Primary Sources in Three-Dimensional Science Learning: Insect Life Cycles

Use the work of 17th-century Dutch scientist, explorer, and painter Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717) to introduce a study of the life cycle of insects and help students gain practice in analyzing primary sources. An activity posted in the blog Teaching with the Library, which focuses on ways to use primary sources from the Library of Congress collections to support instruction in science and other subjects in K–12 classrooms, describes this experience. The activity is most closely aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards for third grade (see 3-LS1-1 in the standards). However, as life cycles and particularly butterfly life cycles are taught across many elementary grade levels, including early childhood levels, the activity could be modified for use with various groups. For younger learners, teachers would likely adapt the analysis to omit reference to Science and Engineering Practices and focus instead on discussing activities that scientists engage in and identifying crosscutting concepts like patterns rather than asking students to generate one themselves. Read the activity description to learn more and find suggestions for implementing the experience in your K–12 classroom.

NASA Exploration Experience Educator and Student Guides

Engage students in grades 5–12 in NASA’s Artemis mission with activities from these guides. The guides’ activities allow students to assume the role of NASA astronauts and learn what it takes to make lunar exploration possible. The educator guide contains two sections—an exploration section and an experience section—as well as supporting videos. In the exploration section, students examine the constraints of spacesuit design and test a glove that can be used to perform work on the Moon. In the experience section, students work together through three phases to create and modify a geological tool to collect rock samples on the lunar surface. The supporting videos show real astronauts at work doing the activities students are modeling in the lessons. The student guide includes explanatory information for each activity as well as student handouts on which to record data.

Scientific Literacy and Folk Medicine

Investigating folk medicine remedies used in history can jumpstart meaningful discussions in high school science classrooms about the meaning of science, pseudoscience, and scientific literacy. This activity—Teaching Scientific Literacy: The Case of Medicinal Teas—appeared in the Library of Congress blog Teaching With the Library and guides high school teachers and students through classifying information about medicinal remedies shared through the Slave Narrative Project, part of the Federal Writers Project in the 1930s that collected more than 2,000 oral histories from formerly enslaved people across 17 states. 

The post includes definitions to help students better understand the differences between science and pseudoscience, as well as links to interview excerpts and other primary source documents relating to medicinal properties of plants and their uses by other groups in history. Learning to understand what pseudoscience is helps students develop critical- thinking skills and provides opportunities for classroom discussions regarding bias in science and its social impacts.

National Geographic’s Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship 

The fellowship is a professional learning opportunity for preK–12 educators. National Geographic staff will select exemplary educators to host aboard Lindblad Expeditions’ voyages for a field-based experience. Grosvenor Teacher Fellows will transfer their voyage experience into transformative ways to teach students, engage colleagues, and bring new geographic awareness into their learning environments and communities. 

Fellows are expected to be active and engaged members of the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship over the course of the expedition year and the year following (including the April pre-expedition workshop, expedition, and virtual seminars). Fellows may be asked to conduct webinars, co-design resources, participate in meetups, collaborate with Explorer-led programs, and serve as mentors to other educators.

Applications are now open for the 2026 cohort (deadline November 4). Full-time preK–12 classroom or informal educators who spend 50% or more of their time working directly with students are eligible. Educators must be residents of the 50 U.S. states, Canada, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico or U.S. citizens teaching at a U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity school. 

ORISE AI in the Classroom Competition
 
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) invites teachers to showcase their artificial intelligence (AI) success in the classroom. Whether your AI success is teacher-focused or student-focused, bring it to life in a 60-second “reel.” To enter, visit the ORISE AI resources for K–12 teachers web page to explore AI resources and view example video reels. Then, create and upload your video reel, along with a written description of the AI success(es) you’ve experienced in your classroom, using the competition form. 

Three winners will receive an AI Prize Pack that includes an AI voice recorder and a bird feeder with a camera and AI. (Deadline September 30)

Switch Classroom’s Need to Know Webinar for AP Environmental Science Teachers

Did you know that fewer than 55% of students earned a passing score on the 2024 AP Environmental Science (ES) exam? What strategies should you focus on this year in your AP ES class to help your students succeed? This free, one-hour webinar at 6 p.m. Central Time on September 23 will be presented by experienced AP ES readers and teachers from Switch Classroom’s Teacher Advisory Council. The webinar will cover 

•    What experienced AP ES teachers prioritize;
•    Free Response Question tips and scoring insight from readers;
•    Common student pitfalls, and how to fix them;
•    Digital exam prep strategies; and
•    Free classroom-ready resources you can start using immediately.

Register in advance online.