Unpacking the Common Core State Standards Through the Lens of Unit Study

1. Unpacking the Common Core State Standards Through the Lens of Unit Study Middle School Science Friday, September 27, 2014

2. Welcome BackScience Teams!!!!

3. Learning OutcomesTeachers will: • Receive an overview on the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science and how they should be integrated in the Science classroom. • Review FAST 1 data and provide an instructional analysis of consistently low indicators. • Engage in hands on inquiry activities geared to improving student performance on consistently low indicators. • Develop a lesson plan using the SciencFfT aligned template that contains integrated IFL concepts.

4. Today’s Agenda • Welcome • Science& CCSS Connection • FAST 1 Analysis • Lesson Planning • Questions and Comments • Closing

5. Common Core Literacy & Science IntegrationSample Activities

6. English Language Arts Standards Science & Technical Subjects • When a child reaches the 6th grade, there are new standards called Literacy in History/Social Studies, and Science and Technology • The science literacy standards are numbered 1-10, then divided into 3 sections, grades 6-8, 9-10, and 11-12. • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.1 • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.2 • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.3 • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.4 • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.5 • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.6 • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.7 • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.8 • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.9 • CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.10

7. English Language Arts Standards » Science & Technical Subjects • 6th – 8th grades RST 1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. • 9th – 10th grades RST 1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions. • 11th – 12th grades RST 1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.

8. Focus on RST Standard #1 6-8 • RST standard #1 6-8 states: • Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. • Based on this standard, students should be able to:1.  cite specific evidence2.  support analysis

9. Strategy 1Add a Cite Section We can change many current activities/worksheets to address RST 1.   At the end of the worksheets, add a section that requires students to find page numbers and paragraphs where specific information can be found.  This addition requires students to CITE sources in their textbook:ExamplePart II: Reread the section and find the exact spot that addresses each of the topics/questions.Indicate page number, and paragraph number.1. Which type of cell has a nucleus: page ____ paragraph _____2. What type of microscope is used to see cells: page ____ paragraph _____ …

10. Strategy 2: Highlight Information in Articles Use news articles to supplement the textbooks Assign articles and include questions at the end for students to answer to show they have read it. Modify the questions to cite specific areas of the text, students can write on the article, the assignment requires them to circle, highlight, put a star next to…etc… areas of the text that address specific questions.

11. Strategy 3:Paragraphs on the Overhead/Visualizer Put a short interesting paragraph on an overhead/visualizer and ask students to read it and to CITE specific words or ideas.   MODEL how to read complicated text.  Show students that sometimes you don’t know every word you read, but you can make a guess about what it means.   Show students that it’s okay to read something twice to find the answer.

12. Focus on RST Standard #2 • RST standard #2 states: • Determine the central ideas or conclusion of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. • Based on this standard, students should be able to:1.  determine the central ideas of a text2.  accurately summarize the text3.  exclude prior knowledge and opinions

13. Post-It Summaries Students take a large chunk of text, textbook or article and place post-it notes in the margin. They write in their own thoughts, summaries, or questions they have about what they are reading. This process can be made more involved by adding symbols and specific tasks.  

14. Post-It Summaries

15. Pair and Share Take an article or section of reading and ask students to work on their own to write down THREE MAIN POINTS of the text.   Then they compare their three points with the person sitting next to them, and are asked to discuss between the two which is the most important point.   The pairs are then to combine or alter their original three points into a single MAIN IDEA.   As an extension, you can then expand by asking them to share all the single points with the class and decide as a class what is the main idea of the text.

16. Highlight Ask students to read text that they can write on, like a news articles or copies of texts.  Ask them to highlight areas of the text that are confusing to them. As a class (or in small groups),  discuss why the text is confusing, and model strategies for  figuring out what the author means.   Model the text by reading it out loud, skipping over words that you aren’t sure about and making guesses about what the words (or phrases) mean within the context of the text.

17. Cause and Effect Create a table with CAUSE in one column and EFFECT in another.   Ask students to identify causes and effects from the text they are reading.   This may not work for all reading assignments but can be modified.  For instance, in a science class you might instead use procedure/outcome  or  hypothesis / data / conclusions  or  fact / opinion.     The chart method does rely heavily on you determining what headings work best for the particular reading, so this one may require some advance planning.

18. Concept Mapping They must first decide what are the main ideas, then connect the main ideas to small support details and show how all the concepts relate to each other.   Students can use concept maps to organize a news article they read or information in their textbook.   A combination of these techniques can be used with articles, with questions at the end for students to answer.   In this case, students read the text and cite specific information, they highlight parts that are confusing, they make inferences about what the article does not say, and finally write a short summary about the overall article.     

19. Making Connections In this case, students read the text and cite specific information, they highlight parts that are confusing, they make inferences about what the article does not say, and finally write a short summary about the overall article.   Be proactive with finding news articles.  You can place news feeds from science sites on Edmodo so you’ll have a constant supply of interesting things to share with students.

20. English Language Arts Standards Writing:Kelly Gallagher’s Model teaches students specific strategies for dealing with essay questions

21. A =  Attack the Prompt • determine what the question is actually asking. • The first part of the prompt is giving you some background information and some clues about things you might want to think about.   • The second part is the important section, show students how to cross out the beginning background information and just focus on what the question is asking.   • Circle words that ask you to do something, in this case, such as EXPLAIN and then separate things you are supposed to address.  Write these out in simpler terms.

22. A =  Attack the Prompt

23. B = Brainstorm Answers • make a mental map of the essay • Toss out ideas and concepts that could potentially be included. • It is important at this point to not try to edit or remove any items.

24. C = Choose Order & Cite Evidence • for science essays the question often determines the order of your response. Make connections to RST #1 and have students Cite Evidence while ordering their concepts. • On this essay, there is a clear, part one, part 2 and part 3, however within each section, you may want to ask the students to number how they will answer it. • The brainstorm map can be numbered so that you have an idea of which order to include your concepts.

25. C = Choose Order& Cite Evidence

26. D = Detect Errors • proofread it for grammatical errors. •  For the on-demand writing in class, give them 10 minutes (or 5) to answer the question, the responses remain brief and contain only information required of them. • Allow them to revise the essay to fix major problems.   Remember that the goal is to give them practice before they answer the high-stakes question on a test, AP exam, or college application.

27. Analysis: FAST DATAGrade 8

28. Lowest Performing Indicators 4.B.1: Objective c - Give reasons to justify the statement, “If the number of atoms stays the same no matter how the same atoms are rearranged, then their total mass stays the same.” 1.C.1: Objective d - Criticize the reasoning in arguments in which. 4.D.3: Objective c - Identify the reactants and products involved in a chemical reaction given a symbolic equation, a word equation, or a description of the reaction. 4.B.1: Objective b - Cite evidence from investigations that the total mass of a system remains the same throughout a chemical reaction because the number of atoms of each element remains the same. 4.D.1: Objective c - Analyze the results of research completed to develop a comparison of compounds and mixtures. 1.C.1: Objective e - Explain how different models can be used to represent the same thing. What kind of a model to use and how complex it should be depend on its purpose. Choosing a useful model is one of the instances in which intuition and creativity come into play in science, mathematics, and engineering.

29. Unpacking: Digging Deep into the Content Standards

30. 4.D.1: Objective c - Analyze the results of research completed to develop a comparison of compounds and mixtures. 4.D.3: Objective c - Identify the reactants and products involved in a chemical reaction given a symbolic equation, a word equation, or a description of the reaction. Selecting a Standard 1.C.1: Objective e - Explain how different models can be used to represent the same thing. What kind of a model to use and how complex it should be depend on its purpose. Choosing a useful model is one of the instances in which intuition and creativity come into play in science, mathematics, and engineering. 1.C.1: Objective d - Criticize the reasoning in arguments in which. 4.B.1: Objective b - Cite evidence from investigations that the total mass of a system remains the same throughout a chemical reaction because the number of atoms of each element remains the same. 4.B.1: Objective c - Give reasons to justify the statement, “If the number of atoms stays the same no matter how the same atoms are rearranged, then their total mass stays the same.”

31. Unpacking the Standards

32. Unpacking Questions: • What do students need to know? • note the nouns in the standards • What do students need to do? • note the verbs in the standards • To what degree do student need to perform it • note the verbs (e.g., Blooms and Marzano’s Taxonomies)

33. Science (K-12) 5 Es FFT Lesson Planner

34. Lesson Planning Requires… • Unpacking the standards and understanding what is contained within each. • Developing clear learning goals or objectives. • Shifting students’ focus from “answer getting” to problem solving and critical thinking. • Connecting standards to prior knowledge of students. • Establishing the classroom environment as a community of learners.

35. Resources to Use When Planning • Grade Level Curriculum Document • Lesson Plan Template • UDL Planning Sheet • Collaborative Planning Graphic Organizer/ Template • Supporting Resources

36. How can I make the task accessible to all? Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

37. Biggest Takeaways • What have you learned about scientific literacy and writing, unpacking content standards, and lesson planning? • Turn and talk with a partner at your table • about your biggest takeaways from this session.

38. 2013-2014 STEM Fairs Prince George’s Area Science Fair Grades 6-12 Scientific Review Committee (SRC) • Date: Thursday, February 27, 2014 • Location: Science Office 9201 East Hampton Drive Capital Heights, MD 20743 • Date of Fair: Friday, April 4 – Saturday, April 5, 2014 • Location: Dr. Charles H. Flowers High School Kids for Science Fair Grades 3-5 Scientific Review Committee (SRC) • Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 • Location: Science Office 9201 East Hampton Drive Capital Heights, MD 20743 • Date of Fair: Friday, May 16 – Saturday, May 17, 2014 • Location: Dr. Charles H. Flowers High School RULES FOR 2013-2014 http://www.societyforscience.org/isef/about

39. STEM Questions, Comments, Concerns & Closure PGCPS Science Office Staff Godfrey Rangasammy, Science Supervisor Email: godfreyr@pgcps.org Daria Valentine, Science Instructional Speicalist Email: daria.valentine@pgcps.org Traci Walkup Belton, Science Instructional Coach Email: traci.belton@pgpcs.org Jillina Burnett, Science Office Secretary Email: jillina.burnett@pgcps.org