HGSS CBA / Science with Primary Source Set: Natural Disasters

Natural Disasters—a set of primary source documents for middle and high school teachers from the Library of Congress (LOC)—features 18 artifacts (including pictures, maps, films, recordings, sheet music, and newspaper articles) documenting various natural disasters. For example, the set includes a bird’s-eye map of Chicago after the Great Fire of 1871; an iconic image of the Johnstown Flood in 1889; and a film simulating the aftermath of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, which led to fires across the city. The primary sources document historic natural disasters before, during, and after the events and provide an entry point for students to learn about these impactful historical events as well as to investigate topics such as climate science and community response and involvement surrounding an event. To view the images in the collection—and to access an accompanying Teacher’s Guide with background information, suggestions for working with these primary sources in the classroom, and links to additional resources on natural disasters from the LOC—read the post from the blog Teaching With the LOC and select the hyperlink for Natural Disasters. Learn more here: Link

National Geographic Explorer Classroom Events

These free, live interactive sessions for grades K–2 and 3–8 bring National Geographic Explorers—scientists and researchers from around the world—to your classroom. Students will hear behind-the-scenes stories and interact with experts. September sessions will feature the theme “Conserving Ecosystems.” In October, sessions will address the theme “Water Conservation.” Events for grades K–2 happen on Mondays at 11 a.m. ET; events for grades 3–8 take place on Thursdays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET. Classes can be featured on screen in Zoom or watch the session live on YouTube. Educators will receive an instructional guide to accompany the session. Learn more here: LINK

Sifting Sand Activity

Sand in a sandbox, at the beach, in a park, or in a container placed on the floor provides a positive sensory exploration for many children. Sifting Sand, an activity for students ages 0–5 developed by educators at the STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education (STEMI2E2) Center, presents ideas and adaptations to maximize the learning benefits of working with sand with young students of various physical abilities and cognitive skill sets. The activity includes open-ended and guiding questions to ask during sand play and a list of sand-related children’s trade books to extend learning. The activity also features visual cue cards and other suggestions for adapting the environment, materials, and teaching practices to accommodate students with disabilities. Learn more here: LINK

Kansas Science and Engineering Fair

While the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have implemented 8 Science and Engineering Practices; we know that there is still merit in students (especially elementary students) going through opportunities to discuss and conduct scietific thinking. Did you know that Kansas has a Science and Engineering Fair that happens every spring? Science fairs are a great opportunity to promote cross curricular learning as students write their reports and practice their speaking and learning skills. It is also a GREAT opportunity to build their elementary IPS portfolios. Learn more about the Kansas fair here (Link) and please reach out if I can help with this in any way.

Vernier Science Education Inspiration Grants

Innovative STEM educators who engage—or want to engage—their students through creative implementation of Vernier technology may apply for this new grant program. Vernier will award 10 grants this year. Each grant will include $1,000 in Vernier technology, a one-year license for the Vernier Graphical Analysis™ Pro app, and three hours of virtual professional development. Applicants must be educators who are actively teaching in a K–college educational institution within the United States and who have never received a Vernier grant.

Grants will be awarded based on purpose and need of request. (Deadline November 30). Learn more here: (LINK)

Society for Science’s STEM Research Grants

STEM Research Grants provide support to teachers engaging their students in grades 6–12 in authentic scientific research. Teachers can apply for up to $5,000 to purchase specialized equipment or $1,000 in preselected equipment, including Arduino starter kits, camera traps, and PocketLab sensors. Priority consideration is given to schools that support students from low-income communities and demographics underrepresented in STEM fields. Learn more about the program and apply here. (Deadline October 31)

Colorful Solutions: Chemical Engineering Dyes

In this lesson, students in grades 8–12 will learn to think like chemical engineers as they study three dye technologies: Tyrian Purple (a 4,000-year-old dyeing method that uses sea snails); Tānekaha Red (a traditional Māori dye derived from tree bark); and mauveine (the first synthetic dye—created from fossil fuels—and invented by a teenager in the 19th century). The lesson has three parts, each expected to take about one 45-minute class period.

In Part 1, groups of students will read an article about a dye technology, fill out a concept map to understand the chemical process described, and teach this process to their group mates. Part 2 builds on students’ understanding of these dye technologies by challenging them to work in groups to solve an engineering puzzle: Using a set of cards representing steps in a dyeing process, students will figure out the correct sequence for all three dye technologies. Each step also has an associated cost, and students will add up the costs, calculate a starting price, and begin to reflect on the pros and cons of each technology.

In Part 3, students acting as chemical engineers have to choose one of these technologies, taking into account a wide variety of factors. Ultimately, this lesson aims to broaden students’ conception of what technology is and to better understand the value of engineering, whether or not they decide to pursue it as a career. Learn more about the program here: Link

Youth Incentive Award

The Coleopterists Society, an international organization of professionals and hobbyists interested in the study of beetles, has established a program to recognize young people studying beetles. The Society has pledged to provide up to $1200 each year for the Youth Incentive Award Program. The Junior award is a monetary grant of $400 and the Senior award is $800. In addition, award recipients will each receive a one-year subscription to the society journal, The Coleopterists Bulletin

This is for children of grades 7-12 only.

The objectives of the Youth Incentive Award are to:

• provide encouragement and assistance to young beetle enthusiasts (grades 7-12).

• promote the study of beetles, the most diverse group of insects, as a rewarding lifelong avocation or career.

• provide opportunities for young people to develop important life skills such as leadership, cooperation, communication, planning and conducting a scientific study, grant writing and managing funds.

• provide some financial support to enrich activities or projects.

A Youth Incentive Award Committee from the Coleopterists Society will evaluate the applications and will select up to two winners annually; one each in junior (grades 7-9) and senior (grades 10-12) categories. The selection committee invites proposals for topics such as field collecting trips to conduct beetle species inventories or diversity studies, attending workshops or visiting entomology or natural history museums for special training and projects on beetles, studying aspects of beetle biology, etc. The proposed activities or projects will be evaluated on their degree of creativity, educational benefit to the applicant, scientific merit, feasibility and budgetary planning. This Award is for proposals by individuals only. Each applicant is strongly encouraged to find an adult advisor (teacher, youth group leader, parent, etc.) to provide guidance in proposal development, but the proposal MUST be written by the applicant. The Coleopterists Society would also be happy to assist in establishing contacts between youth and professional Coleopterists.

Additional details and application forms for The Coleopterists Society Youth Incentive Award Program can be obtained from: Dr. David G. Furth; Entomology, NHB, MRC 165; P.O. Box 37012; Smithsonian Institution; Washington, D. C. 20013-7012 (phone: 202-633-0990, FAX: 202-786-2894, email: furthd@si.edu). Also check The Coleopterists Society WebPage: https://www.coleopsoc.org/society-info/prizes-and-awards/

Applications for this year must be submitted by 1 November 2022.

Save the date: April 15, 2023 for a multi-section meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Contact: Larry.Browning@sdtate.edu for additional information

Time & Location

Nov 04, 8:00 AM CDT – Nov 06, 12:00 PM CST

The Kauffman Foundation Conference Center, 4801 Rockhill Rd, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA

About the Event

The 2022 Kansas & Missouri Environmental Education Conference will be held at the Kauffman Foundation Center in Kansas City, Missouri on Friday, November 4th - Saturday, November 5th. There is an (optional) field experience on Sunday, November 6th.

For information on hotel accomodations and other conference information, click here.

PLEASE NOTE: All conference presenters and attendees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and able to show proof of vaccination.

Learn more here: LINK

NASA is calling on middle and high school students to join the second NASA TechRise Student Challenge. Students in sixth to 12th grades attending a U.S. public, private, or charter school –including those in U.S. territories –are challenged to team up with their schoolmates to design an experiment for a high-altitude balloon under the guidance of an educator. The challenge offers hands-on insight into the design and test process used by NASA-supported researchers. Teams should submit their experiment ideas by October 24th, 2022. Sixty winning teams will be selected and awarded $1,500 to build their experiment, an assigned spot to test it on a high-altitude balloon flight, and technical support from Future Engineers. To learn more about this exciting opportunity and get involved as a student, educator, or judge, visit NASA TechRise Student Challenge, and sign up for the Educator Event on August 27^th, 2022 and a Student Virtual Field Trip in September!

To help prepare new teachers and coaches for the 2023 Kansas KidWind Challenge, the Kansas Energy Program has scheduled the following six wind energy teacher workshops across the state. There is no cost to attend! Each person attending the workshop will receive a substitute stipend (if necessary), reimbursement for mileage to/from the workshop and your school, lunch, and a Vernier KidWind Basic Wind Experiment Kit (valued at $129). Learn more about KidWind with this quick overview video.

Follow the links below for more details and registration:

• Oct. 25 (Tues) – Oakley Oct. 26 (Wed) – Dodge City Oct. 26 (Wed) – Manhattan

• Oct. 27 (Thur) – Marion Nov. 2 (Wed) – Olathe Nov. 3 (Thur) – Iola