Teacher Resources - free

The Stardust Mystery

The "Stardust Mystery" story leads to science learning about atoms, 

This FREE online resource is for late elementary and middle school science developed with grants from the National Science  Foundation (NSF).

There are some "pay for" items on the site -  a book and video games - all else is free.

Earth and the Universe can be found on the Kids Page:   
Kids-Project's page:  https://TheStardustMystery.com/kids/ 
Educators page: https://TheStardustMystery.com/kids-projects/. 
STARDUST MYSTERY:  https://thestardustmystery.com/educators/  

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa5CQnZA6StFXXvEs418DKg

ESRT 2012 - INDEX2019

PAST EXAM ESRT USAGE

Shared by the author of these two documents - Herb Hough (ed12hough@gmail.com)

"In regard to the ESRT index, I have been looking to make it available for teachers to download as an editable document that they can modify for their own purposes.  For instance, some teachers might want to include additional terms, making it a two-page index.  

In terms of copyright, I would want to make it available for unrestricted use.

I’ve attached the index, along with the list of past exam problems that use the various index references, which I still need to finish updating for 2019."

PRI's Earth@Home at  https://earthathome.org/

"Discover the geologic history of the northeastern United States! Explore

our free, open-access "Digital Encyclopedia of Earth Science" textbook.

Investigate our interactive Virtual Fieldwork Experience programs and

discover why a place looks the way it does. We offer a range of tools to

help you experience Earth science online."     Don Haas (haas@priweb.org)

Chemistry Shorts, a new series of brief films that spotlight important contemporary issues that chemists and chemical engineers are working to solve. Each film is accompanied by a lesson plan that is aligned with Next Generation Science and Common Core standards.

Perhaps these free resources may be of interest to your members? The first three films are available at https://chemistryshorts.org

• Direct Air Capture & The Future of Climate Change, with Christopher Jones (Georgia Institute of Technology)
• Under the Skin, with Zhenan Bao (Stanford University)
• Rewriting Life, with David Liu (Harvard University)

In case it may be of note, Chemistry Shorts is also on Youtube and Twitter:

https://www.youtube.com/c/chemistryshorts

https://twitter.com/chemistryshorts

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology K-12 team knows that times are trying right now and the pandemic presents many unknowns. We hope these STEM resources and professional development opportunities might be helpful.

1. We are hosting free monthly webinars with a variety of topics. Link to the webinars:  https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/webinars-2/ 
   
   
2. Our popular and free “Science & Nature Activities for Cooped Up Kids” resource provides grade-appropriate science activities, whether students are learning in person, online, or blended. A growing number of fun and interactive lessons are available at: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/science-nature-activities-for-cooped-up-kids/
   
   
3. Find a variety of curricula, downloads, guides, and other activities organized by grade-level here: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/get-started/
   
   
4. Keep learning by taking the one of our Online Courses:  https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/courses-and-ceu/

An award-winning documentary titled "Jim Allison: Breakthrough", which is a moving, true story of one warm-hearted, stubborn, scientist’s visionary quest to find a cure for cancer is available to educators and their students. 

A Film can be a powerful instructional tool in the classroom and "Jim Allison: Breakthrough" is no exception.  Whether or not your students are interested in pursuing the sciences, everyone should know more about what scientists do and see the human side of their lives.

Thanks to generous underwriters, the film is available as a teaching tool at no cost to educators. We also have an accompanying guide we created with educators that includes discussion questions, writing prompts, and research questions.

Given the nationwide move to distance learning as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to let you know about this free online resource.  Educators can send a link to their students to view the film and will receive a free Educators Toolkit, complete with NGSS and AP Bio aligned lesson plans, lab activities, career exploration activities and more! Great for virtual or in-person classrooms, appropriate for high school and college-aged learners.  (Uncommon Productions)

You can learn more and sign up here:  www.breakthroughdoc.com/for-educators

Sign Up for a Free Educational License

"Breakthrough highlights how courage, passion, determination, collaboration, and innovation can change the world and inspire hope against huge odds. We hope that this story of how science can solve some of our most pressing problems today can be of inspiration to students."

It is appropriate for high school and post-secondary audiences and themes covered include:

• Basic Science
• Biology
• Cancer
• Character Study
• Human Perseverance
• Invention and Discovery
• Scientific Method

This PPT is part of the STANYS parent campaign to raise awareness around the new vision of science education.

Link to Power Point file - 69mb

Science and Engineering for Grades 6-12: Investigation and Design at the Center

Abstract:

This report released in November 2018 from the Board on Science Education and the National Academy of Engineering Education, shows that one effective way to help students learn is to engage them in science investigation and engineering design by asking questions, collecting and analyzing data, and using this evidence to better understand the natural and built world. Science investigation and engineering design are heavily emphasized in A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards, which are now guiding the science education of many U.S. students. But this entails a dramatic shift from the traditional classroom dynamic, and teachers will need support and guidance as they implement this approach. The report describes evidence-based ways that teaching and learning can shift toward science investigations and engineering design to help realize this new vision in the classroom. The report provides guidance for teachers, administrators, providers of professional development, and creators of instructional materials on how to support students and teachers as they learn and instruct in this way.

Sponsors: The Amgen Foundation and The Carnegie Corporation of New York

Information Link:  https://www.nap.edu/resource/25216/interactive/

Resources for Teachers

There are over 7 billion reasons to include population studies in your classroom. Whether you need a lesson plan covering a specific topic or a set of activities for Earth Day, we've got you covered.

Link to Population Education (A Program of Population Connection)

This is a project from Arizona State University and the National Science Foundation that may be of interest to you, especially around the season for Halloween and “spooky science.”

In honor of bicentennial anniversary of Frankenstein, we created Frankenstein200 Game, a free, interactive blended learning experience that uses Mary Shelley’s classic tale of monsters and mayhem as a way to engage the public around STEM topics and the ethical challenges of emerging technology.

The experience features an episodic online story game paired with fun, hands-on science activities related to robotics, genetic engineering, and electricity. By teaching a robot how to draw, experimenting with simple machines, or even bringing their own “creature” to life, learners can encounter the same questions Mary Shelley experienced when writing her most famous novel, while developing important 21st century skills of their own related to exploration, discovery, and critical thinking.

These materials are adaptable to home, in class, or after-school activities and can be scaled to individual, small group, or full classroom-based lessons. We were very excited to have Frankenstein200 featured in School Library Journal and Science Friday and hope you will find these resources useful for your community of students and educators.

 Frankenstein Project

The teacher's guide can provide more information about this innovative new project. I’m also happy to answer any questions you might have.

Bob Beard
ASU Center for Science and the Imagination
Bob.Beard@asu.edu