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Visit our 'NASA - part 2. Favorite Seminars, Sites and Lessons' located in the Earth and Space Science Community Forum.
Scan down our thread for current postings on NASA and how they are supporting the Japanese citizens in this tragic disaster. Alyce

NASA has concentrated an immense amount of talent and resources over the last few years into developing and broadening the scope and levels of their website. If you have not visited the site and established a free acount, now is a good time!

The site offers outstanding multimedia, lessons, student labs and activities with national standards. NASA also offers opportunities for classrooms to participate in live chats with scientists and design competitions that empower our students to consider STEM careers.

The site is one of my students' favorites and I often include links in my parent newsletters.

Visit: http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html

and begin new adventures! Alyce

Hi Susan,
Great site, thanks for sharing - and the whole time I was thinking about the ferret voice. :)

My students become motivated when playing NASA's link to Geology Jeopardy.

http://learningcenter.nsta.org/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/15/ERNASA10_0136

I purchased 4 closet stick-on lights that student teams activate to show they have an answer. If you scroll down the NSTA Product Detail page you are able to enter your state and NSTA identifies the standards that are met through this activity. I'm planning to use this site when my 8th graders begin reviewing for our state science tests.

Enjoy, Alyce

Hi Susan,
I agree - NASA's site Geology Jeopardy is a student favorite and the tie-in with the whole picture of our planet Earth's systems is excellent! I love using the 5E model with my middle schoolers.

Today I discovered a webcast that will be highlighted on NASA's Digital Learning Network. January 20, from 1:00-2:00pm ET. The Earth and the Other Planets: A Tour The webcast is advertised as a tour of the planets and their surface features, atmospheric structure and composition. The moons and ring systems of the planets will also be explored.

I am just completing our Solar System unit with my middle school students. NASA updates their site daily with discoveries. I'm planning on revisiting our Solar System throughout the remainder of the school year so that my students can be kept informed.

Visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/dln/index.html if you'd like to take a look at NASA's free webcast offerings!

Enjoy your week, Alyce

I always love to feel the excitement that is generated when teachers are discussing wonderful resources they have used with their students that really connected their students with the science and brought about a great deal of active learning, not to mention excitement! I must admit that nothing compares to the incredible wealth of materials that NASA brings to the table to assist us classroom teachers in "inspiring the next generation"! I developed a few elective courses for middle school students that focused on the use of NASA-developed and readily available materials. One of these activities was a nine-week unit that focused on having each student select a NASA mission to become a "mission specialist" on. They would visit the homepage for their NASA mission, http://www.nasa.gov/missions/index.html, and would learn about their mission as well as create a PowerPoint presentation or a science poster that taught the rest of the class about their mission. These NASA mission homepages include many resources, including multimedia, external links, educational activities, and a variety of other neat things to assist the students in becoming a mission expert. I also used the NASA "Space Weather Action Teams" to teach my students about all science disciplines with an emphasis on space weather. The materials and teaching plans are all available at http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/swac/. This approach uses a variety of methods to captivate and motivate students to learn about using real data to answer testable questions, and all they need is access to the Internet to complete all of the modules. My students loved these lessons so much that we used this unit, which I titled, "Space Weather- Live" as our second nine-week unit for my elective class. However, I have also used this lesson as a two or three day mini-unit in my Earth/Space science courses. I use the fabulous NASA Space Math materials, available at http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/, to reinforce and introduce many aspects of sincere and to promote the real-world applications of math into all disciplines of science throughout my teaching middle school and high school science lessons.

Dorian,
You shared some great NASA lesson sites and ideas! It doesn't matter which science discipline I may be teaching, when I bring NASA resources into the classroom, students are always captivated.

Robotics is one of my favorite NASA areas. I wrote an engineering grant a few years ago and was able to purchase 8 sets of LegoMindstorm Kits. These kits are amazing and engage my alternative middle school students for weeks at a time. Students download programs they wrote into their robot. We've built obstacle courses, programmed robots to pick up and move small toys, and had robots sing Happy Birthday!

If you don't have funds to purchase robot kits - visit NSTA's link to NASA's site Robotic Arm . This page will introduce your students to the life of Space Exploration Robotics. Your supplies to build a working robotic arm model can be as inexpensive and simple as craft sticks, rubber bands and brass fasteners.

NASA has a complete K-12 section of their website devoted to Robotics Education. You will find video clips, lesson plans, and images of robots that are deployed, being developed, or have successfully completed their mission.

Go to: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what_is_robotics_58.html and let your imagination go!

Enjoy, Alyce

I realize after teaching elementary and middle school for 32 years, that whenever you discuss elimination of bodily fluids, you will have all of your students' eyes and attention!

NASA has such great humor in their presentations. The Space Agency understands that to keep their community of scientists, recruiting starts at a young age.

Space Toilet Technique: NASA's How-To Video

Enjoy your student's laughter!
Alyce

Hi Readers, Did you know that NASA has a "channel" on YouTube?? Take a look...1,000s+ clips of anything and everything! My students will love accessing this on our classroom pc's. I especially like the "2010 Year End Review". http://www.youtube.com/NASATelevision

NASA's Space Place is a spot our students can get 'lost' in. I like the safe toy of the month feature where kids can make cool 'toys'. This month it is a Newton's Cradle.

Whoops - that was my post above about the Space Place. I apologize for not identifying myself! Carolyn

Hello,
Severe weather conditions are a 'hot topic' for PreK - 12 graders! We all will have opportunities to discuss and listen to weather related stories when we return to our classrooms after winter break - the evening news has helped us in sparking interest in our students' minds.

Following are some of NASA's super weather sites for educators and learners:

NASA's Interactive Weather Satellite Images Global images that include water vapor, infrared, and various distance satellite images.

NASA Global Hydrology and Climate Center

NASA Time-lapse GOES of December 2010 Snowstorm

K-4 Weather Related NASA Lesson Plans

5-8 Weather Related NASA Lesson Plans

9-12 Weather Related NASA Lesson Plans

Enjoy your day,
Alyce

Hi! I was reading your reply and another good site is NASA's earth observatory. They send you satellite pictures of the weather conditions around the globe and this weeks was on the snow storm on the east coast. You can sign up for it and it comes weekly. Judy

Hi Judith, Thank you for jogging my memory and including that great page from NASA. At times I've projected satellite photos and my students take on the role of meteorologist. Some students only state the obvious, but others enjoy the opportunity to role play and will announce safety warnings, projected wind speeds and closures! How have you used the images in your classroom? I'd love adding to my teacher bag, Alyce

Hi Alyce, Happy New Year!
Yes, I use the pictures in my class and sometimes I have the same results but I try to make them feel like they were the science teacher and have them explain what they think is going on and why. This helps them to reinforce what they know and what I need to help them understand better!
Judy
Here is the link for December31 Kizmen Volcano,Natural Hazards

by Alyce Dalzell, Tue Dec 14, 2010 10:34 PM [i]Robotics is one of my favorite NASA areas. I wrote an engineering grant a few years ago and was able to purchase 8 sets of LegoMindstorm Kits. These kits are amazing and engage my alternative middle school students for weeks at a time. Students download programs they wrote into their robot. We've built obstacle courses, programmed robots to pick up and move small toys, and had robots sing Happy Birthday! NASA has a complete K-12 section of their website devoted to Robotics Education. You will find video clips, lesson plans, and images of robots that are deployed, being developed, or have successfully completed their mission. Go to: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what_is_robotics_58.html '' target="_blank">http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what...s_58.html' target="_blank"> http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what_is_robotics_58.html '' target="_blank"> http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what...s_58.html' target="_blank"> http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what_is_robotics_58.html '' target="_blank">http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what...s_58.html' target="_blank"> http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what_is_robotics_58.html '' target="_blank"> http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what...s_58.html' target="_blank"> http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what_is_robotics_58.html '' target="_blank">http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what...s_58.html' target="_blank"> http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what_is_robotics_58.html '' target="_blank"> http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what...s_58.html' target="_blank"> http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what_is_robotics_58.html '' target="_blank">http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what...s_58.html' target="_blank"> http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/robotics/home/what_is_robotics_58.html and let your imagination go![/i] Thanks for this link Alyce. My 7 year old just got the LegoMindstorm Kit for Christmas. He loves it and has been programming and building away for the past week! I can't wait to check out this website to give him some additional perspective into robotics. Thanks! Maureen

Hi Thread Readers,

This is a website that I frequently visit for NASA resources. This site enables teachers to access all of the NASA produced resources by grade level and/or subject matter.

Maureen

These look like some excellent sites- I have bookmarked a few that I hadn't known about, and also seeing the link that Maureen posted that takes you directly to the NASA Education page reminded me how much my students like visiting the NASA home page every week to just check out the latest news and discoveries. Keep em coming! Dorian Janney

Judith shared an idea in an earlier posting of our thread: 'I use the pictures in my class and sometimes I have the same results but I try to make them feel like they were the science teacher and have them explain what they think is going on and why. This helps them to reinforce what they know and what I need to help them understand better!'

I love it! Quick student assessment being completed by teacher observations! I always have a clipboard at the edge of my desk to jot down anecdotal observations during the day - allowing students to BE a meteorologist gives them ample opportunities to share their knowledge and become confident speakers while allowing me one more opportunity to assess their knowledge.

Thank you for sharing that jewel of an idea! Alyce

Hi Adah and Readers,
You are right - I love NASA's SciFiles! I believe the resource area captivates my students' attention while the activities and educator's guide is well written. I am disappointed that the show is no longer on air.

About 3 years ago I introduced our PE instructor to the 'Case of the Fitness Challenge' episode. It has become tradition that we bring our science and phys ed classes together and teach the unit.

You know, students also enjoy seeing their teachers 'join forces' in their education,
Alyce

Hi Maureen,
Be ready for some great adventures with your son and his robotics kit!

I attended NSTA's Nashville Conference and had a nice conversation with the Lego Representative. She gave me this link: http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/default.aspx when I told her that I had difficulty finding more advanced robotic lessons and designs that were thoroughly explained and FREE!

The Lego Site has introduced many avenues for our students to explore! Several of my students are now active in the sites' blogs and postings - and have discovered a new enthusiasm knowing that students from all over the world are just as curious as they are with robotics!

Let us know if you find other great resources to explore,
Alyce

Thanks for the resources. These are really helpful

There is an excellent assortment of topics and NASA links in February's Science Scope. I happened to remark in a post I made earlier today that some of my middle school students are saddened by the fact that NASA is preparing to launch our last shuttle mission this summer. Add to that their disappointment of our country soon relying heavily on the support of foreign countries to further advance our space knowledge.

Scope on the Skies has several web links that my students will enjoy exploring, along with updates on private space trave with Virgin Galactic and SpaceX.

Recently we had Challenger Space Center's travelling planetarium visit our school. The students were very enthusiastic to hear about the elevator to the moon. If you aren't familiar with NASA's elevator, visit their link. Your student's imagination will once again come alive and their creative juices will flow!

Enjoy, Alyce

My already loaded Solar System Unit has gained a few more good ideas: space weather and scifiles. One of my students walked in while I was previewing them and we spent 20 minutes "playing"...instead of getting make-up work for his 3-day illness. Thanks for sharing.

The NASA Planetary Science people have put together a pretty cool web site The Year of the Solar System (YSS) . It is a 23 month sequence of topics about the solar system Why 23 months? That is a Martian year and a Neptunian year was too long for us to think about. This month's topic is 'Small Bodies, Big Impacts' and is about all thing cometary. Next month YSS coordinates with Sun-Earth Day and is Ancient Astronomers/ Modern Tools and features tools of astronomy. April will be 'Water Water Everywhere' and is about water in the solar system. Each month has classroom activities, activities for informal venues, multi-media downloads, and ways to become involved via events, Twitter, and your own stories and photos. and much more.

Arlene,
You are actually seeing two different ways we have put together planetary science. Solar System Exploration contains the more traditional examination by planets, asteroids, comets, missions, and people. When we built the Year of the Solar System (and embedded it in the Solar System Exploration web site) we organized content according to topics with each month featuring a different topic. This month is 'Small Bodies, Big Impacts' and is about comets and what they tell us about solar system origin and evolution. March's topic is 'Ancient Astronomers/Modern Tools' and features changes in technology. August is 'Windy Worlds' and looks at atmospheres in the solar system, and so on. Each month we provide classroom activities, activities for organizations and clubs, background info, featured missions and ways to participate through calendars, Twitter, Flickr, etc.

Thanks so much, Don, for sharing this site with us and giving us a sense of what we will find there. I plan to take a close look at the content and find ways to integrate many items into the existing Earth/Space Science course we plan to use to teach our 8th grade students next year.

I have already visited NASA's new Year of the Solar Sytem site and gathered current information, images and student activities - these items will strengthen my unit. NASA has announced an additional educator resource that will be taking place on March 19 from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. You may join other "celestial detectives on a cosmic road trip" for an educator workshop at any one of four NASA locations or participate in a Webinar. http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/discovery/thrill_of_discovery.asp ' target="_blank"> http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/discovery/thrill_of_discovery.asp " target="_blank">Thrill of Discovery! • [b] See Sights Never Before Seen on Mercury: MESSENGER! • Get Up Close to Asteroids and Comets: Dawn, Stardust-NExT and EPOXI! • Map the Moon’s Gravity with Twin Satellites: GRAIL! • Peer through Jupiter’s Clouds: Juno! • Cruise to the Outer Reaches of the Solar System: New Horizons! [/b] Hear from mission scientists and engineers, discover engaging activities for grades K-12 and out-of-school time programs, and receive a resource packet loaded with items to enrich learning. Four sites • Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA • Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX • Jackson Middle School Observatory, Champlin, MN • Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/discovery/thrill_of_discovery.asp ' target="_blank"> http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/discovery/thrill_of_discovery.asp " target="_blank">Find out more and register! Questions? Contact Whitney Cobb: [email protected] or 303-632-5572 Enjoy the journey, Alyce

A favorite for many years http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/Lessons/airtempD_act.html We do have students who can calculate the KE of an oxygen molecule etc. Weather permitting we triangulate Big Bertha with a C estes engine outside, a rocket I have had since elementary school. Jeopardy was a hit in RTI yesterday. Showed us as a wise man once said "the more you know, the more you find out you don't know" Astroventure is cool. Thanks Susan as well as all other suggestions that I haven't reviewed yet. Hakuna Mata Steve

My science methods course recently welcomed NASA Educator Rick Varner from the Goddard Space Center to campus for a lively introduction to NASA's vast collection of educational resources. Rick led the group of pre-service teachers and visiting in-service teachers through a variety of standards-based lessons related to earth-moon-sun concepts. The activities were effectively modeled in accordance with best teaching practices and areas of potential difficulty or misunderstanding were discussed. My students have already gone and integrated many of these activities into their own tutoring and classroom placements. What a treat for all! NASA speakers can be requested for your classroom or informal education event through this site.

Recently a Virtual Lab was offered by NSTA in one of their web seminars (now archived: The Virtual Lab December 2, 2010)-WOW! I have since downloaded; a luna sample, a Martian sample, a space shuttle tile sample, and a meteorite sample. I use these in my space science unit....(along with 'real' luna simulant soil, 'real' Mars simulant soil that I received from NASA (just by asking), and a 'really real' space shuttle tile with which to compare samples with).I wanted to let everyone know how clear & sharp the images are. The program is huge, so allow time for it to download. And each file for each sample is also large. Using the program is easy to learn and your kids are going to love the pictures. There are LOTS of samples for other sciences and something for every grade level. This is one site that you need to check out for something 'different'.

NASA is supporting Japan and its citizens during the tragedy caused by the recent Tsunami.If you have never used NASA's educator links,lessons and images-you will be thrilled with the ease and quality of their site and resources.Registration is FREE.

NASA is overseeing Japan's portion of the International Space Station.

NASA satellite images of Japan's shoreline before and after devastating Tsunami.

Images showing elevation, foreshocks and aftershocks of our world's 5th largest earthquake to have hit since 1900, and the worst in Japan's history.

An advanced search will supply you with lessons, images, video clips and simulations.

I attended a phenomenal (definitely a 5 Star rating) NSTA/NASA WebSeminar this afternoon! I had heard from several colleagues that it was a good one, and had plans to go to NSTA's Archived WebSeminar link to view at my convenience.

The Virtual Lab is a software tool that simulates a scanning electron microscope. Several free websites were shared, including the elementary Bugscope! This archived seminar is worth a visit for the 90 slides that are included in their free library! Slides include: moon dust, moon rocks, blood samples, flora, insects.

Visit the Learning Center link to sign-up or view an archived FREE NSTA Websiminar. The link is under the blue, pull down tab, 'Learning Resources & Opportunitis.'

Enjoy your day! Alyce

A colleague of mine sent this link to explain the plate boundaries and what caused the earthquake. Thought I share it:Plate boundaries
I've also used NASA websites, I recently joined the NES site and have been attending the seminars they are great and informative I would recommend them to everyone.

Thank you for sharing the Plate Tectonics site, the visualizations are really engaging. One of the NASA sites I enjoy for stimulating critical thinking is Brainbites. There is an assortment of mystery questions, that are explained in a media-rich, child friendly manner. They are perfect for starting a classroom discussion or giving ideas for a writer's workshop.

As I was reviewing some collections posted by users today, I stumbled across a website that I hadn't known existed- and which looks intriguing to those of us who teach science and like to use NASA-related materials to add to the richness of the instructional program we deliver. The site is called, "NEON" and it is "a professional learning community, open to elementary teachers, STEM teachers, future elementary and STEM teachers, scientists, engineers, and other professionals who want to support STEM teachers in their important work". It can be accessed at this url: http://neon.psu.edu/ I was wondering if any of you have ever used this resource? Thanks! Dorian

I am in awe! I participated in a webinar this week called: [url=http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NASAk12/webseminar7.aspx]Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE): Little Mission, Big Science[/url]. It was all about the LADEE satellite that will be launched to send back data about the moon's atmosphere. Did you know that the moon has a sodium tail? I didn't! The LADEE will be launched in May, 2013, and it promises to send back lots of important information to help scientists understand the make up of moon dust. As with most webinars, I was exposed to a wealth of other free resources, many that I had not known about. For example - Moon Zoo. With Moon Zoo, students and members of the public can assist lunar scientists in analyzing the high-resolution images returned by the LROC instrument aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. They perform crater counts, search for boulders, and other interesting landforms. At Solar Stormwatch: Your students can help interpret data from NASA’s STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) spacecraft. http://www.solarstormwatch.com/ Here students could make new scientific discoveries or collect data that would give astronauts an early warning if dangerous solar radiation is headed their way. Saturday, October 8th is International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN): World-wide celebration of the Moon and lunar science. Events held at NASA centers, museums, and schools. InOMN 2010 featured over 500 events in more than 50 countries. InOMN 2011 will occur on Saturday, October 8. NASA programming streamed to local events. Visit http://www.observethemoonnight.org/ to find an event near you or to learn how to conduct your own event. The webinar is already available in the [url=http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NASAk12/webseminar7.aspx]archive format[/url]. I have just given you a 'tip of the iceberg' list resources available from this one webinar. The ppt presentation lists all of the great websites I mentioned plus gobs more. The webinar is worth your hour or so of time - especially if you teach high school.

Hi Dorian, I love NEON (NASA Educator's Online Network). Right now you can write on the Space Shuttle Wall and vote for your favorite space mission technology. It is free to register. Also, they are offering free electronic professional development workshops for this fall.I signed up for two of them!

Actually I just came back from a NASA event. It was wonderful and the information I obtained will be helpful for the upcoming school year. I use NEON all the time to find other resouces for Astronomy. Diane

Hi Carolyn, Thank you for suggesting NASA's NEON website for teachers. I just checked it out. What a rich collection of idea and resources!

You're welcome, Sharon. I also love the NASA eClips. The one they have to explain our solar system and how they address Pluto's 'demotion' to a dwarf planet is outstanding! It is entitled: Our World: What is the solar system?
Great stuff!