Scientists and other professionals routinely talk about their work — not just to share their results, but to make sense of their work at all stages, to gather feedback, and to refine their ideas and arguments. 

Not sure where to start? Use this Talk Activities Flowchart to determine which talk activity fits best with what you are doing at the time. 

One effective talk activity is Idea Coaching. The Idea Coaching to Clarify and Explain table conversational support can be used when students are taking turns to help each other clarify their thinking.

Student-to-student talk has distinct advantages over whole-class discussion, especially for English language learners. When students talk to each other to share their thinking, they are more likely to: (1) connect to their personal and cultural sources of knowledge, (2) take risks with new language, and (3) use community-based linguistic practices to support their science learning.

The Sharing and Building on Each Others’ Ideas table conversational support helps students use each other’s ideas by engaging in the talk practices of clarification, pressing for evidence, and extending thinking and reasoning. This support can be used whenever students are engaged in sensemaking work around modeling a phenomena, understanding a practice or reading a text.  

Find all of these great resources on the STEM Teaching Tools site.

The National Youth Science Camp (NYSCamp) is an honors program for two high-achieving high school students from each state. This residential summer experience is held in a rustic setting in West Virginia's eastern mountains and has honored and challenged over 5,000 participants since it began in 1963. 

Two students from Oklahoma can be chosen to attend this free camp. Encourage your graduating seniors to apply for this wonderful opportunity! 

For more information visit this page. To apply starting November 1st, visit this page. (Deadline to apply is February 28, 2018)

4th and 5th grade students statewide are invited to participate in this annual event. Registration for this event opens November 1!

ScienceFest is designed to foster scientific literacy while educating children about protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, and using alternative fuels and technologies. Educators plan a day packed with exciting exhibits, presentations, and hands-on demonstrations all developed to show the importance of scientific applications in the environment.

ScienceFest is designed to promote scientific diversity. The hands-on activity stations use basic geology, biology, physical science, health and environmental sciences to teach the children how science impacts everyday life. Examples of alternative fueled vehicles are also on location for the students to view. The event provides opportunity for the students to be exposed to science in a fun and different setting.

This even takes place in Oklahoma City on May 3, 2018. For more information, please visit the the ScienceFest website.