NGSS, next generation science standards.

Instructional Sequence Matters, Grades 3- 5 is a one-stop resource that will inspire you to reimagine how you teach science in elementary school. The book discusses two popular approaches for structuring your lessons: POE (Predict, Observe, and Explain) and 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate). It also shows how simple shifts in the way you arrange and combine activities will help young students construct firsthand knowledge, while allowing you to put the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) into practice. Like its popular counterpart for grades 6- 8, the book is designed as a complete self-guided tour. It helps both novice teachers and classroom veterans to understand * Why sequence matters. A concise review of developmental psychology, neurosciences, cognitive science, and science education research explains why the order in which you structure your lessons is so critical. * What you need to do. An overview of important planning considerations covers becoming an " explore-before-explain" teacher and designing 5E and POE instructional models. * How to do it. Ready-to-teach lessons use either a POE or 5E sequence to cover heat and temperature, magnetism, electric circuits, chemical changes, ecosystems, and earth processes. Detailed examples show how specific aspects of all three dimensions of the NGSS can translate into your classroom. * What to do next. Reflection questions will spark thinking throughout the sequencing process and help you develop the knowledge to adapt these concepts to your students' needs. Instructional Sequence Matters will give you both the rationale and the real-life examples to restructure the hands-on approaches you are now using. The result will be a sequence for science instruction that promotes long-lasting understanding for your third- fourth-, or fifth-grade students.

By making room for this book in your curriculum, you' ll have a fresh way to motivate your students to look at the living world and ask not only " Why?" but also " How do we know?" Unique in both its structure and approach, Reading Nature is a supplemental resource that provides a window into science ideas and practices. You' ll find the book useful because it * Draws on carefully selected peer-reviewed articles so that students have an opportunity for text-based inquiry into scientific investigations. Each of these evidence-based texts ties into one of five disciplinary core ideas in the Next Generation Science Standards-- from molecules to organisms, ecosystems, heredity, biological evolution, and human impacts on Earth systems. * Is organized to make the source material easy for students to grasp and for you to teach. Within each of the book' s five chapters, the authors have framed section headings as questions; highlighted the roles of people in the narrative; offered context and relevant data for the investigations; and provided supplementary teacher questions and prompts. * Can be adapted to your needs as an active tool for inquiry. You may use the various texts in the book to introduce a unit or an investigation or to pull ideas together before a summative assessment. The texts are also useful as extensions of existing ideas. Unlike traditional textbooks, Reading Nature makes it clear that biology is much more than dry facts and complicated vocabulary. It can help you prompt students to think deeply about the " endeavor of science" as it truly is-- full of ingenious experiments, frustrating dead ends, and incredible finds that contribute to our understanding of the amazing phenomena of living things.

What is understanding and how does it differ from knowledge? How can we determine the big ideas worth understanding? Why is understanding an important teaching goal, and how do we know when students have attained it? How can we create a rigorous and engaging curriculum that focuses on understanding and leads to improved student performance in today's high-stakes, standards-based environment? Authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe answer these and many other questions in this second edition of Understanding by Design. Drawing on feedback from thousands of educators around the world who have used the UbD framework since its introduction in 1998, the authors have greatly revised and expanded their original work to guide educators across the K-16 spectrum in the design of curriculum, assessment, and instruction. With an improved UbD Template at its core, the book explains the rationale of backward design and explores in greater depth the meaning of such key ideas as essential questions and transfer tasks. Readers will learn why the familiar coverage- and activity-based approaches to curriculum design fall short, and how a focus on the six facets of understanding can enrich student learning. With an expanded array of practical strategies, tools, and examples from all subject areas, the book demonstrates how the research-based principles of Understanding by Design apply to district frameworks as well as to individual units of curriculum. Combining provocative ideas, thoughtful analysis, and tested approaches, this new edition of Understanding by Design offers teacher-designers a clear path to the creation of curriculum that ensures better learning and a more stimulating experience for students and teachers alike.

Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field. A Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: crosscutting concepts that unify the study of science through their common application across science and engineering; scientific and engineering practices; and disciplinary core ideas in the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences and for engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice. A Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that can inform state-level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, teachers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district science administrators, and educators who teach science in informal environments.

Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

Offers a definition of differentiated instruction, and provides principles and strategies designed to help teachers create learning environments that address the different learning styles, interests, and readiness levels found in a typical mixed-ability classroom.