Coweta Science Update

If you teach physical science or oceanography, you may also be interested in the Soundscapes Workshop sponsored by the GA Association of Marine Educators. See the flyer attached. I typically don’t promote anything that cost money, but this is only $10.

Across every ocean, marine organisms from tiny fish to enormous whales rely on producing and hearing sound for their survival. But increasing human activity within the ocean over the last century has also meant increasing anthropogenic noise contributing to oceanic soundscapes.

Channel Islands and Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuaries have been hot spots for passive acoustic monitoring for years. While the two sanctuary ecosystems are quite different, they use standardized data collection and analysis methods to characterize baseline sound levels and to describe the acoustic ecology of species of interest, like fish.

During this workshop we will explore how Channel Islands and Grays Reef sanctuaries are characterizing their soundscapes, what they have discovered, and what they are still seeking to understand. The presenters will highlight resources available for educators to use when teaching about soundscapes.

Format: Live videoconference using Go To Meeting*

Costs: Free for GAME members & $10 for non-GAME members

Questions: contact Kim Morris-Zarneke at kim.morriszarneke@dnr.ga.gov or 770-784-3059

*Connection details and materials will be sent to registered participants approximately one week prior to the event.

Join virtual specialists, Stephanie Miles (Carrol Co. Schools) and Owen Nix (Effingham Co. Schools) on March 3rd, 4:00 – 4:30 ish for a panel discussion and Q&A. Come discuss these topics with your colleagues: learning more about our virtual PLC communities, student voice/engagement and how to have students obtain, evaluate & communicate in the high school science call. Register!

The Chattahoochee River Keeper group is excited to offer this to students and teachers who are currently unable to participate in field trips. And once school groups return for field trips, the virtual activities will continue to add value to the program by providing an in-depth pre-trip learning experience. For more information, see the attached press release.

VFC Webpage: https://chattahoochee.org/our-work/floating-classroom/virtualfloatingclassroom/

VFC Lesson Plan: https://chattahoochee.org/virtual-floating-classroom-lesson-plan-2-2-2021/

VFC Information: https://chattahoochee.org/virtual-floating-classroom-one-pager-2-2-2021/

The STEMAZing Project offers high-quality professional development resources—including lesson plans, pedagogical articles, and publications—to support preK–12 STEM teaching and learning. The project was founded to support Arizona-based STEM educators; however, many of its resources are useful for instructors in any location. Visit the website to browse resource collections culled by master teachers and grouped by theme (e.g., “Girls in STEM”; “Sciencing and Engineering Journals”; “Toys, Apps, and Games”; and “Videos”) or grade level. Of particular interest are the collections of resources for Spanish-speaking teachers and students; select “Recursos STEMAZing en español” or “Colección de lecciones para jóvenes estudiantes” to access dozens of Spanish-language STEM lesson plans and other STEM-related teaching materials.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) STEM Education department has a collection of interactive online K–12 educational resources for families and teachers. Perfect for at-home and distance-learning environments, the activities are designed be completed in about 45 minutes or less, and cover a range of STEM topics. You’ll find resources such as STEMTalks videos highlighting dynamic STEM careers like biomedical engineer and zookeeping, and at-home experiments that build engineering skills (Cargo Challenge, Wings of Flight, Hunting Hurricanes, Invertebrate Hotels). Each activity is presented in a simple, three-part format (Materials, Steps, and To Learn and Do More) and includes embedded links for more information.

Engage students in grades 3–12 in investigating local weather conditions over time with this mini lesson from My NASA Data. In the activity, students track and record daily atmospheric conditions and/or temperatures on a downloadable paper chart or an interactive online bar chart. Students then use the tool to further analyze and interpret weather data. The activity includes links to related lessons on Analyzing Surface Temperature Differences and Changing Air Temperatures, as well as an interview with weather forecaster Janel Thomas to introduce students to dynamic careers in STEM, such as meteorology.

Help your students stay current on engaging science research with the fast-paced science video series Four Awesome Discoveries You Probably Didn’t Hear About This Week, produced by the National Science Foundation (NSF). From singing robots to odd animals to medical marvels, the videos present quick summaries of scientific breakthroughs and research discoveries pulled from the headlines of the nation’s top science journals. Most appropriate for ages 13 and up, the more than 40 short (less than three minutes each) videos are designed to spark curiosity and inspire students’ inner scientist while highlighting notable discoveries from NSF-funded research projects.

NASA’s SCaN Program has developed downloadable K–8 choice boards exploring space communications and navigation technology topics from engineering to satellites and beyond. Versioned for grades K–2, 3–5, and 6–8, the SCaN boards offer nine different activities centered on math, science, reading, and drawing at each grade level. K–2 activities include tasks such as writing a letter to an astronaut to share three things about living in space; making a poster to teach classmates or family members fun facts about space; or recording a video with an Artemis astronaut asking what they’ll do on their mission to the Moon. Students in grades 3–5 can choose from experiences such as using old magazine pages to create a collage of items an astronaut brings on a mission; working with a partner to write space-themed riddles; or watching a video to compare making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in space with making a sandwich on Earth. Choices for grades 6–8 include researching Tracking and Data Relay Satellites online, then designing your own satellite using materials found around home; writing and editing a television commercial featuring facts about how NASA communicates with satellites; or creating a comic strip to explain aspects of space communication.

Inspire future space explorers with classroom activities from NASA’s Artemis Program’s Moon to Mars initiative. A series of Educator Guides—targeted for grades 5–8 and supporting the NGSS—present engineering design challenges exploring the NASA spacecraft and transportation systems that enable humans to travel to the Moon and eventually to Mars. One guide, Crew Transportation With Orion, introduces the Orion spacecraft through challenges such as designing and building a crew module model; constructing and testing a model of a target docking system and crew module; and designing a heat shield to protect the contents of a crew module during a simulated atmospheric reentry. Another guide, Propulsion With the Space Launch System, focuses on rocketry and features challenges such as designing fins for a foam rocket to increase its stability and building an air-powered water rocket to find the optimal amount of water volume to air pressure for producing maximum thrust. The Habitation With Gateway guide presents engineering design activities to introduce NASA’s future lunar habitat.

Introduce K–12 students to more than 20 dynamic careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) with video profiles produced by the STEM Careers Coalition and Discovery Education. The profiles highlight professional adults working in various STEM industries and roles and can help students see how STEM skills can be used to make a difference in the world. The videos run less than five minutes long and include Career Profile sheets with relevant statistics for the position (job outlook, salary, education, etc.), as well as Student Activation activities to learn more about a particular field and discover personal interests that connect to it. Interviewees include Boeing aircraft maintenance technician Brandon James; engineering project manager Antoine Sande, from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; Microsoft program manager Wadood Daoud; Chevron drilling engineer Jesica Holley; and senior policy advisor Uni Blake, from the American Petroleum Institute.

There’s still time to join the adventure with 1,088,574 students worldwide! In honor of a successful Mars landing, we’re rolling out two additional weeks of the Mission to Mars Student Challenge! These bonus weeks can be done any time and even extended over a longer period of time. After all, the Perseverance rover mission is planned to last more than two Earth years. Register today to receive guided education plans with resources from NASA to engage students in the Perseverance rover mission on Mars!

Perseverance, NASA's most advanced Mars rover to date, is continuing NASA’s investigation of the Red Planet. Only the fifth NASA rover destined for Mars, Perseverance is designed to build on the work and scientific discoveries of its predecessors. Bring the exciting engineering and science of this mission to students in the classroom and at home with STEM lessons and do-it-yourself projects covering topics such as biology, geology, physics, mathematics, engineering, coding and language arts.

The Perseverance mission launched on July 30, 2020. After touching down on the Red Planet Feb. 18, 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will scour Jezero Crater to help us understand its geologic history and search for signs of past microbial life. But the six-wheeled robot won't be looking just at the surface of Mars: The rover will peer deep below it with a ground-penetrating radar called RIMFAX. Unlike similar instruments aboard Mars orbiters, which study the planet from space, RIMFAX will be the first ground-penetrating radar set on the surface of Mars. This will give scientists much higher-resolution data than space-borne radars can provide while focusing on the specific areas that Perseverance will explore. Taking a more focused look at this terrain will help the rover's team understand how features in Jezero Crater formed over time. Learn more about how Perseverance Rover will peer beneath Mars' surface here.

This mission is a fantastic opportunity to engage students in real-world problem solving across the STEM fields. Learn about the mission including the rover, Perseverance, and the helicopter, Ingenuity. Use this cheat sheet for mission-based #CountdowntoMars factoids.

Download the interactive virtual landing packet to learn more about the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover landing.

Looking for digital curriculum and teaching tools to enhance students’ engineering skills and mindset? FIRST@Home on Scoutlier, an innovative lesson design and delivery app, works on any device. The app features ready-to-use lessons and activities for grades 2–12 exploring topics such as the engineering design process, robotics, and coding. The lessons and activities are designed so that teachers can scaffold learning and students can document their understandings in multiple modes (text, video, data, etc.). The activities can be completed individually or in collaboration, used as stand-alone lessons, or bundled together as a series to deepen students’ STEM understandings.

Lessons for grades 2–4 include Over Rover, in which students design a pathway and code a Mars rover to recover misplaced supplies, and Test It! in Maze, in which students use the engineering design process to create a device to retrieve a delivery at their front door. Students in grades 4–8 can create a digital escape room (Code Your Escape) and learn how to take a design from simple sketch to full prototype (Soda Can Design). Algorithms has students in grades 7–12 design a game based on algorithms from their everyday life. Visit the website for video tutorials on using the app and to preview more available lessons. The website has more than a dozen activities for each grade span. (Note: Free registration is required to access the complete lesson content.)

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has K–12 educational resources to support Chemists Celebrate Earth Week (CCEW), taking place April 19–24. This year’s theme is “Reducing Our Footprint With Chemistry,” and the materials include lesson plans, outreach activities, toolkits, and career resources produced by ACS and other chemistry associations and groups, such as the American Association of Chemistry Teachers, Chem Matters magazine, and the Earth Day Network.

Elementary learners can explore the topic through activities such as Find the Footprint of Your Favorite Snack, or Be Cool With Insulation!, while middle level students can investigate how Carbon Dioxide Can Make a Solution Acidic, then apply their observations to develop understandings about the problem of ocean acidification. In the Greenhouse Gas Simulation lab, middle and high school students explore the effects of carbon dioxide in the air on temperature by analyzing two simulations of the Earth’s atmosphere, a control model and a model with an increased presence of carbon dioxide gas. The Meg A. Mole Career Profiles, of interest to all ages, introduce students to chemists working in various positions and fields of study from university research and business corporations to federal agencies and more.

Encourage. ENGAGE. Empower.

Have a topic that you would like to explore with your colleagues?

Submit a session proposal for NSTA Engage: Spring21 and share your idea! The deadline to submit is February 16, so make sure you get your proposal in early. Learn more about the conference strands, including our new session option, virtual hands-on workshops.

Be a part of the NSTA’s premier event of the year—Engage: Spring21!

GaDOE has launched a new innovative platform to provide the opportunity for science teachers and GaDOE staff to collaborate, connect and share thoughts and resources as well as encouragement for the 2020-2021 school year! The instructions below will help guide you in the creation of your account and navigating to the virtual professional learning communities that you are interested in.

Step 1: To get started, visit the GaDOE community website via this link, select "Create an Account" and follow the prompts for setting up a new account on the platform.

Step 2: Once you have completed your account you will have to wait briefly for activation/approval. Once approved, you are ready to join a group! Navigate to the "Groups" section. For science teachers and leader, there are several groups available to join: Select and join the groups you are most interested in.

Below are the codes for the Coweta Science Google Classrooms. Be sure to join for the latest info and update. Google Classroom will be the primary manner I communicate with teachers in Coweta County.

Help me to help you! Let me know who you are, where and what you teach. I'll share the directory with everyone so you can form your own learning communities. Just click on this link. Easy-peasy!

Looking for help in teaching online (or in person)? Want to master Google Classroom? Want to know how to make a Bitmoji interactive page like all of your friends? Look no further than the CCSS Professional Learning Website. Its your one stop shop for professional learning!

Please contact Dr. Donald White with any questions or comments.

Email: donald.white@cowetaschools.net
Website: https://sites.google.com/cowetaschools.net/coweta-science/home
Location: 167 Werz Industrial Boulevard, Newnan, GA 30263
Phone: 770-254-2800
Twitter: @dwhitesciguy