The Why files

If you want to give your student a better understanding of scientific news, the "Why Files" are specifically design for that purpose. The files are published by the University of Wisconsin in order to get the science behind the news. The site is updated weekly with new articles that uncover scientific concepts based on the news. Topic such as BBQ, Hepatis C, Vioxx, Hurricane Season, Archeology in the ocean, Managing malaria and the necessity of Sharks are all subjects that have been covered in the past few weeks. The top five subjects include electric cars, school violence, skin cancer, steroid in sports and tornadoes. The website also includes some interactive demonstration. They are in Java and users get to control some parameters and look at their effect. Subjects include:

• Make rainbows


• Control a tornado


• Play with lightning


• Make a snowflake


• Hit a home run

There is also a section called CSI. It doesn't have the regular meaning. It actually means "Cool Science Images". Those images are available in the following fields of science : biology, Earth and Space, Environment, Health, Physical Science and Technology. Each image is described in details (e.g., the image on the right is a picture of pollen). In general, the images are very cool and not easy to get for a school.

The lessons plans for teachers are also very useful. They are based on the article of the Why files, however, they include some discussion questions, some ideas for activities and a multiple choice quiz for students to check their understanding of the topic.