Materials for science teaching
Choose a collection to open its own view. Explore science, organize your notes or find questions for classroom discussion.
Resource library
Open one section at a time. Use the resource menu or return here to choose another collection.
Fifteen interactive models, organized by Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
Open simulations ↗ 02 / INVESTIGATEGuided investigations with a question, measurements and an evidence-based explanation.
Open virtual labs ↗ 03 / ORGANIZEYour ideas, preparation notes, reflections, calendar and checkable to-dos.
Open your notebook ↗ 04 / TEACHER DICTIONARY300 school terms with definitions, classroom wording, worked examples and teaching cues.
Open dictionary ↗ 05 / APPLYCreate age-appropriate science problems by subject, theme and problem type.
Open problem generator ↗ 06 / DISCUSS72 questions across three subjects and two grade groups, with answers and teaching guidance.
Open question bank ↗ 07 / CHECKCreate coherent multiple-choice quizzes by subject, theme and age group.
Open quiz generator ↗ 08 / PLAN & CONNECTCourse outlines, a personal calendar and tasks, with an optional Moodle connection.
Open organiser ↗ 09 / READ & REFERENCEA private textbook shelf plus widely used international-school series to consider.
Open textbook library ↗Read · Compare · Keep privately
Explore a focused list of current series used across common international-school programmes, or add licensed PDF and EPUB books to a private shelf in this browser.
These are curriculum-aligned starting points, not a global sales ranking. Check the syllabus, examination year, edition and your school’s licence before choosing.
No authoritative worldwide ranking of textbooks used by international schools is published. This list therefore prioritises current series from major international curricula and official publisher catalogues. Cambridge reported its IGCSE Biology, Physics and Chemistry coursebooks as its three best-selling school books in 2021, which is useful evidence of broad adoption but not a current global rank.
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Plan · Schedule · Connect
Build a course outline, organise teaching tasks and appointments, or connect a Moodle site when you have an account. Start planning here without signing in.
When exporting from the local preview, replace local resource links with your published website address before sharing the outline with learners.
● Planned items ◆ Moodle events
Download an .ics file, then import it through your Moodle calendar’s subscription controls. Course events require permission to add events in that course. The file is a snapshot; later edits here are not automatically transferred. Moodle calendar import guide ↗
Connect to see your enrolled courses, bring course outlines into this planner and view Moodle events alongside your own schedule. You can also send a selected planned event to your Moodle calendar.
Checking the local connection…
The course planner, tasks and calendar above work without an account. To connect later, you will need a Moodle site and an account there. If your school uses Moodle, ask its administrator about teacher access and web services. You can use the downloaded course outline while setting up your course.
The site must enable REST web services and issue a token for the teacher’s account. The service needs core_webservice_get_site_info, core_enrol_get_users_courses, core_course_get_contents and core_calendar_get_calendar_events. Sending events also needs core_calendar_create_calendar_events and the appropriate calendar permissions. Course activities are edited in Moodle; creating a calendar reminder here does not create an assignment or quiz there.
Moodle web services guide ↗ · Managing course sections and activities ↗
Your own workspace
Keep quick teaching ideas, preparation notes, reflections and reminders in one place. Add a date only when you want it on the calendar.
Your notes are saved in this browser on this device. Download a copy to keep a backup. Avoid including identifiable student information.
Your notebook
A reference for teachers
Look up school terminology before explaining a concept, writing a task or giving feedback. Start with basic mathematics, move to high-school mathematics, or browse Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
300 terms · 600 classroom examples
Each entry pairs a concise definition with language you can use in class, a written example, a teaching cue and a common distinction to clarify.
Search within the selections below, or choose “All subjects” for the whole dictionary.
This is an expandable reference of common school terms, with original teaching definitions and examples. The books below offer fuller explanations and additional terminology; the example sentences here are written for this dictionary.
Foundation and high-school labels suggest a typical point of introduction. Earlier terms remain useful in later classes, while calculus and complex numbers are upper-secondary extensions. Choose the depth to suit your learners and textbook.
A quick teaching use: check the definition, use the spoken example, show the written example, then ask learners to distinguish the term from the confusion listed. The download includes every entry matching your current filters, with all teacher guidance.
Choose · Explain · Discuss
Choose a subject and grade group. Ask learners to justify their choice before checking the answer, then use the teacher guidance to discuss the other options.
Grade numbers and ages vary between education systems. The two groups are practical browsing labels: approximately 11–14 for Grades 6–8 and 14–18 for Grades 9–12. Select questions by learners’ prior knowledge. Cambridge’s international pathway typically uses ages 11–14, 14–16 and 16–19 for its lower secondary, upper secondary and advanced stages.
These 72 original questions use international frameworks to guide topic choice and scientific reasoning. They are teaching resources, not official examination items or a complete curriculum. The Grades 9–12 bank marks introductory secondary questions as Grades 9–10 and more advanced questions as Grades 11–12.
AI-assisted · Open response
Create problems for Physics, Chemistry or Biology. Choose the theme, learner age and problem style; the generator supplies student tasks, worked guidance and an extension.
Teacher review is essential. Check scientific accuracy, calculations, assumptions, accessibility and curriculum fit before giving generated material to learners.
AI-assisted · Formative check
Create one coherent multiple-choice quiz for Physics, Chemistry or Biology. Select the theme, learner age, difficulty and number of questions before generating.
Teacher review is essential. Check every question, answer and explanation before classroom use. The curated multiple-choice bank remains available for individually reviewed questions.
Open exploration · PhET
Use these models to test ideas and compare outcomes. Open one to use it on this page, then decide what prediction or explanation you want learners to make.
PhET simulations / Physics
Change a skater’s starting height and friction. Predict and compare how potential and kinetic energy change as the skater moves.
Model limit: The skater and track simplify real motion; use observations or measurements to discuss what the model leaves out.
Change launch angle, speed and other conditions. Predict how the path and range will change before comparing outcomes.
Model limit: The trajectory depends on the selected assumptions, such as whether air resistance is included.
Vary the applied force, load and friction. Predict when the object starts moving, speeds up or stays at rest, then compare the force arrows with its motion.
Model limit: The horizontal setups and friction settings simplify real contact forces and motion.
Create pulses and repeating waves. Change tension, frequency and amplitude, then compare the resulting wave patterns.
Model limit: A one-dimensional string model does not represent every kind of wave or medium.
Change the masses and the distance between two objects. Predict how the gravitational force changes and check the force pair.
Model limit: The model focuses on two idealized objects and leaves out other gravitational influences.
PhET simulations / Chemistry
Compare atom counts before and after a reaction. Use the model to explain why coefficients change but chemical formulas do not.
Model limit: The representations help with conservation of atoms, but they do not depict reaction mechanisms.
Add solute or water and predict the change in concentration. Compare your explanation with the model’s particle and measurement views.
Model limit: Particle images are schematic; distinguish them from a molecular-scale observation.
Compare strong and weak acids or bases using pH, conductivity and particle views. Distinguish strength from concentration in the explanation.
Model limit: The particle drawings simplify aqueous chemistry and do not show every species or reaction step.
Change bonded atoms and lone pairs around a central atom. Predict and compare the resulting three-dimensional shapes.
Model limit: The model emphasizes idealized VSEPR geometry rather than the full motion and electron distribution of molecules.
Change the starting amounts of reactants. Predict which one limits the reaction and explain the products and leftovers.
Model limit: The model uses discrete particles and idealized complete reactions; real yields can differ.
PhET simulations / Biology
Change environmental conditions and follow populations over generations. Ask learners to explain which traits become more common and why.
Model limit: The small set of traits and environmental factors cannot represent the full complexity of evolution.
Change the solute concentrations on either side of a membrane, then add transport proteins. Compare diffusion, facilitated diffusion and active transport.
Model limit: The enlarged membrane section and selected solutes simplify a dynamic cell environment.
Explore how DNA is transcribed and translated, then change regulatory factors and compare the resulting protein production.
Model limit: The molecular steps and regulation are simplified and cannot represent the full complexity of a living cell.
Stimulate the neuron and observe changes in membrane potential and ion movement. Use the display to explain an action potential.
Model limit: The view focuses on one simplified axon section rather than a complete neural network.
Set up different particle distributions and observe how random motion changes the overall pattern over time.
Model limit: The particles and container are simplified; connect the model carefully to diffusion in cells and tissues.
Simulations by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder. Availability and features are controlled by the provider.
Guided investigation · by subject
Some labs use PhET’s virtual tools. Here each activity is guided: learners investigate a question, collect evidence and explain a conclusion. The educator checks its fit with the lesson.
Virtual labs / Physics
Investigate: How does adding resistance affect current and voltage in a DC circuit?
Investigate: Which changes affect the period of a pendulum?
Virtual labs / Chemistry
Investigate: How can a target concentration be prepared from a stock solution?
Virtual labs / Biology
Investigate: How does light availability affect the evidence of photosynthesis and respiration?
This protocol lab opens on LabXchange in a new tab.
Open the biology lab on LabXchange ↗See a complete teaching design