Imagine It
My big idea is to have my students be more critical of their thinking. I want my students to look deeper into their learning and be able to see the importance of science and why they are learning a particular topic in my class. In order to do this I plan on pre-assessing my students to see where they are. I am also planning to group my students in a way that they are building from each other. There are a lot of vocabulary terms that students need to know and some that they should know before 6th grade (prior knowledge is huge at this age level) and this is why pre-assessing is necessary and useful for Backwards Design and planning. I will be using the Pearson Interactive Science books to help guide my instruction as well as online resources and other educational resources that might assist in the success of the students that I will be teaching.
The enduring understanding of the big idea is going to be for students to explain how scientists use scientific inquiry to explain the natural world. To do this students will have to explain what they already know about the natural world. Students will also have to focus on the ideas of how science, technology and society affect each other and how scientists use mathematics in many ways. Students will be pre-assessed on the the “Big Idea” questions before they learn the focus of each lesson.
My students are really going to have to be able to explain themselves and make their thinking visible. In math, especially, students get lost in their thoughts and have to go back to retrace their thoughts although they might not always be able to. I want to help my students more able to not create these thoughts on their own but keep them, and use them in their future learning. Therefore making their learning transferrable and applicable to all other content areas.
The real question that students will explore throughout the process is, “What is Science?” Students will need to know that “inquiry is thinking like a scientist- being inquisitive, asking why, and searching for answers.” (Pearson, T10) It will be inquiry based knowledge and there will be an Inquiry warm-up activity that will have students design an experiment to test whether common beliefs are true or false. This will be where students are asked to engage and explore. The next part is to have students elaborate on key concepts and what they already know. Students will also have to think about and predict the outcomes of an experiment.
For my assessments I plan to use a lot of the content vocabulary as well as the big ideas within the book. Students will have to infer as well as predict including being a hands-on scientist incorporating mathematics within science. They will have to complete labs once a week if fitting with the assignments and the instructional purpose that is planned. Students will be asked to think critically in science and be able to explain all of their thought visually and in written form.
Students will also be able to teach a concept in class and show their peers step by step what they are using to solve the problem in class. I plan to do this by giving students topics to choose from, and ask them to explore, think and be able to explain their thought process. This type of assignment will really help students to expand what they know and build from their knowledge. When I have done this before with students I noticed that students were able to express themselves clearly in front of others and not feel uncomfortable or discouraged by others. Also, by designing it in a way that gives them the opportunity to collaborate with others, encourages success and completion of the assignment. This is important for students to see in the classroom. They can see that their work in valuable and necessary for the learning of others. I use this as a summative assessment in that is created based on what they already learned and continue their learning beyond this one assignment.
My school is a middle school, therefore, we have 6-8 grades. We will have one hour blocks of content area instruction. The content areas are Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Science. Students will also have an Exploratory period, Art, Gym, Music, Technology and Mandarin and an MTSS/RTI period. I will have 4 science classes as well as an MTSS(Multi-Tiered System of Support)/RTI(Response to Intervention) period that I will be responsible for. My students are of all abilities including ELL (English Language Learners) and SWD (Students with disabilities). I plan on making any and all modifications and accommodations necessary
to include all students in my classroom.
This will be my first year teaching science and that is definitely going to be different, but I am willing and ready for the challenge. Learning a new content and working with new students will be something that I hope to learn from. After teaching math I know that I can incorporate it into science successfully. I would like for my students to become scientists as well as mathematicians and see that math is in fact a great part of the science world.
Performances of understanding will be for my students to know how math and science are necessary in our world today. There will also be several aspects of technology incorporated into these lessons to give students the opportunity to build from. For example, I will definitely be using the online Pearson resources to give students that extra exposure that they need. As a STEM educator, I see that the need for these goals to be interdisciplinary is entirely necessary and I am fully capable of making it happen within my classroom. There is much collaboration that students will be participating in. In middle school, we know that our students are social beings so why not make their learning social as well as structured. I have learned that with my particular groups of students year after year, they really benefit in collaborating while learning.
The labs that coincide with the curriculum will show my students that they can indeed be scientists and mathematicians of their own. It will give students ownership e and the confidence that they need to build from and succeed. Students will see that they are in control of the learning and that learning can take place anywhere. I will challenge my students to take their learning outside the classroom and also bring in anything that they might find that relates to what we are focused on at the time.
I have found that with my students, Modeling is a great component for their long term learning. In class over the summer, we discussed how to make learning stick and how sometimes what sticks isn’t content specific. For this topic, students can definitely relate to their teacher. This is what learning is all about. It’s about making yourself relatable to students in a way that they can learn and value what they learn. The teachers that are most influential in our lives are the ones who humble themselves and even when a mistake is made are able to learn and build from it.
I will also be using the Problem Based Learning approach to guide students’ learning as part of my instruction. I have began to research the topic and will be reading about it with my Deep Play Group as part of STEM. We will be reading and using the book Problem Based Learning Differentiating Instruction for the 21st Century written by William Bender, using it as another resource for PBL.
Utilizing technology more in my classroom has also been a personal goal of mine. My school is equipped with a computer lab, a science lab, chromebooks, ipads, laptops and SMART Board technology. This will be something I plan on integrating more of into my lessons to provide my students with as much innovation that they need this year. I plan on using the technology to enhance the learning of my students, for example, I might have them record their lab experiences or their procedure that they may use to solve a problem. The technology will definitely be used as a tool to contribute to the success of the learning.
For grading I will be using the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) website that is found on the CPS Knowledge Center. www.kc.cps.edu and http://www.nextgenscience.org/resources/equip-rubric-lessons-units-science (for various science rubrics. I will also be using the Pearsonsuccess.com for my planning, instruction and assessments.
Resources
Bender, William Project-Based Learning Differentiating Instruction for the 21st Century, Corwin, 2012
Pearson Interactive Science Books Teacher’s Edition and Resource, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2011
My big idea is to have my students be more critical of their thinking. I want my students to look deeper into their learning and be able to see the importance of science and why they are learning a particular topic in my class. In order to do this I plan on pre-assessing my students to see where they are. I am also planning to group my students in a way that they are building from each other. There are a lot of vocabulary terms that students need to know and some that they should know before 6th grade (prior knowledge is huge at this age level) and this is why pre-assessing is necessary and useful for Backwards Design and planning. I will be using the Pearson Interactive Science books to help guide my instruction as well as online resources and other educational resources that might assist in the success of the students that I will be teaching.
The enduring understanding of the big idea is going to be for students to explain how scientists use scientific inquiry to explain the natural world. To do this students will have to explain what they already know about the natural world. Students will also have to focus on the ideas of how science, technology and society affect each other and how scientists use mathematics in many ways. Students will be pre-assessed on the the “Big Idea” questions before they learn the focus of each lesson.
My students are really going to have to be able to explain themselves and make their thinking visible. In math, especially, students get lost in their thoughts and have to go back to retrace their thoughts although they might not always be able to. I want to help my students more able to not create these thoughts on their own but keep them, and use them in their future learning. Therefore making their learning transferrable and applicable to all other content areas.
The real question that students will explore throughout the process is, “What is Science?” Students will need to know that “inquiry is thinking like a scientist- being inquisitive, asking why, and searching for answers.” (Pearson, T10) It will be inquiry based knowledge and there will be an Inquiry warm-up activity that will have students design an experiment to test whether common beliefs are true or false. This will be where students are asked to engage and explore. The next part is to have students elaborate on key concepts and what they already know. Students will also have to think about and predict the outcomes of an experiment.
For my assessments I plan to use a lot of the content vocabulary as well as the big ideas within the book. Students will have to infer as well as predict including being a hands-on scientist incorporating mathematics within science. They will have to complete labs once a week if fitting with the assignments and the instructional purpose that is planned. Students will be asked to think critically in science and be able to explain all of their thought visually and in written form.
Students will also be able to teach a concept in class and show their peers step by step what they are using to solve the problem in class. I plan to do this by giving students topics to choose from, and ask them to explore, think and be able to explain their thought process. This type of assignment will really help students to expand what they know and build from their knowledge. When I have done this before with students I noticed that students were able to express themselves clearly in front of others and not feel uncomfortable or discouraged by others. Also, by designing it in a way that gives them the opportunity to collaborate with others, encourages success and completion of the assignment. This is important for students to see in the classroom. They can see that their work in valuable and necessary for the learning of others. I use this as a summative assessment in that is created based on what they already learned and continue their learning beyond this one assignment.
My school is a middle school, therefore, we have 6-8 grades. We will have one hour blocks of content area instruction. The content areas are Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Science. Students will also have an Exploratory period, Art, Gym, Music, Technology and Mandarin and an MTSS/RTI period. I will have 4 science classes as well as an MTSS(Multi-Tiered System of Support)/RTI(Response to Intervention) period that I will be responsible for. My students are of all abilities including ELL (English Language Learners) and SWD (Students with disabilities). I plan on making any and all modifications and accommodations necessary
to include all students in my classroom.
This will be my first year teaching science and that is definitely going to be different, but I am willing and ready for the challenge. Learning a new content and working with new students will be something that I hope to learn from. After teaching math I know that I can incorporate it into science successfully. I would like for my students to become scientists as well as mathematicians and see that math is in fact a great part of the science world.
Performances of understanding will be for my students to know how math and science are necessary in our world today. There will also be several aspects of technology incorporated into these lessons to give students the opportunity to build from. For example, I will definitely be using the online Pearson resources to give students that extra exposure that they need. As a STEM educator, I see that the need for these goals to be interdisciplinary is entirely necessary and I am fully capable of making it happen within my classroom. There is much collaboration that students will be participating in. In middle school, we know that our students are social beings so why not make their learning social as well as structured. I have learned that with my particular groups of students year after year, they really benefit in collaborating while learning.
The labs that coincide with the curriculum will show my students that they can indeed be scientists and mathematicians of their own. It will give students ownership e and the confidence that they need to build from and succeed. Students will see that they are in control of the learning and that learning can take place anywhere. I will challenge my students to take their learning outside the classroom and also bring in anything that they might find that relates to what we are focused on at the time.
I have found that with my students, Modeling is a great component for their long term learning. In class over the summer, we discussed how to make learning stick and how sometimes what sticks isn’t content specific. For this topic, students can definitely relate to their teacher. This is what learning is all about. It’s about making yourself relatable to students in a way that they can learn and value what they learn. The teachers that are most influential in our lives are the ones who humble themselves and even when a mistake is made are able to learn and build from it.
I will also be using the Problem Based Learning approach to guide students’ learning as part of my instruction. I have began to research the topic and will be reading about it with my Deep Play Group as part of STEM. We will be reading and using the book Problem Based Learning Differentiating Instruction for the 21st Century written by William Bender, using it as another resource for PBL.
Utilizing technology more in my classroom has also been a personal goal of mine. My school is equipped with a computer lab, a science lab, chromebooks, ipads, laptops and SMART Board technology. This will be something I plan on integrating more of into my lessons to provide my students with as much innovation that they need this year. I plan on using the technology to enhance the learning of my students, for example, I might have them record their lab experiences or their procedure that they may use to solve a problem. The technology will definitely be used as a tool to contribute to the success of the learning.
For grading I will be using the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) website that is found on the CPS Knowledge Center. www.kc.cps.edu and http://www.nextgenscience.org/resources/equip-rubric-lessons-units-science (for various science rubrics. I will also be using the Pearsonsuccess.com for my planning, instruction and assessments.
Resources
Bender, William Project-Based Learning Differentiating Instruction for the 21st Century, Corwin, 2012
Pearson Interactive Science Books Teacher’s Edition and Resource, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2011