Science4Us (continued)


         The student home page is clearly organized into My Tools, My Assignments, and Choose a Book of Science. Upon choosing the Physical Science book, the unit on Matter appears, followed by the module on Materials and Mixtures. Of the six activity icons on the right, the student is instructed to start with the first three, in order - Engage, Explore, Explain. These launch videos, animations and hands-on activities such as recycling, sorting, and so on, culminating in a "Show what you know" quiz.   

         Science4Us is adaptable to home-schooling, and provides teachers and parents with extensive lesson plans and professional development videos. The teacher home page features resources such as Student Reports which include notebook entries, activity completion, scores on graded activities, and a log of questions and answers on evaluations. Most useful is the Lesson Plans page, where teachers have a central location to create assignments, view lesson details, preview activities and upcoming materials, access professional development materials, and download related extension activities.

         This website excels in providing exciting, age-appropriate science material for younger students, as well as invaluable management tools for teacher.





ExploreLearning Reflex (Website)
[ExploreLearning (866) 882-4141]

             Problem: Too many students in the US are struggling with math.  Theory: Students lack fluency in basic math facts.  Solution: ExploreLearning Reflex.

             Winner of the 2016 BESSIE for Early Elementary: Math Fluency Website, ExploreLearning Reflex is an adaptive, game-based, basic math (addition, subtraction, multiplication & division) skill-drill.  But unlike flashcards and other memorization drills, ExploreLearning Reflex is fun and highly motivating.

             Available in English, Spanish, and French, the program begins with placement and speed tests and then quickly moves on to the drill games (nine total).  Once the student completes a minimum of timed questions (in the game format), a reward is earned.  Other rewards accrue along the way, e.g., the 'green light,' new games, etc. Teachers can use the dashboard to create classes, add students and monitor student progress.

             ExploreLearning Reflex can be used anywhere an Internet connection is available, and is now available for iOS. Deceptively simple, ExploreLearning Reflex is a powerful tool to help students gain the skills they need to be successful down the road.  As ExploreLearning has it: Problem Solved!