The Human Body: Bones, Joints, Muscles, and Skin

The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) has launched new web pages for teaching students in grades 4–6 about their bones, joints, muscles, and skin. These science-based resources are aligned with national science and health education standards and include interactive activities, visual aids, videos, vocabulary terms, classroom-ready health information, and Kahoot! quizzes for knowledge checking. A Teacher’s Corner contains detailed information on mapping to Next Generation Science Standards and National Health Education Standards.

Green Schools Campaign
 
Green Schools Campaign, a program of The Climate Reality Project (a nonprofit organization involved in education and advocacy related to climate change), is a youth-led, intergenerational campaign bringing together community members of all ages. The Green Schools Campaign is developing the leadership and grassroots organizing of young people to spearhead initiatives to transition their schools and communities to 100% clean energy. Currently, Green Schools Campaign is working with students ages 13 and older, as well as teachers who wish to provide support. 

Teams of students and teachers in local school districts who are interested in running electrification/clean energy campaigns are welcome, as are those looking for general support and training on doing climate advocacy at their schools. As part of the campaign, members will have access to specialized advocacy skill-building workshops and small-group campaign team coaching from Climate Reality staff. Register on the Green Schools Campaign website. For answers to specific questions, e-mail youthprograms@climatereality.com.

Updated Science and Our Food Supply—Investigating Food Safety From Farm to Table
 
Bring the science of food to life in your classroom. FDA has released its updated 2024 food safety curriculum for middle and high school classrooms. The new curriculum differs from the previous editions in the following ways:

•    This curriculum combines the previously separate middle school and high school books into one book with lesson plans (labs and activities) you can choose for your own class level.
•    New lab instruction videos were added to help you and your students visualize the lab setups.
•    New activities include these: An Outbreak Investigation with students matching DNA sequences to real pathogens in an actual Pathogen Database, and an examination of emerging technologies used to help keep food safe.
•    The previous Food Safety A to Z Reference Guide content is now integrated into Background Information sections throughout the curriculum, so there is no separate A to Z Guidebook.
•    The Dr. X video is no longer part of the curriculum modules, but it will remain online separately for a limited time. 

Free, self-paced training is also available for eligible teachers to learn how to teach Science and Our Food Supply curriculum topics and earn Continuing Education Units. Learn more at https://www.teachfoodscience.org/.

NASA Engages

With a new school year starting soon, NASA has introduced a platform to connect communities with agency experts to share their experiences working on agency missions and programs. NASA Engages includes a database of agency employees of various expertise, skillsets, and backgrounds. The public may request a NASA expert to participate in educational, professional, and civic events, either virtually or in person, by submitting a request through the NASA Engages page. 

NASA Engages is open to all types of public speaking engagements. Audiences include preschool to college, libraries and museums, youth organizations, professional and technical organizations, community groups, and other nonprofit organizations. Engages also is not just limited to speaking engagements: The public may request science fair judges, emcees at award ceremonies, and more.

Requests should be submitted at least seven weeks in advance for U.S. events. Preference will be given to virtual events. International requests can be submitted via e-mail and will soon be available through NASA Engages. In the meantime, submit those requests via e-mail to HQ-NASAEngages@mail.nasa.gov. (Participation is voluntary, and while every effort will be made to accommodate requests, there is no guarantee of fulfillment.)

Association of American Educators Foundation Teacher Scholarships and Classroom Grants 

Teacher scholarships and classroom grants are competitive awards available to all full-time educators. Apply online for up to $500 for professional development or classroom materials. The application deadline for both is October 1.

Complete the scholarship application if you are applying for professional development opportunities such as conferences, inservices, and materials for Professional Learning Communities. Use the grant application if you’re applying for classroom materials including, but not limited to, lab materials, books, software, calculators, math manipulatives, audio-visual equipment, and art supplies.

SeedMoney Challenge

Applications are open for the SeedMoney Challenge, a 30-day crowdgranting competition open to public food garden projects of nonprofit groups, including schools. No previous online fundraising experience is needed. The SeedMoney Challenge can help your project raise the funds it needs to flourish. Participating projects receive 100% (i.e., 0% fees) of what they raise, whether they reach their funding goal or not. In addition to the funds they raise, projects compete for 432 grants ranging from $100 to $1,000. The more a project raises, the larger the grant it qualifies to receive. Apply by November 12.

On November 15, all funding campaigns whose applications were submitted on time and fit the criteria will go live. On December 15, the 30-day challenge period ends. Your campaign will be able to keep whatever it has raised even if it hasn’t managed to reach its funding goal.