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Meeting Social and Emotional Learning Needs – A Critical Part of College and Career Readiness for High School Students

by with No Comment Interdisciplinary

Meeting Social and Emotional Learning Needs – A Critical Part of College and Career Readiness for High School Students

Megan Fileccia

Senior Product Marketing Manager • Digital Learning Platforms • National Geographic Learning | Cengage

311 days. Never would I have guessed on March 16th, 2020 that our then ninth grader would go 311 days without being in the same physical space as her peers and her beloved teachers.  While she values the college and career preparedness high school offers, prior to the pandemic, her main motivator for attending school was friendship. It was her chance to talk about boys and TikTok and make weekend plans.  

When we began navigating remote learning, it became very clear that we had to make sure we were not only supporting her academic needs, but in order for her to be successful in that area, we needed to attend to her social and emotional needs. If you talk to any parent, teacher or administrator in the country they will tell you kids are adjusting. Teachers are adjusting. Parents are adjusting.  

As high schools prepare students for college and career readiness, now more than ever, they must not only consider, but also infuse social and emotional learning (SEL) needs into every interaction. As Lauren Kazee, an SEL Consultant in Michigan points out, “This has always been the case but is even more so now in light of our current landscape nationally; pandemic, social and political unrest, the emotional needs of students (and staff) has been exacerbated.” 

Social Emotional Learning

According to The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), “Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relations, and make responsible and caring decisions”…. “CASEL 5 addresses five broad and interrelated areas of competence and highlights examples for each: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.” (https://casel.org/)

CASEL has many resources to learn more about SEL research and how to successfully implement an SEL program. Additionally, you can access previously held and upcoming webinars that focus on many important strategies and issues related to SEL education: https://casel.org/weekly-webinars/.

As I began to be focused on what my ninth-grader was experiencing, two focus areas came to the surface:

  • • In order to be college and career-ready, she needed to become more confident and skilled in the areas of Communication, Problem Solving, Team Building, and Decision Making.  She needed more activities to engage these soft skill attributes.  
  • • In order to be college and career-ready, she needed the opportunity to have exposure to successful and fulfilled people who she aspired to be like.  Whether she wanted to explore her natural love of animals or investigate trends within the tech world, she needed to have more exposure to people who can model for her what positive social and emotional health looks like.

My daughter is very people-centered and because of this, I was able to leverage and engage her with the work being done by our National Geographic Explorers. Conceptually, her learning about the explorer’s past, what challenges they have had, what initially sparked their interest within their field of study, how they stay motivated and persevere through challenges, helps her to frame her understanding of the work they are doing.

National Geographic Explorers

My daughter has found these scientists and change-makers to be fascinating which has encouraged her to do more research. Currently, she is most interested in researching any and all work with animals. For opportunities to bring National Geographic Explorers into your home and classroom, check out the exciting fieldwork being done around the globe by visiting National Geographic Explorers. There are also many opportunities to engage and “meet” the NGL explorers within some high school programs. Given her interests and also her challenge areas, she has looked to  Environmental Science, World History Voyages of Exploration, and U.S. History America Through the Lens to investigate explorers. These programs allow her to not only read about but watch videos and use other visual aids to guide her understanding. Not so secretly, given all that I have learned about her needs, learning style, and motivators, I am really excited for her to start looking into the explorers featured in the new program for AP® Human Geography.

Soft Skill Activities for College and Career Readiness

Industry and Admissions decision-makers continue to stress the importance of soft skills. Not only for students to possess these skills but also to be able to articulate the skills and provide examples of evidence. We have been working on these skills at home too. There are activities that can be found online as well as curricular programs to support these initiatives. Below are just a few of the many examples that can be used to strengthen skills and also provide opportunities to showcase each skill in an application setting.

9 Awesome Classroom Activities That Teach Job Readiness Skills -Published by We Are Teachers

National Geographic Learning also publishes a Soft Skills high school series. These two on-demand activities focus on Team Building and Problem Solving. As a 5 part series, the other three programs from the series focus on Professionalism, Verbal Communication, and Written Communication.

• On-Demand Team Building Activity

• On-Demand Problem Solving and Decision Making Activity

If you are seeing a similar scenario in your classrooms or in your own homes, and are looking for additional resources, the resources above are just a few of the many examples for students to make motivating and meaningful connections as they work on their social and emotional learning needs as they prepare for college and career readiness.  

The last eleven months have taught us so much about high school students’ social and emotional needs as we prepare them for college and career readiness. What have been some of the best strategies you have used to meet these needs while teaching in a distance or hybrid learning environment this past year?

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What Do We Mean by “Rigor”? Using Challenging Texts in Responsive Ways

by with No Comment Webinar - Reading Language Arts

What Do We Mean by “Rigor”? Using Challenging Texts in Responsive Ways

Students need to read, discuss, and compose complex texts in order to meet content standards. But grade-level texts may not be accessible, at least independently, for every child. Join author and researcher Nancy Frey for a discussion of the nature of challenging grade-level texts, and methods for ensuring that all students benefit.

Nancy Frey, Ph.D.

Professor, San Diego State University

Students need to read, discuss, and compose complex texts in order to meet content standards. But grade-level texts may not be accessible, at least independently, for every child. Join author and researcher Nancy Frey for a discussion of the nature of challenging grade-level texts, and methods for ensuring that all students benefit.
 
In this webinar replay, you will learn:
  • Understand the relationship between text readability, text complexity, and Depth of Knowledge measures
  • Use close and critical reading techniques to promote discussion and knowledge-building
  • Leverage MTSS/RTI Tier 2 supplemental supports for students who need pre-teaching and re-teaching
  • Examine Education Trust's assignment analysis tool to ensure equity of expectations for all students
Health Science

The Need for Diversity in Health Science Curriculum — from Textbook Figures to Student Leadership

by with No Comment Webinar - Career & Tech Ed

The Need for Diversity in Health Science Curriculum — from Textbook Figures to Student Leadership

This webinar replay is a panel discussion on the importance of teaching patient diversity across introductory health science courses with Q&A and classroom/lab strategies for starting conversations with students.
 
In this webinar replay, you will learn how to include diversity considerations for patients in High School Health programs through activities and curriculum content with author, Tara Pullman Bell.
Health Science

Tara Pullman Bell

M.Ed. Author

Alex von Dallwitz

Art Director, Design at National Geographic Learning

HOSA

This webinar replay is a panel discussion on the importance of teaching patient diversity across introductory health science courses with Q&A and classroom/lab strategies for starting conversations with students.
 
In this webinar replay, you will learn:
  • How to include diversity considerations for patients in High School Health programs through activities and curriculum content with author, Tara Pullman Bell
  • Understand how CTSO events and opportunities that promote diversity from HOSA Future Health Professionals
  • How artwork in curriculum can offer more diverse examples for students in a discussion with the National Geographic Learning Art Director
  • Engage in a live Q&A with our panel to ask questions specific to your programs
Randy Bell

Teaching the Nature of Science: Strategies and Resources for Student Success

by with No Comment Webinar - Science

Teaching the Nature of Science: Strategies and Resources for Student Success

Teaching the Nature of Science is more important than ever. The events of the past year have emphasized the need for greater understanding of science as a way of knowing and how scientific knowledge is developed. Yet teachers still have concerns about teaching these abstract topics. What is the nature of science? How can it be used to increase student interest and promote scientific literacy? How is it addressed in the NGSS? These are just a few of the questions that you will explore as you learn from student-centered activities designed to encourage critical thinking. Dr. Bell’s session will offer specific strategies and resources that support ALL students in learning about the nature of science and how to make sense of scientific claims they encounter on a daily basis.
Randy Bell

Dr. Randy L. Bell

Associate Dean and Professor of Science Education

Teaching the Nature of Science is more important than ever. The events of the past year have emphasized the need for greater understanding of science as a way of knowing and how scientific knowledge is developed. Yet teachers still have concerns about teaching these abstract topics. What is the nature of science? How can it be used to increase student interest and promote scientific literacy? How is it addressed in the NGSS? These are just a few of the questions that you will explore as you learn from student-centered activities designed to encourage critical thinking. Dr. Bell’s session will offer specific strategies and resources that support ALL students in learning about the nature of science and how to make sense of scientific claims they encounter on a daily basis.
 
In this webinar replay, you will learn:
  • What nature of science means and how it is represented in NGSS
  • Strategies for teaching nature of science and how they can be used to boost student interest
  • Resources and lesson ideas for teaching nature of science
Paul Battaglia

Improve Retention, Reduce Stress: Formative Precalculus Assessment for Today’s Learning Environment

by with No Comment Webinar - Math

Improve Retention, Reduce Stress: Formative Precalculus Assessment for Today’s Learning Environment

Opportunities for 9-12 teachers to reflect on how to assess students are more important than ever.
 
Join Paul as he shares strategies on how to work with students to challenge conventional thinking for some and spark creativity in others. Learn how teachers can approach homework in an innovative and valuable manner. The goal of this session is to develop targeted ways to assess Precalculus students to generate less stress, improve retention, all while preparing them for exams.
Paul Battaglia

Paul Battaglia

Math Teacher, consultant, and author
AP® Calculus, Calculus, Precalculus, Algebra 2, Statistics

Opportunities for 9-12 teachers to reflect on how to assess students are more important than ever.
 
Join Paul as he shares strategies on how to work with students to challenge conventional thinking for some and spark creativity in others. Learn how teachers can approach homework in an innovative and valuable manner. The goal of this session is to develop targeted ways to assess Precalculus students to generate less stress, improve retention, all while preparing them for exams.
 
In this webinar replay, you will learn:
  • Tips for varying assessment methods to gather information on student progress
  • How to combine a dynamic curriculum with technology tools
  • Strategies to keep students engaged whether in person or online
Laurie_Boswell_Jan21

Reexamining Meaningful, Virtual Math: Tried and True Strategies That Work Best for Teachers!

by with No Comment Webinar - Math

Reexamining Meaningful, Virtual Math: Tried and True Strategies That Work Best for Teachers!

Teaching in these unprecedented times is nothing short of difficult. Hear from Dr. Laurie Boswell and a panel of fellow educators who are currently navigating the “virtual to in-person and back to virtual” world we are living in. Learn what strategies work best, even when teaching in person and virtual simultaneously, and what is better off kept 6 feet away. Together, we can build confidence knowing we are doing the best we can for our students. Leave the session able to integrate the tried and true strategies and tools that have worked the best for teachers just like you!

Laurie Boswell, Ed.D

Award-winning math teacher, trainer, and Big Ideas Math® author

Leading Educator Panelists

Stephanie Duwve
2nd Grade Teacher at Sylvania Schools

Hanin Kashen
Grade 4 Teacher at Sylvania Schools

Analee Stover
Grade 8 Teacher at Ontario Middle School

Teaching in these unprecedented times is nothing short of difficult. Hear from Dr. Laurie Boswell and a panel of fellow educators who are currently navigating the “virtual to in-person and back to virtual” world we are living in. Learn what strategies work best, even when teaching in person and virtual simultaneously, and what is better off kept 6 feet away. Together, we can build confidence knowing we are doing the best we can for our students. Leave the session able to integrate the tried and true strategies and tools that have worked the best for teachers just like you!

In this webinar replay, you will learn:

  • Tried and true strategies and tools that work best for teachers.
  • Strategies for organizing and presenting math content in a virtual environment, in person, or both.
  • Tips on using interactive tools to meet the needs of all learners.
Hoffman_Leister

Teaching Phenomena-Based Earth & Space Science

by with No Comment Webinar - Science

Teaching Phenomena-Based Earth & Space Science

In this session, we explore a wide variety of science phenomena from high school earth and space science and how to apply these to hands-on science lessons. Utilizing resources from National Geographic and the new Earth & Space Science program, we’ll show how images, videos, and hands-on demonstrations connect students to phenomena and standards-based learning (including NGSS). Lesson ideas and teaching strategies will be appropriate for distance learning and classroom instruction.

Mark Hoffman

Senior Product Marketing Manager, K-12 Science
National Geographic Learning | Cengage

Debbie Leister

Customer Success Consultant
National Geographic Learning | Cengage

In this session, we explore a wide variety of science phenomena from high school earth and space science and how to apply these to hands-on science lessons. Utilizing resources from National Geographic and the new Earth & Space Science program, we’ll show how images, videos, and hands-on demonstrations connect students to phenomena and standards-based learning (including NGSS). Lesson ideas and teaching strategies will be appropriate for distance learning and classroom instruction.

In this webinar replay, you will:

  • Get lesson ideas and strategies to meet specific Earth and Space Science standards
  • Receive tips you can use right now to incorporate phenomena-based lessons with students
  • Learn how to implement hands-on labs from the National Geographic Earth and Space Science program
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4 Tips for Students Interested in Marketing Careers

by with No Comment Career & Tech Ed

4 Tips for Students Interested in Marketing Careers

Abigail Hess

Product Marketing Manager • Career and Technical Education • National Geographic Learning | Cengage

The below tips come from Marketing Professional Panel highlighted in this Virtual Learning Series Webinar with three industry professionals—A Professor of Marketing, the Global Head of Marketing Technology at a B2B (Business-to-Business), and a Marketing Manager of a small B2C (Business-to-Consumer) startup company. These were the answers to live audience questions we couldn’t fit into the 60-minute webinar.

Additional topics covered live included: 

  • • Day in the life of a Marketing Professional 
  • • Big wins that made them realize Marketing was the industry for them
  • • How students advocate for themselves and their careers
  • • What they look for when hiring an intern or marketing manager
  • • Key Marketing Technologies and strategies for using them to grow business

View the full recording to share with your class!

Tips from Marketing Professionals — Answers to Additional Audience Questions: 

Q: What are tips you could give for young entrepreneurs who want to start a business during the pandemic. What advice would you give to somebody who is trying to make their business grow but can’t get any sales?

A: Rustin Nethercott, Marketing Manager at GRIT

The pandemic has created hundreds of new problems for every one of us—the inability to see loved ones, difficulty getting groceries while avoiding crowds, and the overall increase in stress and anxiety, just to name a few. But every new problem also brings with it new opportunities to solve the problem with a business. The companies that have done well over the last nine months have been the ones that helped solve a problem that the pandemic created or made worse. Think Zoom, Instacart, and Amazon. Try and find a problem that affects enough people for it to be worth solving, but that doesn’t yet have a great solution. Then, build the solution.

For someone with an existing business that is struggling to get sales, the top advice I would give is to make sure you have product-market fit. In other words, do you have an audience that actually wants what you have to sell? Think about your existing customers. If your product disappeared tomorrow, how disappointed would they be? (Hint: Ask them!). If they would be very disappointed, then find groups of people similar to these customers. If they would not be disappointed, then you need to either change your product, change your market (who you’re selling to), or both.

Q: What partnerships do you see for students to gain work-based experience in Marketing while in HS? Internships, etc.

A: Francesca Quinn, Global Head of Marketing Technology at Cloud Communications Division of NTT Ltd.

Marketing is something that a wide base of application in the world. Whether it is a mom-and-pop store or a large organization, they can benefit from good marketing. What I am seeing in my town is a lot of small stores looking to find ways to differentiate and bring customers in during the pandemic. Try offering some free help to them like running their social media or organizing an email campaign to get them to bring in customers. If you are interested in technology, look into free software they could use for this and offer to help set them up. Not interested in a small store, offer your services to a cause you care about.

A: Rustin Nethercott, Marketing Manager at GRIT

Internships are the best way to get experience in the field and are required by most companies hiring for entry-level roles. If you can’t find any posted internships, make your own. Reach out to small businesses and nonprofits and offer to do their marketing for free. It may take a few tries, but odds are you will find a company willing to take you on.

If you can’t find a nonprofit or small business, fear not. Marketing is no longer blocked by gatekeepers. You can create your own blog or eCommerce store and teach yourself marketing. Build your own website, set up your own analytics, start your own social channels, run your own ads, write your own blog posts. No permission required. Practice growing your own project through trial and error while building out your portfolio and resume. 

Q: During your learning experience, was there a time where you doubted yourself?

A: Francesca Quinn, Global Head of Marketing Technology at Cloud Communications Division of NTT Ltd.

Yes! I still doubt myself sometimes. What is important though is that I don’t let that doubt alone stop me from doing something. Having doubt can be a good thing. It can stop us from acting rashly. So, when you have a doubt, take a minute and just reassess the issue. Do you still feel like it is the right path? Do you need to shift something slightly? Make those adjustments and then push forward. And if you happen to be wrong? Learn from it and move on.

A: Rustin Nethercott, Marketing Manager at GRIT

Every single day. Imposter syndrome is as prevalent in the business world as coffee addiction and corny overused sayings (“let’s run this up the flagpole”).

But despite being highly prevalent, imposter syndrome is a good sign that you’ve linked your self-worth a bit too closely with your career. What the imposter syndrome-er fears most is being ‘found out’ as a fraud and becoming a ‘failure’. But your job can only make you a failure if it determines your value as a person. Which, fun fact, it doesn’t. Never has, never will. It’s something you do, and hopefully, something you enjoy, but it cannot give you worth or take it away. 

Q: What are some tips for being comfortable in an uncomfortable setting or situation?

A: Francesca Quinn, Global Head of Marketing Technology at Cloud Communications Division of NTT Ltd.

Firstly, if something makes you unconformable but is unavoidable, take as many opportunities as you can to do that thing. The more times you do it, the easier it becomes. Second, prepare yourself as best as you can for it. If that means, writing down what you want to say or having some role play with you, do that. If it means, doing some research on a person or company in advance or studying reports, do that. If it is something you can practice, do that. Then lastly, let go of your expectations of what the outcome should be. Once you are in that setting/situation, whatever happens, will happen. Personally, I am petrified of public speaking. But I do it as much as I can. I prepare for it as best as I can. And then I roll with whatever comes my way…even if that means falling over a chair in front of an entire classroom while trying to teach them relational algebra (true story!).

A: Rustin Nethercott, Marketing Manager at GRIT

  1. Bring a growth mindset into everything you do. You don’t need to be the smartest, or the most experienced, or most talented, or anything like that. If you can learn and grow fast, then you will be successful. Ask more questions than feels necessary, read everything you can on your field, and know that everyone else is probably too busy focused on their own work to be paying much attention to you.
  2. Focus on only what you can control— your thoughts and your actions. You can’t control how your boss perceives you, what others accomplish or don’t accomplish, or if your coworkers are out to get you. You can control how hard you work, how positive of a presence you are in the office, and how helpful a teammate you are.
  3. Focus on the process, not the outcomes. There will be days when you do everything right, and your campaign still falls flat. Or other days when you just wing it, and it’s a resounding ‘success’. Outcomes are fickle and inconsistent. It’s your process that will determine success or failure in the long run. So, worry less about the results, using them only as feedback to help adjust your process. 

Additional Resources for Marketing Students:

Career Journeys Blog Series

These posts offer interviews with industry professionals across the career clusters to introduce job opportunities to CTE students including current job outlook, growth, average salary, and educational requirements as well as personal stories of how professionals became successful in their careers. These real stories show the wide variety of routes available to learn about, prepare for, and succeed in a career. Each post ends with Professional advice for high school students interested in a similar career path.

Send your students to Marketing-Related Careery Journeys below: 

DECA Competition Advice and Practice

These posts focus on tips and advice for students and teachers to incorporate skills needed for competition success! 

Updated Marketing Print & Online Curriculum
DECA
Sports Marketing

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Professional Panel — Career Journeys in Marketing

by with No Comment Webinar - Career & Tech Ed

Professional Panel — Career Journeys in Marketing

As part of our launch for two new editions of Marketing and Sports & Entertainment Marketing, join our panel of marketing professionals as we gain real-world advice on key strategies and skills taught in Introductory Marketing & Entrepreneurship courses. Our panel of marketers includes: The Global Head of Marketing Technology for an international Cloud Communications company, the Department Chair and Professor of Marketing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst speaking from experience in education and consulting with the industry, as well as the Marketing Manager of a growing startup. We are excited for a well-rounded discussion of key skills, knowledge, and traits that we can teach students to jumpstart their business careers.

Francesca Quinn

Global Head of Marketing Technology at
Cloud Communications division of NTT

Dr. Bruce Weinberg

PhD, MBA Department Chair & Professor of Marketing
at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Rustin Nethercott

Marketing Manager at GRIT

As part of our launch for two new editions of Marketing and Sports & Entertainment Marketing, join our panel of marketing professionals as we gain real-world advice on key strategies and skills taught in Introductory Marketing & Entrepreneurship courses. Our panel of marketers includes: The Global Head of Marketing Technology for an international Cloud Communications company, the Department Chair and Professor of Marketing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst speaking from experience in education and consulting with the industry, as well as the Marketing Manager of a growing startup. We are excited for a well-rounded discussion of key skills, knowledge, and traits that we can teach students to jumpstart their business careers.

This one-hour, on-demand webinar is perfect for teachers of Marketing, Business, Finance, Agribusiness, and Entrepreneurship, as well as students interested in these courses. Our panelists discuss their personal career journeys, first big wins that solidified their marketing careers, as well as current strategies they have employed or foresee for reaching customers during a global pandemic, using data to drive marketing decisions, and connecting with customers via social media, automation, websites, and much more.

In this webinar replay, you will:

  • hear the personal career journeys of three professionals in a variety of marketing roles: from global marketing, to marketing education/consulting, and marketing in a growing startup,
  • learn real-world examples of key marketing strategies using emerging technologies,
  • receive direct advice from professionals to high school students interested in the industry,
  • and partake in a live discussion with our panelists through a Q&A.
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5 Ideas to Teach Science Through Distance Learning

by with No Comment Science

5 Ideas to Teach Science Through Distance Learning

Mark Hoffman

Senior Product Marketing Manager • K-12 Science/Disciplinary Literacy • National Geographic Learning | Cengage

Finding time to engage students in science was already challenging enough before being forced into distance learning by a pandemic. Now with synchronous instruction time with students even less than before when you were in class, it’s nearly impossible to fit science in. With the fun and easy resources here, you will be motivated to tackle science lessons and keep students engaged with science in some unique and creative ways.

#1 Get Their Eyes on You

One very eye-catching way to get students’ attention is to show them some amazing live images. One way to do this is with a tool like a hand-held digital camera microscope. These little cameras can magnify the surface of any object up to 500x just by touching it with the tip of the lens. They can connect to a computer by USB or to a phone or tablet through WiFi. These live magnified images are an ideal way to introduce phenomena at the beginning of lessons. What you can magnify is practically limitless, but some interesting objects include: flowers; sand; fabric/clothing; insects; human body parts such as skin, fingerprints, hair, eyes; and everyday object become extraordinary under magnification such as coins and paper money, pen ink and pencil writing, and even the pixels on your cell phone will make you rethink how everything is made. There are many sources for getting these hand-held camera microscopes starting at about $50, one good source for teachers is Southern Science Supply.

The author's eye at 60x magnification

#2 Practice the Powers of Observation 

Making observations may seem like a simple task, but students (especially younger ones) can always use more practice in finding important details and patterns, and also practicing patience. One way you may not have tried is to have students make animal observations using the hundreds of free live streaming cams offered by zoos, aquariums, and other nature organizations. What is great about these is that they usually stream 24 hours a day allowing students to peek in on animal life at any time of day or night. Having students focus on one species (or even one specific individual animal), and make observations over hours or days will increase their observational skills and provide a window into animal behavior that a few minutes at a crowded zoo cannot provide. There are literally hundreds of zoos and aquariums with cameras, but below are a few good options to start with.

San Diego Zoo

National Zoo in Washington, DC

Monterey Bay Aquarium

#3 Connect Students Live with a Real Scientist

Kids will (sometimes) happily watch a pre-recorded video as part of a science lesson, but why not make that experience active and real by connecting live with a National Geographic Explorer or other scientists? There are many opportunities for your students to talk live to a scientist, engineer, Explorer, or photographer where students are live on-camera with the Explorer and able to talk and ask questions directly to them. The National Geographic Explorer Classroom program offers teachers comprehensive support for these live encounters with Educator Guides available for each event to help you prep students before, to pay closer attention while live, and to discuss what was learned after the event. Some of these are even offered in Spanish and American Sign Language.

One teacher, Joe Grabowski, set up so many of these live events with scientists and his students that he actually became a National Geographic Explorer because of his work to connect students to real scientists this way. With help from Nat Geo, Joe was able to set up and expand his own organization called Exploring By the Seat of Your Pants to facilitate daily live events for students to connect with scientists live.

The best part is that every event from both organizations above is recorded and available for free, on-demand, any time. There are literally hundreds of videos on every subject area imaginable to choose from!

Students can also get to know National Geographic Explorers through using our National Geographic Exploring Science program for grades K-5 where students ‘meet’ many Explorers in the pages of the book and in the digital platform through videos. Each grade includes one host Explorer who revisits students throughout the year in the text and digital platform.

#4 Take a Virtual Field Trip

Instead of using Google Earth to fly over your own house or to ‘spy’ on your neighbors, why not use the power of the tool to take students to places they’ve never been before? Google Earth and other organizations have created some incredible opportunities for learning through hosted, informational, and content-rich explorations all over the world. Being whisked away digitally to a faraway place is only so valuable without some context and guidance while you’re there. The examples below include either teacher resources to help students make the most of their trip, or they have valuable resources and guidance built-in to keep students on task in their learning. The Google list below includes several expeditions created by National Geographic and other Explorers including Jane Goodall. All of these are free resources.

The Nature Conservancy Virtual Field Trips

Google Earth “Voyager” Expeditions (may take a minute to load)

National Geographic Virtual Expeditions:

            Saving the Kordofan Giraffe with Explorer Naftali Honig

            Goodall, Gombe, and Google with Jane Goodall

            Building the National Geographic Photo Ark with Joel Sartore

            Helping People and Animals Coexist with Explorer Krithi Karanth

            Explore the Last Pristine Seas with Explorer Enric Sala

#5 Connect with the Broader Science Community — Citizen Science

Students as young as preschool have the skills to collect real scientific data that scientists need to do their work. Allowing students of all ages the opportunity to make a real contribution to the scientific body of knowledge can be a very powerful experience. Citizen Science projects connect everyday people and their willingness to observe and collect some data, with scientists who rely on that data to conduct their research. This can be as simple as taking a picture with your phone using the iNaturalist App to share with the science community, or as elaborate as climbing a mountain peak and collecting snow samples along the way (only for the experts!). These projects can also be as local as observing the stream in your neighborhood to the worldwide Christmas Bird Count conducted every year for the past 120 years by the Audubon Society. Get started choosing how you’ll make an impact with the links below.

scistarter.org

National Geographic Citizen Science Projects

Adventure Scientists run by NG Explorer Gregg Treinish

Watch the Webinar On Demand!

Interested in additional ideas on how to engage your K-8 Science Students? Watch the recording of our webinar, Ideas and Best Practices to Teach Science Through Distance Learning, with Mark Hoffman and 2nd Grade Teacher Kathy Seidl.
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