Chemistry, what a fascinating science discipline!  Isaac Newton, one the greatest scientists in history said in 1676: “If I have seen far, it’s because I stood on the shoulders of giants“.  And you bet that’s true for Chemistry, and for any other discipline as well.  Chemistry was not built by one chemist, or two, it […]

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second most frequent cancer type (after lung cancer), with 15% incidence.  It is estimated that more than 200,000 new cases will be diagnosed before the end of 2010.  However, there is much hope and optimism: in the last 30 years the death rate has been […]

The increasingly rich cultural and language diversity in our schools offers great opportunities for our students to learn first-hand about the whole world right there in their classrooms. But it also challenges teachers to deliver instruction that nurtures students’ individual talents, fosters collaborative skills, and benefits from the diversity in the classroom. One way of […]

Just to the west of our NSDL offices in Boulder, Colorado, a devastating wild fire is raging, and no doubt, raising questions for local students about how wild fires spread, the technologies and techniques the firefighters are using, and the future impacts of the fire on the people, land, and wildlife. Here is a […]

What a great way to start the new academic year and get to know your students: ask them what they did during the summer! Chances are that they did a lot of sports. Be prepared to show them how sports relate to the math and science curricula! Here is a sample from our wealth of […]

If you are not yet familiar with Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears: Integrating Literacy and Science in K-5 Classrooms, you should be! If the early summer is heating up too fast for you, take the opportunity to explore Issue 20 of this exemplary resource for K-5 teachers and students (the latest). BPPB is a terrific […]

If you haven’t had the opportunity to explore and use NSDL Content Clips - make room in your schedule! Content Clips is a great resource for teachers and curriculum builders to find and organize multimedia ‘clips’ to produce web-based teaching activities, presentations, interactives, and much more.  Browse the collection by topic area (e.g. amphibians, birds, desert life, […]

This year is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. It all started on April 22, 1970, when Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin hired a small staff, led by Denis Hayes, to coordinate a series of ‘teach-in’ activities throughout the country. Those teach-ins expanded and evolved into an energetic grassroots effort, and effectively, the beginning of […]

NSDL’s Teacher’s Domain Pathway has released a new digital media special collection - Where Words Touch the Earth -  for grades 3-12, featuring Native American perspectives on climate change and how these impacts affect Native American communities.  Downloadable videos are available of interviews of elders and other community members by students from American Indian Tribal Colleges. A […]

Do you know about the Corvid family of birds? What about phenophases? Springtime is in the air and it’s a good time to engage students of all ages in some great citizen science projects.  Project BudBurst is an exemplary citizen scientist program that engages the public in making careful observations of phenophases:  first leafing, first […]