Polar News and Notes Ezine Departments

Interested in integrating science and literacy? Need to find quality children’s literature and expository text to use in your classroom? Check out the Science and Literacy department in Issue 4 of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears - Weather and Climate: From Home to the Poles!
In this issue:
Learn about how hands-on science can assist in vocabulary […]

While the plight of the polar bear deservedly gets most of the attention in Arctic-warming scenarios, the narwhal is even more at risk, according to a study of marine mammals’ vulnerability. Scientists from three countries identified risk factors for 11 mammals that live in the Arctic year-round.  
The narwhal is a pale-colored porpoise with a […]

During the last full week of May, science centers all over the world joined with area students to create “ice caps” from available white materials. At a scheduled time, the large white spots will be measured for reflectivity by NASA satellites. The effort, called the Albedo Experiment, is designed to increase public awareness of the […]

News from the polar regions in May includes continued trouble for Arctic sea ice and the marine mammals that depend on it for survival, research efforts in the Arctic, and analysis from the past Antarctic field season. Missed these stories the first time? Read on!
Data released from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that […]

Tuesday, May 27 was the first of five scheduled Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears web seminars. The free, online seminars are run through a partnership between the National Science Digital Library and the National Science Teachers’ Association. 47 educators participated, representing a wide variety of geographic locations (across the U.S. and even Sydney, Australia!), teaching […]

Interested in refining your teaching practice? Using rubrics? Meeting the needs of all students? Check out Issue 3 of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears - Polar Patterns: Day, Night, and Seasons!
In this issue:
Learn about rubrics and checklists and use technology to create your own.
Learn about meeting the needs of gifted students without leaving others behind.
Learn […]

The National Science Teachers Association in partnership with the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) are showcasing the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears magazine in the next free web seminar in the NSDL series:
Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears Series
Integrating Science and Literacy for the K-5 Classroom
Seminar 1: Polar Geography
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
6:30pm-8:00pm Eastern Time

NSTA Web Seminars […]

Interested in integrating science and literacy? Need to find quality children’s literature and expository text to use in your classroom? Check out Issue 3 of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears - Polar Patterns: Day, Night, and Seasons!
In this issue:
Learn about cause and effect relationships and strategies to help your students master this difficult concept.
Integrate literacy […]

Nancy Etchemendy
On May 26, 2008, published author Nancy Etchemendy will embark on the journey of a lifetime: the first of two research expeditions to Antarctica. On her blog, Etchmendy describes how an “unlikely series of events” resulted in an invitation to join the marine biology expeditions. The trip in May is a month-long voyage aboard the National […]

Climate Change Protest
image created by Grant Neufeld and subject to a Creative Commons license
U.S. Department of the Interior secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced Wednesday that the polar bear will be considered a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The decision came just before a deadline imposed by a federal court, and three years after the Center […]