Learning Resources | News

New Site Offers Online Resources for Parents, Teachers, and Students

• By Mike Hohenbrink
• 08/29/11

A newly launched site, designed to serve as an interactive educational tool with a science focus, will feature free lesson plans, videos, and activities aligned to national education standards.

Designed for students in grades 6-12, “Curiosity in the Classroom” expands on the Discovery series “Curiosity.” The site, from Discovery Education and Intel, uses features including career videos, interactive polls and quizzes, a webinar series, and family discussion guides to illustrate concepts from the series such as artificial intelligence, communications, computers, nanotechnology, and robotics.

In-class and at-home resources are available for educators, students, and families with specific sections of the site earmarked for quick access under the headings “For Teachers,” “For Parents” and “For Students” with content tailored for each group.

Resources for teachers include:

• Free lesson plans broken down by grade level with sections for 6-8 and 9-12;
• Hands-on activities such as having students use the computer language BASIC to develop three simple programs;
• Lesson overviews;
• Academic standards mapped to the National Science Education Standards (SCES) or other applicable standards depending on the unit; and
• Web links.

Students can ask questions on science topics that interest them such as “How do prosthetic limbs work?” They can also explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Other features for students include:

• Poll questions;
• Quizzes on topics such as whether some popular urban legends are true or false;
• Profiles of innovators such as a robotics technician and a computer expert; and
• Links to online resources to explore more at their own pace.

Families are encouraged to watch the series together, and the site makes available tools designed to help parents stimulate their children's interest in science and technology.

Resources available for parents include:

• Full episodes of the series;
• Family viewing guides;
• Challenge questions for each member of the family to see how many questions he or she can get right before watching the episode; and
• Questions designed to spark discussion for after episodes.

The site also features a national sweepstakes called Catch Me Being Curious. One grand prize winner will receive a family vacation to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., Washington, D.C., the Grand Canyon National Park, or Yellowstone National Park. Twenty second place winners will receive a Discovery Education prize pack.

For more information or to enter the sweepstakes, visit curiousityintheclassroom.com.