Science literacy is essential to be informed and engaged citizens in the 21st century. Data are what we use to do science. Thus, reading and making sense of real-world data are fundamental skills to being scientifically literate and a fun way to engage learners with science. However, how do we incorporate data into K-8 science without feeling overburdened with yet another thing to teach? By integrating it into what we are already doing! Join us to explore the connections between data, science, and literacy. We will experience research-based strategies and freely available resources for integrating phenomenon-based and local data into our science instruction to promote science literacy. We will participate in activities ourselves and reflect on approaches for how to bring these into our classrooms. The goal is to increase our data toolkit of strategies and resources to increase science literacy and relevance for students. Participants will leave more empowered to integrate data into their science content in purposeful ways to better helps students do and communicate science. Working with and learning from data fosters critical thinking skills, lifelong interests in science, and facilitates learners’ literacy skills. Let’s set our students up for success now and in the future!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will identify how data literacy is a critical aspect of science literacy in the 21st century and how to leverage existing strategies to authentically integrate data into K-8 science instruction to teach their science content and increase literacy simultaneously.

SPEAKERS:
Kristin Hunter-Thomson (Dataspire Education & Evaluation, Rutgers University: Princeton, NJ)

Water: It’s constantly in use all around us, but did you know that you can recycle water just like paper or plastic? Droughts and water scarcity are becoming an increasingly common phenomenon, and it is estimated that nearly 6 billion people will suffer from clean water scarcity by 2050. Yet, every year, Americans throw 11 trillion gallons of reusable water, also known as grey water, down the drain. In this series of lessons, students will learn about where their water comes from, the human water cycle, the three types of water and the connection between droughts and climate change. These lessons will also tie into the broader themes of sustainability and climate science and incorporate hands-on STEM activities and career connections. The lessons are primarily for elementary students but can be adapted for older audiences. They will be free for all teachers to use in their classrooms and are developed by Shreya Ramachandran, founder of The Grey Water Project in concert with educators. Join us for the presentation to learn more about grey water, why teaching about grey water and water conservation is important and how you can bring this to your classroom!

TAKEAWAYS:
Session participants will learn about grey water reuse and water recycling and how they can be effective drought solutions.

SPEAKERS:
Shreya Ramachandran (Stanford University: Stanford, CA)

Students come into a science classroom with varying or little to no background knowledge. Mathematical modeling in the science classroom is a critical piece of any three-dimensional lesson. Come learn how one science teacher uses real-world student-collected data to make modeling fun and inclusive of all students!

TAKEAWAYS:
Equity in the science/math classroom; data collection and analysis; and mathematical modeling.

SPEAKERS:
Stacy Thibodeaux (Southside High School: Youngsville, LA)