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Newton Network Newsletter November 2009
Newton Network News: Greetings from the Newton Network!
In celebration of Thanksgiving, this month we are turning our attention to food science. Food science follows food from beginning to end: from the fields to the dinner table, from the barnyard to the restaurant. Use these experiments to teach students about the chemistry of food and its importance in our life.
In addition, it’s time to start looking at professional development opportunities during your winter break. We have links on our site that will help you decide which program you would want to look at. Finally, remember that the Kid’s Science Challenge and the Science Olympiad are coming up soon, so keep your preparations going for these activities.
In This Issue: Food Science- Experiments and activities using food. The Naked Scientists- A fun science blog with podcasts, experiments and articles. Kid’s Science Challenge- Have students send questions in for a chance to win awesome prizes. Science Olympiad- Continue preparing for the March competition. Professional Development Opportunities- Start looking up opportunities over winter break. Excellence Award- 2010 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Newton Network- Send us your resources and lesson plan links.
No study on food science is complete without a look at the USDA Food Pyramid. For basic information on the new food pyramid, visit (http://www.mypyramid.gov/). Then there is (http://www.mypyramid.gov/kids/index.html), a site that is specific for children ages 6-11 with games and coloring pages. The site also has a classroom materials page with lesson guides. Team Nutrition is a USDA program geared towards helping our nation’s youth gain a better knowledge about nutrition. One of their goals is to link nutrition programs to classroom learning. For their teacher’s resource page, visit (http://www.fns.usda.gov/TN/kids-pyramid.html) The Institute of Food Technology’s full food chemistry lesson plan and experiments that include well written teacher guides and student activities is targeted toward upper middle school and high school. Check out (http://members.ift.org/IFT/Education/EduResources/) For the Institute of Food Technology’s full food chemistry lesson plan and experiments that include well written teacher guides and student activities. This site is targeted toward upper middle school and high school. Check out (http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEPC/IFT/) Newton’s Apple is a great site for finding lesson plans. They cover a variety of subjects but this month we are focusing on their food and chemistry section. Try their bread chemistry activity to show students how yeast makes bread rise. You could even try baking a loaf of bread in the classroom with the help of a bread machine or toaster oven. (http://www.newtonsapple.tv/TeacherGuides_chemistryFood.php) The College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State hosts a site with links to experiments and activities for teachers and students. They provide a resources page where you can find lesson plans and guides for the activities. Our favorite experiment from this site is finding the speed of light using marshmallows and a microwave. (Make sure to use a container you do not mind getting messy: melted marshmallows are sticky and hard to clean off. But you can make s’mores out of the melted marshmallows.) (http://foodscience.psu.edu/public/kitchen-chemistry ) (The marshmallow experiment can be found on the Simple Experiments and Activities for Youth page)
Science Olympiad– It’s time to start getting ready for this year’s Science Olympiad! The Olympiad started 26 years ago as a grassroots organization and has since spread across the country. Teams compete in regional competition and then have the chance to move on to the national level. This year’s state tournament will be held at Rancho High School in Las Vegas on March 6th, 2010. The registration form is available on the Olympiad’s site at (https://soinc.org/)
Professional Development Opportunities– Winter break is fast approaching and now is the time to find and register for professional development courses or workshops offered during the break. We provide links on our website at (http://www.unr.edu/newton/ProfDev.htm) to educational outreach services of the universities and colleges, the Regional Professional Development Programs and to PBS Teacher line, all of which provide schedules of workshops and other training activities.
2010 PAEMST– The Nevada Department of Education is looking for nominations for the 2010 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the PAEMST identifies outstanding math and science teachers and it is the most prestigious award presented annually to teachers. The 2010 cycle focuses on K-6 teachers who inspire and drive their students to be better. State finalists in both math and science have a chance to win $10,000 and a trip to Washington, D.C. to be nationally recognized as a great teacher. Nominations can be made at (www.paemst.org).
Newton Network– We need your submissions! Do you have a classroom activity that really excited your students? How about a really great web resource that you have found? We will help you share your resources with other teachers across the state. Send your activities, lesson plans or online resources to us and we will feature you in our newsletter and add your resource to our website. Please contact Robert Newbury at rnewbury@unr.edu
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