On August 21, 2017, we’ll see something the country has not seen in 38 years: a total solar eclipse. The day will be an exciting one for students and science teachers, alike. Let’s make it educational, too.

People across the country are looking forward to watching the sun completely disappear behind the moon. The total solar eclipse will darken skies from Oregon to South Carolina, an extremely rare event that for some locations on earth may occur as infrequently as every 1,000 years!

Legends of Learning has developed a lesson plan for the Eclipses and Seasons Learning Objective that you can use with your students. With it, we’re offering two of our games — “Walter’s Travels” and “Bubble Eclipse” — publicly on our Alpha Games page.

Complete with digital edgames playlists, assessment questions, and a visual eclipse simulation, our lesson plan has everything your students need to learn about this rare phenomenon. Check it out below, or download the PDF version!

Learning Objective: Eclipses & Seasons

NGSS Standard DCI
MS-ESS1.B-2. – This model of the solar system can explain eclipses of the sun and the moon. Earth’s spin axis is fixed in direction over the short-term but tilted relative to its orbit around the sun. The seasons are a result of that tilt and are caused by the differential intensity of sunlight on different areas of Earth across the year.

Objective

Students will be able to:

1. Explain why solar and lunar eclipses occur
2. Explain why Earth has seasons
3. Draw and manipulate models of solar and lunar eclipses
4. Draw a model of Earth’s location during various seasons

Time Required:
75 minutes

Materials Needed

• Small beach ball (or other similar sized ball)
• Ping pong ball tied to a string
• Flashlight
• Teacher computer with internet access
• Projector/Smartboard
• 1 computer/laptop/iPad per student with internet access
• Eclipses and Seasons handout (attached)

Teacher Preparation

• Create Playlist 1, a 30-minute playlist in Legends of Learning with the following games found in the Eclipses and Seasons learning objective (in order):

1. Science Fair: Eclipse and Seasons
2. Volleclipse

• Create Playlist 2, a 10-minute playlist in Legends of Learning with 5 assessment questions from the Eclipses and Seasons learning objective
• Make copies of Eclipses and Seasons Worksheet (1 per student)

Engage (10 minutes)

1. Lay the flashlight on a table and place the beach ball approximately 24 inches in front of the flashlight.
2. Turn off the lights in the room and turn on the flashlight.
3. Holding the ping pong ball by the string, place the ping pong ball between the flashlight and the beach ball.
4. Ask for student observations regarding where they see the light hitting the beach ball and where they see shadow.
   • Answer: Light hitting the ping pong ball and beach ball. Small shadow on front of beach ball as well.
5. Continue holding the ping pong ball by the string, move the ping pong ball so that it is behind the beach ball.
6. Ask for student observations regarding where they see the light and shadow in this position.
   • Answer: Light hitting the beach ball fully, no shadow on the beach ball. Full shadow on the ping pong ball.

Explain to students: “I just demonstrated a phenomenon called an eclipse. Today we will learn about types of eclipses and also review why we have seasons. Think about this demonstration during today’s lesson as we will refer back to it at the end of class.”

Explore (30 minutes)

• Have your students sign in to Legends of Learning and enter your teacher code.
• Launch Playlist 1 to your students.
• As students complete Science Fair: Eclipse and Seasons, students should fill out the Eclipses and Seasons Handout.
• Assist students as needed during game play, pause playlist if you need to address content or questions to entire class.

Explain (20 minutes)

• Review answers to Eclipses and Seasons Handout by drawing diagrams on board or using Smartboard.
• Relate student knowledge to demonstration at the beginning of class.
  • Which item represents the sun? (flashlight)
  • Which item represents the earth? (beach ball)
  • Which item represents the moon? (ping pong ball)
  • Who can demonstrate a lunar eclipse using the items? (ping pong ball held behind the beach ball)
    1. Have student explain why
  • Who can demonstrate a solar eclipse using the items? (ping pong ball held between the flashlight and beach ball)
    1. Have student explain why

Elaborate (5 minutes)

• Explain to students that although they experience seasons all the time, they are less likely to experience a lunar eclipse, and the opportunity to experience a solar eclipse is even more rare.
• Show this timelapse video of what happens on Earth during a solar eclipse: https://vimeo.com/53641212
• Ask students to describe what they are seeing in the video.
  • Answer: It is broad daylight then goes dark like nighttime, then back to broad daylight very quickly. The sun is completely blocked out for a while.

Evaluate (10 minutes)

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

Seasons & Eclipses: Worksheet

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Name: _________________________________

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Directions:
While playing the first game in Legends of Learning called Science Fair: Eclipse and Seasons, use what you learn to complete the diagrams and answer the questions below.

Seasons

Label the seasons in the Northern and Southern hemisphere at each location.

Circle the correct answer

1. Question 1: It is summer for the hemisphere that is pointing (away from, towards) the sun.
2. Question 2: It is winter for the hemisphere that is pointing (away from, towards) the sun.
3. Question 3: When a hemisphere is pointing towards the sun, the sun’s rays are (stronger, weaker) on that part of earth, making it (hotter, colder).
4. Question 4: When a hemisphere is pointing away from the sun, the sun’s rays are (stronger, weaker) on that part of earth, making it (hotter, colder).

Draw the location of the sun, moon, and earth during a lunar eclipse and during a solar eclipse. MAKE SURE YOU LABEL THE SUN, MOON, AND EARTH!

Adults love games. Kids love games. Both groups of people work in classrooms. So why aren’t classrooms filled with game-based learning? Keep reading and discover the five key reasons to teach with games!

Some teachers have resisted gaming because they see it as a chance for students to goof off rather than focus. In their minds, games do not truly teach content and thus do not provide educational value.

Over the past few years, learning games have evolved to include content of real value. Meaningful learning games are now easily accessible for teachers. Legends of Learning offers 900 science curriculum games for middle school.

Take it from this teacher. Game-based learning is not only fun for students it makes teaching easier.

Five Reasons to Use Games in Your Classroom

1. Students Love Games – Most students already spend free time playing games online with friends, watching other gamers play on YouTube, and bragging to each other about who’s the best gamer.

Introducing games into your class is a natural extension of what your students already like. With so many games available that teach content, it’s the perfect fit for your classroom.

2. One-on-One Time with Students – Imagine getting to walk around a room of 30 students and having meaningful one-on-one conversations with each of them. Because students are so engaged, off-task behavior with gameplay is minimal, in turn giving you time to work with the students who need your help most.

3. Curricula Games Mean Learning – Games are effective because students have so much fun playing the games they don’t even think about whether learning is taking place. When students are engaged, they learn significantly more content and remember more of what they learned. This leads to higher test scores and more confidence in taking on complex tasks in the classroom.

4. Struggling Students Feel Included – When students struggle, they often stay quiet or act out. Because games are fun and teach content without shame, struggling students engage and learn at their own pace.

It’s common to see organic conversations about content crop up during class. Students who never raise their hands show eagerness to participate. Games remind you that all students want to learn, they just need the right vehicle.

5. Personalized Learning – Games let students take control of what they learn. Students teach themselves new material or review existing knowledge via engaging gameplay. Teachers facilitate learning, gently guiding students through game play, and helping them think critically about decision points. This is the 21st-century classroom.

As you consider your lesson plans for the school year, imagine the possibilities games offer as an everyday part of your instruction. Simply put, game-based learning can transform your classroom. Want proof? Try Legends of Learning science games for three weeks and watch student achievement take off in your classroom.

Aryah Fradkin is Manager of Teacher Outreach and Engagement for Legends of Learning. Before joining the Legends, he taught middle school for six years in Baltimore City Public Schools.

Excerpted from How to Prevent Summer Learning Loss and Close Achievement Gaps. Download it today.

By the end of May, everyone is ready for a break from the school routine. Students stop responding to the usual content delivery methods, and as a result, summer learning loss sets in.

So change up your methods.

Develop summer courses that meet learning needs and curriculum standards while providing fun and engagement. Fun and engagement can take many forms, from project based learning to field trips to digital gaming. For example, Legends of Learning science games provide an interactive learning experience for students with questions aligned to curriculum standards. The teaching methods vary but should be aligned with your district’s overarching academic goals.

To help you get started, here are six quick tips to add a little variety to your summer learning programs.

Six Tips For Your Summer Learning Experience

1) Focus on Individualized, Personalized Instruction. Limiting summer class size allows teachers and students to interact one-on-one more often. As a result, relationships develop; students are encouraged to learn and grow; and teachers guide students toward classroom lessons and activities that fit the individual student’s learning level and style.

2) Take Kids on Field Trips. Teachers demonstrate learning is fun through field trips. Such trips can occur within the community and range from the zoo to a local bottling company. If funds are tight, supplement off-campus field trips with digital ones. Google and Discovery, for example, offer digital field trips that take place in the Sahara, Antarctica, and other locations.

3) Invite Speakers to the School Campus. Students see how curriculum lessons translate to life skills when people talk about their day-to-day work. Teachers could invite civic leaders, parents, and other people into the classroom to talk about their work experiences and background. Microsoft also provides experts for the classroom via Skype. Kids can hear from environmentalists, coastal engineers, and other pioneers in the arts and sciences.

4) Turn Facts into Skills with Hands-On Projects. Students learn what they live, so teachers should find ways to turn basic concepts into practical skills. Some schools facilitate this idea with community projects, such as a garden or recycling center. Some schools, though, involve students in activities like building a greenhouse or small-scale wind farm. Others take their students to community partners where they participate in activities and projects.

5) Keep Kids Engaged Inside and Outside the Classroom with Digital Games. Kids like games. Teachers often do, too. Edgames offer chances to connect with students on their level. Kids play online games all the time, so giving them games that facilitate learning and subject mastery is a no-brainer. Plus, edgames typically allow teachers and district administrators to monitor student progress and, depending on the implementation, keep budget costs low.

6) Test New Teaching Models and Classroom Layouts. Summer provides a perfect time to pilot new teaching models, methods, and classroom layouts, says Gary Huggins, CEO of the National Summer Learning Association. Explore blended learning models, edgames platforms, and other ways to engage students and build digital literacy skills. Assess impact at the end of the summer and expand what works into an official instructional approach.

No matter which method(s) you employ, remember that students are drawn in by new experiences. If you surprise them each day with even a small tweak to your instructional methods you will see a huge increase in student engagement. Try Legends of Learning science games and you will see some very excited looks on students faces. Have a great summer and shake it up!

Excerpted from Eight Steps to Successfully Implement Blended Learning in Your Classroom. Download it today.

Having technology in your classroom can be a fantastic thing. It has the potential to expose your students to a world of information, hand’s on projects and game based learning, like our middle school science games. In order to maximize your classroom experience with blended learning it is critical to have a school culture that supports technology integration.

Getting Administrators & Parents On Board With Blended Learning

Making the shift from traditional learning to blended learning is daunting and impacts every stakeholder in a school community, including leaders, teachers, IT staff, students, and parents. As a result, the journey from old to new, from traditional to blended, must be a shared journey—one in which all stakeholders are engaged and all voices are heard.

For a blended learning initiative to be successful long-term, decisions cannot be top down or device driven. Instead leaders must carefully consider why they want to make a shift to blended learning and how that shift will benefit members of the school community. To get administrators and parents on board, use these two approaches.

Administrators

Administrators may hesitate to invest in blended learning because of cost or lackluster results. Overcome their concerns with detailed research and data that show blended learning’s past successes and your plans to implement the teaching model in the classroom.

Administrators also want hard numbers about projected academic performance. They prefer financial documents, implementation plans, and blended learning examples. The more data and documentation you can provide, the more likely your blended learning proposal will receive approval.

Parents

Parents care about academic performance on a more personal level—everyone wants their child to succeed. They want to know how their child is performing academically, and what you’re teaching in the classroom. They also desire to learn how to help their child improve test scores and study habits.

To reach parents, talk through how blended learning will motivate their student to learn and excel, they will back the initiative. Your conversation could prompt them to become advocates on your behalf and secure support from administrators, other teachers, and peer parents.

Establishing A Blended Learning Culture In The Classroom

Blended Learning Universe marks the importance of culture in blended learning success. The organization states:

Blended learning can sustain a bad culture or help create a new one. Culture is especially useful — or toxic — in blended programs because blended learning goes hand in hand with giving students more control and flexibility. If students lack the processes and cultural norms to handle that agency, the shift toward a personalized environment can backfire.

Start With Clear & Honest Communication

As such, your blended learning culture sets the tone for classroom instruction and assignments. It fosters the right attitudes in students, inside and outside the classroom. Culture can affect parents, too, causing them to encourage, rather than frustrate, their students’ blended learning activities.

To establish culture inside the classroom, begin with clear and honest communication with your students. Set expectations for your blended learning program, whatever it encompasses—classroom projects, edgames, student teams, at-home assignments, et cetera.

Use The “TRICK” Acronym

Also employ “TRICK,” an acronym suggested by Esther Wojcicki and Lance Izumi, authors of “Moonshots in Education: Launching Blended Learning in the Classroom.” The acronym stands for trust, respect, independence, collaboration, and kindness. When your classroom embodies those five traits, students learn, grow scholastically and personally, and desire to help their fellow students.

Outside the classroom, you should also focus on communication, this time with parents. Just because you got their initial buy-in doesn’t mean your work is done. Let parents know how their kids are enjoying and improving thanks to your new blended learning environment. Remember that some parents may not be familiar with digital technologies and tools, especially if you teach in a rural or underserved area. Share basic information about blended learning with these parents, and offer opportunities for them to experience it in the classroom. Showing parents how blended learning works can better convince them than a letter sent home.

Spread The Culture Across The School Campus

Finally, aim to spread your blended learning culture across the school campus. Your own success with the initiative often sells itself, but you should talk about it, too. Sharing results and personal testimony invites other teachers to participate in blended learning and make a difference in their classrooms.

Learn More About Blended Learning With LoL

Our online educational games at Legends of Learning works perfectly with and seamlessly integrates into blended learning models. For more information, give us a call at 888.585.1317 or contact us online today.

You can download the whole white paper Eight Steps to Successfully Implement Blended Learning in Your Classroom here on the Legends of Learning site.

NSTA teachers met in Washington, DC yesterday afternoon to participate in an historic March for Science. Though it rained, our heroic teachers rallied at the Washington monument, then walked down the national mall to Congress. Legends of Learning participated, giving teachers capes, and then walking and tweeting with the NSTA along the way.

Here are scenes from the March for Science Washington, DC edition. Photos were taken by DC-based photographer Joe Newman and our own CMO Geoff Livingston.

Legends of Learning has decided to support the March for Science this weekend in Washington, DC by providing science teachers capes to march in. We will be at the NSTA rally handing out capes to interested science teachers. Our stance is that while science research has become politicized (and arguably has been since the days of Copernicus), it should not be political.

We believe in questioning, curiosity, and using data to guide decision making. This discipline of research to explore new ideas is the foundation of the human spirit, of learning, and yes, scientific progress.

Our founder, Vadim Polikov, Ph.D., was a research scientist at Duke University and has many scientific publications to his name. His first business was an academic editing business helping researchers around the world publish their research in peer reviewed science journals. He started Legends of Learning only after conducting a rigorous study to determine the efficacy of curricula games.

Our first cohort of customers are science teachers. These are the very people who seek to inspire their students — America’s Youth — with that same sense of curiosity, and a commitment to find truth through data and facts. How can we not support the spirit of science this Earth Day?

If you are attending the march in Washington, DC, our CMO Geoff Livingston will be out and about with a backpack full of capes looking for Legends of Learning and NSTA science teachers who want to have a little fun with their science support activities. He will be manning the @legendlearning Twitter handle that day. Tweet at him to meet up and get your own Legends of Learning cape for the march.

We prepared for our NSTA17 experience with a two story 20×20 booth built in one day. Here is a short time lapse of the build!

We will offer teachers the chance to play each other with our games. Give-aways include Pez heads and capes. Come by and visit us at booth #2217.

This is a copy of a news release issued today.

Legends of Learning getting ready to launch our online platform of several hundred curriculum-based science games for middle school earth and space science, life sciences, and physical science curricula later this month. The company was founded after the results from a forthcoming research study, “Substantial Integration of Typical Educational Games into Extended Curricula,” from Vanderbilt University revealed that short, simple education games aligned to curriculum standards improve student engagement and academic performance.

Founded by former research scientist Vadim Polikov, Legends of Learning stands for the principle that rigorous academic research needs to form the foundation of strategies that take blended learning techniques such as game-based learning to the next level. The wide-ranging study — more than 1,000 students in seven states and in schools with differing student bodies, socioeconomic factors and geographical locations — demonstrated statistically significant success.

One year later, Legends of Learning’s content platform and games are being tested and vetted by hundreds of teachers across the country in preparation for the official launch later this month. The company will demonstrate its platform and games at the National Science Teachers Association’s National Conference in Los Angeles, March 30-April 2, 2017.

More than 100 middle schools will use Legends of Learning in their classrooms when it launches. Scores of teachers using the platform will participate in a second study to demonstrate efficacy and best practices for blended learning with curricula endgames. The second study will be conducted by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Vanderbilt University.

“Original research is critical to our education system’s overall success,” said Vadim Polikov. “I firmly believe that proving — or disproving — hypotheses with strong rigorous research is the best way to move education forward. One of the most crucial aspects for the education sector to adapt new methods is efficacy. Educators’ time is at a premium now, so providing them with something that is demonstrably effective and easy to use has a far greater chance of being implemented.”

Some unique aspects of Legends of Learning’s approach to education include:

• Building games off existing middle school science curriculum standards to ensure content not only engages students but also helps them succeed in their studies;
• Using an intuitive platform similar to Netflix and Amazon to make it easy and natural for teachers to use the games in their classrooms; and
• Releasing a dashboard that allows teachers to observe student comprehension in real time.

Teachers interested in being part of the Legends of Learning Ambassador program can visit legendsoflearning.com/teachers. Legends of Learning will take 100 teacher ambassadors to the ISTE 2017 Conference & Expo in San Antonio, June 25-28. For more information about Legends of Learning visit legendsoflearning.com.

We’ve got great news, Legend! Our first set of curriculum-based science games is now available for demo. If you want to try the games for yourself, create an account today.

The sample games have been built out for the following learning objectives:

• Earth and Space Sciences: Our Solar System
• Life Sciences: Photosynthesis
• Physical Sciences: Heat as Energy Transfer

Remember, this is just the beginning. In March, we roll out hundreds of games for 90 lessons across Earth and Space, Life, and Physical Sciences. After completing the science games, Legends of Learning will expand into other subjects and grades.

Even if you are not a science teacher, you might want to refer colleagues, right?

So what are you waiting for? Spread the word, and become a Legend of Learning!

This past week Legends of Learning attended the Science Teachers Association of New York State (STANYS) science conference in Rochester, New York. Paul Andersen keynoted the event.

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