Adolescent Literacy Toolkit Adolescent Literacy Toolkit Science Lesson Plans, Narratives, and Literacy Q&A Lesson Plans and Narratives The goal of the sample lesson plans is to show content-area high school teachers how they can use literacy strategies to help high school students learn core content and concepts. The lessons are accompanied by narrative explanations that describe the lesson in action. Literacy Q&A Literacy experts answered common questions content-area teachers have about integrating literacy instruction into their daily practice. Elizabeth Birr Moje provided the answers to the Literacy Q&A for science. Elizabeth Birr Moje is an Arthur F. Science Literacy Q&A
How do pain relievers work? - George Zaidan All those different brands, varieties, and strengths filling the shelves at the drugstore can give anyone a headache! While there may be a hundred different colored boxes and bottles on the shelf, Alice (of Go Ask Alice fame) explains the four basic types of non-prescription pain-relievers. One of the most strangest types of pain comes from hitting your “funny bone.” Mentalfloss writes that the "funny bone" is neither funny (when you whack it on the edge of a piece of furniture), nor a bone (whether you whack it or not). What happens when you can’t feel pain?
Elementary Curriculum Resources Energy Infobooks are the resource for many NEED activities and include an introduction to energy, information on major sources of energy, new technologies, energy conservation, electricity, climate change, and other energy information. They are available on four reading levels and are revised and updated annually. Blueprint for Success (e-publication) This essential gusdide helps educators develop effective energy education programs. It provides an outline of a basic energy curriculum unit and matrix of all curriculum options. also included within the Blueprint for Success is a sample work plan and suggestions for energy outreach activities to conduct other classes, schools, families, and communities. the Youth Awards Program Guide and Application Form can also be found in the Blueprint for Success. ElectroWorks Teacher GuideElectroWorks Student Guide This guide includes background information and hands-on experiments to explore the basic concepts of atomic structure and electricity.
Diagnosing a zombie: Brain and body - Tim Verstynen & Bradley Voytek DISCLAIMER: Although we sometimes compare certain symptoms in zombies to real neurological patient populations, we are in no way implying that patients with these other disorders are in some way “part zombie”. Neurological disorders have provided critical insights into how the brain gives rise to behavior and we bring them up for the sake of illustration only. Their reference in this context is in no way meant to diminish the devastating impact that neurological diseases can have on patients and their caregivers. In order to understand how studies on patients, brain regions, and behavior all link together, check out BrainScanr ( a meta-analytic program designed to show relationships between brain systems and behavior. For more information on the syndromes described in the video, including how to help, please check out the following support societies: Parkinson’s Disease Foundation: The National Ataxia Foundation:
Science Activities – Free Hands-on Science Activities for Kids Science is one of the few subjects that responds logically to the endless eager and curious questions that kids and students have. Science encourages kids to explore and reduces unnecessary engagements. Substantial physical energy is conserved while students work on science activities that can be channelized to achieve higher grades. They learn to ask, explore and infer from logical situations independently. Science Simplified: Fun and Simple Science Activities for Kids Science can be easily made fun for preschoolers, kindergartners and young kids. Learn Science the Fun Way with Cool Science Activities Benefits of learning science hands-on are incomparable to text book questions and regular assignments.
Diagnosing a zombie: Brain and behavior - Tim Verstynen & Bradley Voytek DISCLAIMER: Although we sometimes compare certain symptoms in zombies to real neurological patient populations, we are in no way implying that patients with these other disorders are in some way “part zombie”. Neurological disorders have provided critical insights into how the brain gives rise to behavior and we bring them up for the sake of illustration only. Their reference in this context is in no way meant to diminish the devastating impact that neurological diseases can have on patients and their caregivers. To see what brain areas are associated with different behaviors and cognitive states from functional MRI (fMRI) studies, check out the NeuroSynth website created by Tal Yarkoni ( and the Cognitive Atlas by Russ Poldrack ( For more information on patient HM and his tremendous contributions to our understanding of how the brain remembers, please check out these stories. NPR:
100 Awesome Engineering Projects for Kids By Kristie Lewis Engineering and fun aren't always two things that kids naturally associate with one another, but there are hundreds of ways to make engineering, physics and design fun and challenging for kids. Here are 100 great experiments that will let kids construct, play, learn and grow, all while they study the fundamentals of engineering. Basics These projects focus on the basics of motion, force and other essentials of physics. Balls and Ramp. Light and Electricity Let kids have fun understanding how to harness light and electricity. Create your own light bulb. Structures Kids will have a blast trying to put together these building projects. Build a Bird House. Materials Through these projects, children can see how different materials act and work in structures. Create the perfect play dough. Travel and Movement Learn about planes, trains, automobiles and all kinds of movement through these ideas. Paper Airplanes. Harnessing Nature Create a compass. Environment Create a water filter.
Top 10 Brain Myths" At one time in history, decapitation was one of the preferred methods of execution, in part thanks to the guillotine. Although many countries that execute criminals have dispatched with the method, it's still performed by certain governments, terrorists and others. There's nothing more final than the severing of one's head. The guillotine came about because of the desire for a quick, relatively humane death. But how quick is it? If your head were cut off, would you still be able to see or otherwise move it, even for just a few seconds? This concept perhaps first appeared during the French Revolution, the very time period in which the guillotine was created. Another often-told tale of demonstrated consciousness following beheading dates to 1905. These stories seem to give credence to the idea that it's possible for someone to remain conscious, even for just a few seconds, after being beheaded. If your head stays on your shoulders, though, it can still be damaged beyond repair.
Note About This Icon 12 talks on understanding the brain Read Montague is interested in the human dopamine system — or, as he puts it in this illuminating talk from TEDGlobal 2012, that which makes us “chase sex, food and salt” and therefore survive. Specifically, Montague and his team at the Roanoke Brain Study are interested in how dopamine and valuation systems work when two human beings interact with each other. Twenty years ago, studying a topic like this was all but impossible because scientists relied on worms and rodents for insight into the brain. But today, in addition to animal research, neurobiologists have at their disposal functional MRI (fMRI), which allows them to make “microscopic blood flow movies” and map the activity of human brains in action. “We have a behavioral superpower in our brain and it at least in part involves dopamine,” says Montague in this talk. “We can deny any instinct we have for survival for an idea. To hear much more about Montague’s work, watch this talk.
Bill Hammack's Video & Audio on Engineering The Mind Project: Curriculum AI, Robotics & Computational Models This module provides an introduction to artificial neural nets with a working network that can solve X-OR problem. Chain codes are a kind of computer program that can be used to represent the shape of objects. Seven hands-on activities show how to write simple chain codes and explain their application to computer vision. The physics-based simulator, Breve, is used to introduce complex adaptive systems with a special focus on the optimization strategy known as simulated annealing . Computers play a central role in artificial intelligence, robotics, and in modeling various capabilities of minds/brains. Neurons form elaborate information processing networks. Larry Learner is an artificial intelligence program that plays the game "Last One Loses." McCulloch and Pitts developed a mathematical model of a biological neuron. Iris 1.2 robotic arm, software, and curriculum. The computer processing in virtually all robots is digital. Anthropology Foundational Issues
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