Common Core and Content

1. A Healthy Mix Jeff Astor – Simon Technology HS Common Core and Content

2. Common Core and Content

3. Common Core – Who Are You? • With the emergence of the common core, California has adopted content aligned with Smarter Balance Assessments. • These are dictated by the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)

4. Do Any of These Standards Explicitly Talk About Gas Laws? • Short Answer: Pretty much, no. • Does that mean we don’t need it? • Should it be brushed over? Avoided all together? • How do we align the content our students must now, with the common core expectations asked of us by the NGSS?

5. Today’s Goals • Identify what the NGSS asks of us as teachers and what the outcomes will be for students. • Decide what specific teaching strategies promote the higher order thinking the NGSS is designed to emphasize and how to use them. • Adapt lessons to include Common Core components, but still incorporate dense scientific content and social justice.

6. Turning the Gas Laws Lessons into Socially Conscious Analyses. A Walkthrough

7. What does the NGSS Say about Science? • Science receives less instructional time (a form of material resources) than language arts and mathematics, which are both considered to be basic skills. Particularly, science instruction in low - performing schools is often limited and tightly regulated due to the urgency of developing basic literacy and numeracy. In addition, under the demands of accountability policies, schools devote extended time and attention to the heavily tested subjects of language arts and mathematics, leaving limited time for science.

8. Science! • “The NGSS capitalize on the synergy with the CCSS for English language arts and literacy and for mathematics. The standards across the three subject areas share common shifts to focus on core concepts and practices that build coherently across K-12. Scientific and engineering practices in the NGSS (e.g., argumentation from evidence) share commonalities with those of the CCSS for English language arts and for mathematics (see Figure 1). Furthermore, the CCSS for literacy require strong content knowledge, informational texts, and text complexity across subject areas, including science. In a similar manner, the NGSS make connections to the CCSS. Such synergy will help effective use of instructional time among English language arts, mathematics, and science.”

9. This means we need a combo package… • Math • English • Science • Cultural Relevance • Social Justice • Modeling • Engineering Practices

10. OH Snap! That’s a lot. How do we do it?

11. Math • From the NGSS: “The difference is that scientific arguments are always based on evidence, whereasmathematical arguments never are.” • 4.OA.A.3.Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole number answers using the four operations. • 5.MD.C.4. Measure volumes by counting unit cubes, using cubic cm, cubic in, cubic ft, and improvised units. • Science example: Compress the air in a cylinder to half its volume. (Draw a picture of the volume before and after, and explain how you know that the new volume is half of the old volume.) Can you compress the volume by half again? Why is it difficult to do?

12. ELA • From the NGSS: “Students need to be able to gain knowledge from elaborate diagrams and data that convey information and illustrate scientific concepts. Likewise, writing and presenting information orally are key means for students to assert and defend claims in science, demonstrate what they know about a concept, and convey what they have experienced, imagined, thought, and learned.” • CCR Reading Anchor #7.Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well in words. • CCR Reading Anchor #9.Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

13. Science • Content is still pertinent and essential, but must be framed in new context with rich assessments. • Focus on Data Analysis, Scientific Process, Justification, and TDQ’s. • Models and visual representations are key in the effort to increase student awareness. • Content is relevant when applied to real world settings – social justice components are the tenet of each unit theme.

14. Cultural Relevance • Content - Apply gas laws to demonstrations, videos, realia/manipulatives, lab activities, real world experiences. • Crosscutting - Give students an opportunity to relate the content learned in chemistry class to content internalized from previous classes (biology, MS science). • Practices - Let students experiment in the classroom setting with the concepts that they have explored.

15. Social Justice • Environmental Awareness is a current movement at the forefront of the scientific community. • Communities of lower socio-economic status are much more likely to have a higher incidence of medical issues related to particle pollution. • Let’s students propose solutions to the real world issues! It’s their chance to have a voice and advocate for their rights.

16. What will it look like? Lesson Transformation

17. Time to Tweak • This lesson has a lot of holes • Lack of cohesion • Requires sufficient scaffolding and constant monitoring for progress. Bottom Line: • Common Core transition is a work in progress. • It will take multiple failed attempts before we get any where near “correct.”

18. Evaluate • Not sure if your lesson is as Common Core-y as you want? • Evaluate Using the EQuIP Math Rubric • Evaluate Using the EQuIPELA Rubric • Send it on over to your MTLD to get a fresh perspective on your progression, and use the Eval Forms to assess yourselves. Iterate, improve! • Get excited, because you’ve already started the transition!

19. Thanks for your participation and effort! Feel free to leave me feedback, comments, or questions at Jastor@laalliance.org Let’s Have a Great Year!