Taking STEM Outside: WILD Project-based Learning in Your Schoolyard

June 13 & 14, 2016 (100% attendance required for credit)
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Guthrie Center Elementary School (900 North 4th Street, Guthrie Center)
Registration Deadline: June 8, 2016
Registration Fee: $60 (includes materials and 1 license renewal credit); or $135 (includes materials and 1 EDMA graduate credit)
Electronic Registration

Learn how outdoor projects, exploration, and investigations provide fantastic opportunities for project-based learning that addresses Iowa Core Science Standards. We will demonstrate how to bundle your favorite Project WILD and Aquatic WILD activities with field investigations to create project-based learning units. Much of this “flipped” professional development will be spent creating your own path through a host of nationally developed and tested resources to engage your students in authentic inquiry through modeling, discussion, and practice using your school yard or a local natural area and your classes as the framework.

Participants should bring a laptop or notebook, information about their school site or a nearby natural area, their science standards (and/or other relevant standards), and relevant curriculum resources for use with workshop activities. Teaching partners/groups are encouraged to facilitate planning/implementation of projects. The registration fee includes materials.

For more information, contact: Barb.Gigar@dnr.iowa.gov; 515-494-3891.

Teaching with Primary Sources in the Science Classroom Webinar - March 17

This webinar will explore how an inquiry-driven analysis of a primary source can engage students, establish meaningful contexts for learning and doing science, and build literacy skills.

Using historical primary sources, science teachers can create learning experiences for students grounded in authentic, open-ended problems. To answer those problems, students conduct research as part of a sustained inquiry process and share solutions and products beyond the classroom.

This event will be recorded and a link will be available as soon as possible after the event.

Get wild with National Wildlife Week

Celebrate this wild week with us by learning about Iowa’s wildlife! Check out these cool Iowa wildlife facts, fun classroom activities and MORE.

Cool Things You Should Know about:

Bald Eagles
Bats in Iowa
Bobcats in Iowa
Coyotes
Crayfish
Foxes
Golden Eagles
Iowa's Turtles
Opossums
Otters
Raccoons
Snakes
Spiders

Lesson Plans

And the Wolf Wore Shoes
Animal Adaptations
Animal Habitats
Deer Dilemma
Deer Populations
Fish Populations
Monarch Butterfly Habitat
Monarch Research
Population Biology
Who Lives Here?
Wildlife in National Symbols

Activity Sheets
Bass Connect the Dot Sheet

Design Your Own Aquatic Habitat
Draw a Raccoon
Iowa Fish Families Word Search
Iowa Fish Matching Sheet
Iowa Fish Word Search
Iowa Fish Word Scramble
Predator Matching Sheet
Turtle Nest Maze

Iowa Wildlife Facts
Four Animals You Didn’t Know Lived In Iowa
Iowa’s Land Before Time: Prehistoric Life Still Around Today
6 Animals You Might Not Know are Protected in Iowa
11 Extinct Animals You Didn’t Know Were Iowan
14 Iowa Wildlife Tracks to Look For

Free Seedlings for Iowa Schools from Trees For Kids

To celebrate Earth Week next month, the Trees for Kids program is offering free seedlings to schools and communities across Iowa.

Each school building and community may order one free custom packet consisting of 200 bare-root seedlings, 50 each of four selected species. Recipients are not required to plant their trees during Earth Week (April 17-23, 2016), but must have them planted before May 31, 2016.

To take part in this offer, schools and communities need to complete a simple application form and return it to the Trees for Kids program via email or postal mail by April 1, 2016. The application form can be found at www.iowadnr.gov/urbanforestry by clicking on “Trees for Kids Earth Month Celebration.”

Schools and communities receiving packets will be asked to email at least one photo of the trees being planted and a short paragraph indicating where and why they were planted.  No other requirements are necessary to receive the free trees.

The Iowa-grown, native trees and shrubs provided by the State Forest Nursery are naturally adapted to Iowa’s weather and soil extremes. Trees provide many benefits including wildlife habitat, environmental protection in the form of improved energy efficiency and water quality. They are vital hosts to pollinators and provide seasonal beauty to our landscape. Planting trees has been a traditional way to celebrate Earth Day since its beginning in the 1970s.

Schools and communities can create their own custom packets or select from a variety of recommended specialty packets, such as:

• Fall Color –Trees and shrubs with vibrant fall color
• Fastest Forest – Great along streams and wet areas, these grow at least 3 feet per year
• Pollinator Packet – Provides vital host species for butterflies and other pollinators
• Privacy Packet – Great to use as a visual barrier or along a fence line
• Spring Flowers – Create spring color with these flowering shrubs and small trees
• Storm Resistant Packet – These trees resist breakage from wind and ice storms
• Wild Edible Packet – Enjoy an edible landscape

Photos and information about various packet species can be found at www.iowadnr.gov/ seedlingcatalog. The seedlings are between 8 and 24 inches, depending on the tree or shrub species. Size requests do not apply to this program. Order early for best species selection.

The Trees for Kids and Trees for Teens grant programs are funded by Iowa Department of Natural Resources Forestry Bureau, MidAmerican Energy, Black Hills Energy, Alliant Energy, Iowa Bankers Association, Trees Forever, Iowa Tree Farm Committee and the Iowa Woodland Owners Association.

For more information about ordering no-cost Trees for Kids seedlings, contact Laura Wagner, DNR Trees for Kids Coordinator, 515-725-8456 or laura.wagner@dnr.iowa.gov

 

Greening STEM Integration Grant for Educators

The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), with major funding support from the Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas (MCFA), is offering funding for teachers, after-school programs, and nature organizations for projects that support the integration of Greening STEM into current or new programming or curriculum.

Developments in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are growing faster than ever and the need to find engaging ways to teach lessons in these subjects grounded in real-world experience is clear. By learning about STEM concepts in reference to real-life environmental examples or issues, the subject matter is more tangible and extends beyond the textbook or classroom, influencing the way students think about the world and the way they view their connection to it. Research (see “Benefits of Environmental Education”) shows that environmental education helps build creative thinking and relationship skills, fosters leadership qualities and makes school subjects rich and relevant.

Through these grants, NEEF will support educators who are leading the way in Greening STEM education and provide support for continued development and innovation of school programs and projects connecting STEM with environmental education.

• Application Deadline: 11:59pm CT Thursday, April 5, 2016. All applications must be submitted through NEEF’s online grants management system
• Average Grant Amount: Grant amounts will range from $500 - $1,000.
• Allowable Expenses: Grants funds can be used to cover costs associated with delivering programs (e.g., curriculum/materials development, field trips, program supplies, transportation, professional development, etc.), as long as the result of the funding creates lasting impact beyond the single event/use.
• Grantee Announcement: Grantees will be announced April 22, 2016. NEEF will promote the winners and their programs using a variety of communications tools and strategies.
• All applicants must register for National Environmental Education Week.