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Sunday, February 10, 2013
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Educators
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Instructional Aids
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Science
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Math
My fourth grade students at Holiday Heights Elementary noticed while measuring circumference and diameter on our broccoli plants that the plants next door in the third grade bed were much smaller. They measured these too and wrote the results down in their journals. On fourth grade broccoli C=56cm and D=21cm. On the third grade broccoli C=31cm and D=11cm. The students wanted to know why there was nearly double the difference in both measurements. 
We put our heads together back in the classroom to try finding a variable that could account for the difference. After discussion they ruled out sunshine, ...
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Friday, July 13, 2012
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Educators
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Science
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Math
It’s not exactly news that students in the United States don’t measure up to students in other countries when it comes to math and science. 
But why is this important? According to a report by the National Governors Association, students who get degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and who get jobs in STEM fields not only get paid significantly more, but also experience lower unemployment rates than workers who enter other fields. Something in that NGA report was of particular interest to us. One of the six steps they decided would help accomplish STEM reform was “using informal ...
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
| Filed under
Environmental Stewardship
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Health and Nutrition
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Educators
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Community
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Social Studies
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Science
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Math
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Smart Potatoes
Kindergarten teacher, Lester Sipma, at George Clarke Elementary (Fort Worth, TX) has participated in the past two years of the Smart Potatoes Program. He shared his experience this year with us below: 
Participating
in the Smart Potato program has impacted me, my students, our George C. Clarke
staff, faculty and families in many ways. Some of the ways in which the program
has impacted our campus were expected and others were wonderful surprises.
I
used the Smart Potato project as a platform to teach a variety of science
lessons such as plant life cycles, soil types, problems and solutions to
gardening, identifying insects, determining ...
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Thursday, May 24, 2012
| Filed under
Engineering
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Community
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Science
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Math
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Smart Potatoes
 Chemical to electrical energy transfer to power a calculator with Solanum tuberosum (Potatoes)
There are several interesting things happening with potatoes during this potato harvest time in the DFW area. One standout is the “Smart Potatoes” campaign initiated by REAL School Gardens in concert with BRIT (Botanical Research Institute of Texas) whereby 30 elementary schools in 5 school districts are growing, tending and harvesting potatoes to donate to their local food pantries. Another potato happening was that on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 -- United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and Texas Instruments in conjunction with REAL School Gardens and ...
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Monday, November 28, 2011
| Filed under
Educators
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Family Activities
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REAL Supporters
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Math
Looking for ways to take advantage of the academics of
Autumn? Here are a few ideas: Prekindergarten to 1st graders will enjoy sorting through leaves, classifying them by shape,
color, or size. 
Young students at Lipscomb Elementary sorting leaves. Young learners can practice their basic patterns using the
leaves that they collected in their outdoor classroom. 
"Fall Patterns" Young students can gather weather data and collect
evidence of the season by taping a “specimen” in their science journal. 
"November 16th, windy, cool, cold, cloudy. In autumn, the leaves fall" Students can practice their data collection and
graphing skills by collecting leaves and using tally ...
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Friday, November 04, 2011
| Filed under
Health and Nutrition
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Community
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Science
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REAL Supporters
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Math
Leaf lettuce growing at I.M. Terrell Elementary (Fort Worth ISD). (photo credit: Matt Rainwater) “What process will our vegetables go through to get from our garden to being served to patrons?”—a great question asked by one of Meadowbrook Elementary’s 5th graders who—along with his after school Garden Club classmates— has been carefully cultivating beans, turnips, and lettuce to be ultimately harvested and then prepared by an award-winning chef in a popular downtown restaurant known for its classic American fare. On Friday, November 11th, GRACE Restaurant will host the 2nd Annual Schoolyard Harvest Dinner in ...
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Monday, October 24, 2011
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Environmental Stewardship
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Student Behavior
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Health and Nutrition
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Language Arts
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Community
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Social Studies
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Science
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Math
Students at T.A. Sims Elementary (Fort Worth ISD) hear the calling
Nature has information she wants to share with you about the world and your place in it; she wants to offer you awe and wonder; she has things to share. We need to know that nature is the foundation of the arts and sciences; she offers exploratory learning through observation, inquiry, discovery and investigation. Nature will direct us to rigorous thinking, real world relevance and relationships between all her bounties and creations. Author Clifford Knapp offers these principles of indigenous (natural) wisdom to be enveloped by nature: 1. ...
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Thursday, September 01, 2011
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Language Arts
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Science
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Math
Students weigh organic fertilizer in preparation for nourishing the learning garden beds at Whitt Elementary (Grand Prairie ISD). Students are in their bodies and are best served engaging their studies part time in the real world, as this is the optimum learning environment. Thinking that students can be placed sitting all day at a desk and taught only through text and the virtual world of computers may be misdirected; a balance of inside and outside engagement will assist the learners in creative problem solving skills, generate curiosity, creativity and steep them in the joy of learning. 
Students ...
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Friday, July 01, 2011
| Filed under
Student Behavior
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Community
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Science
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Math
“I learned that it really feels good to help somebody out every once in a while…” -4th grader at Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center in Fort Worth Back in February, schools were asked if they would like to participate in a project to grow and harvest potatoes for local food pantries. After 100 days of growing, over 430 lbs of potatoes had been donated to 9 local food banks in Tarrant County. The project was made possible by a partnership with the ready and willing Katey Rudd at Tarrant Area Food Bank (TAFB), who located and contacted food ...
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Monday, June 13, 2011
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Student Behavior
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Language Arts
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Social Studies
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Science
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Fine Arts
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Math
It’s no use; one can no longer hide from the fact that children immersed in nature in their schoolyard habitat have heightened learning experiences. The 1999 study, Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning” funded in part by the Texas Education Agency lists a variety of student benefits associated with using the local environment as an educational resource: - Better performance on standardized measures of academic achievement in reading, writing , math, science and social studies;
- Reduced discipline and classroom management problems;
- Increased engagement and enthusiasm for learning; and
- Greater pride and ownership in ...
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