Dinosaurs A to Z

From Alamosaurus to Zuul, students in grades preK–12 can stomp through the alphabet and explore the extraordinary world of dinosaurs. Produced by educators at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the Dinosaurs A to Z multimedia resource presents sets of videos, facts, and coloring sheets about 26 different dinosaurs, one for each letter of the alphabet. Through the resources, students are introduced to giant long-necked, long-tailed sauropods; incredible beasts the size of modern-day birds; two-legged theropods; and more! An accompanying guide for families (or teachers) presents ideas to extend learning, such as by creating a dinosaur research book with additional dinosaurs for each letter, writing “A Week in a Life” story about a featured dinosaur, or comparing and graphing data about various dinosaurs’ diets, sizes, heights, and habitats. 

Earth's Major Systems Lesson Plan

Use this lesson from Education World to let students demonstrate their understanding of how Earth’s major systems interact with one another. Targeted for grade five, the standards-based lesson supports the Next Generation Science Standards and challenges students to use clay and other maker supplies to model interactions among the Earth’s major systems. After learning about the four different systems that make up Earth (e.g., geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere) and discussing each system, students create models showing an example of an interaction between the hydrosphere (water and ice) and geosphere (land) or between the atmosphere (air) and geosphere (land). The lesson plan features a lesson objective, materials list, and suggested dialogue for teachers throughout the learning experience.

Center for Excellence in Education’s Teacher Enrichment Program 

The Center for Excellence in Education’s (CEE) Teacher Enrichment Program (TEP) provides opportunities for middle and high school teachers to connect with experts from industry and academia to explore cutting-edge research and make meaningful professional links with direct benefits for their students. The program offers virtual (and occasional in-person) events for teachers to learn about ongoing research in various STEM fields and discover resources and opportunities to encourage students to pursue STEM careers. Presentations have addressed careers and research in the aerospace industry, agricultural biotechnology, chemical biology and therapeutics, and art preservation. In addition, several presentations are College and Career Panels, which focus on introducing high school teachers and students to potential careers in STEM fields including Information Technology, Space, and Oceanography. Visit the CEE’s Teacher Enrichment program web page for more information and to register to receive notifications about upcoming events, classroom, and networking opportunities available through the group.

GroMoreGood Grassroots Grant

This grant will provide $500 each to 170 programs to start or improve their youth gardens or greenspaces. Any school district, university, nonprofit organization, government entity, or tax-exempt organization (such as religious organizations and Tribal governments) in the United States and U.S. Territories serving at least 15 youth may apply. Funding must be used to install new or improve existing youth gardens or greenspaces. 

Programs will also have the opportunity to apply for additional funding through specialty award categories, for a total of $1,500 in funding. Applications are due by January 31.

Operation Breakout Lesson Plan Competition

January is National Puzzle Month. Puzzles can help build students’ problem-solving skills, critical-thinking skills, and attention to detail. ORISE wants to see how you incorporate puzzles (scavenger hunts, breakouts, etc.) and games into your lesson plans to help develop these skills. Teachers of any grade level or subject are invited to submit a STEM lesson plan that includes a puzzle or a game. Three teachers who submit lesson plans will be selected to receive mini grants to help buy equipment for their classroom. First place will receive a $1,500 mini-grant; second place, a $1,000 mini-grant; and third place, a $500 mini-grant. (Deadline January 31)

Student Suborbital Flight Opportunity: Cubes in Space

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and iEDU Inc. invite educators (formal, informal, homeschool) of students ages 11–18 to register for the free Cubes in Space program. Participants receive a course of activities that guide students to design experiments or technologies that connect to a real-world Earth or space-based problem or need. Selected experiments will be launched via a sounding rocket from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia as part of RockSat-C in late June 2025, or from a high-altitude scientific balloon in New Mexico by NASA’s Balloon Program Office in late August 2025. Register by February 17.