newsletter nsta national conference in indianapolis

November 2011 Volume 1, Issue 9

hosted by

Newsletter

Special Interest Articles

• NSTANationalConfer-enceinIndianapolis

• ImportantMATHCOUNTSDates

• NextGenerationScienceStandards

Individual Highlights

• HowtoUseGoogleEarthintheClassroom

• StrategiesforReadingintheContentArea

• SearchPRISMforClass-roomSupportTools

• TheFuturesChannel• MathSnacks• MathPlayground• EnvironmentalLiteracy

andInquiry(ELI)• TheEpidemicChallenge• SiemensHands-onSci-

ence• SmartBoardGoodies• WelcometoTwentyFour

SevenScience• ScholasticStudyJams

NSTA National Conference in IndianapolisMarch 29–April 1, 2012AttheCrossroadsforScienceEducationJoinusatthecrossroadsforscienceeducationduringtheNSTA2012IndianapolisNationalConferenceonScienceEducation.TheconferenceheadquartershotelsaretheIndianapolisMarriottDowntown,JWMarriottIndianapolis,andWestinIndianapolis.ConferenceregistrationandexhibitswillbeattheIndianaCon-ventionCenter.MostsessionsandeventshavebeenscheduledattheConventionCenteraswellastheIndianapolisMarriott,JWMarriott,andWestinIndianapolis.Twitterhashtags:#nsta12(2012conferences),#nsta(all-pur-pose).

Important MATHCOUNTS Dates

Next Generation Science Standards

SeptemberMATHCOUNTSSchoolHandbookdistributedelectronicallytoallschools.

November and DecemberSchoolcompetitionsmailedtoregisteredschools.

December 16, 2011Registrationdeadline.FormsmustbepostmarkedbytheDecember16deadline.(LateregistrationsMAYbeacceptedatthediscretionofMATHCOUNTSandthelocalcoordinator.However,alatefeewillapply.Pleaseregisterontimetoensurepartici-pationbyyourstudents.)

February 1-29, 2012 March 1-31, 2012ChapterCompetitions StateCompetitions

May 11, 2012The2012RaytheonMATHCOUNTSNationalCompetitiontobeheldinOrlando,FL!

www.mathcounts.org/in

NextGenerationScienceStandardsforToday’sStudentsandTomorrow’sWorkforce:Throughacollaborative,state-ledprocess,newK–12sciencestandardsarebeingdevelopedthatwillberichincontentandpractice,arrangedinacoherentmanneracrossdisciplinesandgradestoprovideallstudentsaninternationallybenchmarkedscienceeducation.TheNGSSwillbebasedontheFrameworkforK–12ScienceEduca-tiondevelopedbytheNationalResearchCouncil.www.nextgenscience.org

PRISM News Page 2

How to Use Google Earth in the Classroom

Strategies for Reading in the Content Area

Googlehasrevolutionizedhowweinter-actwithdigitaldata—accesstoobscureinformationontheInternet,sharingdocuments,gettingfrompointAtoB,andevenseeingourplanetEarthinamilliondifferentways.

GoogleEarthisanincrediblyusefultoolforlearningaboutourplanet—andmostimportantly,itsfree.ByloadingfilesthatchangethewaythattheGoogleEarthisdisplayed,itispossibletoseeyourlocalweather,zoomintoanunderwatermoun-

tain,sailfromBostontoLondon,orevennavigatethesolarsystem.

BasicthroughadvancedtutorialsforusingGoogleEarthcanbefoundonthewww.earth.google.comwebsite.However,thereareonlyafewbasicskillsthatareneeded.

This site includes links to great activities to help you start using Google Earth in the classroom!

www.nnvl.noaa.gov/MediaDetail.php?MediaID=294&MediaTypeID=3

www.readwritethink.org/search/?strategy-guide-series=30515

Brainstorming and Re-viewing Using the Carou-sel Strategy ThisstrategyguideintroducesCarouselBrainstorming,alsoknownasRotatingReview,andof-ferssuggestionstoimple-mentthistechniqueinyourclassroomforbrain-stormingaboutnewtopicsorreviewinglearnedinformation.

Introducing New Content with Seed DiscussionsInthisstrategyguide,you’lllearnhowtoelicitideasandconversationaboutnewconceptsorcontentbyeffectivelyholdingaSeedDiscussioninyourclassroom.

Power NotesThestrategyexaminedinthisStrategyGuideteach-

esstudentsanoutliningtechniquetohelpthemdifferentiatebetweenmainideasanddetailsintheirreadingandwriting.

Preparing Students for Success with Reading in the Content AreasInthisstrategyguide,you’lllearnhowtodeter-minethelevelandtypeofsupportyouneedtoprovidestudentsbasedoncarefulpreparationasacontentareaexpert.

Question the Author (QtA)Inthisguide,you’llbeintroducedtoastrategythatrequiresstudentstochallengetheirunder-standingandsolidifytheirknowledgewhilereadingatext.

Reading with Purpose in the Content AreasInthisstrategyguide,you’lllearnhowtoorga-nizestudentsandinstruc-tiontoestablishasenseofpurposeforreadingauthentictextsinthecon-tentareas.

Supporting Student Com-prehension in Content Area ReadingInthisstrategyguide,you’lllearnafewsimple,yetpowerful,techniquestoencouragestudentstousepeertalkandwritingtoenhancetheirunder-standingofcontentareatexts.

Great support for meeting the Common Core Literacy Standards in the Content Areas!

Search PRISM for Classroom Support Tools

www.rose-prism.org

ThePRISMdatabaseincludestheoptiontosearchforProfessionalDevelopmentMa-terials.Hereyouwillfindlinksthatwillhelpyoulocateeverythingfromgraphpapertemplatestohow-tovideosforimplementingproject-basedlearningintheclassroom.

PRISM News Page 3

The Futures Channel

Math Snacks

Math Playground

TheFuturesChannelwasfoundedin1999withthegoalofusingnewmediatechnologiestocreateachannelbetweenthescientists,engineers,explorersandvisionarieswhoareshapingthefuture,andtoday’slearnerswhowillonedaysucceedthem.

TheFuturesChannelpartnerswithschoolsaroundthecountryaswellasawiderangeofpublishers,sciencecenters,professionaldevelopmentserviceprovid-ers,publictelevisionstations,websitesandmoretoprovidehighqualityreal

worlddigitalcontenttoenhancetheireducationofferingsandobjectives.

Eachweekwefeatureaselectionofnewmoviesandeducatorfavoritesonourwebsite.Moviesthatarefeaturedareavailablefortwoweeks.

Therearesomemoviesthatareavailableanytimeduetotheirpopularityonline.Youcanfindthesebyclickingonthe“realworldmovie”categories.Availablemov-iesarelistedatthetopofthepage.

MathPlaygroundisanaction-packedsiteforelementaryandmiddleschoolstudents.Playamathgame,solvealogicpuzzle,andhavesomefun!

Hi,I’mColleenKing.IcreatedMathPlaygroundin2002forstudentsinmyclasswhoneededafunwaytopracticemathfacts.Sincethen,Math

Playgroundhasgrowntoincludeawidevarietyofmathtopics,fromproblemsolvingandmathematicalarttorealworldmath.I’mcurrentlydesigningasetofalgebraicthinkinggamesandhopetohavethemonlinesoon.

TheprimarygoalsofMathPlaygroundaretohelpstu-dentsfeelmoreconfidentabouttheirmathskillsand

tohelpthemformmorepositiveattitudestowardthesubjectofmath.Itrytoaccomplishthesegoalsbyprovidingengaginggamesandactivitiesthatstudentsfindmeaningfulandfun.

Play with Numbers and Give Your Brain a Work-out!

MathSnacksareshortanimationsandmini-gamesdesignedtopres-entmathematicsinaverydifferentway.Infact,wehopethesesnacksdon’tlookliketraditionalmathatall.MathSnacksgivestudents,especiallythosewhodon’tparticularlylikemath,anotherwaytolookatmathconcepts.

UsingMathSnackson

mobiledevices,liketheiPad,helpskidstakethelearningonthego.iPadsandiPodsarealsogreatclassroomtools,whenyoucan’ttaketheentireclasstoacomputerlab.

Mathematicians,mathed-ucators,artists,andgamedevelopersworkcollab-orativelytocreategamesandanimationsthatteachmathinadifferentway.

EachMathSnackhasalearnerguidethatkidscanusetotransferaconceptu-alunderstandingtomathproblemsolving.Teacherguidesandprintedtran-scriptsofeachanimationarealsoavailable.

Search NMSU Board of Regents on the PRISM database for mapping to CCSS Standards.

www.thefutureschannel.com

www.mathsnacks.org

www.mathplayground.com

PRISM News Page 4

Environmental Literacy and Inquiry (ELI)

The Epidemic Challenge

Siemens Hands-on Science

TheEnvironmentalLiteracyandInquiryGroupresearchersinvestigatehowtoimproveenvironmentallearningandinstructioninscienceclassesforstudentsinmiddleschoolsettings,withafocusontherolethatgeospatialtechnologies(GT)suchasGoogleEarthandGeographicalInformationSystems(GIS)canplay.Weconductresearchinthesemainareas:• Designingandtestingenvironmental

literacycurriculathatintegratesGTtopromotelearning.

• Developingandanalyzingtherolethateducativecurriculummaterialscanbeusedtohelpteachersenhance

theirsciencepedagogicalcontentknowledgetousethenewcurriculamosteffectively.

• AssessingtheimpactofthenewGT-embeddedcurriculaonstudentlearning.

CurriculumUnits:1. Energy2. ClimateChange3. LandUseChange

Check the PRISM database for links to 7th and 8th grade as well as Earth Sci-ence Standards.

WhatistheEpidemicChal-lenge?

PutyourclasstothetestwiththeEpidemicChal-lenge!Throughaseriesofvideos,classroomactivitiesandteacher-leddiscussions,yourstudentswillwatchsciencecometolife.Yourstudentswillbetransformedintoreal-life

medicaldetectives(akaepidemiologists)astheytrytosolvethemysteriouscaseof“TheAmusementParkOutbreak.”

Middleschoolorhighschoolstudentswillraceagainsttimeinaseriesofinvestigationalactivities.Theirmission?Theymustdeterminethesourceof

theidentityandlocationofthepathogenbeforeanymorepeoplegetsick.

These PBLs have been mapped to Middle School and High School Standards on the PRISM database.

Good activity to develop content literacy!

CheckouttheSiemensHands-onsectionoftheDiscoveryEducationwebsite!

EachactivityincludesPDFprintableresourcesforthestudentandteacher.Avideoengagesthestudentsandeachoftheactivitieshasareal-lifeconnection.Youwillalsofindnicephotoimagesofwhattoexpect,adetailedsupplylistandevenaratingtoletyouknowhowdifficulttheactivitywillbetosetupandcomplete.Studentquestionsaregreatforsupportingliteracyinthesciencecontentarea.

Requiresalogin.Itiscertainlyworththeeffort!

SelectfromEarthScience,LifeScienceandPhysicalSciencecategories.

TheactivitieshavebeenmappedtoIndianaStandardsonthePRISMdatabase;includ-ingcontent,literacyandISTEstandards.Search Materials on PRISM for Siemens Science to locate 55 standard based lessons!

www.ei.lehigh.edu/eli/index.html

www.ciesc.k12.in.us/EpidemicChallenge/

siemensscienceday.discoveryeducation.com/activities/hands-on-science-activi-

ties.cfm

PRISM News Page 5

Smart Board Goodies

Welcome to Twenty Four Seven Science!

Scholastic Study Jams

MynameisAmberCoggin,andIamanElementaryTechnologyTeacherandCertifiedSMARTBoardTrainerinMobile,Alabama.IcreatedthisblogasaplacetoshareSMARTBoardresourceswithteach-ersatmyschool,thedistrict,oranyoneelsewhostopsby.

HerearedescriptionsofafewoftheSmartBoardGoodiesfoundbyAmber.

Estimate and Measure with Chef Pierre from Compass Learning Odyssey.ThisisagreatactivityforK-1.Estimatehowmanycinnamonrollseachpanwillhold,

thenmeasuretoseeifyouarecorrect!

Wordsearches - CapstoneKids.com offersaslewofthem!Topicsincludevolcanoes,electricity,folktales,andmuchmore.ThesepuzzlesworkgreatontheSMARTBoard.Justdragyourfingeroverthelet-terstohighlighttheword.Havefun!

Spell a Picture.Chooseabackground,startingspellingaword,andwatchthepicturesappear!Youcanalsoprintthefinishedpicturethatincludesthewordsthatwerespelled.

Howfastdoesthewindblow?Whatmakesthingssticky?Wheredoinsectsliveandplantsgrow?Whatisthebestwaytocleanuptheenvironment?Howdohumansmeasureupintheanimalkingdom?

Somanyquestions—andsomanywaystofindanswers!Intheseinter-

actives,useyourhands,feet,eyes,ears,brain,imaginationandcooltoolstoexperiment,design,testanddiscoveramazingthingsabouttheworldaroundyou.It’sscienceandit’sfun!

Thissiteisstillunderdevelopmentbutdon’tletthatstopyoufromcheck-

ingitout!.Eachinterac-tivestudentactivityhasalargeselectionofGoingFurtherresources.Howfastdoesthewindblow?has76relatedactivities.

Search Lawrence Hall of Science Berkeley on the PRISM database for map-ping to Indiana Standards.

Mialovedtobuildwebsites.WiththehelpofherfriendSam,azanyartist,shehadputtogethersomestunningsites.SowhenZoecametoherwithaspecialrequest,shewasn’tsurprised.Zoewasabornentrepreneur,especiallywhenitcametopromotinghermusic.Onlineonenight,ZoestumbledupononeofMiaandSam’ssites,ageome-tryhelp-center.Usingthesite,Zoe’shomeworkwasabreeze.ShedecidedtoapproachMiaandSam.Whynotbuildabigger,bettersitethatallkidscoulduseforhomeworkhelp?Zoecouldevenlaydownsometrackstomakehomeworkrock!

Miainstantlysaidyes.Therewasonlyonethingmissing:aface-mantospreadtheword.Zoeknewjusttheguy.Captainofthesoccerteamandstudentbodypresident,herfriendRJknewjustabouteveryone.Acompetitorandteamplayer,RJsawthesiteasaslamdunk!Thefourtalentscametogether,andtheirsitewasborn.Anewsitewherekidscouldhelpkids,teachingandlearningfromoneanother-alllaiddowntoakillerbeat.Includes mini lessons, practice activities and key vocabulary!

smartboardgoodies.com/goodiesindex/

www.lawrencehallofscience.org/kidsite/

studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/index.htm

PRISM News Page 6

Professional Opportunities

What PRISM Can Do For You!

Research Goes to SchoolTheResearchGoestoSchoolProgramisafive-yearprogramfundedbytheNationalScienceFoundation.Eachyear-longcycleincludestheparticipationofin-serviceteacherswithNoyceScholarsandWoodrowWilsonFellows(StemGoesRuralstudents)atatwo-weeksummercourse,EDCI627,toprovideeducationaboutadvancedresearchintheglobalchallengeoftheconversionofbiomasstobiofuels.ApplicationsarebeingacceptedfromSeptember1,2011–February29,2012.www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/learningcenter/I-cubed/

Teachers Teaching with Technology™ (T³™) Texas Instruments Online PDLearnatyourownpaceandsetyourownlearningschedule.Startacourse,takeabreak,andthenpickupwhereyouleftoff.Onlinecoursesareidealforconvenient,individuallearningandareavailableinabroadrangeoftopics.Onlinelearningalsomeansthatyoucantakeacoursewhereveryouhappentobe.Allyouneedisapersonalcomputerwithanonlineconnectiontoaccessthecourseofyourchoice.http://education.ti.com/calculators/pd/US/Online-Learning/Online-Courses

PhysicsQuest 2011: Spectra Heats Up!SignuptoreceiveaFREEPhysicsQuestkit.StudentswilldoexperimentsrelatingtoheatandtemperatureastheytryandhelpSpectrasolvethemysteryofTeslaJuniorHigh’smysteriousweather.Kitscontainallthematerialsneededtodo4funandexcitingphysicsexperimentsaswellasamanualandcomicbook.Asthestudentscompletetheactivitiestheywillbelearningthephysicstheyneedtosavetheworld,oratleastTeslaJuniorHigh.Therearealimitednumberofkitssosignupnow!http://ultron.aps.org/forms/aps1.cgi?ID=201002

• Easilyfindtheperfectteachingandlearningresourcesfromourlibraryofover2,900.

• Savealistofyourfavoriteresourcesforquickretrieval.

• Createandsharelessonplansthatteachyoursubjectsutilizingyourfavoriteresources.

• Developonlineclassroomswithinteractiveassignments,lessons,quizzesandmore!

• Joindiscussionswithstudents,parents,orother

teachersinsidechatsandforums.

• Storeyourclassroommaterialsonlinesothattheyareavailabletoyoufromanycomputer.

• Reachyourstudentsmoreeffectivelybyusingwebmediaforthedigitalage.

• EarnCRUsbycompletingPRISMledonlineMoodlecourse–eitherBeginningMoodleorIntermediateMoodlecoursesareavailabletoyouatnocostseveraltimesthroughouttheyear.

• Selectfromfreelearningresourcesthatemphasizevisualization,richcontext,staged-problemsolving,andelectronicallyenabledcollaboration/communication.

• Augmentyourowndynamicpresenceintheclassroomwithteachingtoolsthatmirrortheskillsneededforsuccessinhighereducationandthe21stCenturyworkplace.

Through our strong support from the Lilly Endowment

and others, we are constant-ly growing and improving. Check our site regularly to

see what new resources you can use in your classroom.

www.rose-prism.org

www.rose-prism.org

PRISM isa freewebsite thatprovidescollectionsofonline resourcesforIndianaeducatorsinthefieldsofscience,technology,engineering,and mathematics (STEM). The primary collection of digital teachingmaterialsisindexedaccordingtotheIndianaAcademicStandardsfor6th,7th,and8thgradeandsecondaryeducationcourses.