Teachers’ Lounge

Juncos are among the most common and most abundant “backyard birds” found across North America, and they are easily observable by millions of people daily. Did you know that they also tell an exciting evolutionary story?

The Ordinary Extraordinary Junco is a documentary film project designed to engage, entertain, and inspire student and adult audiences of all backgrounds. The feature-length film (88 min.) is comprised of eight shorter video modules (3 to 20 min.), or “chapters,” that highlight past and present biological research on one of the most common and abundant –yet amazing and diverse – groups of songbirds in North America, the Juncos.

Each video chapter explores key themes in animal behavior, ecology, or evolution, and conveys the process of scientific research with high school and college science standards in mind. Related educational resources are available to facilitate classroom or self-directed (e.g., homework) use.

There is also a teacher guide!

Ordinary Extraordinary Junco

What: A film highlighting research on a common yet amazing group of backyard birds, the Juncos

Run Time: 88 minutes total, but comprised of eight shorter video chapters (3 to 20 min. each)

Created for public and student audiences of all backgrounds and ages

Key themes: evolution, animal behavior, ecology, and the research process

Designed with science and biology education standards in mind (high school and college)

Produced by biologists and filmmakers from Indiana University

Funded by the National Science Foundation and Indiana University

And it’s all available for free!

Read more here

A Walk Down Sensory Lane : Science + Media Tech Workshop Series 2013

Slow down. Look, listen, and smell the world around you. Join KQED this summer for a K-5 educator series on integrating outdoor learning, technology and using our senses to help inform us about our world. Explore ways to engage students more deeply to connect with nature in their own local place.

Learn how to use a sound recorder and camera to record, document, and archive sounds, smells, and sights. Share the information with students by mapping data or creating a slideshow. The skills you learn in the series can be applied to other types of audio and visual mapping multimedia projects for the classroom.

Check out the different sensory offering this summer:

• Smellscapes July 8, 10, and 12 in San Francisco from 9 to noon
• Soundscapes July 17 – 19 in San Francisco from 9 to noon
• Soundscapes July 22 – 24 in Contra Costa County from 9 to noon
• Photoscapes/Patterns in Nature August 5, 8, and 9 in San Francisco from 9 to noon

Read more here or register here

You will be notified by e-mail for confirmation of workshop series. 8 – 10 spaces per series.

For questions, please e-mail Nancy Yamamoto.

Our friends over at NatureBridge Golden Gate are offering teacher professional development programs! They can help you bring the natural world into your classroom to help teach science, math, and language arts standards.

Bring the Outside In
Saturday, February 23, 2013
9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Learn simple strategies for building community, using nature in lessons, and getting your students outdoors. Open to any educator, traditional and nontraditional.

Lessons from the Ocean
Saturday, March 23, 2013
9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Use the ocean to teach math, science, and language arts skills. Learn a marine food web activity, explore human impacts on ocean resources, and learn about cultural connections to the bay and the ocean. Content is focused on grades four to eight.

Our Changing Climate
Saturday, April 13, 2013
9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Learn to teach basic climate science and empower your students to take action. Practice teaching the carbon cycle, investigate “garbology,” and develop simple student action projects. Content is focused on grades five to eight.

Workshops will be held in San Francisco. They are FREE and include lunch and take-away teaching toolkits. Stipends are available for teacher teams from the same school who attend two or more workshops and for teachers who can evidence implementation of any climate change materials ($100 per person!).

For more information visit their website.

A city-wide survey is underway to create an Outdoor Bill of Rights for kids growing up in San Francisco. What are your students’ favorites?

The San Francisco Children and Nature Forum envisions a city in which all children play, learn, and grow with nature in their everyday lives.

And, they are currently requesting feedback from school-aged kids themselves as to which rights are most important to them!

If you are a parent or a teacher of kids in grades preK-12, why not survey their opinion?

The organization provides Tips for Adults in leading youth in voting for the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights. You can access the survey and tips here, or you can take the survey directly on their website.

Please email results to sfchildreninnature@gmail.com by February 15th, or take the online survey here!

 
Get your students excited about science outside of the classroom or participate in teacher events throughout the Bay Area.

From October 25 to November 3, 2012, the Bay Area will come alive with science and technology activities – lectures, debates, and exhibitions from Santa Rosa to San Jose. For the complete program schedule visit the Bay Area Science Festival website.

 
Discovery Days

Encourage your students to spend a day doing science. Participate in programs chock-full of interactive exhibits, experiments, games, and shows, all meant to entertain and inspire.

• Discovery Days at AT&T Park: Saturday, November 3, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm in San Francisco
• Discovery Days – North Bay: Saturday, October 27, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa
• Romberg Tiburon Center Discovery Day Open House: Sunday, October 21, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm in Sausalito

 
Events for Educators

Educator Giveaway: South San Francisco
Thanks to donations from labs and companies across the Bay Area, educators will have access to high quality materials and scientific equipment for their classrooms at the Bio-link Depot. Everything from pipettes to glassware to safety equipment will be given away for free! The give-away on Saturday October 27 at 10:00 am – 12:00 pm are sponsored by BABEC and CCSF’s BIO-LINK Depot. Please bring school/educator ID.

Educator Extravaganza
The Academy’s own Educator Extravaganza is also part of the Bay Area Science Festival this year. On Saturday, November 3, 2012, join fellow educators to explore the California Academy of Sciences inside and out. Walk away with resources, activities and inspiration to bring science into your classroom in exciting new ways. Advance registration is required, and space is limited! For more information and to register for the Extravaganza, visit the event’s website.