Science Tidbits
October 2017
2017-2018 Science Field Test Overview and Assessment Calendar
3-8 Science Field Test
The Department recently released an update on the LEAP 2025 Science Field Test assessment calendar. “Students in grades 3 through 8 will take a science field test during the regular testing window but will not take an operational science test for the Spring 2018 administration. The items from these field tests will be used to create the new LEAP 2025 science assessments for grades 3 through 8, to be operational with the Spring 2019 administration.”
Science and Biology Field Test Item Types
The field tests include the following stimulus-based item types:
• selected-response (multiple choice and multiple select)
• technology-enhanced (dropdown menus, drag and drop, hotspots, etc.)
• fill-in-the-blank
• two-part items made of a combination of item types
o--- two-part dependent, where the score in part B is dependent on the response in part A
o--- two-part independent, where the responses in each part are related in content but not in scoring
• constructed-response
• extended-response
More information on the upcoming Science Field Test found HERE.
LSUHSC-S CLS Program
LSU Health Science Center in the Department of Clinical Laboratory Science's CLS program is a Bachelor of Science program in the School of Allied Health that prepares students to take (and pass) a national certification exam upon graduation, which is required to work in clinical laboratories (where your blood gets sent for testing after it’s drawn at the doctor’s office). They accept all prerequisite courses obtained from BPCC, they accept TOPS, and they offer a dual degree program with LSUS where students can obtain a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology at the same time. The CLS program is a great way for students to graduate with a 4-year degree and be immediately employable and earning an actual living wage. It is also a great stepping stone for those who are considering medical school or graduate school.
The first link below is for the homepage, and the second link is a video giving an inside look at a day in the life of a clinical lab scientist. The program will also be featured at the upcoming Caddo and Bossier High School College Fairs.
http://www.lsuhscshreveport.edu/departments/AlliedHealth/AHDepartments/ClinicalLabScience/index
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zQrxaVIaqw&feature=youtu.be
For more information, contact:
Kristin Butler, MLS (ASCP)CM
Instructor
Department of Clinical Laboratory Science
School of Allied Health Professions
LSU Health Sciences Center
kbutl1@lsuhsc.eduWorkshops
Your Discovery Education Your Way
More Info:
Date: October 10, 2017
Time: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location: PD Seminar Room
Target Audience: All Educators
Link to Workshop: www.pd360.com/#resources/learning/catalogs/mycatalogs
Link to Workshop Flyer: https://goo.gl/GK49u4
Tuesday, Oct 10, 2017, 04:00 PM
Caddo Parish School Board, Midway Avenue, Shreveport, LA, United States
6-12 Science Curriculum Chat
Google Forms sign up HERE
Room 1
4:30-6:00
Wednesday, Oct 25, 2017, 04:30 PM
Caddo Parish School Board, Midway Avenue, Shreveport, LA, United States
NSTA Area Conference will be in New Orleans from November 30 to Dec. 2
1. Inspire Our Young Learners
2. Integrate Science Education for ALL
3. Innovate Science Education for Tomorrow
For more information, please visit the NSTA Conference website at www.nsta.org/ neworleans .
2017-2018 Youth Wetlands Week Program
Youth Wetlands Week will be April 23-27, 2018, so please mark your calendars.
Delivery of curriculum and kits is currently scheduled to occur in March. Please forward this information to any and all the teachers in your school that might be interested in receiving this FREE resource. Please complete the registration form (Click Download Documents) and either email or fax it back to Katherine B. Pace by September 29, 2017. Once completed, teachers will be registered to receive the FREE materials in March.
Katherine B. Pace
Email: KFarquhar@agcenter.lsu.edu (This is the correct email.)
4-H Youth Development and Parish Chair
Caddo Parish
2408 E. 70th Street
Shreveport, LA 71105
Phone: (318) 226-6805
Fax: (318) 226-6769
Grants
LSTA AWARD NOMINATIONS
The LSTA Science Education Awards are presented by the Louisiana Science Teachers Association, an affiliate of the National Science Teachers Association. The LSTA Awards include Outstanding Science Teacher of the Year, Essie Beck "Rising Star" Science Education Award, LSTA Travel Grants and more! Check out the Caddo Science's Grants page for other funding opportunities!
Toshiba 6-12 EdTech Grants
Deadline: Rolling
Do you have a plan to make science and math learning for engaging for students? Toshiba America Foundation provides grants to educators to support tech-enhanced STEM learning for students. Grants enable educators to roll out match and science project-based learning, and can be used to purchase supplies and materials.
Prize: Grants requests of less than $5,000 are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year; grants proposals for more than $5,000 are due November 1.
Apply HERE
NEW! Solve for Tomorrow Contest from Samsung
Deadline: November 9, 2017
Let your student innovators run wild in the Solve for Tomorrow contest. Solve for Tomorrow, sponsored by Samsung, encourages students in grades 6-12 to develop real-world STEAM projects that improve their local communities. For a list of past winning projects, as well as rules and teaching materials, visit the contest's website.
Apply HERE
Teacher Resources
Promoting Student Science Talk in the Classroom
Skype A Scientist
What's New with Symbaloo?
Caddo Science Symbaloo -- Featured websites
Live Science offers a fascinating window into the natural and technological world, delivering comprehensive and compelling news and analysis on everything from dinosaur discoveries, archaeological finds and amazing animals to health, innovation, and wearable technology.
Researchers, teachers, students, healthcare and information professionals use ScienceDirect to improve the way they search, discover, read, understand and share scholarly research. ScienceDirect combines authoritative, full-text scientific, technical and health publications with smart, intuitive functionality so that users can stay informed in their fields and can work more effectively and efficiently.
RedOrbit.com is committed to providing stimulating, original content and presentation, with over 2,000,000 pages covering the vast ideological spectrums of space, science, health, and technology. The beautiful and engaging forum created at RedOrbit.com promotes a friendly and open environment, enhancing user loyalty and community while advancing RedOrbit’s goal of providing the world with a virtual Utopia for intelligent, curious minds.
Cool Phenomena
“Slithering Stones” of Death Valley
At Racetrack Playa in the Death Valley National Park, California, strange forces are at work. Forces capable of pushing heavy rocks across the flat surface of a dried-out lake while no one is looking.
Scientists have scratched their heads over the trails left by these sliding stones since early in the 20th Century. In the 1960s, Californian geologists started a rock monitoring programme.
They tracked 30 stones, weighing up to 25kg, 28 of which moved during a seven-year period – some more than 200m. Analysis of the stones’ trails suggested speeds of 1m per second. In most cases, the stones traveled in winter. In the decades that followed, theories about ice and wind gained support. Others involved algal slime and seismic vibrations.
So what’s happening? Are the stones sliding around in bad weather? ‘We think so,’ says Dr Gunther Kletetschka, of the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic and Charles University in Prague, who led a 2013 study on the stones.
His team’s research describes what happens when water on the Playa surface freezes. According to their theory, ice stuck to the stones remains frozen longer than the surrounding ice – because rock conducts heat away faster. This reduces the force between the rocks and the Playa surface, so they can be pushed by the wind.
6-MS-PS3-1: Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.
8-MS-ESS2-2: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales
Midges swarm over Lake Malawi
Imagine thousands and thousands of flies, all hatching at once in the middle of a huge, open expanse of freshwater...rising up from the lake in huge plumes, like smoke in the distance.
The plumes attract birds and fish, who glut themselves on the insects as they are blown across the lake towards the shores.
Each plume is made up of millions of flies, and as you can see in the image on the right the lake fly make dense clouds that can be seen far on the horizon.
When the lake fly makes landfall, this is the scene close to the shore as they swarm around trees and buildings.
Children go crazy over these lake fly and gather large handfuls of the insects to make into cakes, which they fry and eat!
Lyre Bird
It's safe to say that no bird on earth can rival the viral potency of the Superb Lyrebird. In fact, there aren’t even that many humans who can claim the millions of Youtube views the lyrebird has amassed, thanks to its otherworldly ability to mimic sounds from its environment. Other birdsongs, camera shutters, car alarms, and even chainsaws have found their way into the lyrebird's repertoire.
Watch the Lyre Bird HERE.
6-MS-LS2-2: Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
7-MS-LS2-4: Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populationsScience Safety Tips
When Ordering Chemicals for High Schools
Caddo Parish Schools recently completed a monumental chemical cleanup. 100's of bottles of out-dated, corroded, and not used chemicals were removed from high schools to ensure the safety of our students and teachers.
In order to safely remove chemicals from classrooms we must work through the Department of Environmental Equality (DEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to bring in qualified technicians to log chemicals, properly package chemicals, and safely dispose of chemicals stored in lab closets. This process is exceptionally expensive and time consuming. To limit the amount of unnecessary chemicals Caddo Parish has on hand, I asked your principals to include me in the ordering process for purchasing chemicals for your classroom using classroom fees. Please sent the purchase request to Lisa Nance at lmnance@caddoschools.org or fax to 318-603-6368 to request my signature for chemical purchases. I will send your school a copy of the SDS for each chemical ordered along with a signed copy of the purchase request.
Caddo Science Resources
New Science Standards and Resources
7th Grade At-a-Glance Transition Plan Pacing Guide 2017-2018 ONLY
8th Grade At-a-Glance Transition Plan Pacing Guide 2017-2018 ONLY
New resources are added all the time so keep checking back with us.
Science Funnies!
#caddoscience
Caddo Science
Email: lmnance@caddoschools.org
Website: www.caddoschools.org
Location: 1961 Midway Ave, Shreveport, LA, United States
Phone: 318-603-6372
Twitter: @caddoscience