7 Digital Resources for Your Elementary Science Tool Kit

As an educator who teaches STEM at the elementary level, technology integration has been key to enhancing student learning tasks. Over the years, I have cultivated some digital resources that I find add a lot of student excitement to my classes, while also helping students explore content deeply.

I think of these resources as my tool kit, as I know I can tap into any of them when I want to bring something more engaging to my classroom, without adding a ton of prep time.

Helpful Tools for Teaching Science

1. Weather Forecast Generator and Weather Forecast Templates. When looking at the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), K–2 begins building foundational knowledge on weather, making observations and identifying patterns. This builds in third grade, where students now must use that knowledge and represent weather data in tables or graphs to better analyze and describe those patterns and trends.

To hit these standards in a meaningful way, I love having my students create weather reports. Upper elementary students can use the Weather Forecast Generator or Weather Forecast Template to create a weekly forecast. I often have students complete this in groups and then present their findings to the rest of the class.

You can also use the weather forecast generator whole group with your students, eliciting information from them on what they think the weather will look like in the following days, and engaging in conversation about what clothing one might wear in such weather or what activities you may recommend doing in that weather.

2. Kahoot. Gamifying certain tasks in the classroom can build engagement while also helping to provide opportunities for review before summative assessments. I often do some type of game review before a unit test, but creating your own games from scratch can be extremely time-consuming.

McGraw Hill has started posting their own free Kahoot Science quizzes. Now, I can take a quick look and see if what they have made matches my current topic.

When I find ones that match, I favorite them in my account so I can reuse them in future years. If you haven’t played Kahoot with your students before, it requires each student to have a computer so that they can independently answer multiple-choice questions live during the game.

3. The Science Education Center Resources. The Smithsonian has a collection of free resources you can use for your elementary science classroom, including videos, apps, games, and e-books. They also have resources available in several different languages.

I particularly enjoy using them for educational videos that can enhance a current unit of study. I often use them as a hook for a lesson, to get students thinking about the topic and asking preliminary questions. For example, this video on astronomers seeing invisible parts of the universe is a great hook for my fifth-grade unit on The Galaxy.

4. Starbase Minnesota. A powerful element that is often missing from our science instruction is the motivation for why we are doing this. Career connections help provide that why. They show students all the amazing jobs out there that utilize science. When students have a goal or a dream to work toward, it fuels them to engage with the work on a much deeper level.

Starbase Minnesota provides videos from professionals in a plethora of different STEM-related jobs. I like to preview my upcoming lessons to see if a job in Starbase is relatable to our current topic. Once I’ve found a good match, I show the video whole group to my students as an added connection for them to make between our content and the real world.

5. Science Boddle. When students are already using their computers for work in class, I like to use Science Boddle, which I find to be a good early-finisher option. I have an “Early Finisher” section in my learning management system that students can self-navigate to when they are done with their assignment that links them directly to Science Boddle.

Within this platform, students can interact with various science lessons, earning points and getting rewards. It’s an adaptive learning platform, so it adjusts to where your student is, and it aligns with the NGSS.

As the teacher, you can choose to assign lessons on particular science topics or skills. You can even view reports to see what concepts students are mastering versus which ones they are struggling with.

6. PBS LearningMedia for sub plans. By selecting a grade band, and then selecting the resource type “Interactive Lesson,” you can search through many lessons that will guide your students, via slides, through questions with a short-answer response, quizzes, simulations, and more.

I use this option as a quick, low-prep sub option when I unexpectedly need coverage for my class. I recommend doing a couple of lessons whole group with students at the beginning of the year, to model expectations and demonstrate website navigation. This way, they will be ready to go when the time comes to complete a lesson on their own with a substitute.

Not only do these lessons ensure that students are still getting relevant content while I’m out, but they boost engagement, since students can move at their own pace and interact with the content in new ways—this is huge when a substitute is in the room, as it can often be challenging for a new individual to get a classroom of students to stay on task.

7. MagicSchool. Many science curricula come with comprehensive summative assessments. However, they are sometimes missing those quick checks or exit tickets. After creating a free account with MagicSchool AI, you can find their “Multiple Choice / Assessment” tool in the “Teacher Tools” section.

This resource saves me a ton of time. I can type in what my students are learning about and tell the program to align to NGSS for that grade. Then, all I have to do is make some minor edits, and it’s ready to print and hand out to students.

I definitely noticed an improvement on their summative test scores as well, after implementing these shorter, very tailored exit tickets. To see more teacher-facing tools I use for science planning and instruction, check out my science tool collection.