Based out of Washington State University, Dr. Universe teams up with professors, researchers, and experts in the field, to tackle big questions. Explore animated video answers to questions posed by curious questions from students in Washington and around the world. Videos created in partnership with Northwest Public Broadcasting. Though not openly licensed, content is free to view online and listen to via podcast.

Educators and parents can use the Washington Starting Smarter site to better understand the scores and reports for the Smarter Balanced tests, see sample items, and access additional resources.All resources on the site are copyright The Regents of the University of California.  Though the connected resources are free for viewing online, please note that your permitted use of the materials for other uses will vary. Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay  

This 2018 edition is the first to be released in a digital, fully-interactive format, designed to highlight facets of the Pacific Northwest landscape with novel approaches to data presentation. Where previous editions of the atlas were designed to ask and answer questions, this atlas serves as a platform for the geographically curious to explore the region, providing as many critical questions as it does critical answers.

Beyond this page are maps of the familiar and the unfamiliar. Migration maps highlight human movement between the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the United States; a wildfire timeline chronicles the year-to-year spread of modern and historical fires; and the watershed guide abandons traditional political boundaries in favor of natural, hydrological borders. All data in the atlas were gathered from publically accessible sources, compiled using open-source software and coding libraries. This is an atlas designed to be open, responsive, and to satisfy the geographic curiosity of any and all interested.

This toolkit is designed to help Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) create and maintain effective strategies with multilingual families. We explore and model best practices for the use of technology in teaching, as well as for assessing and communicating with diverse adults. The following guide is applicable for face-to-face, blended, and online instruction, and can also serve as a toolkit.

Este conjunto de herramientas está diseñado para ayudar a las Agencias Educativas
Locales (LEA, por sus siglas en inglés) a crear y mantener estrategias efectivas con las
familias multilingües. Exploramos y modelamos las mejores prácticas para el uso de la
tecnología en la enseñanza, así como para evaluar y comunicarnos con adultos diversos.
La siguiente guía es aplicable para la instrucción presencial, combinada y en línea, y
también puede servir como un conjunto de herramientas para tal efecto.

Meaningful STEM learning can happen at home as we use our imagination to solve real problems! This STEM project introduces students to the problem of oil spills around the world. The project culminates with students using their imagination to design a solution to the problem.

Every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science. Teach students to code. Hour of Code resources

This guide walks you through the part of the Common Sense website that focuses on K-12 Digital Citizenship curriculum. The lesson plans include everything educators need to begin teaching this content in their classrooms and many have accompanying high-quality videos. There are also engaging games for younger students and an interactive social media simulation for older students. Topics include: media balance & well-being, privacy & security, digital footprint & identity, relationships & comunication, cyberbullying, digital drama & hate speech, and news & media literacy. 

The information revolution of the 21st century is as significant and transformative as the industrial revolution of the 19th century. In this unit, students – and by proxy their families – will learn about the challenges of our current information landscape and how to navigate them. This unit is split into four modules. These modules can be done sequentially or stand on their own, depending on students’ needs and teachers’ timeframes. In this module (1 of 4), students analyze their own use of online social media platforms and learn how filter bubbles and confirmation bias shape the content of their media environment. 

In the 2018-2019 school year, Northwest Educational Service District 189 brought together a design team of six Pre Kindergarten - Kindergarten educators through a ClimeTime grant to find play-based, and engaging ways to teach climate science to early learners. This course shares out the findings of the team, including some work around designing for equity and 3-Dimensional Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) alignment. You will engage in activities to use with students including a puddle walk, soil permeability tests, and lesson examples. Phenomenon based lessons will be shared as well as a list of resources and recommended books compiled by our design team.

Resource suggestions for family leadership, voice, and engagement, including ideas to explore with your family learning with remote learning.

This four part web broadcast series is aimed at supporting early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE) systems leaders with building capacity in personnel and families to develop trusting partnerships. The series features discussions of the role that data play in strengthening family-professional partnerships. Suggestions and resources for designing personnel and family development activities to support partnerships are also shared.

U.S. Department of Education funded Technical Assistance Center - resources are free for online viewing.

Inquiry StructureThis synopsis is laid out in more detail in the outline and lesson suggestions in the following pages. Students are first introduced to the idea of personal primary sources through the linked article and whatever artifacts can be used in staging the question. After students have been introduced to this concept they will then, as homework, they interview relatives to learn what they can about their family history and whatever artifacts in the family connect to those stories. During class, students will be instructed in and practice the media literacy skills that will allow them to research in detail the historical context for their family history. This research into the historical context of their family history will be the summative performance task for the inquiry and is the second week of the unit.

The Family Engagement Guidance and Toolkit was developed to support districts, schools, and classrooms with planning for implementation of positive family engagement and participation practices. Each section begins with guided questions that were compiled from considerations and concerns raised by workgroup members.

Children in kindergarten through fifth grade and their families are invited to learn more about the field of engineering in this hour-long special program. Family Night: Engineering introduces children to cool careers within the field of engineering that range from building roller coasters to designing artificial heart pumps for children who need them. Children will also get a chance to participate in hands-on engineering activities during the program!

The best part? Everything they need to participate can be found right in your home.

Join us as we create a shelter for our tiny imaginary pet! Students will investigate how different surfaces are heated differently by the sun and will design a shelter to help a critter stay cool and dry in the shade.

The Global Digital Library (GDL) has been developed to increase the availability of high-quality reading resources in underserved languages worldwide where there is currently a lack of quality early grade reading resources. The site primarily hosts reading instruction books and storybooks for leisure reading, but the GDL will also link to more interactive resources, such as literacy games.

For educators using Google technology in their classrooms, this toolkit from Google for Education provides videos and best practices for educators to share with their students' families and guardians.Materials are copyright Google. This document from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction provides links to the online resources.