The Georgia DOE has released a public version of the TRL. That means you can access the Essential Toolkit which includes instructional segments for many of our science subjects without having to go through the SLDS. Click on "How do I Teach?" to see the instructional segments. Click on "Did they Learn?" for resources related to Milestones assessments. Click on "Need to Know" for general science resources from the DOE like FAQs and more.

The DOE Science Department will be releasing quarterly newsletters. The newsletters will contain new resources and information for Georgia science educators. You can find the newsletter in the TRL under "Need to Know". You can see the Fall issue by clicking here.

The 30th Annual Give Wildlife a Chance Poster Contest is available to all K-5 students in the state of Georgia but it aligns very well to 3rd Grade Science GSE S3L1: Obtain, evaluate, & communicate information about the similarities & differences between plants, animals, and habitats found within geographic regions of GA. See the website for details. https://georgiawildlife.com/PosterContest

A Forest For Every Classroom (FFEC) is a place-based service learning program led by educators both within their schools and beyond. It enables K-12 teachers to transform traditional classroom teaching into highly effective and exciting learning opportunities in the outdoors, using the local community and environment as a starting point to teach curricular content in language arts, math, social studies, science and other subjects. The FFEC program emphasizes hands-on real world learning experiences.

Through a FREE two-day workshop in the beautiful north Georgia mountains, teachers develop curriculum that increases student literacy skills and fosters student understanding of lands in their communities. Curricula integrate hands-on study of the natural and cultural resources, addressing concepts in ecology, sense of place, land management and stewardship, and civics.

Check out the website for more details

Looking for innovative science assessments that align to 3D teaching? Check out the Institute for Innovative Assessment website. There are sample assessments for elementary, middle, and high school biology and chemistry. The sample assessment include interactive elements that are similar to the types of questions students will see on the 5th grade, 8th grade, and HS Biology and Physical Science Milestones tests.

Explore, learn about, and document your geologic surroundings with the Rockd App (iPhone/iPad click here)! Whether you are a professional geoscientist or curious about the rocks around you and the stories they tell, Rockd allows you to explore and learn about the geologic record, contribute your own observations, and log your journey through the geologic record.

Features:
- Instant access to geologic and geographic summaries of your current location via a Dashboard
- Interactive global access to more than 140 geologic maps, with more being added weekly
- See your past location and explore paleogeographic maps from C.R. Scotese and GPlates
- Explore published literature containing mentions of mapped geologic units (when available) via GeoDeepDive
- Elevation data for most points on Earth from SRTM, GMTED, NED and ETOPO1
- Add your own field observations even offline; tag features from Macrostrat and the Paleobiology Database
- Record strike/dip or trend/plunge for geologic features, using your phone's compass
- Track your progress through the geologic record privately, or share it with others
- See the public activity of other users and share your own and other public checkins using unique URLs

This space-themed activity guide for grades 3–8 was developed by the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory’s education team. Appropriate for both formal and informal education settings, the downloadable guide introduces students to life aboard the ISS through six hands-on activities and accompanying online resources. The science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)–based activities support the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Common Core learning standards and address topics such as measuring distances to space destinations, mission patch design, engineering and launching rockets, training for a spacewalk, exploring science through building a space station. Highlights from the online extensions include a blog, ISS 360, and the Science Time From Space video series, which features astronauts on the ISS conducting experiments on basic science concepts.

Developed by Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), the Seismographs in Schools (SIS) program promotes awareness of earthquake activity around the world and provides opportunities to teach with real-time data and real-world examples. At the SIS website, K–16 educators can access lessons, animations, activities, and other resources to explore seismic behavior with students of all levels from elementary to undergraduate. For example, IRIS Teachable Moments are educational PowerPoint presentations created about various earthquakes occurring around the globe. The presentations feature interpreted USGS regional tectonic maps and summaries, computer animations, seismograms, AP photos, and other event-specific information and can be adapted to meet the needs of learners at various levels. In addition, the activity Build Your Own Seismograph—which works as a teacher demonstration for elementary and middle levels and as a small-group activity for high school and undergraduate levels—helps students better understand how a seismograph works and how to read the recordings of ground motion on a seismogram.

This interactive learning experience for high school students—produced by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) in partnership with Oregon Public Broadcasting, with National Science Foundation funding—explores the factors contributing to the spread of Ebola infection and shows students how these factors interact to produce an epidemic. While the model focuses on Ebola virus disease, the same factors apply to many other viral infections, including those common in the United States. The interdisciplinary resource connects to concepts related to evolution, mathematics, and social sciences, and addresses selected disciplinary core ideas, science practices, and crosscutting concepts from the Next Generation Science Standards.

BSCS has rewritten the introduction to include information as recent as August 2019. They have also included a new story from a survivor from the 2014-2016 outbreak and made adjustments to the maps/graphs to make them more functional.

Climate Kids has information, games, activities, and videos that help students in grades 4–6,explore the answers to the "big questions" about climate change: How do we know the climate is changing? What can we do to help? What's the big deal about carbon? Information on related careers is also provided. The Teach section contains a host of climate-related teaching resources, including lessons, activities, image galleries, links, and a tool for developing lessons that support the Next Generation Science Standards.

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!

Don't miss out on new resources and freebies! Join the Science Google Classrooms! Use the class codes listed below.

Elementary: uz7l4 (that's a lowercase L...not a 1)

Middle: wumkvdb

High: s0ei0d (those are zeros...not Os)

Click on this link to see a list of the scheduled professional learning dates for science this year. Other dates for specific activities (Innovation Expo, Science Olympiad, etc.) will be scheduled and sent out via email and newsletter.

The West Georgia RESA STEM Conference is coming up September 12 & 13 at the Peachtree City Hotel & Conference Center. It is one of the best STEM/STEAM PD experiences that can be had in Georgia. One of the most cost effective too since it's local. If your school is working on STEM, this is a "can't miss" event.

Looking for ideas for your STEM/STEAM lessons? Check out some of these!

150 STEM & PBL Activities

https://www.teachengineering.org

http://www.novelengineering.org

https://www.eie.org

http://www.stemcobb.com/lesson-links.html Elementary STEM Lessons

http://www.stemcobb.com/ms-stem-lessons.html Middle School STEM Lessons

239 STEM Resource Websites

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

Email: donald.white@cowetaschools.net
Website: bit.ly/CCSSScience
Location: 167 Werz Industrial Boulevard, Newnan, GA 30263
Phone: 770-254-2800
Twitter: @dwhitesciguy