Instead, try and find an interesting topic or scientific phenomena that goes along with the concept you are learning about. For example, as a biology teacher one topic I teach is the biogeochemical cycles. My students would NOT enjoy reading about the carbon cycle out of a textbook. So instead I gave them an article to read about Lake Nyos, a lake that formed in a volcanic crater that was slowly releasing dissolved carbon dioxide into the water. To introduce the lesson, I show them a video clip of the villagers and livestock living around the lake who don’t wake up one morning. By the end of the video students were hooked- what happened to these people?! They were absolutely ready to read the article and discuss carbon.
Here are a list of websites you can peruse to look for free, engaging articles for your students:
3. SCIENCE JOURNAL FOR KIDS: Primary literature can be hard to comprehend, but this site makes the articles understandable for students.
4. GOOGLE SCHOLAR: Want students to read primary literature? Most of the time it costs money for articles, but Google Scholar provides free journal articles.
5. COMMON LIT: Lessons and articles are free after you create an account.
7. TWEEN TRIBUNE: Student-geared articles published by the Smithsonian.
8. NATURAL INQUIRER: On this site you can not only download articles but also order magazine copies for your classroom.
Do you have a topic that your students consider boring? Need help coming up with related phenomena? Leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to help!
