Today I want to tell you all about the Discovery Education Techbook Trial. I use the K-8 Science Techbook every single day in my Science and Technology specials (I teach grades 2-5). So, lets start with how to sign up.
First, go to http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ and scroll below the header until you see
Now click on trial and go through the steps to sign up. If you already have an account you can enter it in, if not you will create one.
Once you are logged in you will need to access the techbook from your main menu
Any other resources you have purchased through DE will also be on this list.
Finally, here it is!
This is the course view, which I prefer. There is another view that is composed of text descriptions for each grade level and unit. I tend to be a very visual person so that is why I prefer to look at it this way. To dive deeper into how to use the techbook, let’s check out 5th grade.
I had to choose my state when I was signing up for an account, so here are the North Carolina units for 5th grade science. Again there are 2 views- one with pictures and one with text. We just studied the Human Body Systems so that is where I would like to go to show you around.
 There are several mini-units in the Human Body Systems unit. This page gives an overview of the unit, including the objectives and essential questions. For the teacher the most logical thing to click next is “view model lesson.”
Once you’re in the model lesson, there are 2 ways to look through the resources. Across the top there are green tabs following the 5E model. This is considered their Core Interactive Text (aka text book with all the amazing DE resources built right in).
Anywhere you see a blue vocabulary word in the text, you can click on it to bring up the interactive glossary. The glossary provides an explanation of each work in both text and multimedia formats.
You can view the video segments right from the page, and if you like them you can add them to your quick list with the plus sign so that you can get back to them when it is time to teach.
As you work through the E’s you will find video segments, reading passages, virtual labs, assignments, and printable pages to use as formative and summative assessments.
Another way to get to these resources is back on the Model Lesson page. If you click the gray tab on the side that says DE Resources, you will find a list of links for each lesson within the unit. Clicking on any of the links will bring you directly to the resource.
Either way, you will find amazing resources to use with your science students. I integrate the reading passages when I want students to fill in a graphic organizer with very little input from me. Our text books are so old and we don’t have enough of them. For me it is always easier to print a few pages to use with each class. I assign the virtual labs and have the students complete them at the computer stations. The assignments provided work like a webquest, except that all of the links stay within DE. I have my students answer the questions for the assignments in their notebooks to show what they’ve learned and share out when we review.
I highly recommend checking it out. If your school (or homeschool) can afford it, you won’t be disappointed!
What science textbook series do you use? My county is up for textbook renewal and I submitted DE’s techbook to be considered.
 There are several mini-units in the Human Body Systems unit. This page gives an overview of the unit, including the objectives and essential questions. For the teacher the most logical thing to click next is “view model lesson.”
Another way to get to these resources is back on the Model Lesson page. If you click the gray tab on the side that says DE Resources, you will find a list of links for each lesson within the unit. Clicking on any of the links will bring you directly to the resource.
