RESOURCE COLLECTION: NYTimes Resources for STEM

Another great resource collection from the New York Times Learning Network )there are links to health related lessons in this STEM collection)

September 8, 2010, 11:45 AM

Back to School: New York Times Resources for STEM

By HOLLY EPSTEIN OJALVO

Lesson Plans

New lessons will start appearing next week – science and health every Wednesday, mathematics and numeracy occasionally on Mondays, andtechnology sprinkled throughout the week. In the meantime, you might browse our archives in those subjects or use one of our lesson plans from last year, perhaps pairing it with a more recent Times article. Examples:

Our lesson from last February on testing how the body processes information could be taught alongside the September 2010 article on study habits and methods.
The lesson on understanding numbers in news reports could be used with coverage of the president’s new jobs plan.

If you’re planning ahead, see our often-updated Teaching Topics collection on frequently taught curricular skills and topics, such as these:

Other related resources include our collection of useful science and health infographics and our set of white board-friendly activity sheets, including ourlaboratory experiment guide sheet and science, health and technology bingo game.

Short Activities

Try these for “bell ringers,” substitute-teacher plans, extra-credit tasks or activities your students could do on their own:

The math questions in our new feature Test Yourself.
The science, health and mathematics puzzles in our Student Crosswordcollection, including puzzles on such topics as the physical fitness, thegeometry and palentology.
The health- and technology-related Student Opinion questions, such as Are You Addicted to the Internet?, How Do You Think Adults Should Talk to Teens About Drugs? and What Do You Know About Teen Depression?.
An activity from our group of graphic organizers, which can be used with virtually any piece of Times content.

Curricular Content

The New York Times can be an excellent source of information, including reports on studies and discoveries, to complement curriculum. Science, health, math and technology teachers might do the following:

Introduce Times articles to juxtapose or update content in textbooks.
Provide reading material to satisfy the common core standards for literacy in science and technical subjects.
Create writing and discussion prompts and starting points for lab experiments.
Provide models for scientific and technical writing aimed at a lay audience.

Below are starting places on NYTimes.com for science, health, math and technology:

The Health and Science sections, including the columns Personal Health,Really?, Observatory and Science Q & A, as well as the Weekly Health Quiz.
The Times Health Guide to more than 3,000 health topics.
Times Topics pages.
The 15-part mathematics series The Elements of Math by Steven Strogatz and the Numberplay feature of the Wordplay blog.
The technology blogs: Pogue’s Posts, Bits, Open and Gadgetwise.
Blogs on science and the environment: Scientist at Work (and our relatedlesson plan and Student Opinion question), Green and Dot Earth, as well as the Olivia Judson archive.
The health and health care blogs: Well, Consults and Prescriptions.

How do you use The New York Times in your science, health, math and technology courses? Share ideas in the comment box below or submit them to Great Ideas From Our Readers.

Explore the entire resource collection here.