From the Classroom

Strategy Share: Environmental Literacy and Connections with STEM Californians

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Strategy Share: Environmental Literacy and Connections with STEM Californians

Hi to all the global citizens, explorers, and educators! In my previous post, I shared how I use National Geographic Young Explorer Magazine as a powerful tool to empower my students to make interdisciplinary connections and explore like paleontologists, ichthyologists, and oceanographers. Kindergartners have a natural sense of wonder and curiosity, and they inspire me to see the world in all its interconnected beauty. I want them to appreciate all of the amazing beauty on Earth, as well as the beauty in their own world, which is California!

This time, I’m writing to share about two other resources I frequently pair together in my classroom: the California Education and the Environment Initiative Curriculum (EEI) and local, real-world scientists. The EEI are free K-12 units are aligned with social studies, Common Core and NGSS standards: Interdisciplinary connections for an interconnected world! Most importantly, to empower my students and make what we learn with EEI tangible, I connect them to STEM Californians (like National Geographic Explorers) who are making the world more awesome by protecting, studying and conserving these natural resources on land and in water.

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Center for Community and Citizen Science Reflects on Recent Workshop

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Center for Community and Citizen Science Reflects on Recent Workshop

REFLECTING ON THE WOOLMAN CENTER WORKSHOP

Named after a mythical land from a novela when the Spanish first arrived, California was said to be paradise on Earth. However, times have changed since the Spanish first laid their eyes on the place we now call home. Social activists have spoken openly about the disasters of environmental change and many, from the top of California’s government to grassroots organizations are beginning to create much more systematic and widespread awareness and change with initiatives. The California Department of Education’s Blueprint for Environmental Literacy is one such initiative that puts forward the ambitious goal of educating all students about the environment. The initiative’s focus on not just basic environmental knowledge but also how to to make rational decisions to help preserve our ecosystem.  

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