
Science Snippets
MPS Elementary Science for March 2022
Contents
1. Instructional Strategy
2. Grade-Level Share Outs
3. Science Resources
4. Earth Day Activities
5. Scientists Making History
6. Children's Literature
7. Virtual Field Trips
8. OSTA Happy (to Teach) Hour
9. OSTA Convention Information
10. Summer Science Activities for Kids
11. On Demand Professional Development - PD in your PJS
12. Teacher Travel
Instructional Strategy of the Month - A Four Corners Variation
Four Corners
Four corners is a long-used teaching method using movement, student choice, and reasoning. You can use four corners as a way to identify student understanding, but the main purpose is to have student REASON. Watch this 2 minute strategy that uses four corners in a different way.
Upcoming Grade Level Share Outs
New tools? What worked? What do we need to change?
We are finishing up year one with our new curriculum. Let's meet together as a grade level and discuss what worked, what didn't, what we need to change, and new tools that we can use. PLEASE MAKE TIME TO JOIN US so that we can learn from each other.
4th: April 7th
6th: April 21st
K - 2: April 28th
3rd: May 3rd
5th: May 5th
All meetings will be held through zoom. 4:15 - 5:15
Science Resources
Resources for your classroom
Did you know our science department has resources for you to have and some that you can borrow? The following are all available for check-out:
Mineral Kits
Rock Kits
Fossil Kits
Planetarium (Available for reservation for the 22-23 school year)
Need some materials for a science activity? We can do that too! Please allow at least a week for common materials and longer for specialty materials.
Earth Day April 22, 2022
Today, Earth Day is widely recognized as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year as a day of action to change human behavior and create global, national and local policy changes.
Activities for Earth Day

Seed Balls - Repurposing Paper
Using the book The Great Paper Caper as a catalyst, students will repurpose paper by making seed balls.

Earth Day Collage - Repurposing paper into art
Using old magazines, students make art. This particular example demonstrates creating a picture of Earth by repurposing magazines, but the pictures students can create are endless!
Scientists Making History
Young Champions of the Earth Award
Find out about Nzambi Matee from Kenya, Africa and see what she is doing to recycle and reuse plastic. She is helping companies reduce their waste of plastic while also creating a lightweight and low-cost building material. Matee is a engineer and has a background in biochemistry.
Books for Earth Day

The Great Paper Caper
PK - 3
The animals? homes are disappearing. Tree by tree, the forest is being cut down. Clues! There must be clues. For instance, look--there is a mysterious bear carrying an ax! But what would a bear want with so many trees? Perhaps the discarded paper airplanes littering the forest floor have a story to tell?
Oliver Jeffers' quirky, childlike humor and lovable illustrations are in full effect in this funny whodunit featuring a winning cast of animals and a message about the importance of conservation and recycling.

Thank You, Earth
All Ages
Touching on subjects from life cycles to weather, colors, shapes, and patterns, this is an ideal resource for science and language art curriculums and a terrific book for bedtime sharing. Thank You, Earth is a great choice for Earth Day celebrations, as well as family and group read-alouds.
Includes backmatter with kid-friendly ideas for conservation projects information about the photographs, and additional resources.

Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved Our Planet
Grades 3 - 6
Mexican American Mario Molina is a modern-day hero who helped solve the ozone crisis of the 1980s. As a young man in California, he discovered that CFCs, used in millions of refrigerators and spray cans, were tearing a hole in the earth's protective ozone layer. Mario knew the world had to be warned--and quickly. His inspiring story gives hope in the fight against global warming.
National Geographic Resources Virtual Field Trips

National Geographic: Ocean (Recorded)
In this virtual field trip from National Geographic, dive into learning about what whale history and culture can teach us with Explorer Brian Skerry, how remotely operated vehicles give us an unprecedented view of seamounts in the Galápagos Islands with Explorer Salomé Buglass, and how eco-journalism inspires change with Young Explorer Sruthi Gurudev.

Geoscience and Changing Landscapes (Grades 3-8)
Discovery how landscapes are created and changed over time. This is a LIVE event. Registration information below.
March 24th at 9:00 am.
OSTA - Oklahoma Science Teaching Association
OSTA Summer Convention
OSTA's summer convention will be held June 11th at UCO. If you would like to attend, we would like to help you! The science department will pay the registration of up to 20 people to attend.
If you would like MPS to pay for your convention fee, complete this form.
Present at the OSTA Summer Conference
Would you like to branch out and lead a session at for OSTA this year? We need elementary-topic presenters! If you are unsure of a topic or if you would like to present, please reach out to Jenn.
Summer Science Activities for Kids
Summer is around the corner
Summer is closer than we think. There are lots of programs that help our students keep learning about science throughout the summer. Please share this information with the parents of your students.

Science Museum of Oklahoma Camps
Space is already limited and filling up fast! Please share this information with parents. They have programs for PK-k and for 1st - 6th grade students

OKC Zoo
The zoo offers programs for students ages 4 - 12 and has some special programs for students ages 13 -17. These are week-long camps with a different theme every week.

OCCC Kids College
OCCC Kids College offers week-long classes in morning and/or afternoon formats that will allow students to pick the class in which they are interested. Registration opens April 18th.

Rose State Kids College

Camp Classen
Do your students want to experience a live-away camp? Try Camp Classen's Summer Camp. These are week-long camps and the campers will be living at the YMCA Camp Classen in Davis, Oklahoma. Students participate in swimming, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, along with many other activities. This camp is for students ages 5 - 12.
On-Demand Professional Learning: PD in your PJS

Increase Student Engagement; Decrease Your Teacher Workload
Monday, March 28th 4:00 - 5:00
During this edWebinar, teachers will learn methods of increasing student engagement by building strong, supportive classroom communities. We will examine daily and weekly routines that use time with little benefit to student learning. Attendees will be introduced to tactics including:
- Low-prep methods of introducing project-based lessons and units that decrease teacher workload while improving student learning outcomes and engagement
- Assorted activities that eliminate the need for compliance-based systems and replace them with equitable classroom agreements
Attendees will leave this session with immediately actionable tips and tactics that they can implement in their classrooms in order to lighten teacher workload and increase student engagement in both physical and virtual environments.
This edWebinar will be of interest to teachers, school and district leaders, and education technology leaders of all grade levels. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.

Beyond Test Anxiety
Monday, April 4 2:00 - 3:00 (Register and you will have access to the recording even if you cannot attend live.)
Teachers are getting burned out due to the pressures of standardized testing, lack of time to plan and teach, overcrowded classrooms, personal matters, and student issues that originate from outside of school. In this interactive edWebinar with a classroom teacher and a former school counselor, attendees will learn to:
- Identify causes and effects of student and teacher anxiety
- Select strategies to help students reduce test anxiety
- Practice anxiety-reducing techniques for themselves
We believe that the single greatest influence in the classroom is the teacher. Unfortunately, their innate ability to inspire and motivate their students sometimes comes at the expense of their own well-being. Therefore, reducing anxiety for teachers and students is critical to classroom success. Join us in this session to tackle both!
This edWebinar will be of interest to teachers, school leaders, and school counselors of all grade levels. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.

The Science of Learning
Thursday, April 7 4:00 - 5:00
This edWebinar dives into the most promising research that can transform how we teach to align with what is known about the way young children learn. By attending this edWebinar, you’ll be able to:
- Connect, extend, and challenge your current understanding of how the brain learns and classroom practices with new ideas and ways of engaging with students
- Apply promising research-informed strategies and insights from Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) science to common opportunities in the elementary classroom
- Connect motivation, academic resiliency, and the belonging mindset to how you work with each individual student
This edWebinar will be of interest to PreK-5 teachers, librarians, school and district leaders, instructional specialists, professional development coordinators, and instructional coaches. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.
Teacher Travel
Want to get away this summer AND do some science? Check out some of these options for teachers.

Ecology Project
This group has trips to Hawaii, Costa Rica, Colorado, Belize, Galapagos Islands, Mexico, and Yellowstone. Explore, do research, and experience something new. Work with wildlife, collect data, and observe along side scientists. There is a cost associated with these trips.
