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Learn more about Year of Science 2009

Educational Getaway for Elementary School Teachers of Science

Fort Lauderdale logo

If you're an elementary school teacher who needs content knowledge to teach science, NSTA's Conference on Science Education is scheduled for Nov. 12–14 in Fort Lauderdale, a destination that's hard to resist. Imagine professional development in sunny Florida with more than 300 sessions, presentations by science experts, workshops with hands-on activities, and daylong seminars in physics, biology, physical science and Earth science, and chemistry.

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Check out this sampling of offerings aimed at the elementary teacher:

  • Integrating Science into the K–5 Curriculum—Find the time to teach science by integrating it into language arts, math, and even recess. I'll share "any time" hands-on labs and games.
  • Earth Treasure … the Highlight of Geology—"Mine" and identify genuine minerals and gemstones using shape, color, luster, hardness, and carat value. Motivational geology!
  • Environmental Issues Taught with an Inquiry Approach—These inquiry-based activities focus on real-world issues involving the health of the planet.
  • Chemistry and the Atom: Fun with Atom-building Games!—Experience innovative games and activities that give students opportunities to grasp atomic structure and the periodic table.
  • Integrating Science, Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Technology Through Water Resource Education—Hands-on activities, specially written science books, and compelling research will be shared. Walk away with samples from the Variation and Adaptation unit.
  • Magical Illusions Workshop for K–8 Teachers—Storylines, discrepant events, and magic develop concepts in both physical and biological sciences, pique children's interest and imagination, and build creative and logical-thinking skills.
  • Field Trips (Ticketed): Key Largo Snorkeling Trip, Everglades Experience, Canoeing and Kayaking at Oleta River State Park: Blue Marlin Fish House Tour
  • Exhibition Hall—Meet exhibitors, test new products, pick up giveaways to take back to your classroom. Bring a tote!

And there’s lots more. Visit www.nsta.org/FortLauderdale to get details and to register.

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Conference Links

In the News

  • On The Road To Core Standards

    Chemical & Engineering News
    A push is under way to draft a set of voluntary common national standards for states to adopt. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association have teamed up with the education reform organization Achieve and...  [view full summary]
    A push is under way to draft a set of voluntary common national standards for states to adopt. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association have teamed up with the education reform organization Achieve and the educational testing and assessment organizations ACT and the College Board to develop a set of common core standards for grades K–12 in mathematics and English-language education. Scientific and education organizations believe that the work being done on common English and math standards should be extended to science.
    [hide full summary]

  • Virtual 3-D Lab Aims to Stimulate Learning

    e-School News
    Students at a Baltimore County high school this fall will explore the area surrounding Mount St. Helens in a vehicle that can morph from an aircraft to a car to a boat to learn about how the environment has changed since the volcano's 1980 eruption. But...  [view full summary]
    Students at a Baltimore County high school this fall will explore the area surrounding Mount St. Helens in a vehicle that can morph from an aircraft to a car to a boat to learn about how the environment has changed since the volcano's 1980 eruption. But they'll do it all without ever leaving their Chesapeake High School classroom—they will be using a three-dimensional Virtual Learning Environment developed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) with the university's Center for Technology Education.
    [hide full summary]

  • Rockwood District's Mobile Science Lab is Out of This World

    St. Louis Dispatch
    The mobile lab in Rockwood, Missouri—thought to be the only one in the state owned by a school district—is new this year. It will be used by 9,700 students in kindergarten through fifth grade at Rockwood's 19 elementary schools. Each student...  [view full summary]
    The mobile lab in Rockwood, Missouri—thought to be the only one in the state owned by a school district—is new this year. It will be used by 9,700 students in kindergarten through fifth grade at Rockwood's 19 elementary schools. Each student will visit the mobile lab four times a year. The mobile lab is part of an elementary science curriculum overhaul that's saving the district money. It's meant to get students away from textbooks and get them working harder with their hands—and brains.
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  • Teacher Quality Under the Microscope

    e-School News
    The key challenge in implementing pay-for-performance systems, experts agree, is how to define teacher excellence. The most obvious way would be to look at student achievement, as US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wants to do. But that's controversial,...  [view full summary]
    The key challenge in implementing pay-for-performance systems, experts agree, is how to define teacher excellence. The most obvious way would be to look at student achievement, as US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wants to do. But that's controversial, as many people believe test scores alone paint an unfair or incomplete picture of a teacher's contribution.
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NSTA Science Store

NSTA Press book cover

Reforming Secondary Science Instruction

Detailed advice for changing your methods of teaching so that students are prepared for life and work.



NSTA Press book cover

Activities Linking Science with Math K-4

Twenty activities that tap into students' natural curiosity about the world around them.

Today in Science History

On August 27 in 1992, a report in Nature by psychologist Karen Wynn (of the University of Arizona at Tucson) describes a series of experiments indicating that five-month-old infants can add and subtract. A typical experiment went as follows: A baby observed one Mickey Mouse doll, the view of which was then blocked with a screen while an experimenter clearly added another doll to the first. When the screen was removed and the baby's view restored, the infant was surprised if there were three dolls instead of two, indicating that the baby knew that one plus one should equal two, not three. "The appearance of this paper is a notable event in the history of developmental psychology," declared Oxford psychologist Peter Bryant.

—from The Illustrated Almanac of Science, Technology, and Invention

New Product Reviews from NSTA Recommends®

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Online Professional Development from NSTA

The NSTA Learning Center

Every teacher wants to grow their understanding of the subjects they teach and the pedagogical implications. To address this challenge, NSTA is proud to make available our professional development website, called The NSTA Learning Center.

Learning Center Resources and Opportunities:

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