The NSDL Middle School Portal is hosting this blog to encourage teachers to use current events as teaching opportunities. Every Thursday, MSP staff will link a current news article to related teaching resources that connect specific content standards to that event.Visit the Connecting News with National Science Education Standards Homepage
Mechanism for Antibiotic Resistance Discovered
5/9/2008
Those of us born after World War II have take antibiotics for granted. Strep throat? Ear infection? Acne? Bronchitis? Not a problem. Take the full prescribed antibiotic dose and you are cured. The reality of antibiotic resistant bacteria however, disrupts that scenario. No longer can we always trust in a full recovery from a bacterial [...]
Master Gene Controlling Tumor Angiogenesis Is Found
4/24/2008
Typically, a middle school life science study of cells explores the ways cells get what they need and get rid of waste, and the cell cycle concept, including how cells reproduce through mitosis. Discussion of cancer at this time is appropriate since cancer cells share the needs of normal cells in terms of obtaining nutrients [...]
Earth Day
4/17/2008
This week’s blog focuses on Earth Day, April 22. There is no news article accompanying today’s blog. Instead, we provide you with an assortment of resources related to Earth Day. Do you know how Earth Day started? You can find the answer to that question and more in The History of Earth Day by Gaylord [...]
Why Did the Anasazi Abandon Mesa Verde?
4/11/2008
Many middle school curricula include attention to ancient American people and their cultures. This blog entry may be helpful in making connections to the nature of science and scientific enterprises as part of an integrated approach in studying the Anasazi or ancient Peublos. The story titled “Vanished: A Pueblo Mystery,” published in the New York [...]
How Is Species Defined and Why Does It Matter? The Politics of Conservation
3/26/2008
This week’s post focuses on the definition of species and its implications beyond science content knowledge—specifically, how the definition is related to species conservation and protection.
For example, the brown bear of the Iberian Peninsula is a different species compared with other European brown bears because it is geographically isolated, right? According to a press release, [...] |