Girls Who Code Club Resources 
 
The international nonprofit Girls Who Code offers free computer science resources for your community, with no coding experience required. When you start a free Girls Who Code Club, you can access resources, activities, and a community for students in grades 3–12 to unleash their creativity, gain coding skills, and imagine themselves as future tech leaders and innovators. Club members will learn how to build websites, applications, and games tackling important topics from climate change to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. 

Register to access Girls Who Code’s Club resources at https://clubs-hq.girlswhocode.com/login?showTab=signup&redirect=/gwc-club-application. As the Club Facilitator, you’ll get access to everything you need to successfully run your Club: 

• Plug-and-play program content for all skill levels and genders, including a library of self-guided video tutorials;
• A Clubs Fund for eligible Clubs to purchase supplies and snacks through an Amazon Wish List;
• Dedicated live help, webinar training, and facilitation guides to support your Club’s success;
• Exclusive events like CSEdWeek workshops featuring Girl Who Code’s industry-leading partners;
• A flexible curriculum for you to adapt to your needs; 
• Priority consideration for placement in Workforce Programs for Club participants; and
• Perks like t-shirts and swag for eligible Clubs. 

Learn more from the Clubs flyer, by contacting clubs@girlswhocode.com, or by watching the on-demand or live Back to School webinar. 

Exploring the Universe Through Legos

Looking for a way to engage students in grades 3–5 in learning about the universe, celestial bodies, and space exploration? Have them create models of astronomical phenomena using Lego bricks! This Education World lesson engages students in hands-on model building and challenges students to determine how to reflect the unique characteristics of their celestial body using Lego pieces. To extend learning, students can create a collaborative Lego model of the solar system incorporating all the pieces. The lesson plan includes a lesson sequence, suggestions for celestial models for students to build (e.g., Sun, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Mercury, Comets, Asteroids, Space Stations, Space Shuttle), and assessment ideas. 

Explorer’s Guidebook 
 
Excite students in grades 3–5 to investigate nature with simple activities from Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Explorer’s Guidebook. Students can go on a habitat scavenger hunt, create a sound map, or test their bird identification skills. These are just a few of the experiences offered in this adaptable activity book, designed for teachers, families, and anyone looking for an easy way to learn about birds and connect to nature. (E-mail registration is required to download a copy of the book.) 

Linking Science, Mathematics & Literacy

The Linking Science, Mathematics & Literacy for ALL Learners program is accepting applications from teachers of grades 6–8 science, English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and special education for its second cohort. This professional learning opportunity blends science, mathematics, and ELA content with a focus on the diverse learner in the middle school classroom. The program offers a yearlong professional development that

• Provides instructional support to teachers using STEM multimodal text sets, with special attention to the needs of diverse learners in new locations and with new populations; and
• Develops grades 6–8 STEM multimodal text sets that address NGSS, CCSS-ELA.RST, and CCSS-Math Standards, with embedded math and research-generated data.

For more information on the program, what it means for teachers and their students, commitments, benefits, and how to apply, visit https://scienceandliteracy.missouri.edu. (Deadline January 15, 2024)

Girls Who Code Summer Virtual Programs
 
Encourage high school students to become coders with Girls Who Code in summer 2024!. Girls Who Code offers free virtual programs for high school girls and non-binary students to learn the computer science skills they need to make an impact. More than just learning to code, participants will meet inspiring professionals across diverse industries and tap into lifelong college and career support to help them succeed in their first interviews and jobs.

• In the two-week Summer Immersion Program for students currently in grades 9–11, participants will join live, supportive classrooms hosted by industry-leading companies like MetLife, Bank of America, and Accenture. They’ll learn the fundamentals of game design, UX, and the iterative design process. By the end of the program, participants will build a suite of short games using p5.js, a JavaScript library for creative coding. Eligible students can apply for laptop or hotspot access and $300 grants for financial support. 
• In the six-week Self-Paced Program for students currently in grades 9–12, participants will learn to code through independent study and real-world projects. Students can choose from three learning tracks and earn beginner-level certificates of completion in HTML, CSS, or JavaScript for web development or intermediate-level certificates of completion in Python for cybersecurity, data science, or artificial intelligence.

Complete the interest form at https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7382191/2024-Girls-Who-Code-Summer-Programs-Interest-Form to be one of the first to know when the application goes live in mid-January. All high school girls and non-binary students are welcome to apply, including past participants. Students historically underrepresented in tech are encouraged to apply, including students who are Black, Latinx, or eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. For more information, see https://girlswhocode.com/assets/downloads/craft-prod/downloads/GWC_Summer_Student.pdf, or watch a webinar at https://mailchi.mp/c1d968b8992a/sipwebinar. 

American Chemical Society’s PrepareCTP Seed Grant
 
The grant is being offered by the ACS Fostering Chemical Technical Professionals (CTP) Initiative (learn more at https://www.acs.org/about/strategic-initiatives/chemical-technical-professionals.html) to support partnership building at community colleges and similar two-year degree-granting institutions that prepare skilled technical workers in the chemical enterprise. The grant program will award up to $20,000 to support student stipends/scholarships, instrumentation purchases, and other activities suitable for preparing and recruiting CTPs and forming partnerships with chemistry-related employers in the awarded institution’s community. (Apply by December 15.)