Science Tidbits
November 2017
Happy Holidays
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.
LEAP 2025 Science Field Tests Webinars
Please have teachers save-the-date for a series of webinars January 9-11 concerning the new science field tests. Participants will learn information about the new science assessment vision, field test design, and item types.
● January 9, 2018: LEAP 2025 Grades 3-5 Science Field Test Webinar for Teachers
● January 10, 2018: LEAP 2025 Grades 6-8 Science Field Test Webinar for Teachers
● January 11, 2018: Biology Field Test Development for LEAP 2025 Webinar for Teachers
More information to come.
Broadcom MASTERS Announces Top 300 Middle School Students in STEM Competition
The following are the Caddo Schools Finalist. Congratulations!!
Clary, Joseph 8th Grade
Caddo Parish Middle Magnet School, Shreveport, LA
Project Title: Warning: Baby on Board
Modi, Ashini 7th Grade
Caddo Parish Middle Magnet School, Shreveport, LA
Project Title: Big Bang to Big Freeze: Lifting the Veil on Hubble's Constant to Shed New Light on the Fate of Our Universe
Tandon, Eshika 6th Grade
Caddo Parish Middle Magnet School, Shreveport, LA
Project Title: Can Anti-Cancer Agents, Turmeric and Simvastatin, Decrease Germination and Protein Content in Seeds?
2017-2018 Regional Science Fair
The Louisiana Region I Science and Engineering Fair will be held at the Bossier Civic Center, 620 Benton Road, Bossier City, LA on March 1-3, 2018. The BPCC will need all paperwork by February 9, 2018.
Please see the official memo from the Region I Science Fair Director, Dr. Elaine Cox.
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is currently accepting nominations in honor of outstanding math and science (including computer science) teachers of K–6. The award recognizes those teachers who develop and implement a high-quality instructional program that is informed by content knowledge and enhances student learning. Awardees join a network of more than 4,700 past recipients and receive a certificate from the President of the United States, a trip to Washington, DC, and $10,000. Educators are invited to nominate a teacher or begin an application on the PAEMST website.
Nominations close on April 1, 2018; applications must be completed by May 1, 2018.
Link: https://www.paemst.org
Workshops
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 and Scholarship Opportunities
Scholarship Opportunity! Generation Nano: Superheroes Inspired by Science! Scholarship Opportunity!
Submissions accepted Sept. 18, 2017 – Jan. 8, 2018.
See nsf.gov/GenNano for more information, and follow us at #GenNano.
Questions: email gennano@nsf.gov.
Louisiana Grant Watch
What's New with Symbaloo?
Caddo Science Symbaloo just got a FACELIFT! Click below to visit some of the Symbaloo's newest awesome links.
Visit Edulastic to create technology enhanced assessment questions to better prepare students for the upcoming field test. With Edulastic you can create drop-down question, drag and drop questions, fill in the blank, and much more. Thank you Ms. Merrill Davis for Sharing!
National Geographic has lots of phenomena for science teachers in all science disciplines.
National Science Digital Library
Looking for activities to enhance the standards? NSDL has activities listed by standard which makes searching for relevant activities a breeze.
NGSS has added activities to the standards library to make researching standards easy. Just put in the standard you are looking for and click on show resources.
Use Print Friendly to print the articles only. Leave off all advertisements.
Cool Phenomena
Carrier Crab
A Carrier Crab uses a Sea Urchin to protect himself from predators. See video HERE.
Supplemental reading: 100 Years of Decorating yourself in Junk.
8-MS-LS1-4: Construct and use arguments(s) based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of survival and successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
HS-LS4-2: Construct an explanation based on evidence that biological diversity is influenced by (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are
better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.
Snow Rollers
Conditions have to be perfect for these snow creations to form. Read about it HERE.
HS-PS1-2: Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.
Science 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.
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