Polar News and Notes Science

Our second issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine contains several articles to help you include expository text in your reading instruction, support struggling readers, integrate children’s literature, and assess student misconceptions. Interested? Check out the following highlights from this month’s issue:
Expository articles for students
This month’s feature story, “Dinos in the Dark,” discusses […]

April is National Poetry Month – a perfect time to incorporate this engaging and enjoyable form of literature into your science classroom! We’ve suggested science poetry before, including writing diamante poems after viewing webcam images of polar animals and locations and “Where I’m From” poems. Haiku and acrostic poems are also popular in elementary school […]

A new month brings a new issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine! The online magazine is written for elementary teachers to help develop their content knowledge of the polar regions and use best practices in integrating science and literacy instruction. Our second issue is called “Learning From the Polar Past” and provides […]

March 20 is Sun-Earth Day 2008, an annual event scheduled on or near the date of the spring equinox. It is sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to engage K-12 schools and the public in space science activities and interactions with space scientists.
This year’s theme is Space Weather Around the World. […]

When the USCGC Healy left Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on March 11, middle school science and technology teacher Craig Kasemodel began two weeks of research on late winter conditions in the Bering Sea. The Anchorage, Alaska, teacher will be working with Lee Cooper, chief scientist for several science cruises that will take place in 2008. The […]

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 is an International Polar Year Science Day, focusing on Changing Earth; Past, Present, and Future. It will focus on change over geological time, especially in terms of glaciers, ocean-atmosphere interactions, and climate variations. Celebrate the IPY Science Day by interacting with scientists conducting research in the Arctic and Antarctic. Live from IPY […]

We’re pleased to announce that our first issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine is ready to view! This online magazine is written for elementary teachers to help develop their content knowledge of the polar regions and use best practices in integrating science and literacy instruction. Our first issue is called “A Sense […]

 Photo courtesy of Travis S., subject to a Creative Commons license
Did you know that Saturday, March 1, marks the ceremonial start to the 36th Iditarod?
Known as the “Last Great Race,” the Iditarod is a race across the beautiful yet rough terrain of Alaska. Covering more than 1,150 miles, mushers and their dogs cross frozen rivers, […]

In March, a six-member team from the United States, Norway, Great Britain, and Canada will embark on a 1,400 mile dogsled expedition across Ellesmere Island. As the team traces the routes of legendary polar explorers such as Robert Peary, Matthew Hensen, Frederick Cook, and Otto Sverdrup, they will witness the changes that have occurred on […]

You and your students can become volunteer scientists in a nationwide project to record the time when foliage and flowers first appear this year. Project BudBurst, operated by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), allows students, gardeners, and other citizen scientists in every state to enter their observations into an online database that will […]