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Ms. Christy Dotson |  3rd Grade Science | Greenbrier Elementary

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A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas Get This Book

Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field.

A Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: crosscutting concepts that unify the study of science through their common application across science and engineering; scientific and engineering practices; and disciplinary core ideas in the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences and for engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice.

A Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that can inform state-level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, teachers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district science administrators, and educators who teach science in informal environments.

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Read "A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas" at NAP.edu

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A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas Get This Book Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S.

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Ten Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies for the Science Classroom (Opinion)

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Four teachers share how they implement culturally responsive instruction in their science classrooms.

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Teaching Science and remembering our English Language Learners

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Teaching Science and remembering our English Language Learners

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Our English Language Learners are often neglected and it is important that we make science accessible to them so that they know science is for everyone.

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This guest blog post was written by my friend Becca over at Science Rocks! She is a terrific teacher with a lot of experience working with ELL students in her science classroom and I collaborated with her in writing this post. I think her ideas are full of fantastic tips for teachers who teach English Language Learners.
If you've been teaching for a while, chances are you have had some ELL (English language learner) students in your classroom. I've known many teachers that have panicked and asked me "how can I teach them science if they don't speak English?" I think many teachers tend to think they need to dumb down the content for these students. They aren't dumb! Your job is to make the content accessible. It's been my experience that ELL students are amazingly hard workers and are a blast to work with. My friend Bethany Lau over at Science with Mrs. Lau and I have created a list of best-practice tips for working with ELL students. We also have some helpful resources to share with you!

Tip #1: Get them talking! A quiet classroom is not conducive to learning a new language. Many students are scared to speak out loud in English, especially in front of the entire class. To help build their confidence, try small group discussions first. To ensure that every student has spoken to his or her group, give each student something color-coded (I use colored popsicle sticks from the dollar store). When a student speaks, they place their popsicle stick in the center of the table. It is easy as a teacher to walk around and monitor who is speaking and who isn't. Make it a requirement that each student has to speak at least twice during group discussions.

Tip #2: SLOW down when you are talking, and use nonverbal cues. This is much easier to do when you have all your ELL students together in one class, but when they are mixed with native English speakers we often don't realize how fast we are talking. It is really difficult for ELL students to process when you are speaking a mile a minute. So take a deep breath, slow down, and use your hands and other nonverbal gestures. Don't be afraid to act things out! Yes they will giggle, and yes they will love it.

Tip #3: Build vocabulary. When you teach new words, always make your students repeat the word out loud after you say it. And if they aren't loud, make them do it again. If you have a word wall in your classroom, go down the list frequently and make your students say them with you. To help students remember the definitions, discuss prefixes and suffixes to help them decode meanings.

Find fun ways for students to practice those new words. Instead of doing vocabulary worksheets, do vocabulary games instead! Bingo is an awesome way to review vocabulary words before a test. Create a bingo card from a free online bingo-card maker such as http://osric.com/bingo-card-generator/. Type in the words you want your students to learn and print a class set. Instead of calling out the words, say the definition and the students need to cover up the correct word. If they get a bingo, they need to say the words out loud in order to win a prize.

Tip #4: Utilize pictures. I used to try and translate parts of my power points into Spanish before the lesson thinking I was doing my students a favor.

I quickly realized that:

1. Google translate is frequently wrong

2. Many of my students could speak fluent Spanish but couldn't read it.

3. Even if they could read most of it, they didn't know the content specific terms in Spanish. Why would I want my students to learn the word "homeostasis" in Spanish AND English? Let's just stick with English.

Instead of translating, stick with visual pictures. Pictures are understood in all languages. Include them as much as possible in your lessons and power points. Make students draw pictures in their notes. Include pictures in all your articles you want students to read. A great pre-reading activity is to have students look at the pictures and captions in an article before they read the body paragraphs. Have them guess what the article is about based on the pictures and discuss with their neighbors (get those popsicle sticks back out). If you have a word wall in your classroom, make sure it includes pictures too! The more they see a picture associated with a new word, the more likely they will remember what it means.

Tip #5: Learn about their language and culture, and include it in your lessons when applicable. Students will have more buy-in to your lessons when they feel like their language and culture is valued. If you can connect their language to the content, chances are they will remember it better. For example, students use the term "liga" in Spanish to mean rubber band or hair elastic. When teaching "ligaments," discuss how they are stretchy unlike tendons. Students won't forget!

Tip #6: Use Manipulatives! Sometimes students need help learning how to structure their writing into logical paragraphs (even native English speakers need this too!) If you have sample paragraphs for them to learn from, you can print separate sentences out on separate lines, and cut them into strips. Then you can mix the sentences up and have students order them in how they should logically appear in a sentence! You can also do this for other parts of a lab report, like the procedure section or even the proper labels for a graph!

You could create your own writing structure manipulatives, or you can check out Bethany Lau's Lab Report Writing Activity Bundle found here. She has a set of activities with manipulative for each and every part of the lab report with a lot of examples for students to learn from.

Tip #7: Get them writing as much as possible. Data shows that when students take the state language proficiency tests, they struggle the most with writing. Find ways to get students writing on a daily basis. This could work in many different formats- just find one that works for you. Daily bellwork is a great place to start, as well as having students keep writing journals.

What should you have them write about? Check out these writing prompts from Science Rocks' store!

These were designed to be used before new concepts are taught, and allows the teacher to assess prior knowledge and check for misconceptions. When students are first learning English, allow them to write in their native language if they are able to and plug in English words that they know. Throughout the year as their language improves, you will see their writing transform from fragmented to fluid sentences.

Another great writing strategy for ELL students are sentence frames. For students still learning how to write a complete sentence, give them half the sentence first and have them fill in the blanks. For example, a hypothesis on a lab report for an ELL student could look like this: "If I change ___________, then I think ___________ will happen, because __________.

Tip #8: Model. And then model some more. As science teachers we tend to think of "modeling" as meaning "I'll show them how to do a lab before it's their turn." Modeling applies to so much more than labs.

1. Model reading strategies. As you read through articles out loud, stop and discuss. What was the main idea? What did you highlight and why?

2. Model writing strategies. When you assign those writing prompts, work through one with them first. Show them what a quality answer would look like.

3. Model behaviors. Many students will enter your classroom from different backgrounds. Behaviors that may have been acceptable where they grew up may not be acceptable in your classroom. If you want them to give a verbal presentation with eye contact, show them what a good presentation looks like first.

4. Model word pronunciation. Sometimes if students are nervous to say things in English, I have them teach me how to say the phrase in their native language first. Once they have giggled at my horrible pronunciation, they aren't so embarrassed to pronounce things in English.

Tip #9: Modify. Yes, one more thing to add to your to-do list. But it can honestly be as simple as cutting down the number of questions for them to complete, or adding pictures to an assessment. One of my favorite websites to find nonfiction science articles on is newsela.com. Not only is it free to use, but once you find an article you can change the lexile! That means all your students can be reading the same article but at a reading level that is assessable to them.

Tip #10: Use formative assessment frequently, and celebrate gains. It's important to check in with ELL students often. Many of them will take notes, smile, and nod during class, but only understood 20% of what was discussed. Exit tickets and note summaries are great ways to check in and see where they need help and what they have mastered. Make your exit tickets specific. Don't just say, "One thing I still need help with is..." but instead ask them to answer a specific question related to the lesson. This will help you group them by mastery and focus on the students that really need your help. Once they have mastered a new concept or learned new vocabulary, don't forget to celebrate! Let them know you are proud of them, and they will work harder in the future. If students feel like their hard work is recognized and celebrated, they will continue to work hard!

We'd love to hear stories from you about what helps your ELL students! Let us know in the comments!

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Ten Tips for Teaching ELL Science - Science and Math with Mrs. Lau

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This guest blog post was written by my friend Becca over at Science Rocks! She is a terrific teacher with a lot of experience working with ELL students in her science classroom and I collaborated with her in writing this post. I think her ideas are full of fantastic tips for teachers who teach English Language [...]

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As many know, science isn't taken seriously in education. Time is not made to have a science lesson. So that students have a well rounded education, students need science. Students need to explore the possibilities science can bring to them so that science matters. To do this, we can integrate science with other subjects.

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It's easy to feel as if there aren't enough hours in the school day to properly address all the curriculum and instructional expectations that we must teach our students. The challenging part is addressing curriculum expectations in a meaningful way where students are engaged and motivated throughout the lesson.

One of the most powerful strategies that we have ever learned as teachers is taking a cross-curricular approach in planning lessons and units for the school year, as we are able to incorporate curriculum expectations from various subject areas to create an engaging activity. By developing cross-curricular activities that are both fun and motivating, teachers can easily integrate science into different subject areas-it only requires a bit of planning and creativity!

We all know that science and math are easy to teach together, but did you know that science can be creatively woven into other subject areas? Science can be integrated into English language arts, the arts, health and physical education, and social studies to create engaging lessons and activities that your students will just love! Here are some easy ways to integrate science across the curriculum.

Science with English / Language Arts

Science can be integrated into English language arts in order to touch upon curriculum expectations for reading, writing, oral communication, and media literacy.

Science Poems

Teachers can begin by sharing science poems with their students. There are so many excellent resources available. Some great examples are:

The Science Verse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (2004)

The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems About Our Parts by Allan Wolf (2003), or

The Seasons edited by John N. Serio.

Your students can then have their own Poet's Corner by writing various poems (e.g. haiku, tanka, free verse, sonnet, acrostic) to reflect science concepts and then sharing them with the class!

Science Video Writing Activities

An excellent short movie to share with your class is The Story of Bottled Water. This lesson is a great way to incorporate media literacy into your science lessons (and vice versa!) and promote a healthy discussion with your students regarding the environmental implications of their daily actions.

Organizing Science Info

Give your students a particular topic and have them use Venn Diagrams, T-Charts, or other graphic organizers to compare and contrast the main ideas. This activity can then be extended if students prepare a written response, deliver a speech, or participate in a classroom debate.

In the past, our students have taken part in a classroom debate where they act as characters determining whether a deposit should be mined in a fictional town. It is lots of fun, and students really take their roles seriously!

Science & the Arts

By incorporating science and the arts together, students will be immersed in activities that allow them to experience and then express the natural world around them.

Teach the Elements with Mixed Media

Try to provide students with media related to the science unit they are studying. For example, students learning about the water cycle can:

Produce water color paintings

Use clay to discuss the earth's crust and the effect temperature and pressure have on materials

Sit outside and use oil pastels to depict the changes in the fall foliage

Upcycle Art Projects

Have students bring in a variety of items from home that would have either been recycled or tossed in the trash and use these items in their artwork. Students can upcycle these items into interesting works of art. Examples include:

Painting jars

Using scraps of fabric to make braided bracelets

Creating interesting 3-D/mixed media paintings.

The possibilities are endless and students will be able to express their creativity while learning about recycling, reusing, upcycling, and sustainability.

Demonstrate Science Concepts through Movement

Have students get up and out of their seats to move around! Not only will students be incorporating science concepts throughout their drama activities, but being able to get up to stretch and move around will also help students release a bit of energy and help them refocus on the task at hand.

Students can act out changes of state by starting off as a frozen piece of ice, melting into a pool of water, and then evaporating into vapor. The same concept can be used to learn about the water cycle, particles, and the four layers of the Earth.

Science, Health and Physical Education

Students can take part in fun and lively physical education lessons that incorporate science concepts in a unique way.

Biology and Nature Walks

When learning about habitats, environmental awareness, ecosystems, or the diversity of life, have students go out on a hike in your area or to a nearby conservation area. Be on the lookout for various environmental programs offered by your state that would provide students with a science lesson while participating in physical activities; for example, students can plant trees, visit local parks to remove litter, or measure and inventory trees.

Physical Education Physics

What better way to learn about physics than to get students physically moving? In this invigorating activity, students can measure the amount of time it takes them to walk, jog, or sprint a particular distance and then calculate their speed and average speed. Students can alter the variables to determine what affects the speed of their performance.

Science Fitness Circuits

Set up various cardio, strength training, and stretching circuits during your P.E. classes where students learn about the human body while visiting each station. During the fitness circuit, students could learn about the aorta while doing jumping jacks, triceps while completing push-ups, and Achilles tendons as they perform front leg raises.

Teaching Science with Social Studies

History and science fit together seamlessly. Scientific innovation has been a driving force in societal change. To put it in perspective for students, have them consider what life would be like without the internet, phones, or electricity. What it would be like to look up at the stars and not know what they are?

If you're teaching a historical time period, you can focus on scientific discoveries and technological advances during that time. Have students create a presentation that highlights one or more scientific innovations and how they affected society (both then and now).

Creating Activities Across All Subjects

The last cross-curricular suggestion can actually incorporate several subjects into one engaging lesson where students work together to develop commercials or public service announcements.

This fun and motivating activity will allow teachers to cover expectations in reading, writing, oral communication, the arts (both visual arts and drama), media literacy, science, and, depending on the topic, even health and physical education.

Pollution PSAs

For example, students can create a public service announcement in small groups on the topic of pollution. As a cross-curricular activity, students would be gathering information, writing a script, acting out their roles, designing props and backgrounds, understanding the role of media, and delivering a powerful science and health message. Students can then present their public service announcements to other classes within the school to spread their message.

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Awesome Lesson Ideas to Integrate Science Across the Curriculum - TeachHUB

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It's easy to feel as if there aren't enough hours in the school day to properly address all the curriculum and instructional expectations that we must teach our students. The challenging part is addressing curriculum expectations in a meaningful way where students are engaged and motivated throughout the lesson.

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The power of inclusive education | Ilene Schwartz | TEDxEastsidePrep

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I organized the teacher desk in the back because I want my students to be the center of the classroom. I created stations so students could work with their classmates. The tables are also set so that everyone can see the front/  Student work and materials will be along the walls. A kidney table is in the back for extra support. The white board, projector, and other daily materials are in the front. Student work and mailboxes are by the door. Classroom library is set in the corner for quiet time.

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One thing that I remember about my science education was that my teachers tried to integrate music as much as possible. Using the arts, like music catches everyones attention.
Here are some songs that can be used to teach science.

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"science for kids" "elementary science" "science songs" "songs for kids" "educational songs for kids"

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Science4Us is a complete, web-based K-2 science curriculum that teaches science using a fun, interactive approach. In addition to digital games and online activities, there are tons of offline experiments and hands-on projects. Members have access to detailed lesson plans, automated student reports and session guides to help you prepare and plan.

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Games are a good learning strategy to enhance student learning. Students are having fun and learning at the sane time.
- Mr. Nussbaum
- PBS Kids Games
- Poptropica

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Project Noah
PBS Kids
BrainPOP Jr.
Mystery Science
Climate Kids

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In a student-centered learning environment...

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In a student-centered learning environment...

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the teacher should

Act as Facilitators and Guides

Provide Anytime, Anywhere and On-Demand Support

Embody Core Values That Support Deeper Learning

Truly Encourage Students Drive Their Own Learning

Create Real-World and Authentic Learning Experiences

Leverage Technology to Personalize Learning

Traits of Learner-Centered Teacher

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 Strategies to create a student-centered classroom

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 Strategies to create a student-centered classroom

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There are multiple instructional strategies that can be used to meet the academic needs of students. Instructional strategies are “techniques teachers use to help students become independent, strategic learners.”

1. Cooperative Learning- involves students working in small groups to complete tasks or projects. Tasks are structured so that each group member contributes to the completion of the task.
2.  Group Discussions- help students learn to articulate their views and respond to opinions that differ from their own. Group discussions may involve the whole class or a small group.
3. Role Playing- is the spontaneous acting out of situations, without costumes or scripts
4. Issue-Based Inquiry-This step-by-step approach creates opportunities for students to examine issues systematically in a hands-on way.
https://education.alberta.ca/media/482311/is.pdf
5. Hands-on Learning- where instructors engage with students in direct experience and focused reflection to enhance students’ knowledge, skillset and values. Hands-on learning allows students to learn through experiencing something and can give them an opportunity to immerse themselves in a learning environment, while putting their acquired skills to use and building new skills.
https://tophat.com/glossary/h/hands-on-learning/

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Tyler DeWitt: Hey science teachers -- make it fun

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Teachers resources for lesson planning:
1. Science A-Z
2. Gizmos
3. Science 4-Us

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1.  Give students a voice
https://knowledgeworks.org/resources/8-ways-encourage-student-voice/
2.  Bridge students' funds of knowledge to the classroom
https://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2018/02/funds-of-knowledge.html
3. Develop trust and communication
https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/how-build-trust-students1808.html
4. Engage in student shout outs.

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Science Resources in and around Lincoln Heights 

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Science Resources in and around Lincoln Heights 

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1. Dodger Stadium-a baseball park in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Lincoln Park- Park located in the center of Lincoln Heights.  The park has large pond with some wildlife. It also has different playing fields, a skatepark, and an art museum.
3. Los Angeles River- FoLAR’s Source to Sea watershed education program uses a standards-based curriculum for grades 3 – 12 that fosters critical thinking through scientific exploration. Students learn about the Los Angeles River’s past, present, and possible future with an emphasis on how human behavior impacts our region’s natural and built environments.
https://folar.org/edu/
4. El Sereno Arroyo Park-
This park provides a grass area and a playground.
5. Montecito Heights Open Space- a hiking trail where students can learn about wild life, natural, and geological resources.
6. LAC + USC- A hospital and learning center located in the Lincoln Heights/Boyle Heights area.