Teaching overview
Learning points
- In California, a broken pipeline has caused 126,000 gallons of oil to spill into the sea, damaging wildlife and closing beaches.
- Tests are being carried out on a robot snake that could lead to a better understanding of the human nervous system.
- Twin panda cubs have been born at a zoo in France.
Curriculum keywords
- Oil
- Robotics
- Pandas
NEW: This week's Kahoot quiz
Each week we'll be bringing you a free quiz that you can use with your students after they've enjoyed the episode.
Spark a discussion
Oil Spill
- How can oil spills damage the environment?
- What measures can be taken to limit the damage caused by oil spills?
- How could using more renewable energy help limit the likelihood of future spills?
Robot Snake
- What does our nervous system enable humans to do?
- How could our nervous system become damaged?
- What have scientists discovered about how the robot snake uses its nervous system to move?
Twin Pandas
- What is a panda's natural habitat?
- Why are panda populations so low in the wild?
- Have you ever seen a panda in a zoo?
Discover More About the Topics Covered in This Week’s News Update
Classroom Resources
Use these resources to get the most out of the news update and engage your class in topical science!
-
Video Viewing Guide
This guide gives you ideas for how the news update can be used to support language and literacy activities.
Make Your Own Science News Update
This simple guide helps your students to create their very own science news updates.
Language and Literacy Activities
This guide gives you ideas for how the news update can be used to support language and literacy activities.
Twig Science: A Complete Pre-K–8 Program for the NGSS
Immersive Investigations with High-Quality Multimedia
- Investigating, designing, building, and understanding phenomena
- Hands-on, digital, video, and print investigations
- Synchronous/asynchronous distance learning