WSE Science meeting

Oct. 22, 2014

Next meeting

2nd Semester3rd grade Thur., Jan 22, 20154th grade Mon., Jan. 26, 20155th grade Thur., Feb. 5, 20156th grade Tue., Feb. 10, 2015

7th gradeMon., March 9, 2015

8th gradeMon., March 16, 2015

Science Chairs group email• Not just for official science chair people• Give me your name if you’d like to get all

of my mail

5th

6th

7th

8th

Bad news first: WCPS 2014 growth

Bio

WCPS average 6th grade, 2014

avg.-0.5

WSE 6th grade, 2014

WCPS average 7th grade, 2014

avg.-1.0

WSE 7th grade, 2014

avg.+4.2

Magic trick• kids want to know how that works.• Figuring out how things work is science.

• Little kids like science!

• Good lessons (math, ELA, Sci, SS) take advantage of this human instinct.

• Everyone starts life as a scientist/artist

Good news

Middle School

• Where we grind the interest out of most kids

• “I can’t draw...I’m no good at science.”

Science confidence• Guys have more of it than girls.• Fact: guys get worse grades in science,

but take more science classes—have more science careers

How to destroy confidence:• Make ‘em memorize facts

Memorizing is hard work• Need a reason to do this work – a

grade isn’t always enough

Easy to get hung up with facts

• Base of Blooms pyramid• Easy to write tests for• In the world of Google it’s hard to get

kids to see the point of memorizing facts.

Focus on concepts

Fact

Concept

Fact

Fact

Fact

Fact

Fact

Fact

Fact

Facts are easily forgotten—concepts stick with you

Example:

infi

ltratio

n

Water Cycle

tran

spora

tion

pre

citatio

n

run

off

eva

pora

tion

gro

un

d

wate

r

co

nd

en

satio

n

sub

limatio

n

Teach Concept 1st Teach Vocabulary 2nd

• A new word needs something to attach to.

• If at all possible, give students understanding of concept before using the vocabulary.

• e.g. A toddler learns the word “chair” only after becoming familiar with the concept of chairs.

Project Based Learning (PBL)• A hassle, but research says it’s worth it

• Requires content knowledge from all content areas

• Science Fair!!!!• Start soon! (district Science Fair Jan. 17, 2015)• A good project takes weeks to do right.

Science Fair timeline• Google Doc shared with all science contacts• MS Word doc on website

Science Fair categories(detailed doc. on my website)

1. Biological Science A2. Biological Science B3. Chemistry4. Earth/Environmental Science5. Physics and Astronomy6. Technology/Engineering

Science Fair cont.• Student must have your approval

before experimenting!• Student is responsible for getting

their project to District Fair.• No logos• Photos must be credited• Culturing must be done in a safe lab

setting—Not at home

Benchmarks

• For your benefit• NOT a teacher evaluation tool!• Please do NOT teach the test.

Know your content!

• Allows you to ask probing questions

WCPS Science Resources

Know your Science NCES

Unpacking document

Sometimes tells you what not to bother teaching.

Pacing Guides• Main purpose of the order is to align

with benchmarks

Each school received a set of these seven Page Keeley books. (In your Media Center)

DPI has produced a document that links NC Essential Standards to each probe within these books.

That PDF can be downloaded from your teacher resources page on the WCPS Science site

Cl-Ev-R and Formative probes

Smart Scopes

• USB microscope you can plug into your computer

• Also in your Media Center

WCPS Science webpagesWCPS homepage, “Academics” tab, Science

my email: andrewforsleff@wcps.org

How long does it take for the Earth to rotate once?

A. 29 daysB. 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 secondsC. 24 hoursD.365 days