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The Teacher's DigeSTEM
December 2020

THE RUNDOWN

1. The Library Finally Gets Books!
With funding from the Taylor Foundation and local donations, we have filled out our bookshelves with a florilegium of STEM resource books and guides. Now every room has a dedicated section of literature for you to borrow! Read more about our three new collections below.

2.The STEM Biography Tea
We’re hoping you’ll be the first borrower of our STEM Biographies Collection, and help us organize a STEM Biography Tea! See the Lesson Plan of the Month for more details.

3. Director's Blog
This month Todd writes about his 7 year journey in creating a one of kind collection of biographies of significant figures in STEM. Read about it here.

4. New Year, New ... Newsletter?
Our newsletter needs a new name. So far we have eliminated: The Stemquirer, StemAlmanac, and The Teacher's DigeSTEM. If you have any ideas, message us on Facebook or Instagram.

Library Updates

Lesson Plan of the Month: BOOKS

"Biography Tea" is something that Todd did it in secondary school. Each person in the class read a biography, then dressed up in character, drank tea, and talked about their subjects. According to Todd, the name makes no sense in retrospect, but it was fun and clearly memorable part of his education.

We’re hoping you’ll be the first borrower of our STEM Biographies Collection, and help us organize a STEM Biography Tea. We’ll work with you to plan and implement the lesson sequence, rubrics, and events, and we’ll document it along the way to create a roadmap for future borrowers.

Want to be the pioneer of this great remote learning STEM literacy project?
To get started, reserve the collection here, or email twackerman@stemlibrarylab.org

Pictured to the left is our STEM Resource Library. These books, along with our Science Biography Collection, were funded by the Taylor Foundation. We hope that this compilation will allow teachers to easily find and access the resources needed to create more rigorous and inquiry-based learning lessons.

View the collection

Pictured on the right are various (non-STEM) literature class sets that can be checked out from the Free-Store. English teachers may find these collections to be a valuable asset and are welcomed to check out a set for their students. We have massive stacks of Macbeth, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, and more!

View our inventory

SCHOOL MEMBERSHIP

We are still offering our annual membership to all schools in the Greater New Orleans area. Memberships are based on the school's grade levels and student enrollment. Limited Scholarships are available to new members, and discounts for charter networks with multiple schools.

For complete information about membership pricing, contact Todd Wackerman at 504-517-3584 or email at twackerman@stemlibrarylab.org

This month the Equipment Lending Co-op lent out 164 items valued at $8,043.38 for local classrooms while the Free-Store gave out an estimated $445 in school supplies, adding up to a total of 4650 students impacted!

THE TEACHER FREE-STORE IS OPEN!

While Phase 2 restrictions remain in place, any teacher can make an appointment between 2-5pm Mondays – Thursdays for curbside pickup. View our inventory photos to find what you need for your classroom or virtual classroom! You'll see office supplies, organizers, art supplies, resource kits, learning aids, manipulatives, and more!

Schedule an Appointment Online
Know a business with extra office supplies to donate? Call the Free-Store!
504.517.3584 Extension 2

New Sweatshirts!

People are literally losing their heads over these incredible sweatshirts. I mean, just look at Skelly, his mind is completely blown away!

$40 covers production cost, though we welcome any additional donations!

Comes in sizes from S to 2XL, while supplies last.

We accept Paypal and cash.

Professional Development Opportunities

STEM Library Lab Presents:
Engaging Teachers in LSSS-Aligned Instruction Series

SLL is offering Fall Professional Development for Science Methods to schools. This 6 session series walks teachers through instructional practices used to facilitate inquiry based classrooms, rooted in the Louisiana Student Standards for Science. The sessions highlight distance learning and virtual options, and are aligned to the CARES Act funding provisions for schools.

Taught by a certified NSTA trainer and ACE coach/evaluator, this professional development series is right for schools looking to make their science instruction more focused and robust in 2020-2021. The first 2 sessions are "LSSS Bootcamp" and the remaining sessions are instructional practices.

Offered virtually or live for small groups, sessions are tailored to your schools grade band (K-5, 6-8, or 9-12) and the curriculum you are using. For more details, just email us to learn more.