Mississippi
Science
Spots
April 2010
Mississippi Department of
Education
Office of Curriculum and Instruction
601-359-2586
Science Specialist: Mary Wroten
mwroten@mde.k12.ms.us
This symbol indicates items that are
new in this issue of MS Science Spots.
Field Test Opportunity
The American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS) Project
2061 is recruiting high school science
teachers who are able to field test multiple
choice test items with their students in
April, May or June 2010. AAAS Project
2061 is developing assessment items to
measure middle and high school students’
understanding of important science ideas
from the National Science Education
Standards and the AAAS Benchmarks for
Science Literacy. Each test contains
multiple choice items, and most students
should be able to complete the test in a
single class period. Each participating
teacher will receive a copy of the Atlas of
Science Literacy Vol. I or II, or a $50 gift
card from Borders or Barnes & Noble.
Teachers may register at
http://register.p2061.org/field. Contact
2061assessment@aaas.org or call 202326-6207 for more information about the
project.
1:00 p.m. To see an example of the EFT
hosted in November 2009, from Great
Smoky Mountains National Park, please
visit www.nationalparks.org/eft. View the
online learning modules that accompanied
that live broadcast at
www.smokymountainseft.org.
Adopt-A-Stream Workshop
The Mississippi Wildlife Federation, along
with the Mississippi Department of
Environmental Quality, will hold a 2-day
Adopt-A-Stream workshop at John W. Kyle
State Park near Sardis, MS, on June 1516, 2010. Adopt-A-Stream is a program
that promotes environmental stewardship
through training workshops, outdoor field
activities, and by introducing participants to
watershed action projects. The two-day
program provides an in-depth study of
watersheds as well as hands-on training in
chemical and biological parameters
important to a healthy stream. 2 CEU
credits are available. Registration is
available at www.mswildlife.org or by
contacting Debra Veeder, Adopt-A-Stream
Coordinator at (601)206-5703 or
dveeder@mswf.org.
Electronic Field Trips
Astronomy for Teachers
Each year the National Park Foundation
hosts two live Electronic Field Trips (EFT)
from national parks. Each EFT is broadcast live via cable and webcast and is also
accompanied by online learning modules
that serve as stand-alone resources for
teachers of grades 5-8. The next EFT will
air from Bryce Canyon National Park on
Tuesday, May 18, 2010, at 11:00 a.m. and
“Astronomy for Teachers” is a 3 semesterhour class offered through the University
of Mississippi. The intensive one week
course is scheduled for June 13-17, 2010.
Find more information at
www.outreach.olemiss.edu/teachers or
contact Jonnie Fitch at
jwfitch@olemiss.edu 662-915-7158.
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Mississippi Science Spots, April 2010
Aquaculture 101
Aquaculture 101 is a workshop designed
for biology and chemistry teachers. It is
sponsored by the Alabama Cooperative
Extension System, Gadsden State
Community College, Auburn University,
and MS-AL Sea Grant. Aquaculture, the
reproduction and growth of aquatic
organisms in a controlled or semicontrolled environment, is a multi-faceted
science that relies heavily on principles of
biology, chemistry, mathematics, and
physics. The workshop will be held
June 7-11, 2010, at Gadsden State
Community College Aquaculture Education
and Development Center, Gadsden, AL.
There is no cost to attend the workshop.
(Travel and living expenses are not
included.) 3.2 CEU’s are available. Contact
Hugh Hammer at 256-549-8345 or David
Cline at 334-844-2874. Visit the education
section of www.alearn.info for more
information.
hhammer@gadsdenstate.edu or
tadams@gadsdenstate.edu.
Stennis Educator Resource Center
The Educator Resource Center (ERC) at
Stennis Space Center provides educators
with opportunities to receive free
educational materials and to attend
professional development workshops. The
ERC contains a vast collection of materials
for educators, including videotapes,
software, printed materials and lesson
plans that reflect the most recent scientific
discoveries about space and the Earth.
Subjects range from science and
geography to meteorology, astronomy,
social studies, and environmental science.
Learn more about the 2010 Spring
Educator Resource Center opportunities at
http://education.ssc.nasa.gov/workshops.a
sp.
Free 5-Day Workshop
The Alabama Cooperative Extension
System is offering “K-12 Growing Fish in
Recirculating Systems Basic and
Advanced Teacher Workshops on
June 7- June 11, 2010, at Gadsden State
Aquaculture Education and Development
Center, Wallace Drive Campus, Gadsden,
AL. Teachers will learn how to construct
and maintain recirculating aquatic systems
and how to use these systems in a
classroom setting. Discussions will include
recirculating systems, water quality, and
curriculum design. There is no cost to
attend the workshop. (Travel expenses are
not covered.) Please call 256-549-8345 to
make a reservation. For further
information, call Hugh Hammer or Timothy
Adams at 256-549-8345 or e-mail
to form teams of up to four students,
research an energy-related issue using
scientific investigation, and create a
replicable solution using web-based
curriculum tools powered by Discovery
Education. The Siemens We Can
Change the World Challenge is a unique
environmental challenge that aims to
inspire the nation's students from
elementary school through high school and
to motivate this next generation of
scientists, engineers, and environmentalists to make an impact in the world
around them. Teachers, students and
mentors can visit
www.wecanchange.com for more
information.
Jefferson Lab Resources
Siemens We Can Change the
World Challenge.
The Siemens Foundation, Discovery
Education, and the National Science
Teachers Association (NSTA) are
partnering to educate, empower, and
engage students and teachers nationwide
to become "Agents of Change" in
improving their communities through
the Siemens We Can Change the World
Challenge. Participants are encouraged
The Thomas Jefferson National
Accelerator Facility offers a number of
middle school and high school teacher
resources on its Jefferson Lab Educator
website. Find reference materials, handson activities, worksheets, online games,
experiments, projects, and more at
http://education.jlab.org/indexpages/teache
rs.php.
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Mississippi Science Spots, April 2010
Science Information For Teachers
The University of Florida’s Center for
Precollegiate Education and Training
provides a free service to teachers and
other educators called Science Information
For Teachers (SIFT). SIFT sends 10 to 25
e-mails per week to inform teachers about
useful internet sites categorized by topic,
recommended educational site visits,
professional development workshops, or
grant opportunities. The SIFT e-mails are
then archived in “The SIFTer’s Guide to
Everything Science” at
http://www.cpet.ufl.edu/siftguide/, which
currently has over 2200 sites archived with
descriptions of the sites and the links to
them. Educators can sign up for SIFT
simply be e-mailing the word “subscribe” to
sift@cpet.ufl.edu. More information about
SIFT can be found at
http://www.cpet.ufl.edu/sift/. A sample
weekly archive can be found at
http://www.cpet.ufl.edu/sift/SIFT_Archive_
February_22-26,_2010.pdf.
Free Software Programs
Educators
for
Sheppard Software offers a variety of free
software programs, online games, and
other learning activities on its website, at
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/teacher
s.htm.
FindHow - Science Resources is a website
that indexes many sources and reports on
a variety of topics. Learn more at
http://www.findhow.com/education/subject
s-science.php.
Free Teacher-Created Resources
Find a huge selection of free teachercreated PowerPoint presentations, lesson
ideas, learning modules, and games at
http://www.pppst.com/science.html.
Cosmos4Kids:
http://www.cosmos4kids.com/map.html
42eXplore
Free Federal Resources for
Educational Excellence Website
Free Federal Resources for Educational
Excellence offers a searchable collection
of K-12 teaching resources from many
federal agencies. Topics are categorized
by strands, including Life Sciences, Earth
Sciences, Space Sciences and Physical
Sciences. Learn more at
http://free.ed.gov/subjects.cfm?subject_id=
41.
Rader Science Websites
FindHow - Science Resources
Biology4Kids:
http://www.biology4kids.com/map.html
Andrew Rader Studios has developed four
free science websites to help students
understand the “big picture” about various
science topics. Each site provides easy-tounderstand background information, realworld examples, quizzes, activities, and
more. Investigate each of the four
websites below for more information:
PhysicsKids:
http://www.physics4kids.com/map.html
42eXplore is a weekly project site that
contains a thematic topic with selected
web resources, ideas and activities,
vocabulary, lesson plans, webQuests, and
student produced materials. The themes
range across curriculum areas and age
levels. Learn more at
http://www.42explore.com/index.htm.
HotChalk’s Weekly Science
Experiments
HotChalk's LessonPlansPage.com is a
collection of over 3,000 lesson plans from
Preschool through High School and
beyond. A special feature of the site is the
Weekly Science Experiments page. Visit
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/SciExperi
ments.htm to learn more.
Subscribe to MS Science Spots
Administrators and educators who wish to
subscribe to this newsletter may add their
names to the mailing list by sending a blank
email to mwroten@mde.k12.ms.us with the
subject line, “Listserve.”
Chem4Kids:
http://www.chem4kids.com/map.html
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Mississippi Science Spots, April 2010
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Mississippi Science Spots, April 2010