This semester, a group of students from a nearby college are participating in a study abroad program in the UK. Last week they set out to learn more about sustainable energy—in Iceland. So they are right on the scene of the current events there. What an opportunity to learn up close and personal!
The websites of the various news media have stories and images of the volcano and its impact on world travel. But if you’re looking for background information on volcanoes for yourself or your students, SciLinks can help. There are sites on Volcanoes (grades 5-8 and 9-12) and additional sites on related topics such as Volcanic Eruptions and Volcanic Zones (If you enter the stem word volcan in the search box on the SciLinks page, you’ll get a list of all the topics.) Many of the sites in SciLinks focus on volcanoes in the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” but there are sites on the earth processes that cause volcanoes, the types of volcanoes, and the hazards associated with eruptions.
Here are some of my favorites that relate to current events:

• A stunning photograph from NASA
• The Global Volcanism project from the Smithsonian, which  includes a map to locate volcanoes around the world
• Volcanoes of Iceland
• Volcano Explorer
• The Savage Earth including an animation of the anatomy of a volcano
• Volcanoes has simulations of the temperatures needed to melt rocks
• Volcano Live with daily updates
• Any health risks from volcanic ash?

This year has provided many teachable moments in earth science, from earthquakes to severe storms to the current volcanic eruption. If you need to brush up on your own knowledge, a search of the NSTA Learning Center with the topic volcano lists journal articles with teaching suggestions, books with related chapters, and “do-it-yourself” learning modules, such as the Science Objects Plate Tectonics and Earth’s Changing Surface, and archived webinars and podcasts.
Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sverrir_thor/4493031870/

We’re pleased to announce a new resource for science teachers: NSTA’s Book Beat, a monthly e-newsletter designed to quickly connect you with lesson and activity ideas, new resource books, free chapters, and special offers from NSTA Press.  Visit the NSTA website to read the first issue or to sign up to receive future monthly issues of this and other NSTA e-newsletters.  We look forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions!

I recently had the pleasure of connecting with Dr. Peter Veronesi. Dr. Veronesi is the Lawrence Scadden Teacher of the Year Award Chair for the Science Education for Students with Disabilities (SESD). SESD promotes science teaching and instructional material development for all students, regardless of learning level or disability. The Scadden Award, co-sponsored by Reaching the Pinnacle for Students with Disabilities, New Mexico State University and SESD, recognizes a dedicated teacher who made an outstanding contribution to science teaching for students with disabilities. 
Dr. Scadden was blinded at age five and went on to overcome significant barrier to his dreams. Scadden is internationally renowned for his contributions to the advancement of disabled people. To learn more about this award, please click here: http://www.sesd.info/scadden.htm.
Please keep me posted on what your group is doing—the success of this blog is dependent on your participation!  And remember, I’m only a few keystrokes away at aodonnell@nsta.org.

The United States has long been called a “melting pot,” a place where diverse people mixing and mingling. Learning the dominate language is a challenging part of the process, particularly when a student is trying to learn a new language and expand their content knowledge. Okhee Lee and Cory Buxton shared their views on teaching science to English Language Learners in the April op-ed of NSTA Reports. They write:

English Language Learner (ELL) students can now be found in virtually every school in the nation. Currently, more than 20% of U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, more than 5.5 million—11%—of public school students are currently categorized as ELL students. While Spanish speakers comprise approximately 80% of the ELL student population, U.S. students speak more than 400 different languages. Although the vast majority of U.S. ELL students attend schools in large urban districts, increasing numbers have spread into geographic regions that have not historically seen this linguistic diversity.

Read the rest of the article here.