December STEAM Updates
STEM + Arts Integration for All GCPS Students
Shout Outs!
- Creedmoor Elementary hosted a STEM night in partnership with NCSU!
- The GCPS Instructional Technology Team, along with staff from West Oxford Elementary, School visited Highfalls Elementary School in November to learn how Moore County Schools is taking a district-wide approach to STEM implementation.
Girls Who Code Volunteers Needed!
Girls Who Code will provide each club with $300 to get started, the supplies to do club activities, and a t-shirt for each club member.
Read more about Girls Who Code here and contact me if you want to be a club sponsor.
Organize an Hour of Code During the Week of December 9-15!
Computers are everywhere, changing every industry on the planet. But only 45% of all high schools teach computer science. Good news is, we’re on our way to change this! If you've heard about the Hour of Code before, you might know it made history. More than 100 million students have tried an Hour of Code.
With the Hour of Code, computer science has been on homepages of Google, MSN, Yahoo!, and Disney. Over 100 partners have joined together to support this movement. Every Apple Store in the world has hosted an Hour of Code, and leaders like President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote their first lines of code as part of the campaign.
This year, let's make it even bigger. I’m asking you to join the Hour of Code 2019. Please get involved with an Hour of Code event during Computer Science Education Week, December 9-15.
You don't need to know how to code to participate. You don't even need a computer! This year, try the Hour of Code yourself—everyone can benefit from learning the basics.
Get started here. If you're hosting an event in your class, let me know. I'd love to come join!
Elementary Teachers - Check Out These Biology Kits!
- Bio Bistro - Would you eat genetically engineered food?
- Kit of Parts - How can Biology help solve some of the world's toughest problems?
- See DNA - Learn the fundamentals of biology.
- Super Organisms - Design an organism to solve a problem.
- Tech Tokens - How are technology and the world interconnected?
- VirEx Delivery - How can we use viruses to solve problems?
NBA Math Hoops
Learn more and request a kit here.
Google Science Fair Missions for Grades 6-12
Google has made five missions available from its Science Fair. They can be completed using everyday materials and the complete lessons are available here:
Stay Cool - Create an insulator.
You Have the Power - Build a windmill.
Listen Up - Understand sound waves.
Shake It - Create a generator.
The Learning 4 All | Engaging All Students Through Innovative Learning Experiences Conference
The Learning 4 All | Engaging All Students Through Innovative Learning Experiences Conference brings K-12 and university educators together virtually to collaborate and share promising practices to elevate all students. The virtual platform affords participants the opportunity to network, share, and learn from others coast to coast.
Conference Description: Formerly known as the 4T: Teachers Teaching Teachers about Technology, the Learning 4 All Virtual Conference serves K-12 Educators, Coaches, and Administrators striving for excellence and innovation in their schools and districts. Since 2011, the conference has brought together over 5,000 educators to collaborate, engage, and lead change through a virtual platform.
The conference will have two strands to better fit your needs:
- Putting it Into Practice: Teachers – focused on what innovative instruction looks like, classroom application, relevant resources and supports provided for implementation
- Putting it Into Practice: Coaches and Administrators- focused on coaching teachers and moving them towards innovation, how to create a culture of innovation, building leadership capacity in your school.
Sessions included, but not limited to:
- Design Thinking
- Project Based Learning
- Social Emotional Learning
- Digital Citizenship & Media Literacy
Due December 5 - PRISM Award
PRISM Award applications due by Dec. 5
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund is now accepting applications for the PRISM Award. North Carolina public school teachers can receive up to $3,000 in funding towards STEM-related materials and up to $1,500 for training. Teachers may apply below. Deadline is Dec. 5. Apply here.
Toshiba America Grants for Grades 6-12
With a Toshiba America Foundation grant, sixth to 12th grade teachers can bring their best new teaching ideas to life.
- Do you teach in a middle and high school classroom?
- Do you have an innovative idea for improving STEM (Science, technology, engineering and math) learning in your classroom?
- Is your idea project based learning with measurable outcomes?
- What do you need to make learning STEM subjects fun for your students?
Sixth to 12th grade teachers are invited to apply on-line for a Toshiba America Foundation grant of up to $5,000 and more than $5,000 to help bring an innovative project into their own classroom.
Apply here.
STEAM Materials Available for Checkout
- Engineering is Elementary Kits for Grades 1-5
- Sphero Robot
- Ozobot Robot
- littleBits STEAM Student Set
Lauren Curtis
UNC '01, NCSU '09
Former Middle School Teacher and Elementary & Middle School Principal
Email: curtisl@gcs.k12.nc.us
Website: https://sites.google.com/gcs.k12.nc.us/gcpssteam/home?authuser=0
Location: 200 Taylor Street, Oxford, NC, USA
Phone: (919) 693-4613 101262
Twitter: @laelal