Hobbies And Interests
Plant Reproduction
The Science Zone website features several interactive life-science games for kids. One of them, Plant Reproduction, offered by The National Grid for Learning, is a useful tool for helping kids review what they already know about plants and animals. In part one, they'll read a long paragraph about life science. Throughout the paragraph are places where they have to choose the correct word (from two or three word choices) to complete the sentence. If they're right, they'll hear a cheer; if they're wrong, they will be prompted to try again. Once they complete this step, they'll move on to part two, which lets them decide how seeds will be dispersed once pollination has taken place. They'll see several types of seeds, including blackberry and dandelion, and determine how the seeds will travel by placing them in labeled boxes. In part three, they'll move a bee from the time it lands on a flower, through pollination and seed dispersal, until a new seed germinates.
Blue Planet Challenge
In this free online game from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), kids can explore the depths of the ocean the way ocean animals might. They first choose whether they want to be a whale, a fish or a seal, and then use the mouse to move up and down in the water. The view they see will be from the perspective of the animal they've chosen---as if they were that animal. For instance, if they choose to be a whale, they'll get a large view of the ocean, and animals such as sharks and sea otters will be small. In addition, because whales need to breathe air, they'll have to remember to come to the surface periodically so they won't run out of oxygen. At any time, children can choose to explore the ocean as another animal, and they must be aware of the changing needs for each animal (displayed on the left side of the screen).
Plant Life Cycles
This free online game from Crickweb asks children to first place the steps in plant life cycles in the correct order. They also must match words, such as fertilization, germination, pollination and seed dispersal, with the right definition. The next part of the game lets them review the anatomy of a flowering plant before reaching the last part of the game, in which they'll label a flower with the terms they just learned. If they're right, they automatically move to the next level, but if they make mistakes along the way, they'll be given repeated chances to correct their errors.