Five Features That Make Facts on File Today's Science My Favorite Sources

1. It's not very easy to find science sources that meet needs of Middle and High School and ELL students. Facts On File, Today's Science is a database of science news and encyclopedia articles written on the level that students can understand.

2. Today's Science connects the content that students learn in class with present-day discoveries in
Chemistry, Biology, Earth Science, Environment, Medicine and Health, Psychology, and other areas of science.

3. Conversations with Scientists, Cartoons and Puzzles enrich and make reading engaging.

4. Visuals and the Read Aloud feature help students understand the text. Students can hear and repeat the correct pronunciation of difficult terminology. When needed, articles can be translated into students' native languages with a build-in the Google Translate function.

5.  The "Resources for Educators" section includes ideas and suggestions for assignments,  discussions, hands-on activities, and research.

Using Podcasts in class

The article The Atom Family:Using Podcasts to Enhance the Development of Science Vocabulary by S. Michael Putman and Tara Kingsley published in The Reading Teacher, 63 (2), describes a successful use of podcasts in science class. An experiment described in the journal proves that podcasting has become a very popular and wide used tool not only in Middle and High School classes but also in Kindergarten and Elementary educational setting. Reasons for having podcasts widely used in schools are many: it is "inexpensive to produce, simple to use, portable, reusable, and beneficial to auditory learners" (Smaldino, Russell, Heinich, & Molenda, 2005 - according to Putman 2009, p. 101).

Putman and Kingsley used podcast as an enhancing tool for "science-specific vocabulary development in fifth grade". Their research demonstrates that podcasting increases students' recollection of the words and improve their understanding of the material studied in class. Students listened to podcasts to review class material and make up missed classes when they were sick.

The whole article can be accessed through EBSCOhost. There are many ideas on teaching vocabulary by the means of podcasting.

Among examples of educational podcasts and resources published in the article are:

Radio WillowWeb, published by Kids for Kids.
Small Voices - using podcast by Kathy Shields, Elementary School teacher.
Eagen High School: Honors Chemistry - multimedia in High School Chemistry classes.
Just Vocabulary - learning vocabulary with a podcast.

Picture Credits - JustVocabulary.com