Wow! The first nine weeks are over, and we are in the middle of our much-needed fall break! My heart is filled with gratitude for all the hard work you have put in to ensure our students' success. Thank you for your participation and engagement during the professional learning day on October 11.

As we look forward to the second nine weeks, please make sure you are planning from the Curriculum Unit Maps located in the Secondary Curriculum and Instruction Group in Schoology. I will also add them to our KISD Secondary Science Group. I am including the TEKS specificity for some content areas; please take the time to familiarize yourself with and understand your curriculum.

Thank you for your feedback on the first nine weeks survey. I will include links to this newsletter for those of you who were unable to attend. Please remember, this is our year of implementation. Your feedback is important, and we are stronger when we work together!

Lastly, please keep in mind our number one rule: KEEP KIDS AT THE CENTER OF OUR WORK! We can't go wrong with this guiding principle!

Sandra

The elementary science TEKS for force and motion significantly increased rigor from previous TEKS, moving pushes and pulls with magnets to kindergarten and investigation of forces to grade 1.

In middle school, each grade level focuses on one of Newton’s laws, and grade 8 investigates the three laws together.

High school physics now studies Newton’s laws as separate student expectations, and Integrated Physics and Chemistry (IPC) studies the four fundamental forces.

Science is more than just knowing a specific set of knowledge. It is a set of processes that are used to determine, extend, and refine that knowledge to always better reflect the world around us. Texas science standards are designed to not only equip students with content knowledge but also provide the opportunity to simulate the work of scientists and engineers. This can be seen when looking at the scientific and engineering practices knowledge and skills statements.

Scientific and engineering practices (SEPs) are standards that help students emulate behaviors that scientists engage in as they investigate and build models and theories about the natural world. Scientific practices include asking questions, planning and conducting investigations that answer questions, and explaining phenomena using tools and models. The engineering practices include identifying problems and designing solutions using appropriate tools and models.

Students ask and refine questions about phenomena they observe, texts they read, investigations they conduct, and models they create that lead to descriptions and explanations about how the natural world works.

DO something with their questions: create a driving question board and refer to it throughout the unit; use questions in a Socratic seminar or debate; students choose one for research or an experiment; and MORE!

1. How does asking scientific questions inspire my creativity and curiosity?

2. How does asking questions help me pay closer attention to the world around me and connect what I’m learning to the real world?

3. How does asking questions help me investigate, research, and think more like a scientist?

Science has recurring themes that can be found throughout the content. These recurring themes provide an opportunity for students to make connections between concepts taught throughout the year. The recurring themes include:

• patterns
• cause-and-effect
• scale, proportion, and quantity
• systems
• energy and cycling of matter
• structure and function
• stability and change

Recurring themes and concepts (RTCs) help bridge disciplinary boundaries. The overall purpose is to help students deepen their understanding of content and develop a coherent and scientifically based view of the world.

The K-8 recurring themes and concepts strand introduces and spirals the recurring themes throughout each grade level's Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). In high school, the recurring themes and concepts connections are addressed more broadly to include structure and function, systems, models, and patterns. The high school course introductions explain that all systems have basic properties that can be described in space, time, energy, and matter. Change and constancy occur in systems as patterns and can be observed, measured, and modeled. Models have limitations but provide a tool for understanding the ideas presented. Scientists and engineers analyze a system in terms of its components and how they relate to each other, the whole, and the external environment

The 5E Model, developed in 1987 by Rodger Bybee and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, promotes collaborative, active learning in which students work together to solve problems and investigate new concepts by asking questions, observing, analyzing, and drawing conclusions.

“The 5E Model of Instruction promotes active learning. Students are involved in more than listening and reading. They learn to ask questions, observe, model, analyze, explain, draw conclusions, argue from evidence, and talk about their own understanding. Students work collaboratively with peers to construct explanations, solve problems, and plan and carry out investigations.” –Rodger Bybee

The following actions and strategies can be observed during class, incorporated into lesson plans, or reflected in student work. This is Part 1 of an observation tool designed for campus leaders and teachers to guide and enhance effective science instruction.

Science Practices:

Learners . . .

• Ask questions and/or make predictions (verbally or in writing) that drive the learning toward figuring out the phenomenon or solving the problem
• Create and/or revise models to illustrate their conceptual understanding of the phenomenon/problem
• Design and/or conduct investigations and collect information to figure out one or more elements of the phenomenon/problem
• Create representations of data (tables, graphs, etc.)
• Use mathematical concepts and calculations to help answer scientific questions
• Analyze and interpret data to identify patterns and/or trends related to the phenomenon/problem
• Construct explanations and/or arguments supported by evidence (verbally or in writing)
• Evaluate evidence to determine the strength with which it supports a claim/conclusion

These awards honor K-12 private- and public-school teachers who share their energy and enthusiasm for science through creative and innovative methods to cultivate student interest in medicine and science. This year’s awards include the following:

• Grand Prize: One Texas science teacher will receive $20,000 plus a $5,000 school resource grant.
• Distinguished Awards: Three teachers (one at each level) will receive $7,000 and a $3,000 school resource grant.
• Rookie Award: A teacher with less than seven years’ experience will receive $5,000 and a $2,000 school resource grant.

TMA’s Board of Trustees oversees the annual Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching. Since 2009, TMA has collaborated with science curriculum experts at The University of Texas Charles A. Dana Center to review the applications and select winners.

All areas of science are welcome! Nominate or apply before Jan. 6, 2025, and learn more at www.texmed.org/Teachers! For questions or concerns, please contact SciTeacherAward@texmed.org.

This is a quick check to see if students can identify the main idea of the lesson and to see if they have any questions. Before students leave your classroom, ask them to answer a question related to a key concept discussed during that day’s lesson. They can write their responses on a piece of paper or an index card. Questions can be simple, such as asking students what they found most interesting about the lesson, or more complex, like having them draw a sketch that illustrates what they learned, or asking them to connect the key concept to a real-life situation. Have students hand their “tickets” to you as they exit (or submit a response to your discussion board), and then review their responses.

The feedback can help you determine which students need additional instruction in specific areas. This approach allows you to quickly gauge how the entire class is grasping and reacting to the material.

Use the information from the exit tickets to form groups in the following class. Place students with similar levels of understanding or similar views on a topic together. Alternatively, group students with opposing views to foster debate and conversation.

Here are some examples from our current instructional resource (SAVVAS) or you can develop your own.

1. TEKS 8.8A

Choose one of the following ways to describe waves. Be sure to include frequency, wavelength and amplitude.

a) Write a 4-5 sentence paragraph.

b) Draw and label a diagram with captions.

2. TEKS Bio.6A (Assess on the Spot)

Display these sentence frames and have students fill in the blanks to give an overview of the main characteristic of each stage of the eukaryotic cell cycle.

• The main activity in the G1 phase is ____________________________.
• The main activity in the S phase is _____________________________.
• The main activity in the G2 phase is ____________________________.
• The main activity in the M phase is _____________________________.

PD Credit Opportunity: Read Phenomena Driven Science Instruction Article, and then answer three open-ended questions (Microsoft Forms) to receive 0.5 hours of professional development credit.

Phenomena-driven science instruction is a dynamic approach to teaching science that emphasizes engaging students through real-life contexts and active learning. By focusing on phenomena, students are encouraged to ask questions, make predictions, and explore scientific concepts through hands-on experiences. This approach fosters a deeper understanding and ownership of learning, moving away from traditional lecture-based methods.

Please click on the grade level/course you teach to provide feedback on the 1st nine weeks science curriculum. Thank you for your support!

Science 6

Science 7

Science 8

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

September 2024: https://secure.smore.com/n/5vb9h

Hello, I am Sandra Marcussen the District Instructional Specialist for Secondary Science. I'm excited to help you in any way that you need. You can reach me at sandra.marcussen@killeenisd.org, text at 254-371-9692 or call my desk phone at 254-336-0300.