This week’s ambassador of the week is Richard White, a science teacher at Griffin Middle School in Cobb County, GA. He has been a prolific commenter in our Ambassador Community, offering fellow teachers and the Legends of Learning team insights on issues such as homework and grading.

We really appreciate everything he has done to make Legends of Learning better, and we know it is because of his passion for education. As part of our feature, we wanted to ask Richard what one of his most remarkable teaching experiences was.

“Last year I taught 6th grade advanced content Earth science students and I had a young lady who was really quiet and seemed shy,” said Richard. “I watched her as we started learning about rocks and minerals, and I noticed her face light up as we learned how different rocks and minerals formed.

“She was very excited when we had a local geologist come in and talk with the class, and I could see she was learning a great deal each day. I always wrap up the rock and mineral unit by having students make gem trees to take home, and we did this again for this class. She was very careful in how she put hers together and very proud when she finished.

“After that I noticed that she was not as shy and was willing to jump in when called upon. I got an email from her mother saying that she did not know what I did but all that they talked about at home now was science, and how much she loved her science class. I found out later that she had taken out her rock collection and started putting new pieces into it.”

“Seeing someone grow and knowing that what we did in class had a personal impact on her, that is why I love what I do,” closed Richard.

We love it, too. Thank you for this remarkable story, and all of the great suggestions and help you offer to us, and our larger community of teachers.

With next week’s full moon approaching quickly and school just back in session, we decided to share our a lesson plan for our Lunar Phases learning objective. The accompanying learning objective has eight games in total, so check them out.

Lunar Phases Lesson Plan Objective

Students will be able to:

• Name the phases of the moon and identify them based on a model.
• Identify which phase of the moon occurs in various locations in its orbit around Earth.
• Describe why only one side of the moon is visible from Earth.

Requirements

Time Required:
65 minutes

Materials Needed:

• Teacher with computer/internet access
• 1 computer/laptop/iPad per student with internet access
• Styrofoam cups (9 per group)
• Black marker
• Blue marker
• Phases of the Moon Worksheet

Teacher Preparation

1. 1. Create Playlist 1, a 30 minute playlist, in Legends of Learning with the following game found in Lunar Phases: Lunar Wolves, and Ms. Rose and Lunar Phases.
2. 2. Create Playlist 2, a 10-minute playlist in Legends of Learning with 5 assessment questions from the Lunar Phases learning objective.
3. 3. Prepare 9 styrofoam cups (1 set of 9 per group) by coloring in the bottoms to represent the lunar phases. Use the blue marker to completely color the bottom of the ninth cup to represent the Earth.
4. 4. Make copies of the Phases of the Moon Worksheet (available on the PDF version of this lesson plan) for each student.

Engage (5 minutes)

1. 1. Students are divided into groups of 4-5. Each group is given a set of 9 cups. The bottoms of the cups are shaded with marker to represent the various lunar phases. The blue cup is the Earth.
2. 2. Groups are instructed to place the blue cup in the center (bottom up) and surround the “Earth” with the cups showing the lunar phases in what they think is the correct order.
3. 3. Students will keep their model on their table to be revisited later after playing the games.

Explore (30 minutes)

1. 1. Hand out the Phases of the Moon Worksheet to each student.
2. 2. Have students sign into Legends of Learning and enter your teacher code.
3. 3. Launch Playlist 1 to the students.
4. 4. Pass out the Phases of the Moon Worksheet.
5. 5. While students are working through this game they will complete the worksheet.

Explain (15 minutes)

1. 1. Students will get back together in their groups from the Engage activity and re-arrange their phases of the moon model based on the new knowledge they have gained.
2. 2. Teacher will check that each group has an accurate model prior to moving on.
3. 3. Teacher will review the answers to the Phases of the Moon Worksheet by drawing diagrams on the board. Teacher will ask students to come to the board and shade in what the moon looks like for each of the phases.

Elaborate (5 minutes)

1. 1. 1. Explain to students that no matter when we look at the moon, we are always seeing the same side of the moon. On Earth, we never see “the dark side” of the moon.
   2. 2. Show this video to students to help them understand the reason why:

1. 3. Ask students: How do we know what is on the other side of the moon?

(Answer: Satellites have been sent to take pictures of the other side of the moon so we know what it looks like.)

Evaluate (10 minutes)

1. 1. Launch Playlist 2 to your students. When they finish the assessment questions, any time left is freeplay.
2. 2. Analyze student results to determine what concepts need to be a focus for reteaching.

We’ve got great news! We mapped our games and assessment items to meet science standards for Texas and Georgia middle school students. This means we have two new interfaces into our product; one that is built for Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and, one for the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE).

This interface is in addition to our standard Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) interface.

Interested educators from Texas and Georgia can access the new interfaces by contacting us and requesting their accounts be made TEKS or GPS compliant, respectively. Simply contact us and request your preferred interface.

“Cobb Schools are excited to be using the engaging Legends of Learning resources to teach our Georgia science standards,” said Sally Creel, STEM and Innovation Supervisor, Cobb County Schools. “Teachers are working hard to maximize every minute in the classroom. We don’t have time to waste on resources that do not align to our standards.”

If you haven’t checked out the Legends of Learning platform yet, give it a shot! All teachers can try LoL games for free. Create your account today.

In addition to TEKS and GSE, we are currently working to integrate our games with Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL).

“We know there is a shortage of quality classroom material that will help educators teach to these standards in the important subject area of science,” said Josh Goldberg, chief strategy officer, Legends of Learning. “We understand teachers in Texas and Georgia have been waiting for this news because they have been telling us for a long time that LoL helps their students master complex science lessons.”

Let us know if you have any feedback or questions relating to our curriculum-aligned games and interfaces.

Today, we are traveling from Kennesaw, GA to Clemson, SC to watch the solar eclipse with Cobb County Students. This fantastic Legends of Learning journey is possible thanks to Dr. Sally Creel, a key member of the STEM & Innovation team in the Cobb Division of Teaching & Learning.

We look forward to watching the eclipse with Sally. In fact, here she is with her students in front of the bus driving us up there today! You can follow our progress on our solar eclipse live blog.

In addition to working with us on the solar eclipse effort, Sally has been a valuable member of the larger Legends of Learning community, helping us shape the product for districts and individual schools.

So a special shout out to Dr. Sally Creel — thank you! We feel lucky to experience just a small bit of the brilliance that you bring to your Cobb County schools, educators, and students.

As noted here two weeks ago, Legends of Learning will be in Clemson, SC with Cobb County students to watch the total solar eclipse.

We will share photos and updates on Twitter and here via our live blog. Please let us know if you will be watching the solar eclipse. We will share your content, too! And if you are still looking for lesson plan content, visit our solar eclipse page.

4:04 p.m.

We’re editing our photos on the way back from the eclipse. Here is our totality shot, and a close partial eclipse shot.

2:20 PM

Checking out the crescent sun

2:00 PM – Clemson, SC

We have arrived and it’s lunch time!

12:45 PM – Georgia/South Carolina border

As we cross over into South Carolina, students are getting geared up with games from the LoL Eclipses and Seasons learning objective!

 

10:30 AM – Interstate 85

Our bus buddies, Diane and Kristen, swagged out in their LoL gear

9:00 AM – Kennesaw, GA

Our Cobb County crew is ready to head to Clemson!

Caitlin Unterman, one of our most active ambassadors in the Legends of Learning community, offered two new resources for those looking to find solar eclipse content. She offered a NASA YouTube video for the kids, and made a poster of Dos and Dont’s for students.

These two new resources complement the Legends of Learning solar eclipse lesson plan, the two free games on our public Alpha Games site, the additional eclipse games in our “Eclipses and Seasons” learning objective, and another 16 public eclipse resources available on this blog. Interested parties can sign up to become an ambassador on the Alpha Games page.

Thank you, Caitlin, for sharing these resources with us. We admire all of the great work you do to help science students at Forest Middle School, and across the country.

NASA Video

Poster

This is a copy of a news release issued this week.

 

Cobb County Students to Experience Once-in-a-Lifetime Total Solar Eclipse

Legends of Learning Preparing Students for the Astronomy Event

Marietta, Ga.—August 1, 2017—Middle school students from the Cobb County School District in Georgia will be taking the field trip of a lifetime. On August 21, 40 students will join Legends of Learning on a field trip to Clemson, S.C., where they will watch the total solar eclipse from one of the most optimal places in the country.

Two students from each participating Cobb County middle school will be selected to take part in this field trip. Students will play Legends of Learning eclipse games on the ride to Clemson, where they will watch the total solar eclipse.

“This is so exciting! Our students will remember this experience for the rest of their lives,” said Dr. Sally Creel, STEM and Innovation Supervisor, Cobb County Schools. “We appreciate that our new partners, Legends of Learning, are making this once-in-a-lifetime event so special for Cobb students. Our teachers will be incorporating the games into their instruction prior to the eclipse. Students will understand that, yes, it will be dark during the eclipse and what scientific phenomena are causing the darkness.”

Students, educators, families, and people across the United States will be watching the total solar eclipse, when the sun will completely disappear behind the moon. The eclipse will darken skies from Oregon to South Carolina, an extremely rare event; in some locations on Earth it occurs as infrequently as every 1,000 years.

To prepare students and interested parties, Legends of Learning, an innovative game-based learning platform, made two of its most popular eclipse-related curricula games available, “Walter’s Travels” and “Bubble Eclipse” on https://www.legendsoflearning.com/alphagames/. Like all Legends of Learning games, the games engage middle school students studying science with standards-based curriculum content. Legends of Learning teachers can access additional eclipse games via the Earth and Space Sciences “Eclipses and Seasons” learning objective.

In addition to the games, Legends of Learning has created a solar eclipse lesson plan for its Eclipses and Seasons learning objective. The platform also has available a curated resource with additional educational tools for teachers. These materials are available at www.legendsoflearning.com/solar-eclipse.

Legends of Learning launched earlier this year and has thousands of curriculum-based education games and assessment items focused on middle school science. The company conducted rigorous academic research in partnership with Vanderbilt University and found that students boosted their test scores by the equivalent of over half a letter grade in three weeks when their teachers used digital games in the classroom. The study was recently published by the “Journal of the Learning Sciences.”

 

About Legends of Learning

American children need new education heroes, teachers dedicated to using new, engaging methods to teach curriculum. Legends of Learning helps educators make their classrooms fun, engaging, and productive learning environments through research-driven, curriculum-based games. We use ongoing original research to create a learning game platform filled with an epic range of lessons for stronger subject mastery and classroom engagement. All games are based on state curriculum standards. Teachers can don their capes with Legends of Learning at legendsoflearning.com.

 

About Cobb County School District

The Cobb County School District is the second largest school system in Georgia and the 23rd largest in the nation. It serves 113,000 students and 114 schools, including 67 elementary schools, 25 middle schools, 16 high schools, two charter schools, one special education center, one adult education center and one performance learning center.  Our vision is One Team, One Goal: Student Success.

 

Media Contacts:

Stacey Finkel

ASPR

Stacey.Finkel@aspr.bz

703.304.1377

 

Geoff Livingston

Legends of Learning

geoff@legendsoflearning.com

703.859.0089

 

Donna Lowry

Director of Communications

Cobb County School District

Donna.Lowry@cobbk12.org

770.426.3345

 

In our last blog post on NGSS challenges, we discussed some of the issues facing teachers trying to implement NGSS in the classroom.

In this post, teachers will find three primary groups of NGSS resources to help them in the classroom. Two groups focus on those classroom resources with lesson plans and those without. The third group offers teacher tutorials to help educators deliver an NGSS curriculum.

These curated resources work with Legends of Learning’s 90 lessons, 800 games, and thousands of assessment items based on NGSS and state standards. In addition, our Earth and Space lessons also have lesson plans. Check them out today!

And with that, please find the NGSS resources below.

Resources With Lesson Plans

1) eGFI

Engineering Go For It (eGFI) offers a wide variety of lesson plans for middle school science. These lessons help teachers meet the required science and engineering practices (SEP) aspect of NGSS implementation.

2) NGSS on the NSTA Site

Is it crazy to think that the curator of the NGSS standards would also have a great series of NGSS resources, too? Of course not. The NSTA provides an excellent source of lesson plans and content for their classrooms.

3) OpenEd

It will take some sifting, but OpenEd has an incredible amount of NGSS-aligned lesson plans, quizzes, homework assignments, videos, and games. Most of the content covers the DCI (Disciplinary Core Ideas) as well as crosscutting concepts (CCC). Search away!

4) PBS Learning Media

Like GLOBE (below), PBS Learning Media offers plenty of content in a wide variety of formats, from video to traditional documents and everything in between. The search feature allows you to sift through the content by topic or standard, and even find lesson plans. Enjoy this great series of NGSS resources!

5) Q?rius from the Smithsonian

The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History offers Q?rius resources for teachers seeking to bring the Smithsonian into their classroom. Q?rius delivers 30 Earth and Life Science topics, all of which include printable lessons.

Resources Without Lesson Plans

6) The GLOBE Program

This resource provides content based on education standards from across the world, with a focus on the National Science Education Standards in the United States. While NGSS was not the focal point for the United States, GLOBE does focus on data collection and the scientific process, which meets the SEP component of the NGSS. You will need to use Teacher’s Guide search to find NGSS compliant content, but there is plenty to find.

7) SERC K-8 Activities

The ultimate curated source of SERC activities, this site gives teachers access to hundreds of Earth and Space, Life, and Physical Science tools. You will find classroom activities, field activities, lab activities and more here.

8) Science Snacks

Science Snacks from the Exploratorium Teacher Institute offer a wide variety of hands-on science activities based on museum exhibits. A (linked) guide helps teachers align the activities to the NGSS standard set they are working on.

9) Sophia for Teachers

This site offers a series of NGSS lesson content, usually a video or written tutorial followed by a quiz. The library of NGSS content is far from complete here, but you can find some good complimentary resources.

10) Understanding Science

Offered by UC Berkeley, Understanding Science offers a group of 18 science sources for middle school. Content ranges from classroom resources, field resources, videos, and articles.

Teacher Tutorials

11) Bozeman

If you like video tutorials, this site is for you. Featuring Hamish Todd, the Bozeman site offers short tutorials for teachers to help them implement individual lessons as well as SEPs and CCCs. Check it out!

12) A Framework for K-12 Science Education

This book presents the logic behind the implementation of NGSS. It is a useful read for teachers trying to understand the new standards.

13) Inquiry-Based Learning Tutorial

If you are looking to expand beyond content and want to incorporate the scientific inquiry aspect of SEP into your classroom, then check out this video tutorial from the Ontario Science Centre. Find the first of four videos below!

14) Teaching the Next Generation’s Science

Created by the Lewis Center’s Academy for Academic Excellence, this online tutorial seeks to help teachers understand the NGSS.

Follow Legends of Learning On Pinterest

Legends of Learning also maintains a Pinterest Board filled with NGSS resources. Follow it to be updated when we add something new!

Since states began deploying Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) standards seven years ago, 18 states and the District of Columbia adopted the standards in full. Now many schools and teachers are just beginning their NGSS journey. Finding actual curriculum and content challenges implementation.

NGSS Standards & Content

The NGSS standards seek to create engagement in the classroom. With the NGSS teachers make science learning an active exercise, but finding engaging NGSS content and exercises to achieve that? Now that’s a challenge.

Many teachers visit Legends of Learning for its NGSS content. There are few wide ranging series of content and lesson items for the entire NGSS suite, much less the entire middle school suite (Earth and Space, Life, and Physical sciences). Others are looking for more depth to help students get a grasp of the content.

“For me, the hardest part of implementing NGSS has been that at times I feel like the standards ‘gloss over’ certain topics, then dive straight into others in a lot of detail,” said April T., a Legends of Learning Ambassador. “Sometimes when I feel like if I follow the standards as they are written (with the instructional boundaries/limits), that my students might not have the background they need to learn new material later in the year or in the next grade level.”

Implementation Requires Science, Engineering & Crosscutting Techniques

While there is great content built off of the NGSS DCI content system available, there is still a wide range of activities that teachers need to take on. Successful implementation requires a multidimensional approach to teaching to be the norm in every science classroom. This requires extending beyond the traditional content first approach. Now teachers must focus on science and engineering practices (SEP) and crosscutting concepts (CCC) requires different ways of thinking, lesson planning, and daily instruction.

In the case of SEP, teachers need to implement exercises that help students embrace the principles of scientific inquiry. On the engineering side, teachers challenge students to define a problem and resolve it via a solution. Other principles involved in NGSS’s view of SEP, include:

• Developing and Using Models
• Analyzing and Interpreting Data
• Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
• Engaging in Argument from Evidence
• Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

About Those Cross-Cutting Concepts

Though more intuitive, CCC teaching challenges educators in different ways. Traditionally, teachers give lessons in an isolated, linear fashion. NGSS assumes that various aspects of science and its topics cut across lessons.

For example, one might learn that seeds germinate and produce plants (Life Science), but weather and climate changes may create new challenges that prevent the plant from successfully growing.

NGSS recommends teachers make sure that students understand the following crosscutting concepts:

• Patterns
• Cause and Effect
• Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
• Systems and System Models
• Energy and Matter
• structure and Function
• Stability and Change

“There is a big push to make sure that our students are becoming comfortable identifying and explaining the SEPs and CCC’s that are being presented in our different units and activities,” added April T. “We were given 1/2 day PD time this year to plan with our grade level cohort (or as a department, schools go to determine how they wanted to use their time). We came up with an activity or a system (it was pretty open ended) to make sure the SEPs and CCCs are being embedded into our instruction.”

Learn More From An Experienced Online Educational Game Company

NGSS challenges teachers to create lessons that address all three principles; DCI, SEP, and CCC. Many teachers actively seek out the resources and getting the training to succeed. To help, our next blog in our series will offer a series of content and lesson plan resources to help teachers bring the new standards to the classroom.

For more information call Legends of Learning at 888.585.1317 or by contacting them online.

On August 21, 2017, we’ll see something the country has not seen in 38 years: a total solar eclipse. The day will excite students and science teachers alike. The below resources introduce students to eclipses, both lunar and solar, and prepare them for the solar eclipse.

These 16 resources compliment the Legends of Learning series of eclipse games and lesson plan that can be found in the Eclipses and Seasons Learning Objective.  Legends of Learning published a lesson plan for this Learning Objective, too, and on July 10 will offer two of its games — “Walter’s Travels” and “Bubble Eclipse” — publicly on its Alpha Games page as a public service.

Websites

• Educational Materials and Videos from the American Astronomical Society (AAS). When you ask for standards-based materials about eclipses, you get them from the AAS. The organization’s website contains all sorts of supplementary content, including an NGSS storytelling approach to classroom instruction.
• Total Solar Eclipse 2017. Besides the AAS, start your search for solar eclipse resources with a sure bet—NASA. The site offers classroom activities, downloadables, and information about becoming a Citizen Explorer. Take a look at the events drop-down, too; it includes NASA’s livestream and information about hosting a total solar eclipse event in your community.

 

Interactive Media

• Eclipse2017.org App. Go mobile with the Eclipse2017 app. With it, students will learn about eclipses and how to find the best location to watch “totality” occur. (Available on iOS and Android)
• Eclipses and Seasons. Encourage engagement and solidify learning objectives with Legends of Learning’s seven games about eclipses and seasons. If wishing to cross into other science subjects, look at the “The Sun, Moon, and Stars: Patterns of Apparent Motion” games, as well as “Our Solar System.”
• JavaScript Solar Eclipse Explorer. Eclipses are historical events, and this web-based calculator provides data not only on past eclipses but also future ones.
• NASA’s Extremely Accurate Map for August’s Total Solar Eclipse. Use this tool to combine geography and science. Students can use the tool to identify the best states for solar-eclipse watching on August 21, 2017.
• SpaceMath. Show students how mathematics applies to real-world scientific studies with this in-depth resource from NASA. The page features numerous math activities designed to present eclipses and astronomy in a “different light.”
• THE GREAT AMERICAN ECLIPSE. With this resource, your classroom can watch the total solar eclipse in real time. Discover’s Science Channel will cover the eclipse as it happens, then follow up with a one-hour special during primetime.
• Total Solar Eclipse Animation. Prepare students for the eclipse launch date with PBS NOVA’s animation. For additional classroom resources, check out PBS’ toolkit, webinar, and videos.

Classroom Activities

• Build a Sun Funnel. Spend the first few weeks of August with a collaborative science project, the Sun Funnel. While inexpensive, the funnel takes some time and expertise to build, so you may want to practice building one at home before introducing the project to the classroom. For simpler versions of the concept, consider using the Exploratorium’s instructions for building a pinhole camera from a UPS shipping container or SPACE’s shoebox concept.
• Create an Eclipse in the Classroom. Styrofoam and cardboard possess magical properties, becoming anything from molecules and atoms to planetary systems. Follow the guide to help students create Earth-Moon-Sun systems and explore how solar and lunar eclipses work.
• Exploring the Solar System: Solar Eclipse. This instructional tool uses an inflatable Earth to teach students three curriculum-based learning objectives. Provided by the National Informal STEM Education (NISE) Network, the tool includes resources for English- and Spanish-speaking students.
• How to Film or Photograph the 2017 Solar Eclipse Like a Pro. Unite the arts and sciences with SPACE’s instructions on how to film or photograph the solar eclipse. Warning: This resource features some advanced photography and film techniques, so you’ll either want to use it with advanced photography students or adapt the methods to your particular classroom.
• Yardstick Eclipse Activity. This classroom activity from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) caters to the older crowd that may be less than pleased with cardboard and Styrofoam projects. You can create the activity from scratch or purchase a pre-made kit for $35.00.

Other Resources

• Eclipse Bulletin: Total Solar Eclipse of 2017. Two leading experts on eclipses, Fred Espenak and Jay Anderson, spill the proverbial beans on everything students could possibly want to know about the upcoming total solar eclipse. (Price: $19.99, black and white; $34.99, color)
• Eclipse Kit from NASA. With NASA’s kit, you’ll be amply prepared with activities and answers for curious students. NASA also provides a more expansive activity guide for the August 21 total solar eclipse and general eclipse lesson plans.

 

Have you taught about lunar and solar eclipses before? What are your favorite lesson plans, activities, or resources? Share your thoughts in the comments or start a thread in the community forum.