The Middle School Portal 2: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2) project is starting an online book club. Our first selection is The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. In it, Michael Pollan writes about how our food is grown - what it is, in fact, that we are eating. Pollan looks at industrial […]

We’ve got four free professional development webinars coming up in the month of April. The first two are specifically for middle school math and science teachers. The second two are for elementary teachers but plenty of the content would be appropriate for older students. Librarians and media specialists, science specialists, informal educators, and others will […]

Agriculture is crucial to all societies, yet most middle school students have few opportunities to learn about it, beyond its origin in the Fertile Crescent. Most U.S. students attend urban or suburban schools, isolated from agriculture. Many students have no idea what a potato, tomato, bean or pea plant looks like, let alone what is […]

The Ocean Project, a network of aquariums, science museums, and conservation organizations, has designated June 8 as World Ocean Day. The network’s web site offers resources for these institutions to use in making the public aware of the significance of the ocean. In the resources below, you’ll find background information and lesson plans to help […]

April showers bring May flowers—and their pollinators. Many angiosperms, i.e., flowering plants, depend upon animals for species survival. If pollination fails, no new seeds (or fruits) are produced, genetic diversity declines, and the plant population could become threatened. Plants have various adaptations that increase the likelihood of successful pollination. Some require insect pollinators, some bird, […]

Middle school students often have a rather generic concept of plants, failing to recognize the incredible diversity of plants. Unless students are widely traveled, it is unlikely their concept of plant diversity will expand without some intervention. Here are a few resources that can help you impart ideas of species diversity, biological classification, and adaptations, […]