Today marks the beginning of our official summer break. We wish our students, teachers and parents a much-deserved, relaxed vacation after months of hard work both on and offline. Even though the break is finally upon us, we encourage students to never stop learning in their everyday lives, also during the holiday time. This is also in line with Oscar Goncalves’ view, YCIS Beijing Head of Science, who has prepared a list of resources and fun activities for our students to do during the break.
School closure and e-learning has urged all teachers to organised and explore the best on-line resources to help students continue their learning off campus. This has resulted in an excellent range of materials and resources available to teachers across the board who, for the upcoming summer camp organised by the School, have collaboratively used to put together a diversified programme which will ensure the quality of the activites.
Science can be fun and engagin g but sometimes can exhaust even the most talented and prepared students. For this reason, Mr Goncalves has carefully selected the most suitable list for students, amongst the wide range of resources available online, to create an enjoyable experience for all. During these summer activities, parents will also have the opportunity to get involved by exploring areas of learning together with their children .
For students who want to continue learning science this summer and / or might not be able to attend the school-run camp, here he shares a comprehensive list of websites providing resources that range from interactive textbooks to animations, along with a variety of technologies suitable for Secondary Year Levels.
IB Diploma Students
Kognity (For Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Environmental Science)
InThinking (For Environmental Science)
Nearpod (For Computer Science)
IGCSE Students
Kognity (For Cambridge IGCSE Co-ordinated Science and Combined Science)
Savemyexams (For Cambridge IGCSE Co-ordinated Science and Combined Science)
Nearpod (For ICT)
Lower Secondary Students
Kerboodle (For General Science)
Education Perfect (For General Science)
Savemyexams (For General Science)
Nearpod (For Digital Literacy and General Science)
Younger students can use the experimental aspect of science to better understand the world around them . This is why we asked My Goncalves made sure to share some fun experiments they can try at home with their family members and friends during the summer. Below is the list he gathered from www.scienceinschool.org, a website that actively promotes science teaching.
01
Astrofarmer: how to grow plants in space
Ages: 8–12
If students can get hold of cress seeds and a few flowers (plus some other easy-to-find materials), they can try these simple experiments to explore the factors affecting plant growth.
02
All in the Family
Ages: 11–16
Students can work in virtual pairs to find out about some of their own personal Medelian (dominant/recessive) genetic traits, and how these could show as physical characteristics of the children in a hypothetical family.
03
The way of the dragon: chemistry for the youngest
Ages: 8-14
More chemistry activities for younger children – or older students, who can be challenged to explain scientifically the quite complex phenomena demonstrated in the activities.
04
Fantastic Feats
Ages: 11–19
Fun challenges and tricks to do at home, with solutions and explanations based on Newton’s laws of motion.
05
What are stars made of?
Ages: 15–19
Students can use the instructions here to build a spectrometer using a breakfast cereal box and an old CD.
When asked what makes science a great subject, Mr Goncalves said “We use Science to understand the world around us . The act of finding the answers by working in teams, from all different backgrounds and fields of expertise, even non-scientists, putting the scientific method into action is simply fascinating, sometimes even more than the answer itself. This process is often, simply, fun.”
We sincerely appreciated the resources and materials shared by Mr Goncalves and w ish him a great summer break!
今天标志着暑假正式开始。我们祝愿我们的学生、老师和家长们在经历了数月线上和线下的辛苦学习后度过一个有价值的、轻松的假期。我们鼓励学生在日常生活中不断学习，即使在假期里也要坚持学习。这也符合北京耀中科学部主管Oscar Goncalves先生的观点，他已经为我们的学生准备了资源清单和有趣的活动清单。
“停课及在线学习”促使所有教师组织和探索最佳的网上资源，以帮助学生在校外继续学习。这项实践令学校的教师获得了一系列优秀的素材和资源，他们为即将到来的夏令营组织了多样化的项目，这将确保活动的质量。
科学可以是有趣和吸引人的，但有时甚至会让最有天赋和准备完善的学生焦头烂额。基于这个原因，Goncalves先生在网上众多的资源中精心挑选出了最适合学生的活动，为所有人创造了愉快的体验。在这些暑期活动中，家长也有机会与孩子一起探索学习领域。
对于那些想要在这个暑假继续学习科学和/或可能不参加学校举办的夏令营的学生，他在这里分享了一个全面的网站清单，提供了从互动教科书到动画的资源，以及适合中学水平的各种技术。
IB文凭的学生
Kognity(生物、物理、化学、环境科学)
InThinking(环境科学)
Nearpod(计算机科学)
IGCSE学生
Kognity(剑桥IGCSE综合科学)
Savemyexams(剑桥IGCSE综合科学)
Nearpod (ICT)
初中部学生
Kerboodle(普通科学)
Education Perfect(普通科学)
Savemyexams(普通科学)
Nearpod(数字文学和普通科学)
年纪较小的学生可以利用科学的实验来更好地了解他们周围的世界。这就是为什么我们让Goncalves先生一定分享一些他们可以在暑期尝试与家人和朋友做的有趣实验。下面是他从www.scienceinschool.org上搜集的列表，这是一个积极推动科学教学的网站。
01
太空农民:如何在太空种植植物
年龄:8 - 12
如果学生可以找到西洋菜的种子和一些花种子(以及一些其他容易找到的材料)，他们可以尝试通过这些简单的实验来探索影响植物生长的因素。
02
家族遗传
年龄:11-16
学生可以在虚拟的配对中找出他们自己的显性/隐性遗传特征，并研究这些特征是如何在实验家庭的孩子身上体现出来的。
03
龙之路:孩子们的化学实验
年龄:8 - 14
为年幼些的孩子或年长些的学生提供更多的化学实验，挑战他们以科学的方式解释实验中显示出的复杂现象。
04
了不起的技艺
年龄:11-19
在家里做有趣的挑战和实验，解答和解释基于牛顿运动定律的现象。
05
星星是由什么组成的?
年龄:15 - 19
学生可以使用这里的说明书，用早餐麦片盒和旧CD来制作光谱仪。
当被问及是什么使科学成为一门伟大的学科时，Goncalves先生说:“我们用科学来理解我们周围的世界。从不同的背景和专业领域，甚至非科学家通过团队实践寻找答案，把科学方法付诸行动是非常迷人的，有时甚至比答案本身更令人着迷。坦白的说，这个过程通常很有趣。”
衷心感谢Goncalves先生所提供的资源和材料，并祝他暑假愉快!