Looking to explore new knowledge based curriculum options for reading, math, and science for your school? Check out the upcoming Great Minds Knowledge Summit in February 2022! Clear here to sign up and learn more!
In honor of November’s National STEM Day, our resources this month are all about STEM! No doubt, your students are also still talking about the results of the 2020 election. What better time to roll out a math lesson on the election results? Check out the details below and explore more exciting activities to use this month.
STEM Giveaway!
For National STEM Day we are giving away a sample of simulated dirt from Mars! Could we survive on Mars? Experiment with different plants and soil types by growing plants in “dirt” that is similar to the surface of Mars. Click here to enter!
Looking for a lesson on statistics and voting trends in America? Check out this lesson from census.gov on Voting Trends in America 1964-2014.
Are your students interested in the Election Results? Check out this free printable election math lesson. Don’t miss the election simulation game at the end of the lesson!
We know that with all the adaptations teachers are making this year, there is not much time to search for interesting activities or engaging field trips. For many teachers, in-person field trips are not even an option right now. That is why this month’s resources are designed to provide you with easy to access, free, exciting, live field trips and virtual tours that you can experience with your students. We hope these resources can help engage both the in-person and remote learners in your classroom!
By far the best option for virtual field trips, guest speakers, tours, and virtual connections. This completely free resource offers personal tours and conversations with experts in any field! Check out their library of virtual field trips, join a special live event, or schedule a scientist or a best-selling author to be your next guest speaker.
The National Parks have gone virtual! Chat with a Ranger or join one of their many educational live events. Two parks with excellent live distance learning options are Zion National Park and Grand Canyon National Park.
Let Educate help provide your faculty with personalized pathways of support. There is more to Educate than technology. To view support pathway options,click here.
Hispanic Heritage Month
The deadline for the 2020 Hispanic Heritage Month art and essay contests with the theme of “Celebrating Untold Stories and Contributions of Hispanic Americans in Florida” has been extended to 5:00 pm Eastern Time on Thursday, October 15, 2020. In addition, students, parents, teachers, and principals are invited to nominate full-time educators in elementary, middle and high schools for the Hispanic Heritage Month Excellence in Education Award. Click here for more information!
Improve Technology at Your School without Breaking the Bank
Microsoft has partnered with many of our schools to offer affordable options for purchasing or leasing devices & software.
– Questions? Want to talk with someone about technology at your school? Contact Wildaliz Ramos, our Education Expert from Microsoft at wiramo@microsoft.com.
– Microsoft is offering a Minecraft Cart Bundle complete with 30 laptops, the Minecraft STEM aligned educational program, and Microsoft 365 for Education. Click here to learn more!
Check out this technology grant,Computers for Learning, to see if you qualify to receive free previously used devices.
Find Quality Curriculum at a Lower Cost
Have you heard of EVERFI? Step Up for Students is excited to share our continued partnership to bring EVERFI’s digital learning platform to your school at NO COST. These free courses are student-paced, grade themselves and come with supplemental lesson plans.
The courses address topics such as Character Education, Financial Literacy, Bullying Prevention, STEM education,and many more.
Your school is already set up and has full access! 1) VisitEVERFI.com/register2) Select Florida 3) Type in the first part of your school name to get started. EVERFI also provides training and support to your teachers cost-free. Contact Liam Obrien at lobrien@everfi.comor 241-886-0690 with questions or to schedule a training for your staff.
Step Up’s Office of Student Learning partners with many companies that offer discounts and excellent options for supplemental curriculum (see image on right).Check out all the wonderful options here!
Mystery Science is an awesome NGSS aligned online science curriculum that is offering FREE subscriptions for teachers through June 2020. Click here to explore!
For most teachers, tackling STEM in the classroom can be a daunting endeavor. What is STEM? Where do I begin? How do I find lessons, activities, and experiments? How long will it take?
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math. Three of the most important components of a good STEM lesson include:
Problem Solving or Challenge Based Learning
Real World Applications
Integration of Multiple Disciplines
The goal of STEM activities is to put students in the driver’s seat and encourage them to think critically to solve real world problems using ideas and concepts from many different subject areas while reflecting on their successes and their challenges.
It turns out incorporating STEM in the classroom can happen in all kinds of ways, not just in the form of complex experiments. November 8th is National STEM Day and we’ve dedicated this month’s post to helping you get started with STEM using 5 easy to implement ideas.
1. Start with a Book or an Article
Unsure of where to begin? Find a short book or an article that touches on a problem or STEM career you wish to highlight. Reading this story aloud with students can be a wonderful starting point to get students in the problem-solving mindset.
For Elementary Students- Consider books like Rosie Revere Engineer, by Angela Beaty, or The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds.
For Secondary Students- Consider starting with this PBS article about a 15-year-old student who invented a new test for the early detection of pancreatic cancer.
2. Create Maker Time and Maker Space
Set aside an area in your classroom for students to build and create. STEM Bins are an easy way to organize materials for students to build with.
Feeling more ambitious? Consider aSTEM subscription kit like this one!You’ll get new age appropriate STEM activities in the mail each month for students of any grade level!
Would you like to try out an awesome resource for elementary science activities aligned to NGSS for FREE for the rest of the year? Click here to check out MysteryScience! They are offering a free subscription to teachers through June of 2020.
4. Plan a Field Trip
No budget for field trips? TrySkype in the Classroom! You can take your class on a digital field trip to museums, national parks, laboratories,and even to the ocean floor!
Do you have hands on learners? The National Park Service offers “Traveling Trunks” that are filled with artifacts and hands on materials to learn about over 100 different topics and locations!
5. Expand on Careers & Real-World Workplaces
Have you heard of EVERFI? Step Up for Students is excited to share our continued partnership to bringEVERFI’s digital learning platform to your school at no cost. These Lessons are student-paced, grade themselves and come with supplemental lesson plans.
The courses address topics such as Character Education, Financial Literacy, Bullying Prevention, STEM education and many more.
Your school is already set up and has full access. 1) Visit EVERFI.com/register2) select Florida 3) type in the first part of your school name to get started. EVERFI also provides training and support to your teachers cost-free. Contact Liam Obrien at lobrien@everfi.comor 241-886-0690 with questions or to schedule a training for your staff.
