Improving Science Education 5-14

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Have you ever wondered at what stage you can see the new crescent moon? In December 2005, new moons occur on December 1st and December 31st. If you go out just after sunset over the three or four days following the instant of new moon and have a look low in the western sky, you can try and see if you can observe the new crescent moon.

You can make the observation with just your eyes or with binoculars or a telescope. Never look at the Sun directly or through binoculars or a telescope as you will damage your eyesight. If you are going to use binoculars or a telescope to find the new crescent moon, you must make sure the Sun has set.

The Living Field is a combination of illustrations, animations and interactive lessons produced by the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI). It came initially as a CD release and is now also available on the SCRI website. Click the graphic above or download a zipped version of the Living Field CD.

The CD features a wealth of information and as a result is quite large. It will require patience when downloading. The file is 160Mb and will take approximately 10 minutes on broadband and 60 minutes plus on 56k to download completely. Simply unzip the file and burn the contents on to a CD for use over and over again.

The Bradford Robotic Telescope has now been completely rebuilt and is operating in a new dome at the Observatorio del Teide 8,000 feet up on the Island of Tenerife.

The new telescope has been designed as a completely free robotic system to support the understanding of astronomy by school students and the general public whilst at the same time providing a rapid response instrument for researchers to capture the key early moments of eruptive variable stars like gamma-busters, supernovae and cataclysmic variables.

The telescope is moving into a beta-testing stage. This is the first stage of the development. See their latest published images.

There are lots of things to do on the site. There is much more coming. Have a look round and enjoy it. If you like it, tell others, and if they've have got it wrong, tell them.

New! They now have some photo galleries of pictures taken whilst working on the telescope. Only the first few are there at the moment from 2002 and early 2003, and one from our recent visit to the La Palma observatory site. Check back later for more recent images.

Material X-referenced for Scotland

pdf file with loads of ideas and activities

With the initial support of BP, the Scottish Chemistry Online Teaching Service (SCOTS), web-site has been developed. It went live as from the 10th May, 2004 at :-

 http://www.scots.org.uk

The site is intended to share useful information for chemistry teachers, e.g. on all CPD activities, resources, useful links to web-sites, support for students, etc.

There is also a Forum for 5-14 so, although the site is aimed directly at secondary school teachers, there is no reason why Primary teachers cannot tap into the chemistry expertise of the teachers in the Secondary sector.

includes all sorts of slime with one that can be electrostatically charged. The document is seven pages long and includes safety notes.

What is a primary
school ICT policy?

Virtual Robot Constructor (Channel 4, Requires Shockwave)

Your mission is to construct robots which can successfully collect the precious golden cubes scattered about a variety of hostile zones. Robots must be able to navigate their way around each zone to collect the gold cubes while at the same time avoiding hazards and making sure they've enough energy by periodically recharging or refuelling.

Climate Change in Scotland

This site is aimed at young people aged between 9 and 14 (levels C/D/E of the Scottish curriculum) to inform and raise awareness of some of the key issues surrounding climate change and the effect on Scotland. Check out the games. The site complements the Scottish Executive's 'do a little - change a lot' campaign, which shows how even the smallest of actions, taken by everyone, can make a big difference for the environment, not only in Scotland, but for the whole world.

Healthy Kids

Inside Outside is a fun, interactive site (also on CD-ROM) filled with activities delivered in a distinctive comic-book style. It is aimed at middle primary school for pupils currently working at levels B-C of the Health Education 5-14 guidelines. The main emphasis of the product is a positive health education, based on three interconnected strands of health education:

• Physical health

• Emotional health

• Social health

The aim of the site and CD-ROM is to help pupils acquire the relevant knowledge and understanding, not just of the human body and how it works but also the social and emotional factors that influence health. The aim is also to encourage pupils to make informed choices and make appropriate decisions that help to ensure a healthy lifestyle.

Science UPD8 is a free new service from ASE (Association for Science Education) that lets you bring out the science behind the headlines while it's fresh in students' minds Every week, they'll alert you to curriculum-relevant stories with a 'weekly' menu, delivered by text to your mobile.
Or by email. Subscribe now! to have weekly menus of news, activities and happenings delivered to you, by text message, or by email. Go to Subscribe page >>>

• are a new approach to teaching, learning and assessment in science

• were created by Brenda Keogh and Stuart Naylor in 1991

• feature cartoon-style drawings showing different characters arguing about an everyday situation

• are designed to intrigue, to provoke discussion and to stimulate scientific thinking

• may not have a single "right answer"

• are available with background science notes for teachers

Resources for Learning in Scotland

Resources for Learning in Scotland (RLS) is a consortium headed by the National Library of Scotland and including the National Archives of Scotland, the Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network, and over 100 Scottish archives and libraries, to create digital content for the study and celebration of social, cultural and industrial heritage in Scotland, complementary to and integrated with the SCRAN resource base.

British Isles
Rainfall Radar

Click the map opposite to get the latest rainfall radar animation for the last six hours from the Met. Office.

Go and have a look at the Webcams

National Museums of Scotland

Breathing easy on the Space Station (NASA)

Just in case you haven't seen this -

Jenifer Burden
ASE Science Year Project Director
e:
t: +44 (0) 161 881 1676

One free copy of each ASE Science Year CD ROM is available to all UK middle and secondary schools. English schools should register by email to , including full name, address and postcode details of your school. Please note that schools in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not need to register. CDs will be sent to them from the relevant education office.