Category: Current Event Connection

“Current Event Connection” posts will connect educators with news stories and relevant discussion ideas featuring content from the NG Education website.

Current Event Connection, Main

Sweet Smell of Vanilla’s Success

BUSINESS Vanilla isn’t plain to product developers. It’s the x-factor in most fragrances, conjuring feelings of craving, warmth and familiarity. Other scent trends come and go, but vanilla shows no sign of waning popularity, fragrance experts say. That is fueling a chase to find new iterations. (Wall Street Journal) Meet a spice buyer from the biggest vanilla dealer in the world—McCormick&Company. Teachers: Scroll all the … Continue reading Sweet Smell of Vanilla’s Success

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Current Event Connection, Main

New View of King Tut

SCIENCE King Tut’s parents were brother-and-sister, he had a clubfoot, he suffered from genetic abnormalities, and he died when he was 19. Still, it was a pretty good life, and a truly spectacular afterlife. (The Independent) Learn how the world first found out about King Tut. Teachers: Scroll all the way down for a short list of key resources in our “Teachers’ Toolkit.” Three views … Continue reading New View of King Tut

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Current Event Connection, Main

Kelp Has Arrived . . . and It’s Raising a Stink

ENVIRONMENT Warmer air and water temperatures, combined with overseas tropical storms, delivered an ecologically desirable but olfactory disagreeable gift to the shores of Laguna Beach, California, this summer—copious amounts of kelp. (Los Angeles Times) Use our resources to see how kelp holds fast. Teachers: Scroll all the way down for a short list of key resources in our “Teachers’ Toolkit.” Discussion Ideas Laguna Beach, California, … Continue reading Kelp Has Arrived . . . and It’s Raising a Stink

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Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection, Main

The Thorny Circle of Life

SCIENCE The presence of carnivores helps some plants thrive, a new study of life on the savanna reveals. (BBC) Use this activity to better understand the plants and animals of the African savanna. Teachers: Scroll all the way down for a short list of key resources in our “Teachers’ Toolkit.” Discussion Ideas Read the terrific BBC article on the African savanna food web. Then, look … Continue reading The Thorny Circle of Life

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Classroom Ideas, Current Event Connection, Exploring Our World, This Week in Geographic History

The Tiny Truth About Germs

The cover photo for this post is a microscopic image of fungi, courtesy Fernando Santos and FEI. With stories about Ebola consuming our newsfeeds these days, it’s probably been hard to avoid discussing the outbreak with your students. But as new cases are discovered and treated, is there anything else to talk about? What questions are emerging from your classroom? One way to continue the … Continue reading The Tiny Truth About Germs

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