Home | Programs | Education | Resources | K-8 Science Education Websites

K-8 Science Education Websites

Collected by Dr. Theodore D. Schultz, former Deputy Director of Education and Outreach of American Physical Society

Note: This list a "top-level" list, in that many organizations and projects are not cited because they are already cited within the URLs that are listed here.

1. National Standards, State Frameworks, and Assessment

Benchmarks for Science Literacy: developed by Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (full text, online)

National Science Education Standards: developed by the National Research Council (full text, online)

Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics: developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (see above). (Full text, online)

National Assessment of Educational Progress: (NAEP) The NAEP Guide, available online, answers 20 basic questions about the entire NAEP program of national testing.

State Standards and Curriculum Frameworks: reports of current status in various states from Council of Chief State School Officers

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study or (TIMSS): Many aspects of the massive TIMSS study (1995) together with preliminary reports on TIMSS-R (TIMSS- Repeat, 1999) and links to many other sites are to be found at the following sites:

2. Science Education Resources (K-12) - Broadly Targeted

American Physical Society's Physics Central: This webpage, part of a new online physics magazine at the high-school level, is the current contribution to a whole series of short, illustrated pieces describing the physics of current research.

Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Project: Databases of science education organizations, reform efforts, and web-based resources.

Blueprints for Reform of AAAS's Project 2061: An online book identifying and analyzing 12 key parts to science education viewed as a system.

Eisenhower National Clearing House: Mammoth site with all kinds of resources related to science education.

Environmental Protection Agency Educational resources: for teachers and students above grade 6.

Environmental Protection Agency: Webpages for elementary school children.

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC): Largest educational database in the world, supported by 16 ERIC Clearinghouses, one of which is in science, mathematics, and environmental science education.

ERIC Clearinghouse on Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education: Enormous database restricted to education in these subject areas.

Mad Scientist Network: A wild potpourri of many resources of all kinds in science and science education. Includes the Mad Scientist Library with aids for exploring resources on the Web.

NASA's Learning Technology Project: A gateway to NASA's many current educational projects.

North Carolina State U: A list of many websites on physics education research and other resources.

Physical Sciences Resource Center of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT): A mammoth website with lists of links in many fields of physics; in K-8, 9-12, and undergraduate science education; to publishers; to teachers' resources; etc. Resources for K-8 science education, in particular.

Project 2061 of the AAAS: A mammoth website with many documents related to systemic reform of science education.

Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science from the National Science Resources Center: A full-text, online version (but with almost no hyperlinks) of the on-paper guide to K-6 educational materials, visitable places with science education programs, and organizations, agencies, etc. with science education programs.

Resources for Teaching Middle School Science from the National Science Resources Center: A full-text, online version (this one with abundant internal hyperlinks) of a similar on-paper guide, but for middle school grades.

Science for All Americans: A full-text, online version of book from AAAS's Project 2061 defining what Americans should know and be able to do to be "literate" in science, mathematics, and technology.

Science for All Children: A full-text, online version of the book from the National Science Resources Center introducing the principal issues underlying systemic reform of K-6 science education.

U. Washington Astronomy Dept: Hyperlinks to all kinds of science education resources at all grade levels (including college).

3. Science Education Resources - Targeted at Scientists

National Research Council's Project Resources for Involving Scientists in Education (RISE): A website aimed specifically at scientists wanting to become involved or improve their involvement in science education, with abundant background information and comprehensive descriptions of 13 projects in which scientist play a variety of key roles.

Summer Work Experience Programs for Teachers (SWEPTNET): An introduction to the more than 75 programs for teachers of math and science, in which teachers are mentored by scientists and engineers.

4. "Ask-A-..." Websites for Asking Questions for Scientists

Ask-A-Locator: Virtual Reference Desk. A long list of Ask-A web sites with hyperlinks.

Pitsco's Listing of Ask-An-Expert Services in Science/Technology: A long list of Ask-A websites with hyperlinks.

MAD Scientist Network: A facility allowing students and teachers to ask questions, scientists to volunteer to answer questions, etc.

Setting Up an Ask-an-Expert Service: A series of files dealing with various issues related to such a service, provided by the Mad-Sci administrator.

5. Science Instructional Materials - NSF Funded or Reviewed

Event-Based Science: Set of instructional materials for middle schools developed at Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools.

Full Option Science System of Lawrence Hall of Science (FOSS): One of three sets of elementary science modules funded by the NSF.

Insights of Education Development Center: One of three sets of elementary science modules funded by the NSF.

Review of Instructional Materials for Middle School Science: Reviews of selected middle-school materials by a panel formed by the NSF (full text, online).

Science and Technology for Children of National Science Resources Center (STC): One of three sets of elementary science modules funded by the NSF.

Evaluations of Science & Mathematics Textbooks: Critical reviews of middle-school science and math textbooks and some high-school textbooks, developed by AAAS's Project 2061 (full-text, online, continually updated).

Selecting Instructional Materials: A Guide for K-12 Science. A book from the National Research Council available as full-text, online, in html version and searchable "open book" version.

6. Four Leading Developers of Hands-on Educational Materials

These organizations also do many other things in science education.

Lawrence Hall of Science: Developers of FOSS (Full Option Science System), HAP (Health Activities Project), CHEM Study (Chemical Education Material Study), SEPUP (Science Education for Public Understanding Program), and GEMS Guides (Great Explorations in Math and Science), and producers of many other hands-on, inquiry-centered science programs. This site includes a good list of hyperlinks for science education.

Education Development Center (EDC): Center for Science Education: Developers of Insights series of K-6 modules and a number of other science-education programs.

National Science Resources Center (NSRC): Developers of STC (Science and Technology for Children) and the Discovery Deck, several books of resources for teachers and for anyone interested in promoting science education reform (see above, in section on Broadly-Targeted Science Education Resources), and national leadership institutes with the same objective.

Technical Education Research Center (TERC): A leader in the of development of technology-based materials and facilities supporting science education.

7. Scientific and Educational Societies and Organizations

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): Enormous professional society embracing all the sciences, whose principal activities in science education reform are conducted by Project 2061 (see above, in sections on National Standards and on Broadly-Targeted Science Education Resources)

American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). Professional society of physics teachers, mostly high-school and undergraduate college level, focused mainly but not solely on physics education at those two levels, and producing the on-line Physical Sciences Resource Center (see above, in section on Broadly-Targeted Science Education Resources and section on Science Education Research).

American Chemical Society: Professional society of chemists, with a wide variety of educational activities.

APS Education programs: Programs of the APS Department of Education & Outreach

Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE): An association to "promote leadership in, and support for those involved in, the Professional development of teachers of science" (formerly AETS)

Astronomical Society of the Pacific: A venerable organization of professional and amateur astronomers with a strong focus on both formal and informal education, with many publications and other educational products described on this website.

Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO): Their site is a gateway into state departments of education and many documents relating to standards, goals, assessments, etc. (see above in section on National Standards, etc.)

Council of State Science Supervisors (CSSS): Organization of officials from all the states, focused on K-12 science education:

National Association for Research in Science Teaching: This site provides information about the organization and its Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and also provides text of many monographs (see above in section on Science Education Research).

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA): Professional organization of teachers, supervisors, administrators, scientists, business representatives, etc. focused on K-12 science education.

National Institute for Science Education (NISE): An NSF-funded project of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research that conducts research and sponsors conferences, which are reported in NISE Briefs, Research Monographs, Occasional Papers, Workshop Reports and Proceedings, and other publications. These publications are all listed, some with abstracts, on this website:

School Science and Mathematics Association: Organization dedicated to improving K-12 instruction in and between science and mathematics, publisher of the journal School Science and Mathematics and newsletter SSMArrt and the online newsletter The Math-Science Connector.

8. Federal Departments, Offices, and Agencies

NASA: NASA has a large educational program in earth and space science.

NSF: At this site one can view the large education-funding programs of the NSF in the context of its much larger sections supporting research in science, technology, and mathematics.

NSF's Directorate of Education and Human Resources: Mammoth site of the educational directorate of the principal funding agency for K-12 education in science, mathematics, and technology, with online documentation of many projects.

U.S. Dept. of Education: Gateway to the entire Department of Education.

U.S. Dept. of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES): Source of all kinds of statistics about U.S. education.

U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement: A gateway to many programs of this office of the Department of Education.

U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education: A gateway to many programs of this office of the Department of Education.

U.S. Dept. of Energy. There are extensive education programs at several DOE National Laboratories.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: A number of educational programs, laboratories, etc. of this agency can be viewed through this gateway.