Last Thursday, I hosted the first Science Common Core Cafe! Thank you to the teachers that attended. The topic was Saving the Earth one unit at a time. I presented information about the California Education and Environment Initiative, which provides free, project-based units for K-12 Science and Social Science classrooms. The website offers on-demand webinars to train teachers how to use the units and adapt them to meet the needs of your students. To view the units they offer, click here and explore all the components shipped directly to you (student workbooks, annotated dictionaries, map posters, word wall cards, teachers editions, alignment to CCSS and NGSS). There is no limit on the number of units you can order and student consumables can be reordered for future years. How to Order: 1. Watch one of the On Demand webinars 2. Email [email protected] and tell them which webinar you watched. 3. They will respond asking which 2 free units you would like to start with. 4. They will ship you 2 units. 5. After you teach one of the units, complete the online survey and order another unit. 6. Repeat this process until you have all the units you want! The Next Generation Science Standards has been revamped to be more user-friendly! If you haven't checked it out in awhile, now is the time. Get to know your standards as well as the major shifts that need to occur in your instruction. Search for resources using the standards and framework. The writers made the standards very comprehensive, so utilize them as a resource to prevent having to reinvent the wheel. The website even aligns the science standards with the Common Core Literacy and Math standards. You can also sign up for monthly newsletters with updates. Check out the February newsletter now.
Welcome Back Teachers! I am looking forward to an amazing 2016. I hope to get a chance to support each of you as we make our way to June. The next few months are going to be busy over here in Coaches Corner. This month, I will be following up with teachers whom participated in our December 3rd professional development on Inquiry-Based Labs. I will be observing the lab in their classrooms and debriefing about how much learning was taking place. On February 3rd, we will meet again as a whole group and discuss the impact these types of labs had on the learning process. Did using inquiry engage your students throughout the unit ? Were students intrinsically motivated to learn more on their own? Did students enjoy learning this way? Did the teachers enjoy teaching this way? These are some of the questions we will address at our next meeting, as well as any challenges to inquiry-based learning. Here are a few pictures of students in Mrs. Roseli's class at Hollencrest as they explore the effect of adaptations on the survival of a species. |
Brenda SalasBrenda Salas has moved to Washington! Please contact Maria Garza (ELA TOSA) Categories
All
Archives
March 2016
|