SD Unified Science
December 2022
Unified Science sparks curiosity and creativity, empowering the next generation to enact change in our local and global communities.
Science: bit.ly/sdusdscience
STEAM: bit.ly/sdusdsteam
Please share photos and other exciting news from your class with us! We would love to feature it here, on our site and on social media.
Join us for a Book Club! Unified Science Reads! 📚📚📚
Braiding Sweetgrass
Join us to read and discuss this phenomenal book! The learning in this text will be a process, please commit to all six meetings. Books will be provided and meeting participation is funded.
Meetings will be held at Revere Center (6735 Gifford Way, San Diego, CA 92111) Room 15 from 4:30-6:00 pm on the following dates
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Thursday, March 16, 2023
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Sign up in Professional Learning: #15328 Braiding Sweetgrass Book Club
Questions: Email Sarah smoynes@sandi.net
Ambitious Science Teaching
Join us to read and explore this framework for teaching science! This book club experience will be most beneficial in partners or small groups. Please bring a teacher friend with you! Your partner does not have to teach the same subject/ grade but you will need to decide which course to focus on in your planning. Books will be provided.
Meetings will be held at Revere Center (6735 Gifford Way, San Diego, CA 92111) Room 15 from 4:30-6:00 pm on the following dates
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Sign up in Professional Learning: #15329 Ambitious Science Teaching Book Club
Questions: Email Sarah smoynes@sandi.net
Attention MS Teachers: Amplify Resources!
- Welcome to Amplify Science page - introduction and getting started resources
- Most recent Amplify Science Newsletter
- Back to basics training recoreding and resources summer 2022
- Amplify Student workbooks are available in limited amount. If you are out of student workbooks we have a limited supply of workbooks to assist with restocking! Available through Destiny.
New Professional Learning Opportunities!
- You can now see all our professional learning opportunities in a new calendar page
- Starting October, we will host a monthly district wide PLC as a space for collaboration with other secondary science teachers. Read more and enroll through our calendar page.
- We want to know what PD you are interested in! Please answer this one question form
Problem-Solve like an Expert Teacher Training Program
We are seeking high school teachers who are interested in learning the curriculum from our Problem-Solve Like an Expert course and who would be willing to teach it to their students in the fall. For an overview of the course topics, click here.
Dates: July 24 – August 4, 2023
Time commitment: Mon-Fri (8am – 5pm)
Location: UCSD Envision Makerspace
Stipend: $6,000
We will be hosting two information sessions (12/3/22 and 12/10/22 at 11am-11:30am). Please be sure to apply before the information session to receive an invitation.
For questions please email us at precollege@ucsd.edu.
We're excited to offer two new online workshops for educators in December and January. These workshops are free of charge--see our flyer to learn more and sign up!
Mindful Modeling (K-1)
Monday, December 5th, 2022, 3:30-4:45pm
What is mindful modeling? And how does classroom discussion support K-1 students’ engagement in modeling? See how students from K-1 use scientific modeling to communicate and revise their ideas as they make sense of phenomena. Explore how to support sensemaking by analyzing and responding to student work. Learn about a discussion tool to support children’s individual and collective modeling practice.
Air is Everywhere (K-12)
Tuesday, January 10, 2023, 3:30-4:45pm
How do we help students become air aware? Join us for a free online workshop to support student engagement as they observe and collect air quality data. Get web-based resources to help all grade levels make sense of air quality, and watch how all students can care for their air.
Art x Climate: A Project of the Fifth National Climate Assessment
This opportunity blends science, art and youth advocacy for students and any adults who are interested in submitting work to this project:
https://www.globalchange.gov/content/art-x-climate-project-fifth-national-climate-assessment
Engage Your K-12 Students in Project-Based Learning with ExploraVision
The Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision competition challenges K-12 students to envision a future technology through collaborative brainstorming and scientific research. Inspire a lifelong love of STEM and discovery in an engaging, hands-on way! It’s not too late to register your teams. Deadline for project submissions is January 31, 2023.
Explore the teacher competition resource page and learn how to implement ExploraVision into your classroom today! Learn More!
We want to hear your highlights and recommendations!
We want to hear your recommendations and share them with other science teachers!
If you have a favorite curriculum, reading, activity, or PLC plan that you want to recommend to other teachers we want to capture a short (1-3 minutes) video of you describing it and share it with other unified science teachers!
Email tlerner@sandi.net and one of us will come to visit you and record a short clip !
Advanced Materials Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) - Paid Opportunity
The University of California San Diego MRSEC Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program is aimed at providing K-12 and junior/community college educators with a summer experience in a MRSEC research lab. The participants are attached to one of the MRSEC RIMSE Summer Schools, where they receive an introduction to research in the materials science focus area of that particular RIMSE. As part of the experience, the RET participants will work on projects and modules that they can translate to the classroom at their institution. Our team of education experts in the RIMSE program will provide guidance on developing materials science content, demonstrations, and course materials that dovetail with the current California Science Education Standards.
NSF-RET MRSEC trainees will be:
• exposed to the grand challenges in the field of materials science;
• trained in computational, nanotechnological, and /or biological methods aimed at making new materials;
• provided mentoring and academic/professional development opportunities, including the potential to produce publishable research and participate in professional conferences.
Duration: June 26 - Aug. 18 (8 weeks). Participants will have the option to extend their paid laboratory research participation by up to 2 weeks (10 weeks total).
Programming: Extensive training and mentoring (by faculty, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students) in cutting-edge materials science research is accompanied by weekly research seminars, industrial field trips, professional development workshops (safety and research ethics, science communication, information literacy, graduate school preparation), and networking/recreation. RET trainees will assist with development of one or more of the MRSEC materials science educational modules.
Expectations: Full-time commitment to extensive lab work and engagement in program activities.
Support: $900/week stipend (stipend includes allowance for meals*). The program additionally provides on-campus housing and reimbursement of travel expenses up to $500.
Details here: https://mrsec.ucsd.edu/ret/
John Muir Laws — Nature Stewardship Through Science, Education, and Art
A world of infinite beauty and discovery waits just beyond the point where we usually stop paying attention. Nature offers us peace, a rich and meaningful place to learn. There is no computer program that can replicate the richness of seeing a flower up close, the intrigue of geeking out with bugs, or the calm of laying on your back and watching clouds. The key to developing a closer connection with nature is deliberately enhancing your powers of observation and wonder. Learn how the methods of a field naturalist will help you notice more, remember what you discovered, and be actively curious. A nature journal is a lens that focuses our attention and crystalizes our observations, thoughts, and experiences. The system is creative, rigorous, and playful, easy to begin and learn, and will grow and mature over a lifetime. This site is a resource of tools for your journey. Start now: you can do this, and the world is waiting. John Muir Laws offers free online nature journaling workshops and events, curriculum and lesson plans, as well as free illustrated Crosscutting Concept posters.
2022 Speak Off Competition - California Drought is the topic this year!
The California Association of Resource Conservation Districts (CARCD) hosts a competition for high school students who want to speak out about conservation. The Speak-Off is a state-wide competition, with students across California participating. Students first compete at the regional level, with the top speakers advancing to the state competition. To make it to the state Speak-Off, you must first participate at the regional level by preparing a videotaped speech addressing the topic below.
Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7VbTXkyKbNkapRLyYg5Buwyjvvt4sn-iTnmy1fEENj9l0Yg/viewform
Student Created Physics Resource:
Science Joke! 😂
The Earth is 70% uncarbonated water.
Therefore the Earth is flat.
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