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Tools for

Ambitious
Science
Teaching

Companion Book available now on Harvard Ed Press

Pressing for evidence- based explanations

Planning for engagement with important science ideas

Supporting on-going changes in thinking

Eliciting students' ideas

What is Ambitious Science Teaching?

Great teaching can be learned. This web site provides a vision of ambitious science instruction for elementary, middle school and high school classrooms. Ambitious teaching deliberately aims to support students of all backgrounds to deeply understand science ideas, participate in the activities of the discipline, and solve authentic problems.

We feature 4 core sets of teaching practices that support these goals. These core sets make up the Ambitious Science Teaching Framework. The framework has been based on classroom research from the past 30 years-research that has asked, "What kinds of talk, tasks, and tools do students need in order to fully engage in meaningful forms of science learning?"

If you are a member of a group of science educators committed to the improvement of teaching, the vision, practices, and tools here will furnish a common language for you about teaching. You will be able to identify "what we will get better at" and how to get started.

Become Part of a Community That Shares a Common Vision of Excellence in Teaching.

Because ambitious science teaching focuses on doing four things really well in the classroom (the core practices), members of our community can speak a common language about how to continually improve instruction and support student learning. We can frame problems together and work towards solutions with help from each other. The expertise of our community comes from our members (teachers, instructional coaches, teacher educators) as well as from extensive empirical classroom research. On this site you can explore how other professionals are using core practices and the tools that go with them.

Explore New Tools That Support Student Learning

This site provides a constantly evolving set of tools to help improve student participation and learning. Some of these tools will help you plan for student engagement with "big" science ideas. Some will help students reason publicly with each other about science ideas. Others will help students engage in scientific modeling, explanation and argument with evidence. Still others will scaffold science-specific writing and talk. We have unique sets of tools for teachers, instructional coaches, and teacher educators.

But here's what is really important about our tools-they belong to the community, meaning that they need to be continually tested under different classroom conditions in order to be improved and diversified.

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Pressing for evidence- based explanations Planning for engagement with important science ideas Supporting on-going changes in thinking Eliciting students' ideas Great teaching can be learned.

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If you're interested in designing your own makerspace, check out the Makerspace Master Course. It's a self-paced, week-long course that you can do from anywhere at any time.

Making Can Happen in Every Subject

Recently a friend of mine said, "When I think of makerspaces, I don't think of history classes. I picture areas where kids are playing with toys and stuff."

This comment resonated with my own experience. The first time I heard about makerspaces, I thought, "That's awesome and I'd love to have something like that, but I teach social studies." I had a mental block that kept me from seeing the bigger picture around makerspaces.

So, I started with the most natural tie-in. We did an economics unit where students used design thinking to build a product. After redesigning the space, I realized something:

A makerspace isn't just about engineering.

In a previous blog post, I mentioned that every classroom should be a makerspace. Creativity isn't limited to STEM or STEAM or even the arts. Every time a student is designing, building, tinkering, and problem-solving, it becomes a chance to develop a maker mindset. And any time a teacher creates a space that cultivates this maker mindset, he or she is designing a makerspace.

Every makerspace has the following components:

Hands-on activities. Even if there are digital processes going on, students should be engaged in some kind of hands-on fabrication.

Student ownership over the creative process

Differentiated space, so that students can sit, stand, and move around

This can be lower-tech or higher-tech. Kids might make things with duct tape and cardboard or create greenscreen videos or play around with circuitry. It might look more math-related or more history-related. But the common idea is that students are engaged in meaningful projects where they are designing, building, tinkering, and problem-solving.

The Power of Student-Centered Learning

Maker projects can be short-term or long-term and they vary between being more structured or more open. The following visual can be helpful in thinking about the potential learning activities:

Loosely Structured and Short-Term

Sometimes this involves rapid prototyping, where students have the freedom to select their own materials and create whatever they want. This is often what we imagine when we think of a makerspace. Students walk in simply play around with the items at the table. In some cases, they might know what they want to make. In other cases, the design emerges from constant iterations.

Other times, though, students will engage in rapid prototyping with a twist. Here, the teacher selects the materials and the students must create something new on the spot. This is the idea behind divergent thinking challenges. The constraint pushes students to make connections between seemingly unrelated ideas and ultimately think differently about the supplies.

Here's an example of a divergent thinking prompt:

Loosely Structured and Long-Term

Imagine you have a longer amount of time in a makerspace - perhaps weeks or even a month. Or maybe your students will be visiting the library makerspace on a weekly basis. Here you might decide to go with a Genius Hour approach. With a Genius Hour, students will experience some structure (often with project requirements, deadlines, or frameworks) but the goal is as much ownership as possible. Students decide the topics, the approach, the research sources, and the learning goals, and ultimately the creative work.

This is how it works:

Tightly Structured and Short-Term:

Imagine you have only a day in the maker space. You're not sure when you'll get a chance to be there again and you want students to start making stuff quickly. At this point, you want to engage in quick hands-on making, where they develop iterative thinking skills. You can keep it loosely structured and say, "make whatever you want" (the rapid prototyping process) or you can say, "I want you to work within this creative constraint." Here, students have the freedom to iterate and make mistakes as they move closer and closer to solving a problem.

With a maker challenge, the teacher typically provides a prompt and students have to work within those confines to create something new. They jump straight into the hands-on making as they work within the confines of creative constraint. Here's an example of a maker challenge:

Tightly Structured and Long-Term:

We often think of creativity as something loose and free-flowing. Structure can seem, at first, to stifle creativity. However, structure isn't a bad thing if the students get to own the creative process from the original idea to the final launch.

This is why I love design thinking. I've been using design thinking for over a decade. As a teacher, I used it for everything from coding projects to service projects to documentaries to engineering challenges.

Design thinking is a flexible process for getting the most out of the creative process. It is used in the arts, in engineering, in the corporate world, at universities, and in social and civic spaces. You can use it in every subject with every age group. It works when creating digital content or when building things with duct tape and cardboard. It can even be used in planning events or in designing services.

Here's a snapshot of the LAUNCH Cycle, the design thinking framework A.J. Juliani and I developed together and shared in the book Launch: Using Creativity to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student.

What Does This Look Like in Each Subject?

So, let's dig a little deeper. Let's take a look at how people might use a makerspace in each subject area:

Language Arts: For specific projects, you can do documentaries (with the green screen area), podcasts (you could do inquiry-based Curiositycasts or thematic podcasts), blogging, immersive world building (such as Minecraft in storytelling). But you can also align the Common Core ELA standards to design thinking projects. Every time they are doing research, going through ideation, and launching to the world, they are hitting specific standards. You can also integrate informational reading within maker projects by using multimedia informational text to learn how to do a beginner's level challenge with Raspberry Pi, Arduino, or circuitry.

Social Studies: Documentaries, whiteboard videos (similar to RSA Animate or Common Craft), thematic blogs, thematic podcasts, history-themed theater production (using the makerspace to do everything from set design to costume creation to multimedia elements). In economics, you can use the makersapce to do Shark Tank style projects, going through the LAUNCH Cycle to design a full project.

Math: Create a board game or arcade game (probability standards), the tiny house project (proportional reasoning, volume, surface area), creating a Scratch game (reinforcing x-y access, learning logic)

Science: There are tons of STEM-related ideas, like solar energy designs, engineering projects, building lunar colonies, etc.

PE: Design a sport, invent a way to get people to naturally want to exercise (there's a whole field of design-based methods for inspiring movement) - in other words, develop a partnership between P.E. classes and the design-based activity in a makerspace

Art: There's such a natural connection between what students do in art class and what they do in makerspaces that I can't even begin to add the ideas. One maker-related thing that our former art teacher did was a steam-punk sculpture project. That could easily have an engineering and robotics element integrated into it

Music: Music video projects, multimedia projects, designing an ideal studio

Foreign Language: Design-oriented tutorial partnerships (where students work with refugees to create video tutorials for aspects of American life and then learn and practice the language as a result)

FACS (Family and Consumer Sciences): I'd argue that FACS classes have been makerspaces before we developed makerspaces. The goal here, though, is to allow students to have more creative control in what they are making.

Wood Shop: My friend A.J. helped his school redefine their woodshop to be a makerspace. They kept some of the best elements of the subject but they added additional levels of fabrication and had students use design thinking as an entrepreneurial framework.

Computers: Scratch project (designing a video game), multimedia composition projects, circuitry projects, robotics

This is by no means an exhaustive list because making is everywhere. You can't tie it down to a specific subject. In every profession and in every discipline, you will find people engaging in creative work. The beauty of a makerspace is that it is inherently both/and. It is both vintage and futuristic. It requires both STEM and Humanities. It is both deeply mechanical and deeply human. That's the bold, beautiful thing that makes it so magical. You don't have to choose one or the other.

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What do maker projects look like in each subject area?

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If you're interested in designing your own makerspace, check out the Makerspace Master Course. It's a self-paced, week-long course that you can do from anywhere at any time. Recently a friend of mine said, "When I think of makerspaces, I don't think of history classes.

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As we launch into a year of building a rich curriculum with hands on experiences

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I've mentioned it a few times now, but did you know I have a brand new book out? Snackable Science is jam packed full of exciting edible experiments for kids of all ages!

I'm so pleased at how it turned out, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

To celebrate all things kitchen science I've spruced up this very old kitchen science experiments post from 2013!

Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids

The kitchen is a great place to explore science with children. Even something as simple as melting chocolate is a great science activity. You can cook, bake, set up a sensory activity, create some science magic, set up lava lamps and volcanoes or even just play with ice. The creative opportunities are endless.

Egg Experiments

There are so many different things you can do with eggs. Learn about strong shapes, dissolve the shell in vinegar, transform egg white into meringue and even make an egg float with these awesome egg experiments

Kitchen Science for Preschoolers

My preschooler loves gloop or oobleck, if you've never made it before, you have to try it. The cornflour ( cornstarch ) and water mixture feels solid if you squeeze it, but turns into a liquid when the pressure is released.

Use eggs to learn about tooth decay.

This density experiment will impress everyone. An extra fun challenge is to find a small object to balance on each layer.

Create a Bake Off worthy masterpiece with the Science Sparks Bake off!

Can you believe meringue is made from sugar and egg white? Little scientists can transform egg white into a lovely sweet treat.

Discover the power of baking soda by making pancakes!

Making treacle toffee is a great activity for learning about changes of state as the sugar melts and then becomes solid again. Be very careful with the hot mixture though.

Try some colour mixing with jelly. This is great fun and you end up with a fun dessert after the investigation.

Grow some sugar crystals and make a lolly.

Find out why popping candy pops.

Savoury Kitchen Science

Make a pizza to learn about respiration and yeast. Bread making is another fun activity to see yeast in action.

Make a baked alaska to find out how you can put ice cream in the oven without it melting.

Make some yummy honeycomb and discover why it has holes.

Can you make your own butter?

This activity is great for learning about colloids. It takes a bit of time and some energy but the end result it worth it.

Food and Diet Activities

Find out about food groups with this fun activity.

Discover how much sugar common drinks contain.

We've also used hula hoops to group foods into healthy and unhealthy recently.

Milk Based Experiments

Do you know why milk curdles?

Did you know you can make glue from milk which actually sticks!!

This one is not so appetising, but still fun. Find out why apples rot

Using kitchen equipment

Get imaginative with some candy mixtures.

Get the kitchen scales out and try some weighing and measuring.

More scientific principles

Learn all about ice and it's properties with these fun activities.

Explore absorption with sugar cubes and coloured water

Learn about filtering by cleaning up dirty water.

Make a firework in a glass to discover why oil and water don't mix.

Make an indicator with red cabbage.

Create a pretty milk display to learn about emulsions.

Discover how to make a lemon sink

Find out how to blow up a balloon with lemon juice..

Can you make raisins dance ?

These fizzing rocks are a big favourite in our house. You could even add some plastic bugs to give an added twist.

Explore yeast and respiration by blowing up a balloon.

Finally, how about our old favourite the baking soda volcano.

What do you think? Can you think of any more kitchen science experiments for us?

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Kitchen Science Experiments for Kids - Science Sparks

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I've mentioned it a few times now, but did you know I have a brand new book out? Snackable Science is jam packed full of exciting edible experiments for kids of all ages! I'm so pleased at how it turned out, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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How is NGSS different then our previous Science standards?

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As we plan keep in mind the many overlapping math, science and ELA practices. Make it clear to students that these practices are used across the curriculum as they are considered "future ready" attributes.

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NGSS - Next Generation Science Standards

Next Generation Science Standards Introduction

Scientific & Engineering Practices

Asking Questions & Defining Problems
Developing & Using Models
Planning & Carrying Out Investigations
Analyzing & Interpreting Data

Mathematics & Computational Thinking
Construct Explanations & Design Solutions
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Obtain, Evaluate, Communicate Information

Crosscutting Concepts

Patterns
Cause & Effect: Mechanism & Explanation
Scale, Proportion, & Quantity
Systems & System Models

Energy & Matter: Flow, Cycle, Conservation
Structure & Function
Stability & Change

Physical Science Disciplinary Core Ideas

PS1A - Structure & Properties of Matter
PS1B - Chemical Reactions
PS1C - Nuclear Processes
PS2A - Forces & Motion
PS2B - Types of Interactions
PS2C - Stability & Instability
PS3A - Definitions of Energy

PS3B - Energy: Conservation & Transfer
PS3C - Energy & Forces
PS3D - Energy in Chemical Processes & Life
PS4A - Wave Properties
PS4B - Electromagnetic Radiation
PS4C - Information Technologies

Life Science Disciplinary Core Ideas

LS1A - Structure & Function
LS1B - Growth & Development
LS1C - Organization in Organisms
LS1D - Information Processing
LS2A - Relationships in Ecosystems
LS2B - Cycles in Ecosystems
LS2C - Ecosystem Dynamics

LS2D - Social Interactions & Behavior
LS3A - Inheritance of Traits
LS3B - Variation of Traits
LS4A - Evidence of Common Ancestry
LS4B - Natural Selection
LS4C - Adaptation
LS4D - Biodiversity & Humans

Earth & Space Science Disciplinary Core Ideas

ESS1A - The Universe & Its Stars
ESS1B - Earth & the Solar System
ESS1C - History of the Planet Earth
ESS2A - Earth Materials & Systems
ESS2B - Plate Tectonics/Large Scale Systems
ESS2C - Role of Water on Earth

ESS2D - Weather & Climate
ESS2E - Biogeology
ESS3A - Natural Resources
ESS3B - Natural Hazards
ESS3C - Human Impacts on Earth Systems
ESS3D - Global Climate Change

Engineering, Technology & Applications of Science
Disciplinary Core Ideas

ETS1A - Defining & Delimiting an Engineering Problem
ETS1B - Developing Possible Solutions
ETS1C - Optimizing the Design Solution
ETS2A - Interdependence of Science, Engineering & Technology
ETS2B - Influence of Science, Engineering & Technology on Society & the Natural World

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NGSS - Next Generation Science Standards - bozemanscience

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Anatomy and Physiology AP Biology AP Chemistry AP Environmental Science AP Physics Biology Chemistry Earth Science Educational NGSS - Next Generation Science Standards Physics Statistics & Graphing

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Get to know the CCC. CCC is for the students to help them make sense of science.

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Teaching to the Crosscutting Concepts of the Next Generation Standards. By getting students to understand Science concepts and systems rather than teaching to a discipline, they gain a deeper understanding they can apply in the future.

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NSTA - Get to know the standards 3Dimensions

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NSTA - Get to know the standards 3Dimensions

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Improving Science Education Through Three-Dimensional Learning

Quick Search Next Generation Science Standards

THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF SCIENCE LEARNING

Within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there are three distinct and equally important dimensions to learning science. These dimensions are combined to form each standard-or performance expectation-and each dimension works with the other two to help students build a cohesive understanding of science over time.

Crosscutting Concepts help students explore connections across the four domains of science, including Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering Design.

When these concepts, such as "cause and effect", are made explicit for students, they can help students develop a coherent and scientifically-based view of the world around them.

Science and Engineering Practices describe what scientists do to investigate the natural world and what engineers do to design and build systems. The practices better explain and extend what is meant by "inquiry" in science and the range of cognitive, social, and physical practices that it requires. Students engage in practices to build, deepen, and apply their knowledge of core ideas and crosscutting concepts.

Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) are the key ideas in science that have broad importance within or across multiple science or engineering disciplines. These core ideas build on each other as students progress through grade levels and are grouped into the following four domains: Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering.

More about 3D Learning

GET TO KNOW

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K-12 science content standards. Standards set the expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The NGSS were developed by states to improve science education for all students.

A goal for developing the NGSS was to create a set of research-based, up-to-date K-12 science standards. These standards give local educators the flexibility to design classroom learning experiences that stimulate students' interests in science and prepares them for college, careers, and citizenship.

Get to Know the Standards

IMPLEMENT

The NGSS call for a three-dimensional approach to K-12 science instruction. This represents a significant transition from previous state standards. That's why effective implementation demands a great deal of collaboration and patience among states, districts, schools, teachers, and students.

Thoughtful and coordinated approaches to implementation will enable educators to inspire future generations of scientifically literate students. That is the vision of the NGSS. This website provides a range of high-quality resources that empower educators, administrators, parents, and the general public to help bring this vision to life.

Find Tools and Resources

WHY

Science-and therefore science education-is central to the lives of all Americans.

A high-quality science education means that students will develop an in-depth understanding of content and develop key skills-communication, collaboration, inquiry, problem solving, and flexibility-that will serve them throughout their educational and professional lives.

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Home Page | Next Generation Science Standards

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Improving Science Education Through Three-Dimensional Learning Quick Search Next Generation Science Standards Within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there are three distinct and equally important dimensions to learning science. These dimensions are combined to form each standard-or performance expectation-and each dimension works with the other two to help students build a cohesive understanding of science over time.

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https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2015/08/14/team-building-activities-that-support-maker-education-stem-and-steam/

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A collection of design challenges from ES teachers around the world.

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Ms. Underwood's class used our high-leverage strategy in a classroom team-building activity to kick off the year!

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Okay, there is more of a back story to this one!

Last spring I asked if teachers could add some items to our school supply lists. I figured if some of the kids brought things I use often in the lab it would be very helpful. Now, I know I asked for pencils, but apparently, I also asked for straws.

Yep, that's a lot of straws. So, I started trying to invent things we could build using straws. And I thought about towers first- because we love to build towers. That's how the idea for the satellite dish tower was invented.

The Test Class

I use STEM challenges multiple times and after the second class, I usually have all the kinks worked out. My students LOVE it when I tell them they are the Test Class. They know this means that I have NO IDEA what is going to happen and we kind of make it up as we go.... I am serious. The test class will start to work on something and we have to stop frequently and talk about what is happening. We often add rules right in the middle of the task when we run into problems.

Here's the first kink in the Bucket Towers.

TAPE! I knew better, but just didn't think it through and gave each group a roll of tape. Take a look at the photo to the left.

Is this tower made of straws or tape?

Needless to say, we added a rule to the next class and limited the amount of tape being used.

The Bucket

Mind you, that is a spectacular structure and it held 200+ pennies when we tested it. But is it a bucket if it's attached to the structure? We had quite a discussion about this and decided the rule needed to be added that the bucket could not be restrained. (You can't tell in the photo but the straw through the bucket is attached to the structure's frame. It will turn over, but it does not swing freely.)

The String

Was the string provided only to use with the bucket?

What if you don't need all the string? Can it be used to help tie down the structure? Notice in the photo that the team used the string very cleverly to help hold up the tower. This is real-life, too! So, the string could be used in whatever way it was needed.

Conclusion

We LOVED Bucket Towers! This is a simple challenge that we repeat every year! Here's why:

It's super easy to put together!

Materials are inexpensive and things you probably already have.

Kids love it because it's just enough outside the box to allow a lot of creativity!

Every tower looks different and the kids love sharing their finished products.

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The Unique Bucket Tower Challenge - Teachers are Terrific

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Okay, there is more of a back story to this one! Last spring I asked if teachers could add some items to our school supply lists. I figured if some of the kids brought things I use often in the lab it would be very helpful.

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My Robotic Friends (from Thinkersmith) tutorial for Hour of Code activities. Music from Mackelmore and Watsky

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With STEAM programs on the rise, teachers across the country are inspiring students to build, create, tinker, and make. And what better way to create a springboard for learning than with engaging picture books that will hook kids on a plethora of topics? We've spent some time at the library to find some of the best picture books to foster creativity and celebrate science, mathematics, engineering and the arts with children. And beyond using these books to reinforce essential curriculum topics, you'll also find a few other important lessons in our top picks... like perseverance, confidence, innovation, and the importance of making mistakes.

Sandy's Circus by Tanya Lee Stone is a story about a young boy who was always fiddling with odds and ends and using his imagination to make things. When he got older and became an artist, his fiddling led him to create wire sculptures. One day, he made a lion and then a lion cage. This is a great springboard for making and a must-have book for makerspaces!

Music over Manhattan by Mark Karlins is a bout a little boy who has lived his entire life in the shadow of his cousin Herbert. But after his eccentric teaches him to play the trumpet, he no longer has to play second fiddle to his cousin. With a theme of persistence and determination, this is also a great book for integrating the standards of mathematical practice and artistic creativity.

What Color is My World?: The Lost History of African-American Inventors by Kareem Abdul Jabbar introduces 16 mostly lesser-known African American inventors through a fictional story told by young twins who discover many of the items we use every day were invented or developed by African Americans.

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty is fun story about a hopelessly curious little girl with a boundless imagination. Ada sets out to answer some of the nagging questions in her head by applying the scientific method. This is a delightful addition to Beaty's Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer.

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty makes the exploration and experimentation of building things exciting for kids. Rosie loves to invent things, but not all of her ingenious inventions work on the first try. Beaty humorous, heartfelt story combined with the fun illustrations help children understand that the learning is in the process not the final product.

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant is an outstanding picture book biography of a self-taught artist who finds his artistic voice after being wounded in WWI. The story is full of memorable details of Pippin's life such as his early love of art, his thrill of winning an art contest as a boy, and his determination not to give up.

Me....Jane by Patrick McDonnell shares the early life primatologist Jane Goodall. Told through the eyes of 10-year-old Jane when girls were discouraged to live the life of science and adventure, this heartwarming story shares the determined spirit of a child who was told that her dreams were impossible.

What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada explores how having a creative, unique idea can be both exciting and uncomfortable. Yamada tells the story of how one child's confidence grows despite discouragement from others, and his idea becomes a reality.

Philip Reid Saves the Statue of Freedom by Eugene Walton tells the story of a little-known but significant manner in which the Statue of Freedom made it to the top of the Capitol dome. Rich with history, Walton showcases innovative thinking and problem solving to preserve one of our country's most important symbols.

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires is a wonderful story about a young girl who loves to create things. When she tries to create something truly magnificent, things don't go as planned. The story and illustrations impart a great message that encourages kids not to quit in the face of disappointment but that sometimes we just have to find a new perspective.

On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne begins with the birth of an odd little boy who didn't utter a word until he was nearly four years old. However, the awkward little boy discovered an insatiable curiosity in the world around him. In his quest to understand the mysteries in the world, he asked countless questions. His teachers labeled him a disturbance and determined that his prospects would be limited unless he learned to follow the rule and behave. The central message of this wonderful picture book is not what Einstein discovered for us, rather his quest for understanding that which we do not understand.

Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Julie Paschkis combines art and science to engage students. Maria Merian, a 17 th century naturalist who discovered the process of metamorphosis at the young age of 13. The gorgeous illustrations and thoughtfully told story explain one of the most important contributions to our understanding of entomology.

Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child by Jessie Hartland delivers a heartwarming illustrated biography of one of the most iconic women of our time. Readers of any age will enjoy the story of this legendary chef that revolutionized cooking long before women had a voice in business or the media.

The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel shares the challenges of one of the greatest painters in history. Born into poverty and self-taught as an artist later in his adult years, Rousseau earned money for art supplies by teaching music lessons and continued to paint until he finally paints his masterwork "The Dream" at the end of his life. The central theme of this story, that success is found within ourselves rather than from critics, is a powerful message for young artists.

The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos by Deborah Heiligman tells the story of "the magician from Budapest," one of the most prolific mathematicians of the 20 th century. Beyond the mathematical theme, Heiligman reinforces the beauty of our unique differences that are often classified as weird or nerdy.

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak teaches children that they have the ability to stretch and grow their own brains. In fun, easy to understand language and illustrations, Deak explains the parts of the brain and the functions of each. She also delivers the crucial message that making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn and grow.

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children's literature to promote creativity and the arts

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Great Picture Books to Promote Creativity and STEAM

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With STEAM programs on the rise, teachers across the country are inspiring students to build, create, tinker, and make. And what better way to create a springboard for learning than with engaging picture books that will hook kids on a plethora of topics?

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Growth mindset, engineering and fairy tales

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Growth mindset, engineering and fairy tales

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PK-2 project connecting growth mindset through fairy tales and building.

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Here's some real talk about my experience using STEM in the classroom.

When I am coordinating S.T.E.M. curriculum for grades 1-5, I observe many students exploring the STEM process who are truly engaged with hands-on learning.

For the most part, students LOVE it!

However...

Sometimes I also see students who are not yet comfortable with taking risks.

Some students are not emotionally equipped for dealing with the disappointment that arises when their great idea doesn't quite work out the way they wanted.

Other students feel threatened by other students who have "better" ideas, and feel defeated rather than inspired.

For some students, there's an emotional side of being expected to take risks, make mistakes and collaborate with others. You can probably think of students you know who think their first idea HAS to be perfect. When it's not, they might give up, or worse - act out negatively.

For these students, S.T.E.M. challenges can also be an emotional challenge.

So should we avoid doing S.T.E.M. with those students?

Absolutely not! On the contrary, it's the perfect learning opportunity.

These students need some tools to help them cope with challenges, and I've found Growth Mindset concepts in particular to be a highly effective strategy to teach these coping tools.

I feel that I owe it to my students to give them coping strategies; I am presenting situations that I know will be particularly difficult for some of them. I want to give them the tools they will need to handle it. Hopefully these tools will help them in many other life situations as well!

My solution to this situation has been to combine Growth Mindset concepts with my STEM projects.

S.T.E.M. and Growth Mindset concepts complement and reinforce each other perfectly, so teaching them together is a perfect match!

Growth mindset encourages exactly the kind of positive thinking that will help with STEM challenges.

For example, growth mindset thinking teach us that:
-mistakes help us learn -we can persevere through unexpected problems and disappointments -sometimes it takes several tries to solve a problem
Growth mindset concepts also foster an inner dialogue that is essential for STEM exploration.

For example:
-I can always improve. -I'm on the right track. -I can keep trying even when it's hard. -This may take some time and effort. -I can build on previous ideas. -I haven't solved the problem - YET!
Watch the preview video for my S.T.E.M. bundle below!

We use fairy tales to explore both Growth Mindset and STEM!

Students love fairy tales because they are fun and familiar, so we begin by reading short partner plays together. You can easily write your own plays with student input, or pre-write simple partner plays like I have.

In our partner plays, the characters have either a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. After several readings and discussion, students become experts at recognizing which is which. I little humor goes a long way, too!

For example, in the passage below from Little Red Riding Hood, Granny has a fixed mindset, and Little Red Riding Hood has a Growth Mindset!

Students quickly learn how to tell the two apart:

We also do some writing and sorting to solidify the concept.

We use simple workbooks or flip books as shown below.

This is a bundle of 5 Seasonal STEM sets (30 challenges altogether) that will make it SIMPLE to explore STEM in your classroom, while incorporating literacy through fun PARTNER PLAYS to set up each challenge!

What is STEM? And why are Partner Plays Helpful?

STEM involves:

★ presenting students with an authentic problem
★ challenging students to collaborate for possible solutions
★ making specific plans for the solution
★ testing the model to see if it solves the problem
★ reflecting, revising, and re-testing
★ reflecting on success and recognizing mistakes as part of the process

In our classroom, each STEM challenge is introduced through a simple seasonal partner play so that the engineering challenge will be purposeful and authentic.
The STEM challenge is meant to be completed after reading each partner play, and involves solving a problem for the characters in the play.

For example, at the end of each fairy tale play, students are presented with a STEM challenge that directly relates to the story.

Here is an example of how the partner play ends with a specific STEM challenge:

In the above example, students are given the task of helping Rapunzel out of her tower.

Students now have a relevant purpose for their challenge!

Each table is given a bin of supplies, such as tape, cardboard, stir sticks, paper cups, elastics, pipe cleaners, and anything else I have handy.

Students plan, collaborate and build! Here are some pictures of our creations for various fairy tale STEM challenges:

Here is a video of students designing and testing the catapult they made in order to get the cookies over the forest to land at Granny's house!

I always like to have a written component to document our learning. This way we can also look back to past challenges and see if they might help with our current challenge. We use either WORKBOOKS or FLIP BOOKS to write about our STEM exploration.

Do you use STEM challenges in your classroom?

Are there students who would benefit from pairing Growth Mindset lessons with STEM? You can create your own partner plays, journals or flip books to go along with any fairy tale.

If you'd prefer to try some of the examples I've shown above, they are available two different bundles :

LOOKING FOR SEASONAL STEM?

These partner plays set up seasonal STEM challenges for each season of the school year, plus a bonus pack just for Christmas! They are simple, engaging, and very little prep. Click HERE to see it!

FREE RESOURCES

I have some free downloads to get you started with STEM and Growth Mindset in your classroom.

First, you can try a Growth Mindset flip book which can be used with any version of the Little Red Riding Hood. It is part of the preview for Bundle 2, so click the preview button to grab it HERE.

Pin this free flip book for later!

MORE STEM RESOURCES

Are your students clear on the steps involved with STEM process?

I have posters outlining the steps on my wall so I can refer to them often during lessons and discussions.

If you'd like to download my posters to use in your classroom, you can download them for free.

Pin this free flip book for later!

Pin this post for later!

There are lots of other ways to create a GROWTH MINDSET classroom!

You can write different ideas each day in Growth Mindset journals, fill your room with encouraging Growth Mindset posters and coloring activities, use Growth Mindset task cards and writing prompts, and even positive notes for students!
Click HERE to take a look at all the options for your classroom.
You can also grab two FREE posters and activities for writing, math and coloring (as pictured above) by clicking below!

Pin these free posters for later!

Or, pin this whole post for later!

Thanks for taking a look!

Continue exploring with any of the links below:

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S.T.E.M. and Growth Mindset - Whimsy Workshop Teaching

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When I am coordinating S.T.E.M. curriculum for grades 1-5, I observe many students exploring the STEM process who are truly engaged with hands-on learning. Sometimes I also see students who are not yet comfortable with taking risks. Some students are not emotionally equipped for dealing with the disappointment that arises when their great idea doesn't quite work out the way they wanted.

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K-12 - explanation of how it works

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3rd grade and up

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How do you build community in your classroom? Have you tackled STEM Challenges yet? How do you prepare your students for the fabulous collaboration that can occur when they work in groups to solve a STEM problem? Stay tuned and I will give you a great idea!

As many of you know I am a STEM Lab teacher and I will have to tell you that the number one thing I hear from other teachers is this: I could never get my kids to work in groups to design and build something! Never!

I will let you in on a little secret. We complete STEM events every single day. The team work and talk between kids and how they help each other is just amazing. But, this didn't happen accidentally! I set them up to be successful with team building events at the beginning of the school year. We spend the first class sessions with team challenges and this sets the tone for the rest of the year. I asked some students recently which team challenge was their favorite and the answer was, "The Winnie the Pooh one!"

So, that's the one I am sharing with you today! It's a great team challenge for August, but it is also one I will repeat in January when the kids come back from Christmas break.

First, you need to build this contraption:

It's a binder ring with about 18 strings attached. Each length of string is doubled and tied to the middle ring so it makes 36 strings dangling.

Next, you have students form a circle around the strings that are laying on the floor. Each student picks up one or two of the strings and holds them without lifting. (Some kids will hold two strings and some might only hold one. Just be sure all of the strings are being held!) Place an object on the ring and the kids must keep the object in place! In the photos it's a tennis ball! This is what I usually begin with.

On your signal the entire group begins to lift the strings so that the center ring remains stable. They will slowly rise from the floor trying to get completely in a standing position and then slowly lower back down to lay the strings gently back on the floor.

Well, honestly, the tennis ball is actually pretty easy! It sits on the center ring and rarely falls off.

So, of course, I make the task harder after the kids are able to lift the tennis ball and set it back down. I add something that is a little more precarious.

Can you see what is sitting on the ring in the picture above? It's a cup turned upside down with a plastic ball sitting on top of it! Believe it or not, groups will work together to get this up and back down.

Here's the part I cannot show you in photos. The intense concentration and expressions on their faces is priceless. My favorite part, however, is the talk. The kids encourage one another so much. There is a constant stream of voices telling teammates to lift or stay steady or increase the tension. They will cheer when they finally set that object back on the floor!

And, of course, you know what happens next....

I add something wonky to the center and make it even harder. And that is where the team challenge got the nickname of Winnie the Pooh! The last object placed in the center is a Winnie the Pooh stuffed toy. He wobbles more than all the other items because his little bottom is round and soft.

Guess what? The kids still get him lifted off the ground. The cheers when Pooh finally is set gently down on the floor are the loudest of all!

Team work at its finest!

This is just one of the team challenges we complete every year (and in January)! Try this one! I promise you will love it. After your kids do it, try it with your faculty!

If you are looking for more about teamwork try these:
Teamwork is the Best Work! There is no "I" in Team

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Team Building for STEM Challenges - STEM Activities for Kids

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How do you build community in your classroom? Have you tackled STEM Challenges yet? How do you prepare your students for the fabulous collaboration that can occur when they work in groups to solve a STEM problem? Stay tuned and I will give you a great idea!

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This is an activity for the first day or as an introduction to the scientific method or to just allow students to work in groups so that you can get to know them better. I usually do all instructions verbally and don't require any written documents for turning in. This is great for a first day activity or for an introduction to the scientific method.

Setting Up the Scenario

Sam is stuck on a boat, and how he got there is not important, but Sam can't swim and the boat is capsized. To get to shore, Sam needs to retrieve a life jacket from underneath the boat so that he can float to shore. You and your partner's job is to save Sam by retrieving the life jacket from under the boat and putting it on Sam. Unfortunately, the only tools you can use to accomplish this task are paperclips. (1 per person, or you can give them 2 per person). You cannot touch Sam, the boat, or the life preserver with your bare hands.

A gummy worm is used to represent Sam, a gummy life saver is the life preserver and an overturned cup represents the boat. *It also may enhance the activity to mention that worms are hermaphrodites, and Sam is technically both boy and girl, which makes the name rather appropriate.

Discussion Questions

1. How did you and your partner figure out how to save Sam?

2. Would it have been easier if you were working alone? Why or why not?

3. Was there a clear leader in your group? Did someone call the shots or make decisions about how to save Sam.

4. Could Sam be saved if you had only one paperclip?

5. How could you make this activity more challenging?

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This is an activity for the first day or as an introduction to the scientific method or to just allow students to work in groups so that you can get to know them better. I usually do all instructions verbally and don't require any written documents for turning in.

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Ideas For Art Projects | Elmer's Craft Ideas For Teachers

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Looking for classroom inspiration? Here at Elmer's, teachers can get ideas for school art projects, view tips, join the Teachers' Club, and more.

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'Tis the season for making book lists and checking them twice! This week on Science Friday, authors Deborah Blum and Annalee Newitz wrap up the Best Science Books of 2014. But what about the kids? In these five children's books, wickedly talented authors and illustrators take on the science of supernovas, worms, stomach rumblings, and more with impressive style.

Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space, by Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman (Flying Eye Books)

Every child deserves to learn moon facts from a space-cat wearing a tiny fedora. Written by physicist Dominic Walliman, with pictures by award-winning illustrator Ben Newman, Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space explains everything kids need to know about our universe and how we explore it. Ever wonder how rockets work, how spacesuits evolved, or just how big Earth is compared to our neighboring planets? Professor Astro Cat breaks it down with clever diagrams and ingenious comparisons. (If Earth were a cherry tomato, Mercury would be a peppercorn and Jupiter, a watermelon!) Best of all, like any good scientist, Walliman doesn't claim to have all the answers. Sections on the future of space travel and the possibility of extra-terrestrial life leave the mysteries of deep space open for future scientists to unravel.

Shackleton's Journey, by William Grill (Flying Eye Books)

Ernest Shackleton once wrote, "I believe it is in our nature to explore, to reach out into the unknown. The only true failure would be not to explore at all." That passion for adventure comes to life in Shackleton's Journey, William Grill's beautiful picture book about the explorer's failed attempt to cross Antarctica. Grill's colored pencil drawings are lively and charming, with an attention to detail. Elaborate visual lists immortalize every one of Shakleton's 69 sled dogs and detail each piece of equipment packed on board the explorer's ship, Endurance. Meanwhile, vast seascapes convey Antarctic loneliness and the peril of an ice-packed sea.

Animalium (Welcome to the Museum), by Katie Scott and Jenny Broom (Candlewick Press)

For the kid who lingers over the cases of taxidermied animals at the natural history museum, is the ticket. Consider this oversized encyclopedia a museum visit between two covers. Katie Scott and Jenny Broom divide the animal kingdom into "galleries," arranged in evolutionary order from sea sponges to mammals. Some showcase animal families; others explore habitats or zero in on a single species. Scott's full-page pen and ink spreads have the timeless elegance of a John James Audubon print, and Broom's prose moves nimbly between broad facts to curious details. Take, for example, the book's account of frog metamorphosis. The illustrations carefully record the stages from spawn to adult, while this tidbit-Darwin's frogs nurture their young in their mouths-is memorable enough to stick with readers long after their tour.

Infographics: Human Body, by Peter Grundy and Simon Rogers (Candlewick Press)

For every gross or awe-inspiring fact about the human body you'll find in Infographics: Human Body, designer Peter Grundy has a stylishly minimalist infographic to match. Take, for example, the image exploring the body as a "factory." Grundy's blocky human icon sports a pencil leg (we each contain enough carbon to make 900 pencils), a cannon firing from its backend (humans produce one liter of gas every day), and a cleaver hovering above an itchy pet (humans contain enough sulphur to kill a dog's fleas.) With bold colors, simple shapes, and subtle humor, Infographics explains complex bodily processes in kid-size pieces.

The Worm, by Elise Gravel (Tundra Books)

Elise Gravel's is the second book in her Disgusting Critter series, which introduces kids to the charms of such squirm-inducers as head lice, flies, rats, slugs, and spiders. In this installment, Gravel covers basics like worm anatomy and diet with simple text and bold, hand-lettered typography. But it's the earthworm protagonist, sporting a beret and greeting readers with a worldly "Énchanté!", that helps make the book so entertaining. It has a witty quip for every wormy fact (at one point, the hermaphrodite exclaims "You look ravishing today, dear!" to its tail). But even the book's more aesthetically challenged creatures-tapeworms, I'm looking at you-can't help but woo with their cute dot-eyes and expressive mouths. The Worm is gross, silly, and informative-the perfect combo for maximum kid appeal.

Meet the Writer

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Five Books Guaranteed to Make Kids Love Science - Science Friday

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'Tis the season for making book lists and checking them twice! This week on Science Friday, authors Deborah Blum and Annalee Newitz wrap up the Best Science Books of 2014. But what about the kids? In these five children's books, wickedly talented authors and illustrators take on the science of supernovas, worms, stomach rumblings, and more with impressive style.

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It's 2017. What does a scientist look like?

If the first image that popped into your head was an older man with frizzy hair and a white lab coat, surrounded by bubbling test tubes, you're not wrong - the Einsteinlike "mad scientist" is still a prevailing image in popular culture.

But in the real world, scientists are so much more: Just this summer, Science Friday has featured researchers who are developing a bandagelike flu vaccine; studying polar bears from helicopters; and investigating why living in space gives flatworms an extra head.

Biologist Sarah McAnulty is on a mission to introduce kids to these kinds of actual working scientists. She's a PhD candidate studying the microbiomes of squid at the University of Connecticut, but she's also the founder of Skype a Scientist, a program that uses video conferencing to connect volunteer scientists with classrooms around the world.

"So effectively, I match scientists with K-12 classrooms for question-and-answer sessions with the scientist," she explains. "And these sessions can cover the scientist's area of study, or it can be a general discussion of what it's like to be a scientist."

Teachers can choose what kinds of scientists they want to talk to - bringing a chemist into a chemistry class, for example. McAnulty says the program also tries to match classrooms with scientists from underrepresented groups or from the same ethnic or socioeconomic groups "so that the students can interact with a scientist that they can really easily relate to."

Last semester alone, McAnulty says the program connected scientists to 800 classrooms in 28 countries and nearly every US state. "And we've had 500 [classrooms] sign up so far for the fall," she says. What's more, the participating classrooms aren't just in metropolitan areas. "We've gotten to rural areas, as well, which is pretty exciting."

Emily Green is also a PhD student at the University of Connecticut, where she works in an ant lab. Last spring, she talked with a middle school science class in rural Vermont as part of the Skype a Scientist program. Over the course of the question-and-answer session, she says, she began to see how much they all had in common.

"I'm from a small town in central Ohio, and so it was neat to be able to connect with these kids and sort of show them my path into a PhD here in Connecticut," she says, "and show them that even though they're from a small area, that there's so much out there, and even just so much in science that they can start looking at and get interested in."

The kids were "super into asking questions" about the ants she works with, Green adds. And as they Skyped, she was able to show the students around her lab, pointing out the ant colonies and introducing the kids to other scientists.

But the students' interest didn't end there. "I feel like they realized being a scientist wasn't ... something that's in the movies," Green says, "that we're real people and we can do other things outside of the lab that we're in."

McAnulty says the program is always looking for more help from scientists and more teachers interested in signing up with their classrooms. "I think it's really important for us to make emotional connections with people," she says.

"And I think if you have these personal experiences with students or with adults, it really helps them foster trust in you as a person and not just this imaginary science that they have in their head."
This article is based on an that aired on PRI's Science Friday with Ira Flatow. To find out more about the Skype a Scientist program, or to sign up, head to www.skypeascientist.com.

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What does a scientist look like? The 'Skype a Scientist' program helps schoolkids find out.

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It's 2017. What does a scientist look like? If the first image that popped into your head was an older man with frizzy hair and a white lab coat, surrounded by bubbling test tubes, you're not wrong - the Einsteinlike "mad scientist" is still a prevailing image in popular culture.

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Digital Human Library to begin searching the largest national network of Canadian teachers and students, or search for hundreds of organizations and experts in all curriculum subjects to support and further student inquiry in K-12.

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Digital Human Library brings people together to make a difference for kids.

We create opportunities for K-12 students to learn with Canada’s largest network of industry professionals by connecting classes with subject matter Experts for thousands of interactive 1:1 video conferences supported by over 1500 educational virtual tours, and live Indigenous Learning Programs guided by authentic Indigenous content. Our community of Experts and virtual content are sourced by Canadian teachers for Canadian teachers to support youth and learning across Canada.

K-12 Learning Services

Indigenous K-12 Learning Services

District Implementation Services

This post is also available in: Français (French)

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Digital Human Library brings people together to make a difference for kids. We create opportunities for K-12 students to learn with Canada’s largest network of industry professionals by connecting classes with subject matter Experts for thousands of interactive 1:1 video conferences supported by ove…

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Book that connect students with real scientific struggles

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Book that connect students with real scientific struggles

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Student who read about the personal and intellectual struggles of scientists feel more motivated to learn science.

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Ada Byron Lovelace was the world's first computer programmer, creating a coding algorithm years before the modern computer was invented. This picture book biography describes how measles left her temporarily blind and paralyzed and how she overcame society's negative attitudes towards women in the sciences.

Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World, by Laurie Lawler and Laura Beingessner

Rachel Carson's writing and research helped launch the modern environmental movement. This picture book shares her struggles growing up in poverty during the Great Depression, the sacrifices her family made to send her to college, and the challenges she faced entering a male-dominated field.

On a Beam of Light, by Jennifer Berne and Vladimir Radunsky

Through simple text and stunning illustrations, this book explores Albert Einstein's early struggles with learning and school - and how they propelled his later accomplishments. The New York Times described this book as ""something of an It Gets Better Project for mathematically precocious children."

Snowflake Bentley, by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Mary Azarian

Wilson Bentley was a nature photographer who showed the world that "no two snowflakes are alike." This picture book describes his unstoppable grit in pursuit of his dream and includes sidebars with more information about the methods and science behind his work.

The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins and Jill McElmurry

Botanist Kate Sessions, the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a science degree, is best known for transforming San Diego from a desert town to a green paradise. The picture book describes obstacles and social taboos that she faced and overcame, utilizing the refrain: "but she did."

Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle and Julie Paschkis

In the seventeenth century Europe -- when many thought butterflies were evil creatures that generated spontaneously from mud --entomolygist Maria Merian made her mission to study them. After years of study, she wrote and illustrated a groundbreaking book about the life-cycle of a butterfly. This picture book describes how she conducted much of her work in secret because of the negative perceptions around this insect.
Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle by Claire A. Nivola
As her biography at National Geographic notes, " called 'Her Deepness' by the and the New York Times , 'Living Legend' by the Library of Congress, and first 'Hero for the Planet' by magazine, [Sylvia Earle] is an oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer." This beautifully illustrated picture book describes how a difficult move to a new state during her childhood awakened a life-long passion. The author's note would also make a good read-aloud for teens, describing her scientific work in more depth and how she "defied conventional expectations at every stage of her life."

At 144 pages, this brief memoir is broken into several small chapters in which theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking writes about his childhood, his research and - of course - his life with ALS, which gradually paralyzed him over the course of decades and required him to develop compensatory methods for engaging in his research. Teachers could use or read aloud excerpts of this compelling autobiography.

Written for teens, this graphic novel vividly portrays the life of the vivacious physicist Richard Feynman. It captures his tenacity in the face of trying circumstances -- from working on the Manhattan project to uncovering the cause of the Challenger explosion to caring for his ailing wife.

This is another graphic novel for teens, tracing the lives of three primatologists who were students of Richard Leakey and who lived among the primates. As the Booklist review notes, "For all the playful mugging and gratifying discoveries, though, Ottaviani doesn't shy away from the struggles of living and working in the bush."

Breakthrough! How Three People Saved "Blue Babies" and Changed Medicine Forever, by Jim Murphy

Knapp describes this short nonfiction narrative as a "wonderfully written story of a black man, a white man and a woman, who all struggled in different ways (personally and professionally) to pioneer a surgery that saved the lives of 'blue babies.'"

This collection features several short life-sketches of African-American inventors - from Henry Sampson (who created the gamma-electric cell) to Percy Julian (who synthesized cortisone from soy). The stories emphasize the perseverance of these inventors in the face of racism and other life challenges.

These short biographical sketches average four pages in length - an easy read aloud - and highlight female scientists in the following fields: medicine, biology and the environment, genetics and development, physics, earth and stars, math and technology, and invention. Several stories note obstacles they faced, including gender bias, illness, and family disapproval.

Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein - Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe, by Mario Livio

In this 300+ page book, astrophysicist Mario Livio draws on the lives of five scientists (Charles Darwin, Lord Kelvin, Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein) to show how great progress often comes in the wake of "colossal mistakes." This is a great resource book for high school science teachers who want to infuse their classes with stories about how can setbacks set the stage for progress -- if we let them.

Bonus Resource: The PBS/NOVA web-series, The Secret Life of Scientist "provides a humanizing snapshot of scientists who are shaping our world." Each episode profiles a contemporary scientists in three or four discrete, one-to-three minute video clips. The site is searchable by topic and includes blog posts and a teacher's guide.

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14 Books That Connect Students With Valuable Scientists' Struggles | KQED

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Ada Byron Lovelace was the world's first computer programmer, creating a coding algorithm years before the modern computer was invented. This picture book biography describes how measles left her temporarily blind and paralyzed and how she overcame society's negative attitudes towards women in the sciences.

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Building growth mind set according to science

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Building growth mind set according to science

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collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation and confidence.

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How To Raise Brilliant Children, According To Science | KQED

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Two developmental psychologists break down 21st century skills and give everyday tips for parents on how to instill them.

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located in Hawaii and Chile Gemini can access the whole sky

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The Gemini Observatory consists of twin 8.1-meter diameter optical/infrared telescopes located on two of the best observing sites on the planet. From their locations on Maunakea in Hawai'i and Cerro Pachón in Chile, Gemini Observatory's telescopes can collectively access the entire sky.

The international Gemini Observatory is a Program of NSF's NOIRLab.
About Gemini

Press Releases & Features

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The Gemini Observatory consists of twin 8.1-meter diameter optical/infrared telescopes located on two of the best observing sites on the planet. From their locations on Maunakea in Hawai'i and Cerro Pachón in Chile, Gemini Observatory's telescopes can collectively access the entire sky. The international Gemini Observatory is a Program of NSF's NOIRLab.

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NASA.gov brings you the latest images, videos and news from America's space agency. Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind.

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Using Design thinking to teach engineering concepts

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Using Design thinking to teach engineering concepts

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To better teach these complicated concepts, Bryant has her students act out the movements of simple machines. "When elementary-age students understand a concept through the use of their body, they rarely forget it," notes Bryant. "I am able to introduce physics, advanced math, and visual representation skills that are typically beyond elementary level as a result of this hands-on or full-body approach."

Create an Engineering Curriculum Using Backward Design

Bryant's elementary engineering curriculum flows from a backward design approach. She starts with the results that she wants her students to achieve, and then designs the instructional methods to meet those goals.

"There isn't a statewide curriculum for elementary school engineering design," explains Bryant, "but looking at the standards for where they need to be in middle school and in high school, I'm able to backward design for what should be happening at the elementary level."

There are three stages to backward design.

Stage 1: Identify Learning Objectives

This first stage focuses on what big ideas and skills you want your students to learn. "I think about problems our school or community face and what standards I need the students to master," says Bryant. Her specific learning objectives for K-2 students are:

A basic understanding of the design process

Understanding the value of brainstorming and teamwork

Experience thinking through all aspects of a problem when considering a decision

Experiencing the value of success after many failures

With younger students, she also introduces career and college opportunities as part of how they might apply these skills to real-world contexts.

Stage 2: Define Assessment Strategy

When designing a project, Bryant considers what will be evidence of mastery, and what assessment methods she can use. "Rubrics are a big part of the assessment strategy for engineering design," she says. She also considers how the evidence might be authentic and solve a real-life problem.

Stage 3: Identify Teaching Methods, Resources, and Materials

The final stage focuses on the skills and knowledge that students will need to achieve the goals you're setting for them, as well as the teaching methods, lessons, and resources that you'll use to help them reach those goals. "I think about what scaffolding, resources, and materials might be necessary for an elementary student to solve what could potentially be an adult-like problem," elaborates Bryant. "The last step is key when working with younger populations. Often they are able to do amazing things with the right amount of support and proper choices in materials or resources."

Use Design Thinking Process

Design thinking is a process that allows people to come up with ideas and solve problems in a creative and engaging way, honing their collaboration, critical thinking, and communication skills. Empathy -- understanding who you are designing for -- is a key element of design thinking, as well as collaboration -- working with others to build on your ideas, gaining feedback, and learning how to make iterations on your ideas from that feedback.

Charles R. Drew Charter School follows the stages outlined in the James Dyson design thinking process -- brief, research, idea generation/development, 3D prototyping, testing, and evaluation and modification. The staff relies on the Nueva School's design thinking model to make the process more robust. "The idea of empathy is a big part of their structure," says Bryant about that model.

The TinkerYard and Dream Car Projects

The students at Charles R. Drew use design thinking to create their projects. For each grade, Bryant comes up with projects that the students work on throughout the quarter. Second-grade students are currently designing and building a TinkerYard, four outdoor stations that make up a playground. Fourth-grade students are designing a Dream Car for a particular customer and a fictional auto company. The final product will be a 3D model of their concept car.

Phase 1: Brief

The goal of a brief is to outline a project and communicate expectations and goals. The students' brief describes the purpose of creating the project and what its use will be, as well as outlining questions for them to consider. In the fourth-grade Dream Car project, for example, students receive a brief (PDF) which identifies what their teacher is looking for and what they will be expected to accomplish by the end of the project.

The brief outlines that students will:

Identify a client and imagine their needs.

Consider what design enhancements might make the trip easier.

Select/create vehicle features that will make the trip nicer for everyone.

Create multiple idea sketches and share ideas with the group.

Select one idea and create a final series of at least two sketches showing the front, side, and three-quarter view of the concept car.

Create a clay prototype of the vehicle.

Present their idea sketches and prototype.

Phase 2: Research

The goal of the research phase is for students to be better informed when designing. They learn research, analysis, and sometimes interviewing skills during this process.

In the second-grade TinkerYard project, Bryant's students research possible simple machines for the energy station using books, Google images, and online videos. They look at architectural magazines (donated by a local architecture firm) for ideas about shapes, patterns, and colors. They also do hands-on research, "manipulating a collection of physical items -- like rope, pulleys, wheels, pieces of wood, and other material -- to create their own simple machines on the fly," adds Bryant.

Fourth-grade students go to the High Museum of Art, which features the Dream Cars exhibit, to take notes about size, shape, form, and materials. They learn about composition, materials, and use (like how many passengers were intended for this car), and how they can apply that knowledge to their target customer's wants. In their research, students also delve deeper into understanding their customers' experiences to design for an unmet need by interviewing a user and analyzing user data. Where does their target customer go when driving? Who comes with them? What do they take with them?

Phase 3: Idea Generation/Development

For the idea generation/development phase, says Bryant, "students should be able to synthesize information and begin to make design decisions that will alter the way their product works, looks, and feels for the user. Teachers also want students to be able to successfully communicate their ideas -- visually, orally, or in written form -- and be able to share them with the world."

Second-grade students draw sketches of their ideas showing what each TinkerYard station could look like. "Students learn how to draw their idea in perspective," explains Bryant. "The students then see that 3D drawings best communicate their idea."

Fourth-grade students also draw 2D and 3D sketches to communicate their ideas, but they may begin by rendering a concept car stemming from someone else's idea so that they'll feel confident when it comes time for drawing and sharing their own ideas. "Students may also add descriptive language to their drawings to capture ideas and thoughts that relate to the concept," suggests Bryant.

Phase 4: 3D Prototyping

According to Bryant, the goal of the 3D prototyping stage is for students "to see how their ideas look and might function in real life."

The TinkerYard is a working prototype. "As a class, we may try an idea out on paper and begin to build it in the TinkerYard, only to realize that objects need to shift, or don't work quite the way we envisioned," says Bryant. "The TinkerYard is an iterative process. It will never be completely finished."

Meanwhile, the fourth-grade class is building 3D clay models. "They follow a process very similar to industry," explains Bryant. "The auto industry still makes clay models despite having many 3D printers and other rapid prototyping materials on hand."

Phase 5: Testing

The goal of the testing phase is to gain feedback on the prototype in order to make improvements.

After putting together the TinkerYard's energy station, the second-grade class has a "soft opening" -- they invite students and teachers to play at the station, which can reveal changes that need to be made once the designers see how users interact with what they created. When issues arise from testing, students go back to the classroom, generate new ideas, and prototype solutions.

Bryant describes how her fourth-grade students "seek the client's approval for the concept car they have created. Similar to the process in the automotive industry, where designers present the concept car to a test market and get consumer feedback, students show their vehicle and promotional materials to the students in the class and other visitors to get their impressions. I like to involve actual users or professionals from the design field as much as possible in student feedback."

Phase 6: Evaluation and Modification

The goal of the evaluation and modification stage is to have students collaborate, see how ideas combine, and understand the importance of feedback and making iterations. "The evaluation/modification phase is not set in stone behind prototyping," explains Bryant. "Evaluation is necessary at many points in the process to ensure you are on the right track. Once evaluation is underway, it may become clear that modification of ideas, drawings, or prototypes is necessary before progressing to the next step."

For both the lower and upper elementary projects, students share out their drawings and gain feedback on their designs for iteration. "It is important for students to learn that in the design process, it is not one and done," says Bryant. "Students want designing something to be fast and are hopeful that their first attempt will be good enough. The students help each other see that iterations are necessary. They provide feedback, and it is helpful when it does not come from the teacher. Often, students are more willing to consider feedback from a critical friend."

Assessment

" Rubrics (PDF) are a big part of the assessment strategy for engineering design," observes Bryant. On the Dream Cars rubric, students rate themselves and their cars on a one-to-three scale reflecting how they met their clients' needs, effective modeling, and visual appeal. Next to each rating, they explain why they gave themselves that score.

The end of the Dream Car project also features a student evaluation form (PDF), on which they write three things they like about their Dream Car model, two things they would change, and one thing they've learned.

Bryant also evaluates her students' work using the rubric, which she uses, along with their self-evaluation, to discuss their work with them, whether or not they're on the same page, and why.

Resources

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Applied Engineering in Elementary School | Edutopia

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To better teach these complicated concepts, Bryant has her students act out the movements of simple machines. "When elementary-age students understand a concept through the use of their body, they rarely forget it," notes Bryant. "I am able to introduce physics, advanced math, and visual representation skills that are typically beyond elementary level as a result of this hands-on or full-body approach."

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basic background lessons for kids.

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Scientists Do Many Things

There are many different kinds of scientists, and they all do different things. Some like to learn about living organisms. They are called biologists. Others like to study rocks. We call them geologists. People who study animals are sometimes called zoologists - this is easy to remember because sometimes animals live in zoos.

Scientists are very curious people who like to solve problems. They solve these problems by doing science projects called experiments. What are some of these problems? Well, they can be about keeping our air clean or finding a way to cure people when they have certain diseases.

So what do scientists do specifically? Well, it all boils down to observing, measuring, and communicating. Let's take a look.

What Do Scientists Do?

Scientists observe things. Our senses can help us observe what is around us. Scientists use their senses when solving science problems. They use their eyes to spot details. They use their noses to detect if something is stinky. They use their hearing, touch, and even sense of taste.

Scientists measure things. Have you ever measured something with a ruler to see how long it is? Scientists do that. Have you ever stood on a scale? If so, you've measured your weight. If you've ever taken your temperature when you had the flu, you've measured how hot your body is using a thermometer. Scientists use scales, rulers, thermometers, and lots of other tools to measure things.

Scientists communicate their findings. We always want scientists to talk about their discoveries and share with others. They can tell other scientists, or they can tell people like you and me. It can be in the local news or in our science book.

Putting It All Together

Do you remember the three things a scientist does? They observe, measure, and communicate. You can do the same thing a scientist does. Let's take a look at this experiment.

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what does a scientist do? - lesson for kids - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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What Does a Scientist Do? - Lesson for Kids - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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There are many different kinds of scientists, and they all do different things. Some like to learn about living organisms. They are called biologists. Others like to study rocks. We call them geologists. People who study animals are sometimes called zoologists - this is easy to remember because sometimes animals live in zoos.

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Ask an Expert: Answers to Your Science Questions

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Get answers to your science questions with help from our Science Experts

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Kobi Yamada writes pictures books with a great focus on embracing ideas, creativity, failure, and creativity.

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Kobi Yamada has 83 books on Goodreads with 42787 ratings. Kobi Yamada's most popular book is What Do You Do with an Idea?.

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How do scientist know what they want to study?

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This site is a curated collection of science phenomena for the NGSS, along with phenomenon based learning resources and help for how to use phenomenon to drive student questions in the classroom centered around 3 dimensional teaching and learning.

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List of Phenomenas aligned with DCI's (core ideas)

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Access Google Sites with a personal Google account or Google Workspace account (for business use).

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Apps to be used with the Inquiry Cycle

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Our school just unrolled the first phase of our 1:1 iPad program tonight. In preparation of this big event, I spent some time this summer looking into how I could support and guide students through the research process using apps.

It was tougher than I expected to build a list like this....

Apps come and go.
Opinions vary.
And upgrades can leave a favorite app on the bottom of the heap.

But it was also a lot of fun to read through suggestions, try new apps, and build a chart that includes all phases of the research process. You are welcome to take it, use it, and share it:

At my school, we follow Kath Murdoch's Inquiry Cycle so I have grouped the apps according to the steps of that model. But I think they can easily be adapted to other models.

My simple hope in sharing this is that I get you thinking about which apps you use with students during the research process.
And let's keep the conversation going...

Because apps come and go Technology evolves.
But the need to be able to locate, evaluate, and use information will continue.

What would you add to the list?

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Our school just unrolled the first phase of our 1:1 iPad program tonight. In preparation of this big event, I spent some time this summer looking into how I could support and guide students through the research process using apps. It was tougher than I expected to build a list like this....

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Welcome to K is for Kinetics! As part of this month's A-Z STEM blog series, we created Googly Monster Kinetic Sculptures. They combine engineering with a bit of art to make a fun, movable puppet show. Plus, they're a great way to teach about kinetics, the study of forces acting on mechanisms. This post contains affiliate links.

What are Kinetic Sculptures and How Do They Work?

Kinetic sculptures are art that rely upon perceivable motion to create an effect. The motion can be powered by machines, by the wind (think mobiles) or by you. Famous kinetic sculptors like Alexander Calder used motion to change how a person perceives the pattern and colors in their art.

Today's project uses mechanics to give motion to a static object and is of the automata style of kinetic sculpture. Automata use mechanical elements like cams, followers, cranks and pulleys to make parts of the sculpture move.

We used recycled materials like cardboard and chopsticks to create the parts in the sculpture. Cardboard disk cams translate a chopstick's circular motion into up and down and circular googly monster motion. Here are the Googly Monster Kinetic Sculpture cams and followers in action.

Kinetic Sculpture Inspiration

This post was inspired by our visit to San Francisco's Exploratorium. In their Tinkering Studio, you can take a workshop to build these kinetic sculptures. The Babe is a little too young for the workshop, but we took pictures and built ours at home :) By the way, this post is more for elementary aged kids than the preschoolers, but my nearly four year old daughter really loved being an assistant and playing with the sculpture.

Click here to find all about the museum's cardboard adventures, which are absolutely amazing! And if you go visit, you definitely have to check out their Tinkering Vending Machine. I need one in my garage...

Make Your Own Googly Monster Kinetic Sculpture

Supplies needed:

Small cardboard box (narrower than a chopstick)

3 chopsticks or bamboo skewers

2 wide straws

Large milk bottle cap or other circle shaped item ~2″ across

Pen

Scissors

Skinny, pointy item like a screw or skewer (I used a meat thermometer...)

Masking tape

Glue gun

2 Monster Finger Puppets

Build Your Googly Monster Kinetic Sculpture

Make your sculpture frame: Cut top and bottom off of your cardboard box. Put unused cardboard aside for another step.

Reinforce the sculpture frame: Reinforce sides and corners with masking tape. We used cute masking tape that we store on our DIY PVC Pipe Tape Dispenser.

For the puppet chop stick holes: Poke two holes in the top of the box with your skinny pointy item. Where you ask? You need them far enough apart that the mechanisms won't bump into either each other or the sides of the box. In my 6 1/4″ inner diameter box, I placed the holes at about 2″ and 5″ from the left side. Poke a pen through the holes in the top to make the holes wider. Insert a 2-3″ long piece of straw so that half is above the box and half is inside the box. Glue around the straw and hole with the glue gun.

For the cam chop stick holes: Mark a hole half way down both sides of the frame. Poke with your skinny pointy item and then make the holes bigger with a chopstick.

Make your sculpture cams: Cut 4 ~2″ circles from the unused top or bottom of the cardboard box. These are your cams and cam-followers.

Mark the center of two of the cardboard circles. Balance the pointy tip of a chopstick in the hole of the cams. Glue in place with the glue gun (you might need to hold it upright for a minute while the glue cools down). This combo is called the cam-follower and the push-rod.

To make your monster turn in a circle, take a cardboard circle and mark the center. Poke a hole all the way through the cam with your skinny pointy item. Then poke a chopstick all of the way through the hole. Pipe a bead of glue all the way around the circumference of the cam to give the cam some grip.

To make your monster go up and down and turn in a circle, mark a cardboard circle half way between the center and the edge. Poke a hole all the way through the cam with your skinny pointy item. Then poke a chopstick all of the way through the hole. Pipe a glue edge on this cam as above.

The picture below shows where to attach the chop sticks.

1. Make your googly monsters: Instructions to make these adorably easy googly monsters are in the Googly Monster Finger Puppets post. Click through for the easy how-to.

2. Putting it all together:

Feed one chopstick through a side hole, then add both cams and feed through the other side holes.

Feed each puppet push-rod through a straw hole and put a googly monster on top.

Align the vertical cams with puppet cam-followers so that the puppets turn and raise up and down. Once you've found the right spot for optimum movement, glue the vertical cams in place.

There are a few more things you could do to your sculpture... Decorate it. Add a crank handle to the chopstick. Add washers to the puppet cam-followers if they seem to be popping off the vertical cams.

More Automata Resources

Want to make your monster get a real workout? Or have your older kiddo get a harder brain workout? Teacher Lizabeth Arum has posted an amazing middle-school level Automata Curriculum. You'll find information on more advanced cam/follower configurations as well as the math behind how these work.

For even more inspiration, these Automata books look really fun. {affiliate}

Can't get enough STEM?

This post is part of a series this month called A-Z STEM. Every day is a new letter and new ways to learn and play with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Click through to Little Bins for Little Hands to see a list of all the projects.

To be the first to see what Left Brain Craft Brain has in store for the letters V (for viscosity) and W (for weight), sign up for the Left Brain Craft Brain newsletter or follow me on Pinterest.
Visit Anne @ Left Brain Craft Brain's profile on Pinterest.

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Welcome to K is for Kinetics! As part of this month's A-Z STEM blog series , we created Googly Monster Kinetic Sculptures. They combine engineering with a bit of art to make a fun, movable puppet show. Plus, they're a great way to teach about kinetics, the study of forces acting on mechanisms. This post contains affiliate links.

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Make/Hack/Play/Learn

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Properties of matter

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Padlet for all the possible beyonda box experiences and some examples of past B.B.'s

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Collaboration Design Challenge: Drop the Ball

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Collaboration Design Challenge: Drop the Ball

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Drop the Ball

1. Begin this challenging icebreaker games by dividing your students into small groups.

2. Give each group 12 straws, 18 inches of masking tape and a golf ball.

3. The goal is to build a container that will catch a golf ball dropped from about ten feet. E

4. ach group selects a “ball dropper” who stands on a chair and hold the golf ball at eye level.

5. Each team places its container on the floor under where they think the ball will land.

6. Each group gets three attempts and the group that gets a ball to go into their container and stay wins.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhQWrHQwYTk

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How do design a PBL science unit

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Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning

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Twenty-first century skills necessitate the implementation of instruction that allows students to apply course content, take ownership of their learning, use technology meaningfully, and collaborate. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is one pedagogical approach that might fit in your teaching toolbox.

PBL is a student-centered, inquiry-based instructional model in which learners engage with an authentic, ill-structured problem that requires further research (Jonassen & Hung, 2008). Students identify gaps in their knowledge, conduct research, and apply their learning to develop solutions and present their findings (Barrows, 1996). Through collaboration and inquiry, students can cultivate problem solving (Norman & Schmidt, 1992), metacognitive skills (Gijbels et al., 2005), engagement in learning (Dochy et al., 2003), and intrinsic motivation. Despite PBL's potential benefits, many instructors lack the confidence or knowledge to utilize it (Ertmer & Simons, 2006; Onyon, 2005). By breaking down the PBL cycle into six steps, you can begin to design, implement, and assess PBL in your own courses.

Step One: Identify Outcomes/Assessments

PBL fits best with process-oriented course outcomes such as collaboration, research, and problem solving. It can help students acquire content or conceptual knowledge, or develop disciplinary habits such as writing or communication. After determining whether your course has learning outcomes that fit with PBL, you will develop formative and summative assessments to measure student learning. Group contracts, self/peer-evaluation forms, learning reflections, writing samples, and rubrics are potential PBL assessments.

Step Two: Design the Scenario

Next you design the PBL scenario with an embedded problem that will emerge through student brainstorming. Think of a real, complex issue related to your course content. It's seldom difficult to identify lots of problems in our fields; the key is writing a scenario for our students that will elicit the types of thinking, discussion, research, and learning that need to take place to meet the learning outcomes. Scenarios should be motivating, interesting, and generate good discussion. Check out the websites below for examples of PBL problems and scenarios.
Problem-Based Learning at University of Delaware Problem-Based Learning in Biology Science PBL
Step Three: Introduce PBL

If PBL is new to your students, you can practice with an "easy problem," such as a scenario about long lines in the dining hall. After grouping students and allowing time to engage in an abbreviated version of PBL, introduce the assignment expectations, rubrics, and timelines. Then let groups read through the scenario(s). You might develop a single scenario and let each group tackle it in their own way, or you could design multiple scenarios addressing a unique problem for each group to discuss and research.

Step Four: Research

PBL research begins with small-group brainstorming sessions where students define the problem and determine what they know about the problem (background knowledge), what they need to learn more about (topics to research), and where they need to look to find data (databases, interviews, etc.). Groups should write the problem as a statement or research question. They will likely need assistance. Think about your own research: without good research questions, the process can be unguided or far too specific. Students should decide upon group roles and assign responsibility for researching topics necessary for them to fully understand their problems. Students then develop an initial hypothesis to "test" as they research a solution. Remember: research questions and hypotheses can change after students find information disconfirming their initial beliefs.

Step Five: Product Performance

After researching, the students create products and presentations that synthesize their research, solutions, and learning. The format of the summative assessment is completely up to you. We treat this step like a research fair. Students find resources to develop background knowledge that informs their understanding, and then they collaboratively present their findings, including one or more viable solutions, as research posters to the class.

Step Six: Assessment

During the PBL assessment step, evaluate the groups' products and performances. Use rubrics to determine whether students have clearly communicated the problem, background, research methods, solutions (feasible and research-based), and resources, and to decide whether all group members participated meaningfully. You should consider having your students fill out reflections about their learning (including what they've learned about the content and the research process) every day, and at the conclusion of the process.

Although we presented PBL as steps, it really functions cyclically. For example, you might teach an economics course and develop a scenario about crowded campus sidewalks. After the groups have read the scenario, they develop initial hypotheses about why the sidewalks are crowded and how to solve the problem. If one group believes they are crowded because they are too narrow and the solution is widening the sidewalks, their subsequent research on the economic and environmental impacts might inform them that sidewalk widening isn't feasible. They should jump back to step four, discuss another hypothesis, and begin a different research path.

This type of process-oriented, self-directed, and collaborative pedagogical strategy can prepare our students for successful post-undergraduate careers. Is it time to put PBL to work in your courses?

References
Barrows, H.S. (1996). Problem-based learning in medicine and beyond: A brief overview. In L. Wilkerson, & W. H. Gijselaers (Eds.), New directions for teaching and learning, No.68 (pp. 3-11). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Dochy, F., Segers, M., Van den Bossche, P., & Gijbels, D. (2003). Effects of problem-based learning: A meta-analysis. Learning and instruction, 13(5), 533-568.

Ertmer, P. A., & Simons, K. D. (2006). Jumping the PBL implementation hurdle: Supporting the efforts of K-12 teachers. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 1(1), 5.

Gijbels, D., Dochy, F., Van den Bossche, P., & Segers, M. (2005). Effects of problem-based learning: A meta-analysis from the angle of assessment. Review of Educational Research, 75(1), 27-61.

Jonassen, D. H., & Hung, W. (2008). All problems are not equal: Implications for problem-based learning. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 2(2), 4.

Norman, G. R., & Schmidt, H. G. (1992). The psychological basis of problem-based learning: A review of the evidence. Academic Medicine, 67(9), 557-565.

Onyon, C. (2012). Problem-based learning: A review of the educational and psychological theory. The Clinical Teacher, 9(1), 22-26.
Vincent R. Genareo is a postdoctoral research associate at Iowa State University, Research Institute for Studies of Education (RISE). Renee Lyons is a PhD candidate at Clemson University, Department of Education.

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Problem-Based Learning: Six Steps to Design, Implement, and Assess

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Twenty-first century skills necessitate the implementation of instruction that allows students to apply course content, take ownership of their learning, use technology meaningfully, and collaborate. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is one pedagogical approach that might fit in your teaching toolbox.

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I Want to See Students Become Innovators

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This web site provides a vision of ambitious science instruction for elementary, middle school and high school classrooms. Ambitious teaching deliberately aims to support students of all backgrounds to deeply understand science ideas, participate in the activities of the discipline, and solve authentic problems.

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Tools for

Ambitious
Science
Teaching

Companion Book available now on Harvard Ed Press

Pressing for evidence- based explanations

Planning for engagement with important science ideas

Supporting on-going changes in thinking

Eliciting students' ideas

What is Ambitious Science Teaching?

Great teaching can be learned. This web site provides a vision of ambitious science instruction for elementary, middle school and high school classrooms. Ambitious teaching deliberately aims to support students of all backgrounds to deeply understand science ideas, participate in the activities of the discipline, and solve authentic problems.

We feature 4 core sets of teaching practices that support these goals. These core sets make up the Ambitious Science Teaching Framework. The framework has been based on classroom research from the past 30 years-research that has asked, "What kinds of talk, tasks, and tools do students need in order to fully engage in meaningful forms of science learning?"

If you are a member of a group of science educators committed to the improvement of teaching, the vision, practices, and tools here will furnish a common language for you about teaching. You will be able to identify "what we will get better at" and how to get started.

Become Part of a Community That Shares a Common Vision of Excellence in Teaching.

Because ambitious science teaching focuses on doing four things really well in the classroom (the core practices), members of our community can speak a common language about how to continually improve instruction and support student learning. We can frame problems together and work towards solutions with help from each other. The expertise of our community comes from our members (teachers, instructional coaches, teacher educators) as well as from extensive empirical classroom research. On this site you can explore how other professionals are using core practices and the tools that go with them.

Explore New Tools That Support Student Learning

This site provides a constantly evolving set of tools to help improve student participation and learning. Some of these tools will help you plan for student engagement with "big" science ideas. Some will help students reason publicly with each other about science ideas. Others will help students engage in scientific modeling, explanation and argument with evidence. Still others will scaffold science-specific writing and talk. We have unique sets of tools for teachers, instructional coaches, and teacher educators.

But here's what is really important about our tools-they belong to the community, meaning that they need to be continually tested under different classroom conditions in order to be improved and diversified.

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Pressing for evidence- based explanations Planning for engagement with important science ideas Supporting on-going changes in thinking Eliciting students' ideas Great teaching can be learned.

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Explanation of series and parallel circuits

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#StormySkies

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Sun Moon and Stars

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Can you solve a communication problem using sound? Yes you can!

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How Do You Keep Lemonade Cool? | PBS LearningMedia

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This video segment adapted from FETCH!™ shows two cast members teaming up to take on a design challenge: Make a lemonade stand that keeps lemonade cool and is sturdy and transportable. With the assistance of master carpenter Norm Abram, the team does an experiment to determine the best insulator for keeping the lemonade cool and then chooses their materials from among those available.

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Arkive’s FREE teaching resources can be used to teach 7-11 year olds across the curriculum from maths and ICT to English and art, and feature the world’s best wildlife photos and videos.

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Wildscreen's Arkive project was launched in 2003 and grew to become the world's biggest encyclopaedia of life on Earth.

With the help of over 7,000 of the world's best wildlife filmmakers and photographers, conservationists and scientists, Arkive.org featured multi-media fact-files for more than 16,000 endangered species.

Freely accessible to everyone, over half a million people every month, from over 200 countries, used Arkive to learn and discover the wonders of the natural world.

Since 2013 Wildscreen was unable to raise sufficient funds from trusts, foundations, corporates and individual donors to support the year-round costs of keeping Arkive online. Therefore, the charity had been using its reserves to keep the project online and was unable to fund any dedicated staff to maintain Arkive, let alone future-proof it, for over half a decade. Despite appeals for support, just 85 of our 5.6 million users in 2018 made a donation.

As a small conservation charity, Wildscreen eventually reached the point where it could no longer financially sustain the ongoing costs of keeping Arkive free and online or invest in its much needed development.

For many years, and in an attempt to keep Arkive online for years to come, Wildscreen investigated the possibility of transferring custodianship of the website to another environmental charity or institution but due to legal issues and the cost of doing so, we were unable to secure any support.

Therefore, a very hard decision was made to take the www.arkive.org website offline in February 2019.

The complete Arkive collection of over 100,000 images and videos is now being stored securely offline in perpetuity for future generations.

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Wildscreen's Arkive project was launched in 2003 and grew to become the world's biggest encyclopaedia of life on Earth. With the help of over 7,000 of the world's best wildlife filmmakers and photographers, conservationists and scientists, Arkive.org featured multi-media fact-files for more than 16,000 endangered species.

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A storyline is a coherent sequence of lessons, in which each step is driven by students' questions that arise from their interactions with phenomena. A student's goal should always be to explain a phenomenon or solve a problem.

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This first-grade unit on light starts out with students exploring how many shapes they can see on different pieces of paper at various locations around their classroom when the lights are turned off.  They are surprised to find that some of the shapes are not visible in these conditions    This leads students to start wondering about other phenomena related to seeing in the dark, which in turn leads to new questions and design problems related to how they can make their room completely dark.   (PS4, ETS1)

[Under development] This second-grade unit on plant reproduction and habitats starts out with students exploring the kind of plants they find growing in different places around their school and neighborhood. Their explorations reveal some surprising places where plants are sprouting. This raises a series of questions and ideas for investigations to pursue related to why there are different plants growing in different places. (LS1, LS2, LS4, ETS1)

This fourth-grade unit on wave properties and ocean floor structures starts out with students exploring a perplexing phenomenon where hundreds of unopened bags of snack chips were found on a beach. This sparks a series of questions about where these came from and how they got to where they were found. It also leads students to generate ideas for investigations to pursue about the role of wind, currents, and waves as possible suspects that could have moved these bags from where they were lost in the ocean to where they were found on the shore. (PS4, ESS2)

In this fifth-grade unit on earth systems and on the structure and properties of matter, students investigate where the dirty water that drains out of their homes and schools goes and where the clean water they use comes from. (ESS2, ESS3, PS1, ETS1)

In this fifth-grade unit on interrelationships in ecosystems, students investigate the apparent disappearance of the body of a dead raccoon over time. Their findings lead them to uncover the role of decomposers in this process, as well as the role of decomposers in the disappearance of plant debris over time. Students ultimately track down where the materials come from that all living things need for repair and growth and where the energy comes from that they use to move and stay warm. (LS1, LS2, PS1, PS3)

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Elementary - Next Generation Science Storylines

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In this fifth-grade unit on interrelationships in ecosystems, students investigate the apparent disappearance of the body of a dead raccoon over time. Their findings lead them to uncover the role of decomposers in this process, as well as the role of decomposers in the disappearance of plant debris over time.

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Design For Change, a global movement driven by children who believe that “every child can.”

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Anthony Johnson is a fifth-grade science and social studies teacher at Isenberg Elementary School in Salisbury, North Carolina. He is also an Apple Distinguished Educator and TED-Ed Innovative Educator. Charity Ramsey is a fifth-grade 5th science and English teacher at Isenberg Elementary School. She is a graduate of Livingstone College and has been teaching for seven years with experience in 1st, 2nd, and 5th grade. Below, they describe their joint classroom project: STEM EMPATHY.

It all began when we signed up our fifth-grade students for Design For Change, a global movement driven by children who believe that "every child can." The program takes students through four steps - feel, imagine, do and share - to help students design a project to create change. After combining classrooms for this project, our 50 students brainstormed many ideas for projects to create change. These project ideas ranged from helping the homeless to tutoring STEM in pediatric hospitals to restoring historic homes. After careful consideration, the students unanimously agreed that delivering STEM education to their peers in hospitals would have the most impact and bring the most meaning and purpose in each of their lives. Thus, STEM EMPATHY was born.

The mission of STEM EMPATHY is to encourage and tutor children in pediatric hospitals, and to give our students the opportunity to learn and grow through a service learning project that integrates science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In essence, we want to function as a visiting STEM classroom at the local Children's Hospital.

This service learning project will give our students the opportunity to tutor and build relationships with children in pediatric hospitals, while learning from one another, with one another. Children are capable of comprehending complex issues and empathizing with children their age. When asked why they chose this project idea, one student responded, "Children who are not able to come to the classroom still need education. You don't know what they want to be if they get past their illness."

STEM EMPATHY is a now a nonprofit, student-led initiative. Learn more about it here: www.stemempathy.org!

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Anthony Johnson is a fifth-grade science and social studies teacher at Isenberg Elementary School in Salisbury, North Carolina. He is also an Apple Distinguished Educator and TED-Ed Innovative Educator. Charity Ramsey is a fifth-grade 5th science and English teacher at Isenberg Elementary School.

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10 Online Tools That Can Bring Science to Life for Your Students

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10 Online Tools That Can Bring Science to Life for Your Students

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In a time when there's a lot of focus on STEM education, finding great resources for students is important. A great resource for students is engaging, informative, and fun-it makes sure they keep coming back. At CalPac (the public, online California charter school I lead), our team of science teachers has experience in teaching and private industry science labs, and we wanted to take a moment to share our top list of web resources that we use in the online classroom, for independent student learning, and when tutoring.

1) Kahoot! (See their Biology and Chemistry offerings)

Kahoot! is an educational tool that can be used on any device that has wifi (even smartphones!). This tool can be used in a classroom to pit students against one another in a game setting. Or students can play by themselves to test their own knowledge. Either way, this resource appeals to the competitive spirit!

If you are looking for free, standards-based digital content, look no further. This website has resources for students, parents, and educators. On this site, you'll find games and get homework help. There are even resources for other subjects, though their Science tools are exceptional. For teachers (including homeschool parents), this website acts as a great way to connect with other educators.

If you don't want to cut open a frog on your dining room table, this software has incredible virtual dissection labs that bring science into your home (but not on your table). Though this resource is a paid subscription, the experience is well worth the cost. Topics integrate new NGSS standards (Next Generation Science Standards) and inquiry-based learning.

Need a resource that's active on twitter? Follow @physxclassroom and your students will love the real-life examples that bring Physics concepts to life. Their website features tutorials, interactives, concept builders, and teacher resources. You won't want to miss this one-stop Physics shop!

People spend, on average, 4 hours a day listening to audio. Want to tap into podcasts as a medium for your students? Science Friday produces a weekly podcast that tackles various scientific topics. A few recent topics include:

October 6, 2017: The U.S. government has big trouble managing mustangs. Plus, the ABCs of altcoins, blockchains and cryptocurrency.

September 22, 2017: Why long dead dinosaurs have plenty to teach us about our future earth. And wildfires have scorched 8.5 million acres of land this year-a look at what's fueling these fires.

This website is multisubject, but can be sorted by grade level and subject. Resources include audio, video, images, PDFs, etc. Here's one of our favorites for Chemistry-a lesson on ionic bonding.

If cells, microbes, and the immune system are your thing, this website has games, puzzles, and models to help students interact with science. This resource is great for teachers who are looking for worksheets or quizzes to use in class.

This online resource puts everything you ever need to know about the elements in one place. It will link every element to its Wikipedia page, give the electron count, state the properties of each element, and more. It's got everything you will ever need if you're cramming for a Chemistry Periodic Table quiz.

For "the science geek in everyone," Live Science is perfect for the student who wants to browse. The website covers the latest scientific news, and includes other topics such as health, technology, earth, space, etc. A compelling section of the website is "Strange News," which features such headlines as "People Are Freaking Out Over This Monster Fungus That Smells Like Rotting Crab" or "'Yeti' Hair? Nothing So Abominable, Scientists Find." For those with an inquisitive mind, this site is a must.

This resource rounds out the top 10 with a focus on Careers in Science. Though there are other resources such as science fair ideas, parent/student/teacher tools, and "ask an expert," it's the career section that is particularly engaging for students. Careers are labeled as "in demand" for the job market, and students can explore key facts and education requirements for each area. This is a crucial resource for College and Career Readiness standards.

For more STEM resources, see:
Christine Feher is the Principal of CalPac, a tuition-free public online charter school open to students across eight Southern California counties. Connect with CalPac on Twitter: @CalPac_Online

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Top 10 Online Tools That Can Bring Science to Life for Your Students

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In a time when there's a lot of focus on STEM education, finding great resources for students is important. A great resource for students is engaging, informative, and fun-it makes sure they keep coming back.

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The Zooniverse enables everyone to take part in real cutting edge research in many fields across the sciences, humanities, and more. The Zooniverse creates opportunities for you to unlock answers and contribute to real discoveries.

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The Zooniverse is the world's largest and most popular platform for people-powered research.

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OK Go Sandbox is an online resource for educators that uses OK Go's music videos as starting points for integrated guided inquiry challenges allowing students to explore various STEAM concepts.

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Ocean conservation and art

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Marine Biodiversity & Climate How will marine biodiversity be affected by climate change?

Marine Biodiversity & Pollution What is the impact of land-based pollution on the health of marine ecosystems?

Arctic Ocean A true sentinel of global warming, can the Arctic help us prepare for the future?

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Exploring and raising awareness to protect the ocean | The Tara Ocean Foundation

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The Tara Ocean Foundation is exploring the ocean to better understand and share its scientific knowledge, in order to raise public awareness Since 2003, it has been developing high-level ocean science, with the best research laboratories, to explore, understand and anticipate the disruptions linked to climatic and environmental risks as well as the impacts of various forms of pollution.

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Build a performance expectation from chosen cards

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Build a performance expectation from chosen cards

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Stephen Pruitt Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

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Transparent solar cells are the future

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Engineering is not just building it is problem solving. List of problems students can engineer

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Grand Challenges - 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering

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To help meet this challenge, the Next Generation Science Storylines project is dedicated to providing tools that support teachers in developing, adapting, and teaching with strongly aligned NGSS materials in classrooms around the country.

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Check out the guidance for the steps to designing a coherent NGSS aligned storyline. Explore unpacking, identifying phenomena, and sequencing investigations to help students build science ideas, step by step.

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This document contains a five-step process designed to help teams develop three-dimensional assessment tasks, aligned with the new vision for science education and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

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Practice Brief 29 -- Topics:Assessment Equity
Steps to Designing a Three Dimensional Assessment

Three-dimensional assessment tasks allow you to make inferences about how students use their understanding of disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts together to explain phenomena and solve problems. This process includes steps to ensure that your tasks are accessible and engaging to learners from non-dominant communities and to learners with identified learning differences.

This resource has been heavily revised and published as STEM Teaching Tool #83: Steps to Designing Justice-Focused Assessments in Science. We encourage everyone to use the new resource. The document linked below is from March 2020 and we will continue to offer it for archival purposes.
This document contains a nine-step process designed to help teams develop three-dimensional assessment tasks in science that connect to students' interests, experiences, and identities.

Assessing three-dimensional standards means assessing more than just the "process" of science; it means assessing students' proficiency through integrated use of all three dimensions to explain phenomena and solve design challenges. The guidance included here is based on the conclusions and recommendations included in the National Research Council (2014) report, Developing Assessments for the Next Generation Science Standards. In addition, the process incorporates use of the Task Screener developed by Achieve, Inc., to analyze existing assessments.
PDF Download

Authors:

WILLIAM R. PENUEL, KATIE VAN HORNE, AND PHILIP BELL - REVISED MARCH 2020 (FROM MARCH 2016 VERSION)

ALSO SEE STEM TEACHING TOOLS

STEM Teaching Tools content copyright 2014-22 UW Institute for Science + Math Education. All rights reserved.
This site is primarily funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Award #1920249 (previously through Awards #1238253 and #1854059). Opinions expressed are not those of any funding agency.

Work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Others may adapt with attribution. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Opinions expressed are not those of any funding agency.

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Steps to Designing a Three Dimensional Assessment : StemTeachingTools (en-US)

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Practice Brief 29 -- Topics:Assessment Equity Three-dimensional assessment tasks allow you to make inferences about how students use their understanding of disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts together to explain phenomena and solve problems. This process includes steps to ensure that your tasks are accessible and engaging to learners from non-dominant communities and to learners with identified learning differences.

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The Stanford NGSS Assessment Project (SNAP) is focusing on ways that high-quality performance assessment can support the implementation process.

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The Stanford NGSS Assessment Project (SNAP), funded by S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, focuses on ways that high-quality performance assessments can facilitate meaningful implementation of the standards. This project was founded by Ray Pecheone, Executive Director of SCALE, Helen Quinn, Professor Emerita, Physics and Astrophysics, and Jonathan Osborne, Professor Emeritus, Kamalachari Professor Of Science Education.

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Paul Anderson collection of science stuff

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The Wonder of Science was created to support the next generation of science teachers. All of the resources are licensed under Creative Commons licensing.

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Neil deGrasse Tyson: Kids Are Born Scientists

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All copyrighted materials contained herein belong to their respective copyright holders, I do not claim ownership over any of these materials. In no way do I benefit either financially or otherwise from this video.

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Data Nuggets are free classroom activities, co-designed by scientists and teachers, designed to bring contemporary research and authentic data into the classroom. Data Nuggets include a connection to the scientist behind the data and the true story of their research. Each activity gives students practice working with “messy data” and interpreting quantitative information.

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Data Nuggets | Bringing authentic research and data into K-16 classrooms

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Free activities that bring real scientific data into the classroom, guiding students through the process of science while building their quantitative abilities.

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http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/2221724?tabid=3d298c1f-e258-b025-e25b-05f237af1dd2

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https://www.nextgenscience.org/resources/phenomena

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Design a machine that plants trees quicker

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Design a machine that plants trees quicker

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PBS design challenge

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Project: Something that plants trees quicker . DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL | PBS KIDS

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Have an idea for an invention? Draw your creation here and see what other kids are wishing for and designing!

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Life Science

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The NSTA Next Generation Science Standards Hub offers information, resources, news, professional learning opportunities, and expert advice in understanding and implementing the Next Generation Science Standards - NGSS

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The Siemens Foundation has invested more than $100 million in the United States to advance workforce development and education initiatives in science, technology, engineering and math. The Siemens Foundation's mission is inspired by the culture of innovation, research and continuous learning that is the hallmark of Siemens' companies.

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Ever wonder what STEM challenges to serve up to your students? Here is an amazing list of clever, unique and simple set up STEM lesson plans from other teachers. You're going to love what your students come up with and the number of standards you can meet with these.

There is a range of grade level ideas K-5 in this list.

Think you could solve this Water Puddle Evaporation puzzle? You'll love that there are 4 more easy stem activities for the end of the year including this outdoor one.

Drink up your experiment after you figure out How Hot is Hot? Chocolate with this temperature-based exploration activity.

What tools would work best to Create an Umbrella?

This Dr. Seuss themed Stack the Cat's Hat uses cups - how easy is that!

I love this Plastic Egg Tower that uses leftover easter eggs and playdough. Engineering and oddball materials - just what the mind ordered.

Clever STEM Activities for Kids

Upper grade level students solve Real World Problems with Stem Activities like oil spills.

Can you make a Pristine Trampoline with a strainer and simple materials to bounce a ping pong ball?

This more involved building of Simple Machines will surely capture their attention as they try to make a snack machine!

Build a Computer Coding Game without a computer - perfect for helping superheros get to their destination.

What types of leftover Christmas supplies will make a quiet Christmas Jingle Bell?

Quick STEM Challenges

Making a Paper Plate Pinball Game looks like so much fun and an easy way to engage kids in STEM challenges.

Figure out the best way to drive a Magnet Powered Car if you explore concepts of magnetism with your students.

Index Card Science is part magic trick and part challenge - how can you fit through an index card. Be sure to have tons of index cards on hand!

Turn Christmas excitement and turn it into learning with these 4 Christmas Steam Task cards that use easy materials.

Easter Egg Towers are a no-set up STEM challenge for young students.

Super Simple Materials for STEM Lessons

If you've got rubber bands stored away, then keep Bungee Barbie from dying with this unique stem science challenge. Just pick a flight of stairs in your building to use.

Figure out how many drops of water can fit on a penny with Penny Drops - so quick and easy.

Beef up the magnet powered car activity listed above with this Make it Move challenge to race a car across one end of the table to the other.

Getting kids to complete a Paper Bag Mystery each day in a week sounds like the perfect set of sub plans if you ask me!

Unique STEM Lesson Plans

This fairy tale based Parachute Man challenge encourages students to find a way to help Jack escape the beanstalk by making a parachute for a Lego man.

Bring in your box fan from home to see what type of Paper Fliers can fly high, in circles or fit a requirement challenge of your choosing.

Determine how strong a single piece of paper is with Stem Shape columns to hold a stack of books.

Students create their own Lego Brain Puzzles to make a 10×10 square. Make sure they document the solution to their own puzzle before handing it over to someone else to solve!

Find out the value in STEM challenges with this Basketball Tower challenge using newspapers for third grade, fourth grade and fifth grade.

Free STEM Challenges Printables for the Classroom

Get students thinking on the challenge and preparing their experiment with free Lab Sheets to download.

Get lined paper, graph paper and more with these Stem Notebook Printables so you can make your own!

Get Role Cards along with lots of other free resources to get started making your stem lesson plans.

Make a Mini Journal to plan and execute stem construction projects with these free printables.

Now you've got tons of ideas to plug into your lesson plans - and most don't require complicated materials. How great is that? You're set to serve up creative, unique and simple STEM lesson plans in a snap.

More Science for Kids

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28 Awesome STEM Challenges for the Elementary Classroom

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Ever wonder what STEM challenges to serve up to your students? Here is an amazing list of clever, unique and simple set up STEM lesson plans from other teachers. You're going to love what your students come up with and the number of standards you can meet with these.

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Nate & Deysi's Favorite Designs

A person using a wheelchair can carry big and small things by towing them in this cart. How can you make it easier to reach what's inside?

This inventor designed zipper pouches that a person can attach wherever it's handy. What kinds of materials could you use to make these pouches?

This basket can make it easier for someone to carry groceries while using a walker. How will the basket attach? Is it removable?

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Project: Handy Helper . DESIGN SQUAD GLOBAL | PBS KIDS

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A person using a wheelchair can carry big and small things by towing them in this cart. How can you make it easier to reach what's inside? This inventor designed zipper pouches that a person can attach wherever it's handy. What kinds of materials could you use to make these pouches?

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Posted on by Mary Lord

Kids love exploring the world around them, and Earth Day offers a great way to introduce them to environmental science and engineering. The following sampler includes activities, lessons, and resources ranging from starting a school-wide energy audit to "green" buildings, the science behind solar ovens, and sustainable design.

NASA's Earth Day Resources for Informal Educators includes activities on how to read a heat map. The space agency's Adopt the Planet campaign invited people around the world to celebrate Earth Day 2017 by virtually adopting one of 64,000 pieces of Earth as seen from space. A personalized adoption certificate featuring data from NASA's Earth-observing satellites for a randomly assigned location can be printed out and shared.

Earth Day Network has information on its campaigns, such as the 2018 End Plastic Pollution campaign, and a 2017 Climate Week Toolkit for Teachers [PDF] that includes tips for family activities, civic action, and science classes. Click HERE to see toolkits for teach-ins, universities, and others.

NOAA's Marine Debris Program includes "Trash Talk," an Emmy-award winning video series aimed at students and teachers, and a citizen-science project on monitoring marine debris that includes a Marine Debris Tracker app developed by the University of Georgia's college of engineering that lets anyone report and map plastic waste and other coastal litter. There's also an annual student marine-debris art contest!

EPA's Earth Day site offers lessons for teachers, community service ideas, and a history of Earth Day.

Engineering, Go For It Past Lessons:

See also: eGFI Teachers' Sustainability Education Resources and eGFI Teachers' Green Roof Resources
Activities and Projects:

Engineering is Elementary's Plants to Plastics is a free, downloadable engineering design challenge for middle school students from the Museum of Science, Boston on replacing plastics with materials made from plants. Designed for use in after-school programs.

Green Education Foundation's Sustainability lessons and activities and Top 10 Earth Day Projects. Design a walkable route to school, adopt a plant, and other "green team" activities!

SENSE IT is a free, standards-based curriculum for middle and high school students that instills technical skills and sense of environmental stewardship by building, deploying, and analyzing data from wireless water-quality sensors that monitor the health of a local river or stream.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Earth Day site offers lessons for teachers, community service ideas, and a history of Earth Day. EPA's Indoor Air Quality initiative offers resources and lessons on air quality and information for teachers about promoting healthy school environments.

NASA's Climate Kids has interactive games, videos, and other fun resources about weather and climate change for elementary school-age children.

HowToSmile.org's environmental science activities for various age groups.

Citizen-Science Sites:

The Cool School Challenge, sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund and developed by a high school environmental educator, engages students and teachers in practical strategies to reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gas emissions school-wide. Schools that complete the Challenge automatically qualify for a bronze level award through the Eco-Schools USA program!

Earth: The Operator's Manual, developed from research sponsored by the National Science Foundation, includes climate-change lessons, activities, videos of "Energy Heroes," and a step-by-step guide to cutting home or school energy use, including an energy-use calculator.

Project Noah is a site for citizen-scientists (and curious kids) around the world to explore and document wildlife by uploading photos of beautiful, strange, or unknown creatures and finding out what they are.

Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project. NOAA's worldwide project to map and track the flow of plastic and other trash in the world's oceans includes a Marine Debris Tracker app developed by the University of Georgia's college of engineering.

Earth Day-themed newsletters, articles, and videos from our eGfi blogs: Teachers' newsletters:

Features from our eGfi Students and Teachers blogs:

updated 4/21/17

Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, K-12 Outreach Programs, Lesson Plans, Special Features, Web Resources

Tags: Class Activities, Curriculum, Earth Day, Energy, Engineering is Everywhere, Environmental Engineering, Environmental science, Green design, green roof, groundwater, Internet Resources, inventor, Lesson Plan, Lesson Plans, marine debris, NOAA, Ocean Cleanup, plastic, Pollution, Resources for Teachers, SENSE IT, Sustainability, Teacher Resources, Trash, vertical farming, Videos, waste, Web Resources, Wind Energy

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eGFI - For Teachers " Earth Day Resources

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Posted on by Mary Lord Kids love exploring the world around them, and Earth Day offers a great way to introduce them to environmental science and engineering. The following sampler includes activities, lessons, and resources ranging from starting a school-wide energy audit to "green" buildings, the science behind solar ovens, and sustainable design.