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NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
8/2/2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES -Northwestern State University's Space Science Group (SSG) is encouraging middle school teachers to invite science into their classrooms through the Science: Out of this World lessons, labs and activities. Science: Out of This World In The Classroom is an award-winning program designed for students in grades 5-8.
"The Space Science Group has spent the summer hard at work updating and improving their science and mathematics curriculum," according to Space Science Group Managing Director Patty Varnado. "Thanks to the innovation of SSG program designers, there are now two ways to bring Science: Out of This World lessons, labs and activities into the classroom. Teachers may opt from either the full course or for the subject specific formats, or both."
The Full Course is the SSG's original full-length science course.
The curriculum was developed by educators to help students learn
basic scientific methods and principles, as well as general study
skills such as writing and note-taking. Students also develop
social and team-building skills by conducting hands-on investigations
in cooperative groups.
"The curriculum relates science to real life and motivates
students to want to learn. It helps build general academic skills,
preparing students for future educational endeavors," Varnado
said. "Historically the curriculum has been available on
video tape, but is now also available on DVD. Unit One is currently
available on DVD and Unit Two will be available soon. We hope
to have all six units available for distribution on DVD before
the end of the school year."
The Subject Specific format is a new way of presenting the lessons
contained in the Full Course, so that they can be seamlessly integrated
into current lesson plans. The format is designed to pick and
choose video content according to teacher needs in the classroom.
"Instead of a full, structured course, this DVD has all of the lessons organized by subject and mapped to specific Grade Level Expectations, or GLEs," Varnado explained. "We have completed our first GLE-formatted DVD in astronomy and the companion workbook containing both teacher and student activities. Other GLE-formatted DVDs and workbooks covering earth science, chemistry, physics, and more are coming soon."
The Space Science Group will also continue classroom presentations this year by traveling to middle schools throughout Louisiana to present science shows that allow students to experience the fun side of science. The programs are held in conjunction with the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts.
"Whether experiencing static electricity from a Van de Graaf generator or creating a controlled hydrogen explosion, students are engaged and learning," Varnado said. "Educators can contact the Space Science Group if they are interested in scheduling a free science show. They are available at no charge."
All materials developed and distributed by the Space Science Group are free to Louisiana teachers. Interested teachers must register either using the SSG website or via email. For more information, call (800) 259-9555 or (318) 357-5186. The SSG email address is ssg@nsula.edu. Viewers can check out all SSG products, including free lab supplies to teachers using Science: Out Of This World In The Classroom, on the website.
The address is http://www.spacesciencegroup.org.