What would you ask an Astronaut?

WonderWorks is hosting an “Ask An Astronaut” online event, where retired NASA astronaut Dr. Don Thomas will answer questions that have been submitted by the public. Teachers and students are encouraged to submit their questions now, and Dr. Thomas will answer as many as he can in a video interview that will be shared on social media on October 2, 2021 at 10 a.m. EST.

All these questions and many more will be answered when Dr. Thomas hosts the Q&A session that will be posted on WonderWorks’ social media. Teachers are encouraged to have students submit questions and watch the event. To submit a question for Dr. Don Thomas, visit the site: https://www.wonderworksonline.com/survey/.

What a magic school bus can teach us about science education

A school bus full of third graders sits stranded, submerged in a dense, sticky substance with no way to escape. Then someone comes up with an idea. They add baking soda to a vial of vinegar and top it with a balloon. The mixing of the two substances causes an immediate chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide, inflating the balloon and lifting them to safety. Ms. Frizzle’s students have once again used science to get them out of a jam -- this time in the form of a cake.

Twenty years ago, four-year-old Alex Peterson was on the edge of her seat watching Ms. Frizzle and her class escape from being baked inside a cake on the "Ready, Set, Dough" episode of "The Magic School Bus."

"I loved baking when I was a kid. Watching those air bubbles form, it just clicked for me that chemistry is what makes cakes, and I realized that this is what I wanted to do," says Peterson, now a doctoral student in biochemistry at the University of Maryland. "I have a very vivid memory from the third grade of looking at the schedule and counting down the time to science class because I just couldn't wait to do science in 'real-life.'"

Peterson in her lab (left) and dressed up as Ms. Frizzle with her cat dressed up as Liz for Halloween (right)

In her university lab, Peterson studies the enzymes that form biofilm, a slimy buildup of microorganisms that can grow on all types of surfaces, from teeth and buildings to pacemakers and ponds. She's looking for a way to effectively break down the notoriously impenetrable substance, which can make it hard for medications to reach the infections they need to treat. Finding a way to reduce biofilms could make treatments more effective. When asked about the effect "The Magic School Bus" had on her current career path in science, Peterson says, "It's absolutely why I'm a chemist."

Twenty-five years ago, Scholastic's "The Magic School Bus" veered off the written page and into our television sets, bringing with it a credo that emphasized taking chances, making mistakes, and getting messy. Support from the National Science Foundation helped bring the celebrated book series to the airwaves and to young viewers like Peterson, sitting frog-legged on living room floors across the country.

Sandy Welch was the director of education at PBS when the network picked up "The Magic School Bus" as part of its portfolio of children's programming.

"We were excited because it was the first fully animated science show," Welch says. "I was excited to see a teacher featured, and not just any teacher -- [Ms. Frizzle] was a delight!"

Welch says Ms. Frizzle helped inspire teachers to use the programming in their classrooms.

Today, Welch is part of a division in NSF’s education directorate dedicated to providing funding for children's media programs that focus on STEM education. It supports the agency's multi-decade effort to boost science learning beyond the classroom, where research has shown most learning takes place.

"We know that children learn intuitively and that a lot of it happens in an informal setting," says Welch.

NSF supports a wide range of informal STEM programming in museums, through after-school programs and citizen science projects. With mass media, however, there is a potential to reach millions.

According to Welch, for NSF to fund a media program it must meet rigorous criteria. Creators must demonstrate the concept was developed based on existing knowledge of best practices in STEM education and how children learn through media. They must have clearly defined goals on how to interest, engage and impact learners. They must have a way to evaluate the program's impact.

And they must be innovative.

"Our program is explicit that we want to fund innovation," Welch says. "We are looking for proposals that experiment with new technology, a new approach, a new distribution platform. We're willing to fund things that may be risky -- like a new platform that hasn't been tried but seems to hold promise."

"The Magic School Bus," "3-2-1 Contact," "Reading Rainbow," "Zoom" and "Bill Nye the Science Guy" were just a few of the early NSF-funded shows that took an innovative approach to bringing science to life on the small screen.

Courtesy Peep and the Big Wide World/ PBS Kids

Today, NSF-funded shows like "Cyberchase" SciGirls" "Peep and the Big Wide World" "Peg + Cat "Design Squad" "Splash and Bubbles" and others continue to break new ground in children's science learning through media.

"Peep and the Big Wide World," for example, was one of the first programs to show that toddlers could learn basic science concepts and skills like measuring, comparing, and estimating through television shows geared toward their age group.

Courtesy SciGirls/PBS Kids

"SciGirls" was launched in response to the fact that women in the U.S. remain underrepresented in STEM, especially in fields like engineering and the computer sciences. The show engages tween viewers in STEM by following a group of real-world girls as they predict, observe, experiment, and otherwise don their "scientist hats" to understand the world around them.

Many of today's shows have also been adapted to a multimedia and mobile world, augmenting their TV programming with innovative web content and downloadable apps. Kids who love "Cyberchase," a show designed to make math fun and accessible and that NSF began funding in the late 1990s, can now access educational games, videos, and hands-on activities via the "Cyberchase" webpage on the PBS Kids website and through apps. The webpage for "Design Squad," another NSF-funded show on PBS, offers a short video on how to make everything from a two-wheeled balloon car to bristle bots made from toothbrush heads

Through on-screen characters like Peep, Peg, and Digit, and with access to hands-on activities and other innovative science content, NSF is ensuring quality science programming reaches newer generations of Alex Petersons, inspiring them to become scientists or -- at the very least -- to take chances, make mistakes and get messy!

Posted with permission from NSF

GeoInquiries - standards-based inquiry activities for teaching map-based content

GeoInquiries is a website from Ersi. It has a number of activities for Earth Science and Environmental Science, among others. The nice thing about these activities is that they are usually around 15 minutes long so they can easily be used as time fillers or bell ringers. GeoInquiries are composed of three parts: a PDF teacher guide, an interactive webmap, and an optional student worksheet. Each lesson follows the 5 E guidelines and is mapped to the NGSS.

PhET meets PowerPoint

I've talked about PhET before, so you know that I love it! In case you don't know what it is, it's a website that has simulations that you can use in your physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and mathematics classroom. Many of them are available as part of PhET's free PowerPoint Add-in.

While at first I found this add-in I didn't think much of it. I didn't see the value in it when you can just go to the website. While this is true, the great thing about this add in is that you can use the simulations just like you were on the website but you don't need to leave your PowerPoint presentation.

56 of the PhET simulations are available to insert into PowerPoint presentations through the use of the add-in . With the Add-in installed you can browse the available simulations and insert them into your slides. The simulations work in your slide just as they do on the PhET website.  A note about the add-in; if you are in a Microsoft school your Microsoft admin may have turned off the ability to use add-in or may have to approve them.  So if you are having trouble finding the add in, please reach out to your tech admin. 

Short videos on the science topics you teach

I have always liked showing videos as part of my science classes, but I don't want to spend a whole period showing a video.  Plus, we know that the kids won't pay attention to a video that long anyway.  Check123 is a great site for finding short videos.  All areas are represented, but of course we all care about the science section. ;-)

The videos are all less than 4 minutes long.  You can do a search for what you are looking for and even narrow down the results based on the length of the video you are looking for.  For the most part these videos are hosted on YouTube, so if this is blocked in your school it won't work.  (On a side note, if it's blocked in your school you should really talk to the powers that be because it's a valuable teaching tool!)

What's one of your go to site for find videos for your classroom?

USGS Water Science School - Website for water education for students and adults

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has recently revised its web-based water-science education tool, The USGS Water Science School, where students can learn all about water, from what it is, to where and how much there is, to the most in-depth discussions of the natural water cycle anywhere. 

The Water Science School offers several main topic areas: 

• Water Basics
• Water Properties
• Natural Water Cycle (Posters and information in over 60 languages!)
• Surface Water
• Groundwater
• Water Quality
• Water Use
• Activity Center
• Photo Galleries
• Water Q&A
• Teacher Resources
• Water Dictionary

If you have questions or comments, please contact:

Tara Gross, tgross@usgs.gov or Howard Perlman, hperlman@usgs.gov

Introducing students to the scientific method

One thing I love and hate to do with my students is to teach them to create their own experiments.  I love doing it because the students come up with the craziest ideas and they get to get a sense of what scientists really do.  I hate it because it it's difficult for the students and they resist it.  In the end I am happy with the work that most of my students put into the assignment (you can't get them all, lol)  I try to have a collection of ideas to provide an example for my students and also for those groups who are not able to come up with their own.  Scientific American has a great article that outlines an experiment just as how I would like my student to.  I like to share this with students before we begin so that they can get an idea about what I am expecting.

Where do you get ideas from? 

Free Online Textbooks

“I can’t find my textbook!” “I don’t remember getting a textbook.” Does this sound familiar to you? That is what I kept hearing at the end of every year. Then I would have to go through a big hassle of collecting money from student to repurchase the outdated textbooks that I had. I hated having to worry about students losing textbooks or that I was always replacing textbooks that I didn’t even want that included too much information or not enough information. Enter FlexBooks. FlexBooks are online textbooks from a company called CK12. I instantly liked them for many reasons, but the two big ones were that I could customize the book and that it could be posted on my website and downloaded by the students. This video does a great job of explaining how they work. While not every subject has a FlexBook they have a large list of books that include math and science books for elementary, middle and high school along with some other areas such as Writing, Astronomy, History and Engineering.

So, this sounds good you say, but how can I really use it in my classroom? I picked out a textbook that I wanted to use and then went through it to delete the things that don’t apply to my curriculum. I also added in some information that wasn’t there that I wanted to make sure my students had in their book. You can also include links to worksheets (CK12 has a workbook that goes along with most of their textbooks). Once it’s created you can save it as a PDF and post it on a web page or e-mail it to students. Even better, students can put the PDF on their computers, phones, Kindles, IPads, Nooks or other eReader. If you don’t want to customize your book you can find select FlexBooks already in Kindle or Nook/IPad/Android format.

Am I convincing you yet? Maybe you want to make sure you have a teacher’s edition to refer to or a book or worksheets or labs. Well, you got it! The workbooks that are available can also be customized so can you make them fit your classroom. I usually post them on my website and the students can have access to them all the time (no more “I lost it.”)

Looking for more? CK12 has a more interactive way of presenting information that allows you pull short concepts along with chapters into an online interactive “book” Many of the concepts include video clips and interactive quizzes.

Do you use textbooks in your classroom? 

crossposted on my Technology Blog - The Tech Savvy Science Teacher

Websites for the Earth Science Classroom

If you have computers in your classroom or access to a computer cart I'm sure that you are always looking for new websites to use with the kids (I know that I am). Here are some sites for you to try out.

Earthquake Monitor - this is a website that allows you to monitor where earthquakes are occurring and what magnitude each is

Visible Geology - this website allows you to visualize various geologic formations such as folding and tilting as well as topographic features. Some of this site might be a bit advanced for middle school students but it's worth a look.

3D Solar System - this site allows you to visit each of the planets and at each planet, you'll find a list of facts and a short blurb about the planet, there is also a narration that can go along with each if you think that will be helpful

If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel? - this a cool site that shows the scale of the universe from the perspective of the moon being one pixel large

NASA--Planets - this site would be great to use in a science/literacy activity. It's a reading about what makes a planet a planet and could provide a good start for a discussion.

Nasa--Climate Change - this site provides a lot of information about climate change and would be good for students who are doing a research project.

Are you a K-12 teacher teaching topics in Earth and Space Science this school year? Do you use media in your classroom? Oregon State University seeking K-12 teachers who will be teaching any of the following topics in Earth, Space or Physical Science in their science instruction in the 2018-2019 school year: Weather and climate (K-12)  Space Science, specifically solar system (K-12) and Kepler’s Laws (9-12)  Earth’s Systems, specifically land and water features, earthquakes, and volcanoes (K-8)  Waves: Light (K-2) ​  ​​Participating teachers will help them gain insights into how these online resources translate to classroom instruction. Teachers who participate in this effort will simply report back to these after they use these resources during the 2018-2019 school year through online questionnaires and focus groups, and in doing so would help them understand whether the resources were helpful in teaching and effective for student engagement and learning. Being a teacher research participant would be accompanied with a formal Certificate of Participation and a small thank you gift. For the past few years, WGBH (Boston’s PBS), in collaboration with NASA*, has been developing educational resources for K-12 teachers that address topics in Earth, Space, and Physical Science and are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. These digital media resources are free and available on PBS LearningMedia. If you believe you will use these resources and are interested in participating in the study, please follow the link below to find more information and the application for participation.

More information

The Science Book - a collection of Interactives for Middle and Elementary students

Science can be hard for younger student to understand I love that this website brings it to like.  While it accompanies a physical book it can completely be used on it's own.  It has video clips and interactive animations that all your students to go inside plants, around the body, deep into the earth and to the depths of space.

Just pick the area of science you want to learn more about, and which type of item you want to try:

• Apply It! – Investigate and research key scientific concepts, just like any real scientist
• Art In Motion – Watch scientific processes come to life with fantastic animations
• Interactive Art – Click on the diagrams to interact with scientific processes
• Real-World Enquiry – See how science is used to help us in the real world
• Untamed Science – Join the Untamed Science crew in these high-energy videos
• Visual Analogy – Understand tricky scientific concepts by comparing them to everyday objects or scenarios

Teaching Rocks, Minerals, and Landforms

I will be honest with you, I don't love Earth Science the same way I do with Biology, Chemistry and Physics.  Don't get me wrong, there are topics that I enjoy, but others I am not so thrilled about.  This being said Earth Science is my weakest area and I sometimes worry I will shortchange the kids when I have to teach these topics   When I can find quality video clips that present these topics I like to incorporate them into my lessons.  It provides a new perspective for my students and also gives them a change of pace in the lesson.  This collection includes videos on landforms, earthquakes, volcanoes, weathering and erosion, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, minerals, rocks, rock cycle, soil and fossil.

Which ones will you use in your class? 

The making of a volcano

I love Live Science and I recently came across an animation they made of the making of Mount Etna and how it shaped the ground around it.  This would be great to show in class and the accompanying article can be made into a literacy activity.

You can check out the animation and read the article here.

Water Cycle Animation in Gorongosa National Park

HHMI created a animation of the water cycle in Gorongosa National Park.  Gorongosa National Park sits at the southern end of Africa’s Great Rift Valley in Mozambique and is centered around Lake Urema. To the northwest, Mount Gorongosa rises almost two thousand meters above sea level. The animations show how these features affect Gorongosa's water cycle, which starts with the evaporation of water from the Indian Ocean.

The animation is available on YouTube and in several different formats to download.  There is also a transcript available to download.

Why Does the Moon Have Phases? - literacy activity

I recently came across a Live Science article entitled Why Does the Moon Have Phases? and thought that I had to figure out a way to use it in my classroom.  With literacy being pushed across the disciplines I am always looking for way to bring short articles into the classroom.   Plus, I like having a stockpile of them so I can use them as sub plans if I need to.
I created a simple worksheet to go along with this article.  You can download it free by clicking here and signing up for my e-mail list.

In addition, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific has some activities that were referenced in the article.  The link in the article doesn't seem to be working, but after a little research I believe I found the resources they are referring to.  This link will take you to them.

Free Online Lab Safety Course

If you are in a school like I was in you, you know that you are not being provided with the lab safety training that is required.  I did some research to find something and I came across the Flinn Online Laboratory Safety Course.  There are two courses: one for middle school and one for high school.  I took both of them (even though there is a lot of overlap) and learned so much!

You might be thinking, "I'm not a Chemistry teacher so this doesn't really apply to me!"  I have found that non-chemistry teachers almost need this more because they have less experience with chemicals and don't always deal with them safely when they do use them.

I'm sure there are no school schools who have perfect lab safety procedures and everyone can learn something from this course.  I also think it's a good refresher for teachers.  I don't recall being taught lab safety techniques when I was in college (either in my science class or my science methods classes).  Hopefully things have changed, but in case they haven't this is a must watch for all science teacher.

Comment below with what training you have had on lab safety.  I'm interested to hear what happen in other schools. 

Teacher Advisor Opportunity! Assist WGBH with a digital media science education project

Teacher Advisor Opportunity! Assist WGBH with a digital media science education project Applications are due February 8, 2017 WGBH, America's premier producer of science content for public media, is on a five-year mission to develop media-rich digital learning resources that will increase students' engagement with science phenomena and practices in the classroom. In collaboration with NASA, WGBH's The Bringing the Universe to America's Classrooms* initiative will distribute resources and professional development experiences that have the potential to impact millions of students and teachers nationally. Because teacher voices are a critical part of our design and production efforts, we developed a teacher advisor program. This is an opportunity for K-12 educators to become teacher advisors in the design and implementation of digital media tools for STEM classrooms. Produced by WGBH, these resources will feature WGBH and NASA content, and will be distributed free of charge through the PBS LearningMedia™ platform. We're looking for 50 teacher advisors across the grades to help us in Year 2 of this mission. If you will be a full-time educator in the 2017-18 school year and expect to teach Earth science topics of weather, land and water (K-5) or weather and climate and geoscience processes (6-12), we invite you to complete this application. The application deadline is February 8, 2017 at 11:59pm EDT. Applicants will be notified of selection by March 2, 2017.    Please be sure to see our information site for further details. Questions? Contact carolyn_jacobs@wgbh.org. Thank you! *This activity is funded by NASA under cooperative agreement award No. NNX16AD71A.  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

14 Free Space Posters from NASA - Visions from the Future

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory website has created 14 different space posters that you can use in your classroom. Each one is available for you to download as either a small PDF file or a high quality TIFF file. The different posters cover topics such as specific planets, moons and space expeditions. In addition, each poster has a short description of the poster and give you some background information on the context. 

From the JPL website. "A creative team of visual strategists at JPL, known as "The Studio," created the poster series, which is titled "Visions of the Future." Nine artists, designers, and illustrators were involved in designing the 14 posters, which are the result of many brainstorming sessions with JPL scientists, engineers, and expert communicators. Each poster went through a number of concepts and revisions, and each was made better with feedback from the JPL experts." You can learn more about each poster's author and concept on their about page.

Do you hang posters around your classroom? What are some of your favorites?

Earth's Motion Stations

When I teach Earth's motion to my 8th grade students, they think they understand it, but often get confused.  Rotation and revolution confuses them and I have to battle their misconceptions on the reason that we have seasons.  I have put together 10 different activities for my students and created a rotation for them to move through them.  Not all students will do all ten stations as it depends on their level.  My high achieving students will get to all ten of the stations, but my lower achieving students will only get to six.  This allows me to challenge the students who can grasp the material quickly and still give other students who need it, the extra time they'll need.

My ten stations include several worksheets, a mini lab and notes on Earth's Motion and the Seasons that I record videos of so students can watch at their own pace and rewind when needed.

One resource I came across after I taught these lessons was a common core aligned reading followed with comprehension questions about seasons.  You can find it here.   Some of the items I made myself and have posted them online.  I find that the kids really like Reasons for the Seasons station as they get get to talk to other teachers as part of it. 

Phases of the Moon Webquest

Last week I had some of my students complete a phases of the moon webquest. I say some of my students, because I have been differentiating my classroom assignments and so not all students do every assignment as they are at different levels.

What I like about this is that it hits many learning styles. PBS has a great site that is included in the webquest. You can check this out here. After I had the students go through that with some questions they moved onto to drawing the phases of the moon. I like to think of it as a cross between a little doodling and coloring. It's an easy task to let the kids feel like they are getting a break. The whole activity ends with students looking up what the phase of the moon on the day that they were born. A site like this can be used.

Feel free to take this idea and make it your own, but if you would like to get the one that I made up you can find it on Syllabuy.

Take a look at my other lessons