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.