In the September issue of The Science Teacher, we wrote about the new standards for digital skills established by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Now, let’s look at how the standards can be applied to science content.

This month, we discuss the Empowered Learner standard, which requires that “students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.” To accomplish this standard, students should meet these four performance indicators:

• Engage in personal goal setting that includes reflection,
• Develop the ability to build a network to support their learning,
• Use technology to receive feedback in different forms, and
• Understand and troubleshoot technology.

Meeting the performance indicators

Goal-setting is a critical part of the learning process. SMART Goal templates, often used in business, can ensure that students are developing personal goals. Students can use blogs (e.g., WordPress), journaling tools (e.g., Evernote), or even “media diaries” (e.g., Fotobabble and Photo 365) to share their thoughts or reflect on their goal achievement and learning. Changes to thoughts or understanding can also be seen through the evolution of student writing via track changes in Microsoft Word or revision history in Google Docs.

To become an empowered learner, students must build a network to enhance their learning. Twitter can be a powerful tool to build and grow learning spheres. Point your students in the right direction by creating a class account used to follow science-related people and groups. When starting your Twitter network, consider following NASA (@nasa), Earth Science Week (@earthsciweek), NSF Earth Science
(@NSF_EAR), and Neil DeGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson). After establishing the classroom’s virtual networks, allow students to customize their learning environment with flexible and moveable classroom arrangements, such as furniture, which foster a collaborative and “networked” classroom.

Empowered learners should be familiar with the feedback many technology tools inherently provide. It is important that students recognize the value of “adaptive learning tools,” such as Knewton, as a means to grow and develop in any content area. It is equally important that students draw upon technology tools’ interaction and peer feedback capabilities found in resources such as Google Docs, VoiceThread, or Padlet. With those commenting tools, students can share thoughts about the instruction, conclusions drawn from a lab investigation, or predictions about a future event, while quickly receiving comments from other students, teachers, or experts in the field. No matter the tool, however, gathering peer feedback develops the communication skills necessary for the requirements of this standard.

None of the performance indicators are possible without a basic understanding of how technology tools work, so that technology never serves as a barrier or distraction to learning. To illustrate the supportive nature of technology and understanding how the tools fundamentally work, use Chrome Extensions with students. Students must understand that the Chrome browser is a power productivity tool that can be enhanced by Extensions and Apps to improve learning, perform tasks, and enhance their work. As an example, head over to the Chrome Web Store and search for the “periodic table.” You will quickly find both apps and extensions that can be valuable for students.

Conclusion
The Empowered Learner standard allows students to develop an independence and responsibility for their learning. As students mature and advance their skills in this area, they will be ready to tackle the rest of the standards. In the next issue, we will examine the role that digital citizenship plays and the responsibility that all educators have to foster it in their classrooms.

Ben Smith (ben@edtechinnovators.com) is an educational technology program specialist, and Jared Mader (jared@edtechinnovators.com) is the director of technology, for the Lincoln Intermediate Unit in New Oxford, Pennsylvania. They conduct teacher workshops on technology in the classroom nationwide.

Editor’s Note

This article was originally published in the October 2016 issue of The Science Teacher journal from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).

Get Involved With NSTA!

Join NSTA today and receive The Science Teacher, the peer-reviewed journal just for high school teachers; to write for the journal, see our Author Guidelines and Call for Papers; connect on the high school level science teaching list (members can sign up on the list server); or consider joining your peers at future NSTA conferences.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. Learn more about the Next Generation Science Standards at the NGSS@NSTA Hub.

Future NSTA Conferences

2016 Area Conferences

• Minneapolis, Oct. 27-29
• Portland, Nov. 10-12
• Columbus, Dec. 1-3

So you’re coming to Minneapolis and it’s your first NSTA conference!  Where do you start?  Can you do anything prior to the conference to get ready and hit the road running?  I have the answers to these questions, and I invite you to ask me anything else you want to know about the conference.  On Tuesday, October 18, from 8:30 to 9:00 pm ET, I’ll be hosting a special Twitter Chat (#NSTAchat) to talk about the what, why, and how of attending an NSTA conference. This is your chance to chat with NSTA leadership, veteran NSTA conference attendees, to find out what works and what’s most likely to make your participation a success.

In case you miss this Twitter chat, you can always attend the First Timers’ session on October 27, from 8:00 am – 9:00 am, in the Hilton Minneapolis, Minneapolis B/C.  I will be leading the session with tips, shortcuts, and suggestions to make your conference experience one you will not forget.

So join us to learn tips and strategies to make your conference experience positive on October 18 at 8:30 pm ET. Learn more about the Minneapolis conference here.

New to Twitter? Here’s a quick overview on how to participate in a Twitter Chat.

5-10 minutes before the tweetchat begins:

• Log-in to Twitter at twitter.com. If you do not have an account, click the “Sign-Up” button in the top, right corner and create a profile.
• Once logged in, open a new window in your browser and visit Tweetdeck. (We recommend you use the TweetDeck application to actually view and participate in the chat.
• Once logged in to TweetDeck, enter #NSTAchat in the search field at the top-left (click on the little magnifying glass).
• Tweets using the hashtag will appear in reverse order in the next window.
• To enter a tweet, enter your comment in the “Message to #nstachat” field and click Update
• Click to retweet a poster’s tweet or  reply to a tweet.

Pro tips:

• Introduce yourself, and say hello to your fellow chatters.
• Try to restrict your tweets to well under the number of characters you are allotted on Twitter (this will make it easier for others to retweet your message).
• Most importantly, please share any insight you have!  This is an interactive experience!

Dr. Carolyn Hayes is the retiring president of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). She began serving her one-year term on June 1, 2016. Dr. Hayes is a retired high school biology teacher from Greenwood, Indiana. Hayes earned a B.S. degree in biology from Indiana University in 1973, a M.S. degree in secondary education from Indiana University in 1976, and an Ed.D. in secondary education and biology from Indiana University in 2005. 

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

2016 Area Conferences

• Minneapolis, Minnesota: October 27–29
• Portland, Oregon: November 10–12
• Columbus, Ohio: December 1–3

National Conferences

• Los Angeles, California: March 30–April 2, 2017
• Atlanta, Georgia: March 15–18, 2018
• St. Louis, Missouri: April 11–14, 2019
• Boston, Massachusetts: March 26–29, 2020
• Chicago, Illinois: April 8–11, 2021

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On Oct. 12 the U.S Department of Education released final rules that will require states to establish an accountability system for their teacher preparation programs that includes how graduates perform as teachers based on their students’ academic success. Low performing programs that don’t measure up will risk the loss of federal TEACH grants.

The final regulations are designed “to provide transparency around the effectiveness of all preparation programs” (traditional, alternative routes, and distance) and will require states to report annually – at the program level – on the following measures:

• Placement and retention rates of graduates in their first three years of teaching, including placement and retention in high-need schools;
• Feedback from graduates and their employers on the effectiveness of program preparation;
• Student learning outcomes measured by novice teachers’ student growth, teacher evaluation results, and/or another state-determined measure that is relevant to students’ outcomes, including academic performance, and meaningfully differentiates amongst teachers; and
• Other program characteristics, including assurances that the program has specialized accreditation or graduates candidates with content and pedagogical knowledge, and quality clinical preparation, who have met rigorous exit requirements.

States have the flexibility to report on additional measures, and how to weigh all outcome measures, but must use at least three levels of performance indicators (effective, at-risk, and low-performing).

States (and stakeholders) must design their reporting system in 2016-17 academic year. They may choose to use 2017-18 as a pilot year and the system must be fully implemented in 2018-19. The first year for which any program might lose TEACH grant eligibility will be 2021-2022.

They must engage with stakeholders to develop and/or improve their teacher preparation systems to identify effective and low-performing programs and provide technical assistance to any program rated as low-performing.

The new regulations—which took about five years start to finish –largely reflect the administration’s original proposal from 2014. These regulations, especially language that ties preparation programs to student learning outcomes, faced (and continues to face) huge opposition from many groups.  (In their press release, the Department flagged a “notable” change in the final rule was providing states with “increased flexibility in how they measure student learning outcomes and weigh various components of their systems, specifically by allowing states to determine their own student learning outcome measures that are relevant, but not necessarily directly tied, to student achievement or educator evaluation results.”)

In a statement American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education President Sharon Robinson says “ At first glance, it appears that the voices of the profession may have been heard, as the new rule includes some adjustments that reflect concerns raised during the public comment periods. While the main oversight structure remains in place as described in the initial notice of proposed rulemaking, the final rule gives states more leeway in determining some aspects of the accountability system. Therefore, as it is with the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the advocacy of AACTE members at the state level remains critical.”

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities statement notes “AASCU has long opposed a federally mandated state-rating structure for programmatic offerings of colleges and universities.  It sets a dangerous precedent for political intervention in academic policy. We are disappointed that the Department did not delay the regulations that address teacher education. We urged them to wait until after Congress, state colleges and universities, and other key stakeholders could work together, through the reauthorization process of the Higher Education Act (HEA), to address the underlying policies and practices around preparing America’s teachers.  Additionally we disagree with the department’s view that the regulation will have only a minimal affect on costs for our institutions.”

The rules were roundly condemned by union leaders:  American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said it was “ludicrous to propose evaluating teacher preparation programs based on the performance of the students taught by a program’s graduates . . . Instead of designing a system to support and improve teacher prep programs, the regulations build on the now-rejected high-stakes testing system established under NCLB and greatly expanded under this administration’s Race to the Top and waiver programs. It’s stunning that the department would evaluate teaching colleges based on the academic performance of the students of their graduates when ESSA—enacted by large bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate last December—prohibited the department from requiring school districts to do that kind of teacher evaluation.” 

National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García says the regulations “takes us back to the failed No Child Left Behind days . . . Using P-12 student test data to measure the quality of teacher preparation ignores whether new teachers are more likely to work in schools with limited resources for textbooks, technology, engaging learning experiences such as connections to community projects. It ignores potentially crucial differences between the quality of mentoring available in one school but not in another, class sizes and class loads beginning teachers may encounter, and the availability of supplemental services to ensure that each student can come to class ready to learn.”

Congressional leaders were equally displeased with the final rules. House Education and Workforce Chairman John Kline said in a statement “While more needs to be done to ensure teachers are prepared for the classroom, the department is taking a one-size-fits-all approach that will lead to unintended consequences. It will be impossible to effectively implement this vast regulatory scheme, and it may lead to fewer teachers serving some our nation’s most vulnerable children. And to add insult to injury, this new rule does not reflect the bipartisan consensus that was reached in our recent efforts to improve K-12 education. This is an issue policymakers should discuss and resolve through broader reforms of the Higher Education Act, not through the unilateral actions of the Department of Education.

Senate education committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) noted “Today’s regulation appears to violate the Higher Education Act, which specifically says that states—not bureaucrats at a distant department in Washington—are responsible for evaluating whether a college’s program gives teachers the skills they need for the classroom. The regulation also effectively mandates teacher evaluations and forces states to focus on students’ test scores in a way that Congress explicitly rejected just months ago when we fixed No Child Left Behind and its unworkable National School Board approach.” 

Several education reform groups, including Education Reform Now, Chiefs for Change, National Center for Teacher Quality support and praised the Department of Education for the new rules.

The regs can be found here.

The press release from the Department of Education can be found here. 

Read the letter from the Association for Science Teacher Education on the proposed regulations

Check out this article from Ed Week:  Final U.S. Teacher-Prep Regs Allow Flexibility on Student-Outcome Measures and Inside Higher Ed:  New Accountability for Teacher Prep

 Having a Seat at the Table with ESSA Implementation

ASCD and the National Education Association are jointly hosting a webinar on how educators and key stakeholder groups can get involved in the ESSA implementation process. Hear state and local education leaders talk about their experiences and lessons learned so that you can advocate effectively for the best ESSA-related policies to support schools and students. The webinar will be held 7:30 pm eastern time, Monday, October 17, 2016. Learn more and register to attend here.

New STEM Playbook for State Policymakers

The Education Commission of the States Promising Practices: A State Policymaker’s STEM Playbook, highlights the Utah STEM Action Center, the road to the successful legislation tthat created the center, and the three essential elements to the STEM practices in Utah–coordination, resources, and the evaluation of funded programs. Read more.

Jodi Peterson is Assistant Executive Director of Legislative Affairs for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Chair of the STEM Education Coalition. e-mail Peterson at jpeterson@nsta.org; follow her on Twitter at @stemedadvocate.

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The Four Strands of Science Learning and the Next Generation Science Standards from Science Scope is an informative article for teachers of any grade level.

Science Scope – Earth Science Activities

According to the editor, “Today’s students will become adults tasked with making decisions about environmental issues that will require a solid understanding of the Earth sciences.” And the Earth sciences are so interesting, too! If I were designing curriculum, Earth science would be the capstone course, integrating concepts from physics, chemistry, and the life sciences.

• The 5E lesson in Earth History Theories: Relative Age Dating Lab With Additions for Mining and Mineral Exploration integrates stratigraphy, age-dating, fossil and ore deposits as students make and use models of rock layers
• Exploring Lunar and Solar Eclipses Via a 3-D Modeling Design Task has a lesson idea to help students understand the phenomenon and dispel misconceptions.
• Teacher’s Toolkit: Puzzle Boxes for 3-D Learning About Natural Hazards describes how an observation activity can be adapted for in-depth discussions.
• Classic Lessons 2.0: Using Multiple Representations to Teach Science uses the example of moon phases to describe how to guide students through a sequence of concrete to abstract representations.
• Citizen Science: Clouds in the Classroom describes a project that’s been around for a while, gathering data from student observations—authentic science. And students investigate clouds in the classroom with the 5E lesson in Disequilibrium: Forming Clouds in the Classroom
• Earth science has many phenomena to explore, using the ideas in Teacher to Teacher: Phenomenal Engagement.
• Listserv Roundup: Finding and Saving Earth Science Resources lists additional resources on related topics.
• Science for All: Literacy Engagement and Its Role in the Science Classroom has resources for finding reading material appropriate for various student reading and interest levels.
• Scope on the Skies: Connected Computing describes how classrooms can contribute to authentic projects.

Articles that describe lessons include a helpful sidebar documenting the big idea, essential pre-knowledge, time, and cost.

For more on the content that provides a context for these projects and strategies see the SciLinks topics Clouds, Earthquakes, Eclipses, Layers of the Earth, Minerals and Rocks, Moon Phases, Natural Hazards and Disasters, Stratigraphy, Water Cycle.

The Science Teacher – Adding Art to STEM

The featured articles in this issue focus on the overlap and integration of science and the arts (STEAM, as some call it). As the editor notes, “…science and the arts both spring from the same deep well of human creativity and imagination.”

• The Art-Science Connection has examples of the artwork create by students to communicate the results of their research and demonstrate their learning.
• The National Park Service turns 100 this year. Science and Art in the National Parks traces the history of the arts in the Parks and has suggestions for using them as inspiration for art and writing activities and a context for the sciences, such as geology. (Is it time to bring back the Federal Art Project from the 1930s?)
• Getting an A in STEM shows how chemistry and art can “cross-pollinate” using the concepts of chromotography, molecular structure, the Periodic Table,
• Sculpting the Barnyard Gene Pool illustrates how creativity doesn’t have to involve music or drawing. The interdisciplinary project focuses on engineering challenges and genetics. Likewise, designing investigations, as described in Measuring Metabolism, involves creativity and problem-solving.
• It may not be in the same arts league as dancing, but as Focus on Physics: Skateboard Physics shows, sports use physics creatively.
• Career of the Month: Acoustical Consultant describes how to use physics to create spaces for the performing arts.

For more on the content that provides a context for these projects and strategies see the SciLinks topics Acoustics, Cell Division, Chromatography, DNA, Genetics, Heredity, Homeostasis,  Microscopes, Molecular Shapes, Periodic Table, Photosynthesis, U. S. National Parks.

Science and Children – Natural Hazards

The featured articles this month describe how to tap into children’s interest in these phenomena, including the causes and how to protect ourselves. The lessons described in the articles include connections with the NGSS.

• Storm Warning challenges students to design, build, and structures that can withstand natural disasters.
• On a similar topic, What’s Shaking?! examines earthquakes through technology-based simulations. Students then design an earthquake-proof city.
• Science and social studies are Complementing Curricula in an integrated lesson on environmental science topics.
• Using direct and indirect evidence, students can observe, investigate, and analyze In Our Neighborhood: Who’s Been Here?
• The Early Years: Navigating Natural Disasters describes how children can be year-long weather watchers and includes a lesson on modeling how water moves and can be contained.
• The Poetry of Science: Hurricanes includes a poem to read aloud and discussion questions.
• Teaching Through Trade Books: Forecasting Hazardous Conditions has resources and 5E lessons for students learning about severe storms and hurricanes, including their causes and how to survive them.
• Science 101: What Causes Severe Thunderstorms and Tornadoes? has background information for teachers and activities on these topics.

For more on the content that provides a context for these projects and strategies see the SciLinks topics Adaptations, Earthquakes, Ecosystems, Erosion, Food Webs, Forecasting the Weather, Habitats, Hurricanes, Natural Disasters,  Storms, Tornadoes, Water Cycle, Watersheds, Weather.

The Go!Temp probe, made and sold by “Vernier Software and Technology,” collects real-time temperate data, making it applicable in a number of different fields, e.g., biology, chemistry, physics, earth science , etc.

The Go!Temp is easily compatible with a computer flash drive without the need for an interface. Before connecting the Go!Temp to the computer, download either “Logger Lite” or “Logger Pro” from the Vernier website (link below). Logger Lite is available for free download. Logger Pro has more capabilities, including the use of XY graphs, log graphs, or manual data entry, but will cost $249. Once either Logger Lite or Logger Pro is downloaded and the Go!Temp is connected to the computer, the computer will automatically detect the Go!Temp and it is ready for use.

Logger Lite: http://www.vernier.com/products/software/logger-lite/

Logger Pro: http://www.vernier.com/products/software/lp/

To use the Go!Temp, hold the device by the plastic end and place the metal portion where you would like it to take the temperature measurement. Simply press the green “Collect” button at the top of the screen to begin data collection. Once the data is collected, you will be able to examine the data in a number of ways to meet your research goals.

Here is a video of the device being used:

Calculate statistics and speculate

Logger Lite has a built-in statistics calculator. Under analyze, if you select Statistics, students will have the mean and median temperature, as well as the minimum and maximum temperatures. Therefore, students can analyze the range of temperatures over time and can ask a variety of questions:

• When was there less variation in the reading? What reason(s) can you suggest for steadier readings at this time?
• When did the low and high temperatures occur? What factors contributed to these readings?
• From differences you see in the temperature readings during the day, what can you infer about the amount of sunlight on the thermometer? Provide observations and reasonings to support your inferences.
• Does the temperature in different places affect the duration of temperature change? If so, how does it?

The possibilities for experimental applications in the science classroom are endless. Students will be able to conduct a wide variety of experiments, such as investigating the thermal reaction between baking soda and vinegar in the chemistry classroom, monitor the energy given off by food as it burns during an experiment in the biology classroom, or to test Thermodynamics in the physics classroom. Clearly, the Go!Temp Thermometer is relevant in a number of different fields of study and can be used with elementary and high school students.

Conclusion

Having students collect temperature data through technology-based inquiry is commensurate with tenets of the National Science Standards. Undoubtedly, using the Go!Temp Probe can help teachers show students how to use the latest technology in an inquiry setting to gather data. In addition, the interactive graphs that can be generated by Logger Lite software help students interpret the results of their experiments and can be used to create professional laboratory reports.

Go!Temp Cost: $39

User Manual: http://www.vernier.com/files/manuals/go-temp.pdf

Edwin P. Christmann is a professor and chairman of the secondary education department and graduate coordinator of the mathematics and science teaching program at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Anthony Balos is a graduate student and a research assistant in the secondary education program at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.

Leave the lecture hall behind and join us for NSTA’s first un-conference experience, taking place in Minneapolis this October 27-29, and Portland, November 10-12!

What should you expect at this un-conference?

Taking place during the first two NSTA fall conferences on science education, this will give you the opportunity to continue the conversation, not the lecture. Many of our attendees have asked us to find a way to bring together people for engaging “offline” conversations. When something special bubbles up at the conference, or if there is a groundswell of people asking about a certain topic, we’ll make time for conversation and real-time reflection. Participants will be afforded an opportunity to present their findings from the conference while connecting with other science education enthusiasts.

Who will be invited to attend?

Anyone who attends the conference is invited, and we’ll use social media to connect with teachers who long to be part of NSTA conferences but are unable to travel. We’ll bring together conference attendees, favorite presenters, teams involved in the Maker Movement, community partners, science teacher superheros, your favorite authors, and perhaps a few STEM stars.

What is the expectation during your “Un-Conference Experience”?

The atmosphere will be relaxed, open, friendly, and fun. This will ensure that all participants, especially those joining for the first time, will feel welcome and respected. Learning will be spontaneous and inviting, providing you with information and, who knows, maybe a new comrade in education.  

Where and when will it be?

The first two will be in the exhibit hall, onsite at NSTA’s Minneapolis Conference, October 27-29, and the Portland Conference, November 10-12. We’ll bring updates to you live, via NSTA’s Twitter feed and Facebook page.

How can I suggest topics?

Add your ideas to the comments here, or tweet your ideas with the #NSTA16 hashtag. We’ll be monitoring the hashtag and encourage you to join us in this new venture.

Who is the host?

This is being supported by the NSTA staff and leadership, and I am the host. Please feel free to reach out to me via Twitter as well, and follow me at @DedricMcghee.

—Dedric McGhee, STEM Manager, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Shelby County Schools

2016 Area Conferences

• Minneapolis, Minnesota: October 27–29
• Portland, Oregon: November 10–12
• Columbus, Ohio: December 1–3

National Conferences

• Los Angeles, California: March 30–April 2, 2017
• Atlanta, Georgia: March 15–18, 2018
• St. Louis, Missouri: April 11–14, 2019
• Boston, Massachusetts: March 26–29, 2020
• Chicago, Illinois: April 8–11, 2021

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Two new children’s books published by NSTA Kids, a division of NSTA Press, are filled with rich illustrations and highlight the importance of discovery, observation, and investigation.

In From Flower to Fruit, young scientists are encouraged to use a magnifying glass to study plants in a garden. The book, intended for grades K–4, takes readers on a colorful journey that teaches them about flowers, fruits, and bees, and how plants have special parts that help them reproduce.   

The authors, Richard Konicek-Moran and Kathleen Konicek-Moran, write that flowers can provide “great teaching and learning opportunities for all ages,” and that botany is underrated as a topic for investigation because it is often considered a categorizing science. “We hope this book will introduce the discovery and wonder of botany,” the authors write.

In addition to the story, the authors include six activities for children and informative background information for parents and teachers. The book comes alive with beautiful and helpful drawings, illustrated by coauthor Kathleen Konicek-Moran. These detailed illustrations reinforce the role observation plays in science. “When you draw something, you look very closely at it and see things you might have missed if you were not drawing it,” Mrs. Maria—one of the story’s characters—says in the book.

Sketching, writing, and recording data and observations is also a major theme of the other new NSTA Kids book—Notable Notebooks: Scientists and Their Writings. The author, Jessica Fries-Gaither, captures why journaling is such an important part of the scientific process.

The book, written in rhyme for grades 3–5, profiles a diverse group of nine scientists (both modern day and past) and provides examples of their writings and illustrations. Dr. Jane Goodall is shown studying drawings of chimps in her notebook, Galileo’s diagram of planetary orbits is featured, and a section on Charles Henry Turner displays how his notes uncovered patterns in insect behavior. “A notebook is a place to plan experiments or tests and also to see patterns in what data could suggest,” the author writes.

Notable Notebooks includes four steps to help students create their own science notebooks. The steps encourage students to write down their findings and wonderings and share their work with family, friends, or teachers at school. “What makes a notebook special? It’s a place to think and dream, to write down thoughts and questions about all that you have seen,” Fries-Gaither writes.

Fall for These Savings on NSTA Press Books!

Between now and November 1, 2016, save $15 off your order of $75 or more of NSTA Press books or e-books by entering promo code BKS16 at checkout in the online Science Store. Offer valid only on orders placed of NSTA Press books or e-books on the web and may not be combined with any other offer.

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This visible image on Oct. 6 at 1:00 p.m. EDT from NOAA’s GOES-East satellite shows Hurricane Matthew as it regained Category 4 Hurricane Status.
Credits: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

As Hurricane Matthew traveled across the Caribbean and into the Atlantic, I think of how children who live in its path and those at a distance will make sense of the force of this extreme weather event. Science education can sometimes mean talking about scary or tragic events. Be sensitive to fears and stress by asking families about children’s previous experiences with natural disasters such as the flooding in Louisiana and West Virginia this past summer.

Even with relatively minor flooding events, children have questions such as, “What happens when water goes or stays where we don’t want it?” When localized flooding due to a plugged county drain affected just their building, children in the Frog Pond Early Learning Center in Fairfax County, Virginia, wanted to understand the process and talk about how to prevent it. Gail Dickert, Executive Director of the non-profit, said that the flooding led to stronger relationships with and between families. For the five weeks of cleanup after the county line backed up and poured sewage into their building, the school helped some families make other arrangements and created a combined age classroom for children 18 months to 5 years old for others. The children missed being with their usual friends but were curious about “how and why.” They were interested in finding solutions because they were displaced from their usual routines.

Resources for adults to help young children cope with violence and tragedies include The Fred Rogers Company article about tragic events. Mr. Rogers said, “In times of crisis, children want to know, ‘Who will take care of me?’…They also need to hear that people in the government and other grownups they don’t even know are working hard to keep them safe, too.” “Other grownups” includes teachers!

Resources for understanding weather events of all kinds includes the October issue of Science and Children  with “Storm Warning,” a free feature article by Tammy Lee, Meredith Kier, and Kelsey Phillips, and these additional resources:

“Science Shorts: Weather Watchers,” in the April 2011 Science and Children by Sami Kahn. 

The CoCoRaHS School Pilot Program for collecting data, a project of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. 

Hurricanes! by Gail Gibbons. 2009. Holiday House. 

Hurricanes by Seymore Simon. 2007. HarperCollins.

Ready, Set…WAIT! by Patti R. Zelch, Illustrated by Connie McLennan. 2009. Arbordale.