RAMPING UP SCIENCE
SKILLS
MIDDLE SCHOOL
SCIENCE COACHES
WORKSHOP
MAY 2011
M-DCPS
Division of Mathematics, Science,
and Advanced Academic Programs
AGENDA
Welcome and Introductions
 What Does it Really Take?
 Ramping-up Targeted Concepts: Handson/Minds-on Activities
 Teaching and Learning: The Year in Review
 Mapping Content for NGSSS DOK
 Reflections

Overview and Introductions
Think…Pair…Share
Reviewing your school’s Grade 6 and 7 data:
How prepared are students to enter 8th grade?
What has been done at your school to ensure success?
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
WHAT DOES IT REALLY TAKE?
Grade 7
Temperature Changes Everything: The Balloon
and the Bottle
TEMPERATURE CHANGES
EVERYTHING: THE BALLOON AND THE
BOTTLE
SC.7.P.11.1 Recognize that adding heat to or
removing heat from a system may result in a
temperature change and possibly a change of
state.
 SC.7.P.11.4 Observe and describe that heat flows
in predictable ways, moving from warmer objects
to cooler ones until they reach the same
temperature. (AA)

How is a cell like a city?
Given a list of the parts of a cell and their functions,
name parts of a city that perform similar functions.
Draw your city in the general shape of a cell.
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WHAT DOES IT REALLY TAKE?
How can this activity be
extended to an Organism
City?
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CELL CITY ACTIVITY
SC.6.L.14.4
 Compare and contrast the structure ad function
of major organelles of plant and animal cells,
including cell wall, cell membrane, nucleus,
cytoplasm, chloroplasts, mitochondria, and
vacuoles
8
CONTENT RICH?
How well does the resource
support teaching and learning of
content and skills of the
benchmark (NGSSS)?
How well do instructions and/ or
objectives support teaching and
learning?
How well does the resource
foster mental and physical
activity of students and
intellectual engagement?
 How
well do the materials maintain
learner motivation?
 Does
the resource provide material/ ideas
to assess student understanding and/ or
learning?
Conceptual understanding is what
we expect when we say a child
understands ideas such as energy
or respiration.
(From Teaching for Understanding in Primary
Science, Lynn Newton)
TEACHING AND LEARNING
Using FCAT 2.0 Item Specifications and Student
Data:
 What science concepts and/or skills were taught?
 What science concepts and/or skills were
mastered?
 What science concepts and/or skills need to be readdressed for students to be prepared to enter 8th
grade?
MAPPING THE NGSSS
BENCHMARKS
Using the FCAT 2.0 Item Specifications, identify the
following:
 6th
and 7th grade benchmarks that are
foundational (i.e., never been taught before)
 Benchmarks that are only taught in 6th and
7th grade (i.e., not repeated or built on in
grade 8)
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FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
AND CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
Grade 6
 Human Body Basics
Grade 7
 Ice Cold Lemonade
 Mixing Water
Prepare small group presentations of
probes to whole group
Source: Page Keley: Understanding Student Ideas in Science –
Another 25 Formative Assessment Probes Volume 3
Activity: A
Recipe for
Traits
Topic XV
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RAMPING-UP LIFE SCIENCE
 Big
Idea 16: Heredity and
Reproduction
SC.7.L.16.1 Understand and explain that
every organism requires a set of
instructions that specifies its traits, that
this hereditary information (DNA)
contains genes located in the
chromosomes of each cell, and that
heredity is the passage of these
instructions from one generation to
another.
16
LUNCH
17
Lab Activity:
Topic XVIII
18
Homeostasis: It’s All a
Matter of Balance
RAMPING-UP LIFE SCIENCE
19
Big Idea 14: Organization and development
of living things
 SC.6.L.14.3 Recognize and explore how
cells of all organisms undergo similar
processes to maintain homeostasis,
including extracting energy from food,
getting rid of waste, and reproducing.
C
ONTENT RICH?
 How well does the resource support teaching
and learning of content and skills of the
benchmark (NGSSS)?
 How
well do instructions and/ or objectives
support teaching and learning?
 How
well does the resource foster mental and
physical activity of students and intellectual
engagement?
 How
well do the materials maintain
learner motivation?
 Does
the resource provide material/ ideas
to assess student understanding and/ or
learning?
BENCHMARK ANALYSIS
HTTP://CURRICULUM.DADESCHOOLS.NET/SCHOOLPERFORMANCEREPORT
S.ASP
AVERAGE PERCENT CORRECT
THE ROLE OF STANDARDS
 Define
content, knowledge, and abilities
 Provide
grade-level or course expectations for
students
 Provide
clear guidance to teachers for Depth of
Knowledge and instructional goals
 Provide
framework for textbooks, other
instructional materials, and assessments
 Serve
as a guide to improve student learning
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Module 1
OUTCOME GOALS OF THE STANDARDS
•Increase depth, understanding,
process skills, proficiency
•Lead to mastery of concepts and
skills
covering
understanding
25
Module 1
THE FOUR STRANDS OF SCIENCE LEARNING
(NRC, 2007)

Understanding Scientific Explanations


Generating Scientific Evidence


Generate and evaluate scientific evidence to build explanations of the
natural world
Reflecting on Scientific Knowledge


Know, use, and interpret scientific explanations of the natural world
Understand the nature and development of scientific knowledge;
scientific knowledge can be revised as new evidence emerges
Participating Productively in Science

Representing ideas, using scientific tools, and interacting with peers
about science
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Module 1
COACHES REPORT
What are you doing at your school to support
teachers in:
 Understanding Scientific Explanations


Generating Scientific Evidence


Generate and evaluate scientific evidence to build
explanations of the natural world
Reflecting on Scientific Knowledge


Know, use, and interpret scientific explanations of the
natural world
Understand the nature and development of scientific
knowledge; scientific knowledge can be revised as new
evidence emerges
Participating Productively in Science

Representing ideas, using scientific tools, and interacting
with peers about science
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FOLLOW-UP
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One-page reflection on grade 6 and 7 data and
plan to address deficiencies
Email: [email protected] (indicate
Coaches May –follow-up in Subject
Resources
FLDOE Office of Mathematics
and Science
http://www.fldoe.org/bii/oms.asp
Florida Standards
www.floridastandards.org
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