One of the most cost-effective ways to engage students in real-world STEM is by turning to local issues of emerging relevance through current events. In this middle school lesson, local current STEM events are used to encourage students to explore the real-world context of NGSS MS-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity. Rooted in a 5E model, this lesson on local current STEM issues takes learners on a STEM journey in their own backyard by applying a real-world context of NGSS as well as connects to the ELA Common Core. A three-step approach to lesson dissemination is presented to include: (1) identifying a local environmental issue, (2) engaging students in research focus groups surrounding the issue, and (3) making connections by encouraging students to present findings to local legislators and policymakers. Through asking questions and defining local problems, students are directly applying NGSS Science and Engineering Principles (MS-ESS-5, MS-ESS-3) in their community of learning. I like to call this the shift from Not in My Backyard (NIMBY) to In My Backyard (IMBY).

Citizen Science November/December 2024

Many young people learn about scientific topics online, yet middle school students have trouble identifying where scientific information comes from and what characterizes good sources of scientific information online. In this article, we discuss five lessons we embedded into an NGSS-aligned, sixth-grade comprehensive science course to increase students’ scientific information literacy. Drawing on SEP-8, “obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information,” these lessons gave students an opportunity to search for scientific information, critically evaluate the sources of scientific information, and generate science texts using the information they found. We focused on two concepts—scientific consensus and multiple perspectives—to help students recognize who engages in scientific research, how scientific findings are communicated to the general public, and who else may have important perspectives on socio-scientific issues.