I know many of you are preparing your classrooms for the beginning of school and preparing lesson plans. Last week I shared a few of the new K20alt Lessons developed by K20 specialists and Oklahoma teachers that might assist you with your planning. Since the published K20alt lessons for science are for grades 6-12 right now, I thought I’d share a few resources for K-5 today.
The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Blog is focusing on providing some exemplar lessons aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards through a program called Discovery Science. You will also find that the lessons align to our current science standards (PASS 2011). Access the Videos and Lesson Plans from Discovery Science that support science exploration and integrate literacy.
See 2 sample lessons attached here and here
(2) K20 STEM Grants – Building STEM Ready Elementary Schools
Application Deadline Extended to the end of August!
K20 STEM is designed to meet the need of improving pK-5 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics [STEM] across the state. The K20STEM goal is overall school improvement that lays the foundation to prepare students for college and STEM careers.
The K20 Center is still seeking applications for interested elementary schools.
This free program is offered in partnership with the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
For questions please contact Pat or Carol at 325-1938 or pturner@ou.edu and cgoodgame@ou.edu .
See attached document for details and an application.
(3) Oklahoma Science Olympiad
Time to Join the Oklahoma Science Olympiad for the 2013-14 school year
For the past 30 years, SCIENCE OLYMPIAD has led a revolution in science education. What began as a grassroots assembly of science teachers is now one of the premiere science competitions in the nation, providing rigorous, standards-based challenges to nearly 7,000 teams in 50 states.
Science Olympiad is Awesome: http://youtu.be/1zmS3mXt1dc
Science Olympiad’s ever-changing line-up of events in all STEM disciplines exposes students to practicing scientists and career choices, and energizes classroom teachers with a dynamic content experience.
Questions? Need more details? Contact Bob Melton bmelton@putnamcityschools.org and go the Oklahoma Science Olympiad Website http://www.oksciolympiad.org. and the National Science Olympiad website http://www.soinc.org
See attached document for details.
(4) Professional Development Opportunities
(1) Oklahoma Green Schools Program
The Oklahoma Green Schools Program will offer three summer training opportunities for anyone interested in learning more about the Oklahoma Green Schools Program! You are welcome to register for one (or more) of our free Oklahoma Green Schools Training sessions. http://www.okgreenschools.org/okgs-training/
· August 8, 2013: Broken Arrow at the Northeastern State University Campus in Broken Arrow
Join us for one of these events to learn how the Oklahoma Green Schools Program can help you meet STEM requirements, review the Project Learning Tree (PLT) Green Schools Investigations in the five topics: ENERGY, WATER, WASTE & RECYCLING, ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, and SCHOOL SITE (includes STEM-related activities and Service Learning components) and peruse the toolkit.
Sessions will be held from 9:00-3:00 pm.
A reminder and additional directions will be emailed to all registrants at least two days prior to each training event. The training schedule includes information about the OK Green Schools Program, Teacher Experiences, STEM, Service Learning, PLT Investigations and Toolkit use, and more!
Certificates of attendance will be available for use if staff development hours are needed by participants. Please direct questions to: info@oklahomagreenschools.org.
(5) Scientific and Engineering Practices Recources
1. Next Generation Science Standards Resources:
Take a look at the short video developed by Matt Krehbiel, Science Education Program Consultant for the Kansas State Department of Education, that will help you to navigate the Next Generation Science Standards website and the Achieve survey.
Watch Montana teacher of the year Paul Anderson’s comprehensive video series on NGSS.
Take a peek webinars presented focused on the Scientific and Engineering Practices described in A Framework for K–12 Science Education.
Read and download NSTA’s growing collection of monthly journal articles exploring the Framework. Articles examine the practices, crosscutting concepts, connections to common core, and more. Watch for upcoming articles on the core ideas by Rodger Bybee, Joe Krajcik, and Michael Wysession.
(6) Timeline for Revision of Oklahoma Academic Standards
Below you will find an overview of the schedule for the revision of the science standards.
Timeline for the Revision of Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science 2013-2014
The Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science are being revised in 2013-2014. Committees comprised of K-12 science educators, professors of science education from Oklahoma universities, scientists, engineers, legislators, informal science educators, parents and community members.
- The Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science Committees will meet from spring through fall of 2013 to revise the K-12 Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science.
- Focus groups will be facilitated in late summer and early fall 2013 to provide opportunities for diverse groups of stakeholders to provide feedback on the initial draft of the Oklahoma Academic Standards.
- A public draft of the revised standards will be available for public comment for 30 days in late 2013.
- Soon after the public draft period the revised Oklahoma Academic Science Standards will be available for the Oklahoma State Board of Education to consider for adoption.
- Upon adoption of the new Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science, schools will have access to the revised standards to become acquainted with the shifts and begin thinking about implementation.
- However, assessments for the newly adopted standards are not expected to be operational in schools until 2015-2016.
(7) Stay Connected:
Follow me on Twitter: @tiffanyneill
Facebook: #OKSci
Hashtags: #oksde #OKSci #OKSTEM
Sign Up for a Twitter account: https://twitter.com/
OKSci Recources:
Classroom Strategies: http://www.scoop.it/t/oksci-classroom-strategies
Website Resources Elementary: http://bit.ly/OSDE-SciElemLinks
Website Resources Secondary: http://bit.ly/OSDE-SecScienceLinks
Accessing Archived Science Messages:
You can access Archived Science Messages I’ve sent out since March via the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association (OSTA) website. Scroll down to see previous posts.
Science Listserv:
Please encourage others to register for the science listserv and pass along the following registration link:
As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have!
-Tiffany
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Tiffany Neill, M.Ed. Director of Science Education Office of Instruction Oklahoma State Department of Education P: 405.522.3524 Tiffany.Neill@sde.ok.gov @tiffanyneill Science Webpage PE & Health Webpage