
Science Snippets
MPS Elementary Science for April 2022
Instructional Strategy of the Month - Muddiest Point
Muddiest Point
Ask students to write down what they think was the muddiest (most confusing or least clear) point in today’s lesson.
Collect student responses.
Let students know how you will use the information in the next part of the lesson or next lesson.
Analyze student responses and use the information to improve instruction in the next lesson or part of the lesson.
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.
K - 2: April 28th
3rd: May 3rd
5th: May 5th
All meetings will be held through zoom. 4:15 - 5:15
OSTA - Oklahoma Science Teaching Association
Happy *to Teach* Hour
Our first in-person Happy *to teach* Hour will be on May 14th at ChickenNPickle in OKC. Join OSTA for a great chance for venting, networking, and collaborating. Come ask your burning questions, bounce ideas off your peers, and meet teachers in your area.
Registration is free. Just RSVP so we can save you a seat.
This is a time to join together and talk during a time when teachers have never felt more pressure.
May 14th
10 am - 11:30 am
ChickenNPickle, 8400 N Oklahoma Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73114
MPS elementary science department will pay for your membership & registration.
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.
OK SDE
NSTA Resources

The Water We Drink: A Kinder Unit
A group of kindergarten children were inspecting a jar of water collected from a nearby stream. When Yonas asked, “Can we drink this water?” several children responded, “Eww! No! There’s dirt at the bottom of the jar!” Ms. Ali overhead the exchange and said the water was not safe to drink but they were lucky because they could get clean water from the faucet. The children wondered why they were lucky and Tasha asked, “Doesn’t everyone get water from a faucet? Ms. Ali explained that only one in every three people on the planet had easy access to safe drinking water. So, in their class of 18 children, only six would have clean water to drink. And so began the unit, The Water We Drink.

Water's Children: Celebrating a Resources that Unites Us All
Grades: PK -2
Twelve children from around the world describe how water appears in their environment, and what it means to them. Their differing experiences are united by the phrase "water is life," translated into each of their languages.
Around the world, water appears in many forms: a snowflake, an oasis, the stream from a faucet, monsoon rain. In Water's Children, twelve young people describe what water means to them. The descriptions are as varied as the landscapes the speakers inhabit, but each of them also expresses, in their own language, a universal truth: Water is life.
Read Aloud: Epic Books

How Hugh Bennett Saves American's Soils and Ended the Dust Bowl: Erosion
For decades, he had studied the soils in every state, creating maps showing soil composition nationwide. He knew what should be grown in each area, and how to manage the land to conserve the soil. He knew what to do for weathering and erosion.
To do that, he needed the government’s help. But how do you convince politicians that the soil needs help?
Hugh Bennett knew what to do. He waited for the wind.
This is the exciting story of a soil scientist confronting politicians to encourage them to pass a law to protect the land, the soil. When the U.S. Congress passed a law establishing the Soil Conservation Service, it was the first government agency in the world dedicated to protecting the land, to protecting the Earth.
Read Aloud: Epic Books
Upcoming MPS PD
Back-to-School Discovery Training
If you will be a NEW user for discovery for the 22-23 school year:
Discovery 101
July 26 9 am - 12 pm
or
July 27 1 pm - 4pm
If you are a current science teacher using discovery:
Discovery 201
July 26 1 pm - 4 pm
or
July 27 9 am - 12 pm
Registration for this sessions is below. All sessions will be held at MNTC at the South Penn Campus.
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.
Did you know we have resources for students to do science at home? Check out this link to our MPS elementary science website to find out more! With some students working from home and summer right around the corner, this is a page you can share with parents.
Discovery Tips
Stemscopes Tips
Teacher Resources
Science Near Me
Want to know what science happenings are happening near Moore? ScienceNearMe is a National Science Foundation–funded project that aims to get K–college learners more involved in community science. The project website features a database of community science projects, science conferences, speakers, competitions, and other happenings, including virtual events, occurring nationwide.
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

Be S.E.L.F.I.S.H: How to Reduce Teacher Stress and Improve Well-Being
April 26th 3:00 - 4:00
The single greatest influence in a classroom is the teacher, who has an innate, selfless desire to inspire and motivate students. These efforts to support students can often come at the expense of a teacher’s own well-being.
From efforts to help students who are bullied, depressed, and/or anxious to the pressures of standardized tests, mounting demands on their time, overcrowded classrooms, and more, teacher stress is real. Join this session to get SELFISH so you can take better care of yourself and your students—doctor’s orders!
If you are not free to join the live event, register to receive a recording.

Make an Inference in 5 Steps
May 10th 4:00 - 5:00
Regardless of a text’s topic, type, or complexity, students at every grade level must learn how to make inferences. Thinking beyond the text is the foundation of every comprehension standard. K-12 educators will learn the concrete, five-step process to help students infer author ideas—even if they lack background knowledge on the subject matter. Attendees will:
- Execute the five-step process using print, visual, audio, and video texts
- Receive numerous lesson concepts to explicitly define and dissect the invisible inference process for students
- Learn explicit strategies to overcome a reader’s lack of text-to-self connections or personal experiences
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.
