Carolina Biological Discount

Carolina Biological is offering a $25 discount of your next order of $150 or more. Simply include promotion code DY with your phone, fax, or mail order. You may also use it with online orders by entering the promotion code during online checkout. This offer expires February 28, 2010.

Enjoy your discount!

Presidential Award for Excellence in Math & Science Teaching

Email from ASTA regarding Presidential Award for Excellence in Math & Science Teaching

Please nominate any Alabama K-6 teacher who exhibits strong and exemplary leadership with colleagues and teaching math and science in the classroom!

Forward this information with your faculty as some may want to nominate a fellow teacher.

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching is now accepting K-6 nominations with an application deadline of May 3, 2010.

Visit the site to complete the nomination form at www.paemst.org and view the guidelines.

Workshop registration is now open through STIPD (https://pdweb.alsde.edu/pdweb/) for January 29, 2010 which will lead nominees through the application process. I will provide assistance and mentorship through their completion.

PD-075-2010Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
Jan 29, 2010


Please let me know if I can answer any questions from you or your faculty regarding this prestigious national award which comes with $10,000 for the state winners, one each in science and math!

Thanks!!


Charlene Dindo
Alabama Science Teacher Elementary Director
National Academy of Sciences Teacher Advisory Council
Fairhope K-1 Center
Pelican's Nest Science Lab
990-2230/cdindo@bcbe.org

Toyota TAPESTRY Grant deadline approaching...

The deadline to submit applications for the Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program is fast approaching. K–12 science teachers with innovative project ideas that enhance science education in their school and/or school district are encouraged to apply. Fifty large grants and a minimum of 20 mini-grants totaling $550,000 will be awarded this year.

Individual science teachers or a team of up to five teachers can submit proposals in one of three categories: physical science application; environmental science education; and integrating literacy and science.

Additionally, all awardees will receive a $500 stipend to use for travel expenses or registration to attend the NSTA National Conference in Philadelphia.

Don’t delay, apply now! Visit the TAPESTRY website for complete details. Applications must be submitted no later than Monday, January 18, 2010 to be considered.

NASA Invites Schools to Apply for Free Space Shuttle Artifacts

NASA invites eligible educational institutions, museums and other organizations to register, screen and request potential space shuttle artifacts. Included are small items such as astronaut helmets, gloves, and boots, and large items such as shuttle Motion Based Simulators and Crew Compartment Trainers.

NASA will retire the Space Shuttle Program at the end of 2010 and is eager to share the wonders of space exploration through donations to museum and library exhibitions. This is your opportunity to own and display Space Shuttle artifacts!

In order to receive an ID and password to access the web site, schools and universities must register using their IPED or NCES number. Information on registering and links to find the IPED and NCES numbers are available on the U.S. General Services Administration website.

The artifacts are free, but recipients must cover shipping and special handling fees.

For the latest information about NASA shuttle transition and artifacts, visit www.nasa.gov/transition.

EngineerGirl Essay Contest

Every year the National Academy of Engineering sponsors an engineering essay contest on the EngineerGirl website for students across the nation. The contest for this year is entitled “Survival Design Challenge". Students in grades 3-12 can compete for cash prizes, and we would like to get the word out to as many young people as possible!

You can find the announcement, guidelines, and related information about the contest on the EngineerGirl website: http://www.engineergirl.org/CMS/Contest.aspx

The deadline for this year is March 1, 2010.

Great News from Carolina Biological!

Have you heard the good news? You can now receive living material orders from Carolina Biological on Mondays & Tuesdays! This could make lesson planning with those critters somewhat easier to manage.
If you are ordering online (www.carolina.com/livingform), use the Notes field to enter that you want your order to arrive on Monday or Tuesday. Give the specific date as well so there is less chance of confusion.
If you order by fax or phone, simply tell the customer service representative.

They have also supplied us with a VIP phone number to avoid the automated menu you have to go through when calling. The VIP number is 866-938-5245 and will connect you directly to a customer service representative who is familiar with AMSTI orders. Way to go!!

Happy ordering!
Carrie Lin

Leonid Meteor Shower 11/17

The 2009 Leonid meteor shower peaks on Nov. 17th with a sprinkling of meteors over North America and a possible outburst over Asia.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/10nov_leonids2009.htm?list1281984

Free Learning Opportunity from NSTA

FREE SciPack – The Ocean's Effect on Weather and Climate, for Elementary and Middle School Teachers

If you’d like to polish your content knowledge to help your students understand this topic correlated to state standards, take advantage of this 10-hour online learning experience. Teachers can access NSTA’s online Learning Center (open a free account) and explore concepts related to Earth’s weather and climate. The focus is on standards and benchmarks related to weather and climate, the water cycle, climate change, and the role of solar energy and its affect on the atmosphere and oceans. The unique role oceans play in defining Earth’s weather and climate patterns is also specifically addressed. In addition to comprehensive inquiry-based learning materials tied to Science Education Standards and Benchmarks, the SciPack includes the following:
Pedagogical implications addressing common misconceptions, teaching resources and strand maps linking grade-band appropriate content to standards.
Access to one-on-one support via e-mail to content “Wizards.”
Final assessment which can be used to certify mastery of the concepts.

Visit the NSTA Learning Center at http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/scipacks.aspx?lid=exp for all details.

New PBS series--Design Squad

Design Squad, PBS' engineering reality competition series, has a new Teacher's Guide. Order your free copy today!

Developed for middle school science and technology teachers, Design Squad's latest guide blends hands-on engineering challenges with 3 core science concepts:

Force - students build their own blimps

Electricity - students design electronic games

Sound - students make and play instruments

The challenges use low cost, readily available materials and are linked to national science and technology standards.

To learn more about the guide, register for the NSTA webinar on Wednesday, Nov. 4th.
For additional classroom resources from Design Squad, check out Teachers' Domain.

NASA Announces the Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge

NASA is inviting students in grades 5-8 to participate in the Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge. The challenge uses real-world scenarios that meet science and mathematics content standards. Students can participate in a formal, informal or home-school setting.

Teams of up to six students will design a water recycling system for the unique environment of the moon. Teams will then test their system on a simulated wastewater stream. Proposals and results are due Feb. 1, 2010.

The winning teams will be announced in May 2010. The top three teams will receive awards. The first place team will receive an expense-paid trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the winning team's visit to Kennedy, students will gain firsthand knowledge about NASA's missions, receive behind-the-scenes tours of NASA's launch facilities, and learn about future aerospace and engineering careers.

For more information and contest rules, please visit http://wlmr.nasa.gov/.

On Oct. 28, 2009, Dr. Jay Garland will be hosting a webcast tutorial for educators on the WLMR design challenge from 4-5 pm EDT. The presentation will provide an overview of the contest objectives and schedule, demonstrate methods students will use to create and analyze the wastewater, and answer questions from the audience. The webcast can be accessed at http://dln.nasa.gov.

Also available online is the Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge Educator Guide. This guide is a starting point for middle school students to research and answer the challenging questions of how to maintain human habitations on the moon and other planets in the solar system. The guide focuses specifically on the need for water recycling. The guide includes background information on topics relating to the moon, Earth’s water cycle and water recycling. Several basic classroom activities on water recycling are also included.

The guide is available for downloading at http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/WLMR_Guide.html.

Questions about the Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge should be directed to Jay Garland at jay.l.garland@nasa.gov.

Great Science Web Site!

Tammy Carter at Hayden Middle School shared a great site with me this past week. She is using one of its interactive activities on DNA with her 7th graders. After just a few minutes exploring the site, I found so many cool experiments and online lessons that will interest you all! Many of them would be wonderful with those new SmartBoards so many of you are receiving!

Try Science

This link will take you directly to the "Find Activities" page directed towards teachers. The lessons are sorted by type, age, or topic to save you some time hunting for what you need.

Thanks Tammy!

The Wonders of YouTube!

Kim Cole at Fairview Middle School shared these links with me during a recent classroom visit and she thought it would be a great idea to post them here for everyone to use. We all know that you have to be careful with YouTube, but there actually is a tremendous amount of useful video there for teachers.

Most of these clips are aimed for 7th grade Organisms: Macro to Micro but they will also carry over into 3rd grade Plant Growth & Development and 1st grade New Plants.

Parts of a Flower
WOWBug Grooming
Life Cycle of a Butterfly
A Plant's Story
Fast Plant's Life Cycle

Have a great week!
Carrie Lin

Physics Central PhysicsQuest Program for Grades 6-9

Attention Middle School Science Teachers!

Have you heard of PhysicsQuest, a science competition program sponsored by Physics Central? Nancy Caffee from Cleveland High School shared this site with us at a recent compressed training session. Register your classes at this site to receive competition materials and information that will allow your students to participate in this year's competition.

Here is a description from their site:
"PhysicsQuest is a middle school competition that consists of four physical science experiments centered on a mystery. The experiments are designed to be done by small groups in a classroom or after school setting. Each of the experiments gives students a clue that they need to solve the mystery. Classes can submit their answers online and be entered into a random drawing for prizes. PhysicsQuest kits are provided free to registered classrooms."

Sounds like a great opportunity!

Grant Resources

During several of my recent classroom visits, teachers have asked about grant resources to acquire funding for classroom projects. I've compiled a list of a few that were recommended to me by previous grant recipients and some others that came up in my searches. In our current times of proration, we could all use a little (or a lot) of help! It never hurts to submit a grant proposal--the worst that could happen is a polite "No".

If anyone has other opportunities that we can benefit from, please feel free to share here.

CBS 42 One Class at a Time Grant

Toolbox for Education

Kids Gardening Grant

Donors Choose

Class Wish

Target Stores Community Outreach

Alabama Wildlife Grants

Thanks so much for all you do,
Carrie Lin

Be Safe Out There!

Safety in the science laboratory may be a totally new concept for many of your students, especially the younger ones. Before now, in other classes, safety may not have been a serious issue. However, if safety rules are not followed in science class, students may be exposed to materials and procedures that could cause injuries.

Getting students to comply with safety rules and teaching them proper lab techniques are two of the most important responsibilities of every science teacher. Students depend on you for safety training and for teaching the topics they need to learn.

A valuable resource for science safety information is Flinn Scientific Inc. Follow this link to their September issue of Science Safety Notes which is focused on ways to help students comply with lab safety rules including this little gem:


The Goggle Song
(The “Goggle Song” is sung to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”)

I’m a little chemist, short and stout.
Here are my goggles, here are my eyes.
When I don’t wear my goggles, my teacher shouts,
PUT THEM ON OR YOU GET OUT!


The ending is a bit harsh, but gets the point across that you take science safety seriously.....

Implementing Science Notebooks

The use of science notebooks is an integral part of implementing AMSTI. All too often teachers get bogged down in one specific aspect of the notebook training and see the notebook as a hurdle to overcome instead of the learning tool that it is. Speaking personally from my experience after attending my first Science Notebooks workshop, I couldn't get past the idea that it HAD to be a composition notebook. My supply list at school did not call for composition notebooks, and I was unable to request additional supplies. So I felt that I was unable to go any further. I continued with my usual system of a 3-ring binder with tabbed sections, feeling that I had failed at science notebooks.

At my next Summer Institute, I found out that many of my peer teachers had fully implemented the science notebook concept into their class--most without the use of that infamous composition notebook. It works beautifully with a 3-ring binder, a pocket folder, a spiral notebook, etc.. I came to the realization that it was not the physical structure of the notebook that was so important--it was the contents inside! Were my students using the components (problem, prediction, plan, data, conclusion, new questions)? YES! Were my students creating a chronological log of their learning? YES! Were we using the notebooks as an assessment tool? YES!

A side benefit of science notebooks is the amount of copies you can save. Due to proration, many of you are limited in the number of copies you can make. As the students use the notebooks and become accustomed to writing the question, hypothesis, and describing their results on their own, you will find that the handout masters lose their usefulness. The process becomes second-nature with guidance and practice.

Another key point is that every notebook entry will not follow the basic six components. Some lessons are meant as observations, reflections, or content reinforcement. Do you still record those lessons in the notebook? YES! They are a step in the students' progression through the module and contain vital information for you and them.

Remember, it needs to work for you and your students. Science notebooks are a tool to promote process skills and problem solving. If anyone has had an Aha! moment that you would like to share regarding your science notebooks, please post a comment here. We are a team and can learn from each other's experiences.

Have a great week,
Carrie Lin
carrie.lin@athens.edu

Ordering Living Materials

Many questions regarding living materials have come up this week so I wanted to address them here so that others may benefit from the same information.
The following AMSTI modules have living materials that are an integral part of the unit:
1st grade: Animals 2x2
2nd grade: Soils, Organisms
4th grade: Animal Studies
5th grade: Microworlds, Ecosystems
7th grade: Organisms-Macro to Micro

When you receive your kit, you will find a Living Materials Letter packed inside. It includes care instructions, ordering information, and a coupon for each shipment that is provided with your kit.

To order your living materials, go to www.carolina.com/livingform . You will enter your shipping address as well as the Control Number found on the top right of each coupon. You will also choose the date you want the shipment(s) to arrive. Deliveries are only made on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. You must also give 10 days from order date to delivery. Plan ahead!

For modules with multiple coupons, it is best to space your orders apart so that you can focus on the investigations with each organism. Plan your orders/deliveries to follow your progression through the unit.

Let your office staff know that you are expecting a delivery so that you can open the package immediately to acclimate the animals to their new surroundings. If there are any problems with your order upon arrival, call the customer service department at Carolina Biological at 800-334-5551. You will need your Control Number handy so that they can process any reorders.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Carrie Lin
carrie.lin@athens.edu

More Compressed Training Opportunities!

There are many of you that have changed grade levels since your AMSTI training or you may be one of the lucky ones to teach multiple grade levels each day. Either way, you are in need of compressed training so that you will receive those science modules. Please follow the link below to print out a registration form for compressed training opportunites offered through AMSTI-Athens State and AMSTI-UNA. The sessions available at ASTA are also found on this form.

Compressed Training Registration Form

Please return your registration to us by FAX at 256-216-6623 by 9/4/2009. If you have any questions, you can contact me by email or call our office at 256-216-6622.

They have left the building!

With the exception of a few Cullman County schools, all systems have picked up their kits from our warehouse and delivered them to your classrooms. Please let us know if you have any concerns about your science modules or GLOBE kits. Our materials manager is Debbie Phillips (debbie.phillips@athens.edu).







Remember that GLOBE kits stay at your school and are not returned to AMSTI-Athens. Many schools choose to store the GPS kit in the library or computer lab where teachers have access to check out the units as needed. Individual grade level GLOBE kits can also be stored in a central location or with a Lead Teacher for that particular grade. Make it work for your faculty!







Carrie Lin



carrie.lin@athens.edu

Speaking of ASTA...

ASTA is seeking session proposals for the upcoming convention in Birmingham on October 20th. If you are interested in presenting, follow this link for a proposal form. Deadline for submissions is September 1st. Each of you has an area of expertise, skill, or knowledge that you can share with fellow science teachers from across the state!

Proposal Form

We'd love to see your there,
Carrie Lin
carrie.lin@athens.edu

K-5 Science Compressed Training

Click on the link below to find information regarding Year 1 Science Compressed Training that will be offered at the 2009 ASTA Convention in Birmingham on October 19th. Feel free to print and share with others in your faculty who may be interested. Qualifications and registration information can be found on this document. If you qualify and are interested in attending, contact Joyce Waid (joyce.waid@athens.edu) for approval before you send in your registration for the convention.

ASTA K-5 Science Compressed Training

Thanks!
Carrie Lin
carrie.lin@athens.edu

Welcome Back to School!

Here they come! As the new school year QUICKLY approaches, we all have begun to hit "panic mode". Many busy days are spent getting the classroom ready and preparing our materials for the new crop of students to enter the door on the first day. I would like to wish all of you a great year and to remind you that I am here to help you in anyway I can with AMSTI science.
Thanks for all you do,
Carrie Lin
carrie.lin@athens.edu

Science Cycle Dates

Here are the Cycle Dates for your science modules for 2009-2010.

Cullman Co, Lawrence Co, Limestone Co, & Morgan Co.
Cycle 1: August 17-October 15
Cycle 2: October 23-December 18
Cycle 3: January 11-March 12
Cycle 4: March 24-May 21

Athens City, Blount Co, Oneonta City
Cycle 1: August 14-October 16
Cycle 2: October 23-December 18
Cycle 3: January 11-March 8
Cycle 4: March 22-May 18

Please let me know if you have any questions. I would love to hear from you to schedule a visit with your classes!

2009-2010 Cycle Schedules

You should have received an email containing your AMSTI Science Module cycle schedule this past week, sent to the address you submitted at registration. This will help you plan your units for the upcoming school year as each cycle corresponds with the four 9-week grading periods. For example, Cycles 1 & 2 fall within first semester and Cycles 3 & 4 are within spring semester.
Cycle 1 begins on August 14th for Blount County, Athens City, and Oneonta City.
Cycle 1 begins on August 17th for Cullman County, Limestone County, Lawrence County, and Morgan County.
Your kits will be marked with the return date on each crate.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns: carrie.lin@athens.edu

Summer Institute 2009

We survived AMSTI Summer Institute 2009 with only a few bumps and bruises!! Honestly, it went very well, considering all the grade level/teacher changes we had leading up to it. Two sites over an hour apart is crazy, but hopefully we won't be doing that again. Thanks to all the math and science trainers at both Hayden and Cedar Ridge who did a phenomenal job!! I look forward to working with my teachers at the Year 2 schools as they enter a year where some things are familiar and others are brand new. That 's how we grow as educators! For the Year 1 schools, we can all relate because we've been in their shoes. But in the end, the real winners are the students across our region who will see math & science in a different light.