November 30, 2010
WSGC Newsletter for Educators
The Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium's electronic newsletter for teachers provides curriculum ideas, Internet links and other resources to help you better meet the Washington EALRs and the National Science Education Standards.TABLE OF CONTENTS
-- WEBINAR ON MATH STANDARDS
-- WATCH NEW MARS ROVER CONSTRUCTION
-- WILD SOLAR SYSTEM WEATHER (K-8)
On December 13, Education Northwest in collaboration with NWRCC will host a webinar on the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.
The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics were released in June. William McCallum, head of the math department at the University of Arizona and a lead writer for the standards project, will talk about topics such as the progressions within the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and how they connect key concepts for students across the grades.
Participants will have an opportunity to pose questions for Dr. McCallum on the registration form and during the webinar. For more information, see
Now viewers can watch as NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, also known as the Curiosity rover, is tested and assembled in a clean room at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.
The webcam, affectionately dubbed "Curiosity Cam" shows engineers and technicians clad in head-to-toe white smocks working on the rover. At scheduled times, viewers can interact with each other and JPL staff.
Curiosity is scheduled to launch between Nov. 25 and Dec. 18, 2011. It will arrive on Mars in August 2012. Continuous construction coverage may be viewed at
National Geographic's new film "Wildest Weather in the Solar System" is a spectacular journey to witness the most beautiful, powerful, and mysterious weather phenomena in the solar system. The tour includes events from a storm the size of a 100-megaton hydrogen bomb, to a 400-year-old hurricane, to a dust tempest that could engulf entire planets.
A classroom competition to win a visit from a NASA astronaut and a National Geographic filmmaker, a Promethean ActivBoard, and more is now open. To enter, visit
Lesson plans and activities are also available at
Ideas, comments and Web sites of interest to other teachers should be sent to Irene Svete, newsletter editor, at
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