galore from an unlikely source!

Fishbase
http://www.fishbase.org
A great resource for almost every types of fish in the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers of the world.

Earthwatch Web Activities
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/oceanlife/index.htm
A really well done series for 3rd-5th graders in conjunction with Scholastic and Earthwatch. Learn about nesting Leatherback turtles in Costa Rica and help scientists monitor them.

Ocean Planet
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ocean_planet.html
The Smithsonian's list of information, photos, and lessons and activities following their Ocean Planet exhibit.

Office of Naval Research
http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/ocean/motion/default.htm
A great resource for learning more about tides, currents, and waves. Test your new found knowledge with their online quizzes.

Ocean Life For Kids
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/eviau/edit557/oceans/linda/lwelcome.htm
A good resource for introducing younger students to the wonders of the oceans.

Oceans Alive!
http://www.abc.net.au/oceans/alive.htm
Oceans Alive! is the Australian Broadcasting Company's oceanography website with nice photos and content.

SEA Lesson Plans
http://www.sea.edu/k12LessonPlans/k12pgmtop.htm
A comprehensive group of lessons, thematic units, and quick activities brought to you by a very cool program that I would have loved to know about when I was in school.