“Current Event Connection” posts will connect educators with news stories and relevant discussion ideas featuring content from the NG Education website.
This week, we learned … … the Great Pacific Garbage Patch could become a sovereign nation. Read of the week! What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? … Moana is bolstering the Maori language. You’re welcome. Who are the Maori? … Australia is trying to build a better coral reef. Why are coral reefs so important? … after decades … Continue reading 11 Things We Learned This Week
SCIENCE Are cats liquid or solid? That’s the kind of question that could win a scientist an Ig Nobel Prize, a parody of the Nobel Prize that honors research that “makes people laugh, then think.” (Smithsonian and Science) Make no mistake: This is not Bad Science. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit. Discussion Ideas The Ig Nobel … Continue reading Liquid Cats and Crocodile Gambling
SCIENCE Gene-hacking scientists reveal how a single gene helps determine the dizzying array of butterfly wing patterns. (Washington Post) Take a look at the A-Z of butterfly wings. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit … and some gorgeous photos of butterflies. We couldn’t choose just one! Discussion Ideas Scientists recently edited the genes of butterfly wings. Let’s … Continue reading Patterns, Genes, and Butterfly Wings
SCIENCE Seventy million years ago, they all came to drink in the rapidly drying river: long-necked sauropods, fierce theropods, crocodiles, lizards, and raven-sized birds. They never left. (Science) How are animal remains fossilized? Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit. Discussion Ideas An intriguing new theory suggests that a series of harmful algal blooms (HABs) may have … Continue reading Did Tiny Algae Doom Mighty Dinosaurs?
BOOKS Charlie Bucket, the hero of Roald Dahl’s famous book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was originally written to be a “little black boy,” according to Felicity Dahl, the author’s widow. (NPR) Why does diversity in children’s literature make a difference? Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit, including great media literacy guides from our partners. Discussion Ideas … Continue reading Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Was Originally Written as a ‘Little Black Boy’
