Paula Huddy-Zubkowski, this week’s Educator of the Week, inspired her students to take action about climate change and its effects on polar bears. This interdisciplinary activity culminated in the students making connections in their local community as well as globally on Twitter. Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Seeing through the Eyes of a Polar Bear
Alison Travis, this week’s Educator of the Week, helped her students visit the dens of bears, the nests of birds, and the underwater homes of ocean creatures. Students followed their own curiosity to study an animal of their own choosing and used virtual reality technology to visit those creatures at home. Alison is a kindergarten teacher at Prospect Ridge Academy in Broomfield, Colorado. How would … Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Exploring Animal Habitats in Virtual Reality
Stephanie Buttell-Maxin, this week’s Educator of the Week, challenged her students to take a much closer look at their own “backyard.” While identifying species, the class also discovered a deeper sense of responsibility for their local ecosystem. Stephanie teaches third grade at Kimball School in National City, California. You recently hosted a BioBlitz in the salt marsh creek adjacent to your school. What was that … Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Sparking Wonder in the Schoolyard
SCIENCE It is rare for a new animal species to emerge in front of scientists’ eyes. But this seems to be happening in eastern North America. (The Economist) Use our resources to learn more about coywolves. Discussion Ideas The Economist article makes a case that the so-called coywolf is “greater than the sum of its parts.” Its parts include the DNA from three distinct species. … Continue reading Meet the Coywolf
ENVIRONMENT Removing humans from the exclusion zone around the damaged Chernobyl nuclear reactor has allowed wildlife to return. (BBC) What happened at Chernobyl? Use our resources to find out. Discussion Ideas The entire human population around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station was evacuated in 1986. Why? Take a look at our short article on the disaster for some help. According to our article, “workers in … Continue reading Animals Run Wild in Chernobyl
