Welcome to the Iowa Million Girls Moonshot Minute! This monthly publication from the Iowa Afterschool Alliance provides dozens of STEM out-of-school time professional development opportunities and activities to strengthen the quality of programs across the state. We hope that you find these resources valuable! Learn more about the national Million Girls Moonshot movement here.

We will being transitioning the Iowa Million Girls Moonshot monthly newsletter into our Iowa Afterschool Advisor newsletter. We invite you to subscribe to the Iowa Afterschool Advisor here to continue to receive these valuable resources.

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 1 p.m. CST

Thursday, May 19, 2022 1 p.m. CST

Ready to train volunteers and role models in your Network, school, or afterschool program? COMPLETE THIS REGISTRATION FORM to gain access to the Role Models Matter training developed by Techbridge Girls. Want to promote this training in your network? Click here to access the Media Asset.

Wednesdays April 27th, May 11 and 25th from 9-10:30 a.m. CST

Tuesdays April 26th, May 10 and 14th from 8-9:30 a.m. CST

Are you ready to bring meaningful STEM learning into your program? This module offers educators who are new to facilitating STEM the opportunity to build supportive relationships with other educators while exploring the principles of STEM learning. This module combines an introduction to STEM facilitation with the skill of Asking Purposeful Questions. *This ACRES skill and cohort is designed for participants who have ideally already done either Asking Purposeful Questions of Ready Set STEM.

Tuesday, May 17, 2022 from 1-2 p.m CST

Toolkit: A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction Toolkit | SABES - This resource was created to help math teachers develop an anti-racist, culturally responsive math practice. It offers “an integrated approach to mathematics that centers Black, Latinx, and Multilingual students in grades 6-8, addresses barriers to math equity, and aligns instruction to grade-level priority standards.”

Article: Equity in Math Class: 5 Tips for Teachers - WeAreTeachers - Ways to Build Equity into Your Math Lessons  discusses how equity and social justice play a critical role in math instruction.

Activity Toolkit: Growing Math - Provides ready-to-roll-out lessons and games combining math, agricultural science and Indigenous history and culture that can be easily used in classrooms, via hybrid models or through distance learning. The project will provide resources, curriculum, training and tech support to teachers and students in Grades 3-8 at schools in six states: Arizona, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon and South Dakota. For schools in the region, all participation and resources are supported through USDA funds.

Article: Critical Issue: Remembering the Child: On Equity and Inclusion in Mathematics and Science Classrooms (ncrel.org) - The North Central Regional Education Laboratory (NCREL) addresses equity and inclusion in STEM classrooms as a critical issue in a paper that includes six effective practices for equity.

The below assets are free profile videos and photos of IF/THEN Ambassadors for National Environmental Education Week, April 18-22 and more. These can be used in marketing, presentations, social media, embedded on websites, during conferences, and so much more. Featured IF/THEN assets include:

Article: Incorporating the Stories of Women, People of Color, and LGBTQ+ Scientists Into the Physics Classroom - Short article from NSTA about the contributions of women, people of color, and other diverse scientists to the field of Physics. Includes a link to lesson plans for lesson plans that could be adapted for K9-12.

Website: Math Communities - Students, parents, and educators coming together to play with math! Math Communities creates a virtual community that provides free access to joyful collaborative activities designed by professional mathematicians and math educators for K-12 students, educators, and families. There are lots of ways to communicate with other folks interested in math.

Toolkit: Brokering Youth Pathways: A Toolkit for Connecting Youth to Future Opportunity - This toolkit from Hive Research Network shares ways in which various out-of-school educators and professionals have approached the challenge of brokering. We provide a framework, practice briefs and reports that focus on a particular issue or challenge and provide concrete examples, as well as illustrate how our partners worked through designing new brokering routines in partnership with our research team.

The Mizzen By Mott app delivers inspiring and engaging activities that spark learning in young people. Supported by the Mott Foundation, Mizzen is available at no cost to afterschool professionals! Encourage partners to download the Mizzen By Mott app to access STEM activities at your finger-touch! You’ll find it in Mizzen here.