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Correlations to the Common Core State Standards Expert's Corner: Understanding Hurricanes Job Opportunity: Certified Trainer Correlations to the Common Core State StandardsExploreLearning Gizmos are now correlated to the new Common Core State Standards for mathematics. The Common Core State Standards Initiative aims to provide a clear and consistent understanding of the knowledge and skills needed for student success in the 21st century. So far thirty-eight states have adopted these standards for both math and language arts. Of course, Gizmos are already correlated to all state standards and to over 200 leading textbooks. You can easily browse for Gizmos using any of these correlations, or just by entering a key word or phrase in the Search window found on every website page. Happy browsing! Expert's Corner: Understanding Hurricanes The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1st and extends through November 30th each year. Here in Florida, and in other parts of the southern and eastern United States, tropical storms and hurricanes are a threat each year during this time period. The most notable recent example was the 2005 Hurricane Katrina: the sixth strongest overall hurricane in recorded history. It was the most costly natural disaster to date in the United States, causing an estimated $81 billion in property damage. More than 1,800 people lost their lives during the hurricane and subsequent flooding, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.
As a hurricane approaches landfall, weather changes, such as cloud cover, wind speed, wind direction and barometric pressure, start to occur. (As an example, during hurricane Wilma in 2005, the lowest ever recorded barometric pressure of 882 mb was attained). Your students can see how barometric pressure changes by moving a hurricane closer to and further from specific weather stations on the Hurricane Motion Gizmo. Once students learn about the variables involved in an approaching hurricane, they can conduct an experiment where they attempt to ascertain where an "invisible hurricane" is positioned based on given meteorological data. Teachers can also have students investigate these different weather variables further in the Weather Maps Gizmo and the Coastal Winds and Clouds Gizmo.
Making connections that link current events to science curriculum helps students understand both what's happening in the world and the science behind such events better. For more learning activities related to hurricanes and other weather factors, take a look at the Teacher Guides and Student Exploration Guides with any of the Gizmos mentioned above. Gizmos Are on FacebookOur social media presence keeps expanding! First we set up our Twitter feed, where you can access an ongoing stream of useful information about math and science. Then we turned on our YouTube channel, where you can find videos of teachers and students investigating and demonstrating Gizmos. Now we've launched a Facebook page that's just about Gizmos! We are just now getting started, so this is a great opportunity for you to help us build our Facebook presence. We invite you to post on our wall, comment on other posts, and tell your colleagues to visit the page as well. We want to hear your stories about Gizmos: how you use them, what your students get out of them… whatever you want to share. Of course we invite you to follow the Gizmos page as well, so you can be a part of our growing community. Just visit the ExploreLearning Gizmos page on Facebook and click on the "Like" button at the top-center of the page. Gizmo Educator of the Month Donna uses Gizmos with her eighth graders for everything from exploring characteristics of subatomic particles with Element Builder Gizmo to studying genetics and heredity with Mouse Genetics (Two Traits).
“Using the exploration guides, I find that Gizmos are easily adapted and customized for my students. Differentiation is seamless as each guide is separated into different activities, each building on the concept development and understanding. Students are able to follow the guides with ease and respond well to the questions posed.” Take a look at the wealth of contributions Donna has made to the ExploreLearning Community. From her insightful Gizmo Recommendations to her resourceful user Contributed Lesson Materials, Donna provides lots of ideas for other teachers on ways to incorporate Gizmos into effective science teaching. Gizmo recommendations, Lesson Materials, and Shared Class Gizmo Lists are available to ExploreLearning subscribers and free trial users, based on "What I Teach" settings. They are customized just for your teaching! Watch the Community Features Overview for more information. You can learn more about ExploreLearning and Teaching with Gizmos in our Video Library as well. Job Opportunity: Certified TrainerIf you have a passion for Gizmos and are looking for a new career opportunity, consider applying for one of our Certified Trainer positions. Interested candidates should be highly qualified current or retired mathematics or science educators with experience training other teachers. Candidates should also be able to conduct training sessions 15-25 days during the school year, traveling up to four consecutive days at a time. Please visit our Employment page for more information on this exciting home-based opportunity.
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