MIXING
AND MATTER
"Even though chemistry is a cornerstone of scientific
literacy—standing smack in the intersection of physics and
biology—we haven’t done a good job communicating either
its importance or how interesting it is. Chemistry isn’t often
a favorite school subject," writes Science and Children
Field Editor Chris Ohana in "So Long, Chem-o-Phobia,"
an article appearing in the February issue.
Ironically, however, students like to mix things together—the
messier the better. Helping your young students understand that
combining different materials is the basis of chemistry will go
a long way toward staving off future cases of "Chem-o-Phobia."
This issue of Science Class includes relevant news stories,
journal articles, and new books that can help you start to mix things
up in your classroom.
Mixing
and Matter in the News
Article summaries provided by the NSTA WebNews Digest (visit
http://www.nsta.org/mainnews
for national news for science educators).
This month’s news stories can serve as a tool to help students
better understand chemistry and boost their interest in the subject.
Visit http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-02/news_stories_elementary.htm
to learn more.
Mixing
and Matter on the Web
In this month's elementary journal, Science and Children,
NSTA members can read "Fun with Phase Changes." The link
to that article is http://www.nsta.org/gateway&j=sc&n=51497.
For the complete February Science and Children Table of
Contents, visit http://www.nsta.org/gateway&j=sc&n=51574.
To read the Editor's Note, visit http://www.nsta.org/main/news/stories/science_and_children.php?news_story_ID=51518.
Each issue of Science and Children provides the reader
with many online resources; to view a list of all of the websites
in the February issue, visit http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-02/linkselem.htm.
NSTA
Journal Articles on Mixing and Matter
The archives of Science and Children contain several articles
related to Mixing and Matter.
Click here to read more:
http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-02/elementary.htm
Books,
Books, Books
To read about Mixing
and Matter in NSTA Press® and NSTA Recommends
books, visit http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-02/books_elementary.htm.
To read about the newest titles available from NSTA Press, visit
http://science.nsta.org/enewsletter/2006-02/newbookselem.htm.
To receive the latest NSTA catalog for your specific grade level,
visit
http://ecommerce.nsta.org/catalog_signup.
Professional
Development
Quality Counts at 10, Education Week's
newly published report, provides detailed individualized state-by-state
reports, assembling key findings in an accessible format that
allows readers to examine a particular state’s performance
on this year’s indicators and its progress over time. The
report is free until February 4; it will then
be available for purchase. To read more about the report, visit
http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2006/01/05/index.html.
Global
Science Teaching
A recent BBC News article shows how other
nations are dealing with teacher shortages, and it reveals that
many career changers are choosing to enter the teaching profession.
To read more, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4643928.stm.
NSTA
Opportunities
NSTA
Web Seminars
These 90-minute, live professional development experiences allow
distant participants to interact with recognized experts, including
NSTA Press authors and NASA scientists, engineers, and education
specialists. Seminars take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m., EST. Because
these online events are grant-funded, they are offered at no cost;
however, the number of participants is limited, so advance registration
is strongly advised. For a full schedule of Seminar topics, dates,
and times, and to register, visit http://institute.nsta.org/web_seminars.asp.
The February Web Seminars are scheduled on these
dates:
February 8: Olaf Jorgenson, co-author
of Doing Good Science in Middle School, looks at inquiry
in the classroom.
February 16: Bill Carlsen, co-author of Watershed
Dynamics, returns with more environmental science concepts
and activities for high school teachers.
February 22: Juliana Texley, Terry Kwan, and John
Summers, co-authors of Investigating Safely, will discuss
more safety requirements for the high school classroom and laboratory.
NSTA
Symposia Schedule
The following NSTA Symposia will take place at the National Conference
on Science Education in Anaheim, California, April 6–9, 2006:
- Stars,
Planets, Life, and the Universe, presented by NASA
- Preparing
for the Journey to Space: Energy, presented by NASA
- Coral
Ecosystems, presented by NOAA
- Energy:
Stop Faking It!, presented by NSTA Press author Bill Robertson
- Uncovering
Student Ideas in Science, presented by NSTA Press authors
Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Lynn Farrin
The
Early Years
 Science
and Children (S&C) and NSTA have established a
blog devoted to early childhood science (see http://science.nsta.org/earlyyearsblog).
Here you’ll find teaching advice, management tips, favorite
resources, and activity ideas specifically for teachers of grades
preK–2. The blog accompanies Science and Children’s
column The Early Years. To view the first column, visit http://www.nsta.org/main/news/stories/science_and_children.php?category_ID=86&news_story_ID=50933.
Highlights from the online conversations will appear in the print
column. Teachers who post a comment that gets chosen for publication
in S&C will receive one free book
from a select group of NSTA Press publications.
Call
for Papers
Science and Children (grades preK–5) has issued a Call
for Papers on specific topics. Click here to find out more:
http://www.nsta.org/177
Next
Month's Theme
Health, Nutrition,
and the Human Body
If your colleagues would like to subscribe to Science Class,
please direct them to http://www.nsta.org/newsletters.
THE FINE PRINT
This
e-newsletter is brought to you by the National Science Teachers
Association
1840 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201-3092
Phone: 703-243-7100
http://www.nsta.org
|
