Does the idea of a new curriculum make you want to scream?
Photo: www. cbs. com
Essential StandardsK-12 Science
November 8, 2011Lee County Schools
2009 NC Science Essential Standards
Common Core State Standards NC Essential Standards 2011 Summer Institute
2009 NC Science Essential Standards
Adopted in February 2010Implemented and Assessed during the 2012-
2013 School YearStructured as Essential Standards with
Clarifying ObjectivesDifferent than the 2004 SCOS which are
structured as “Goals/Objectives”
Clarifying Common Core & Science
No COMMON CORE Standards for SCIENCE ONLY Math and ELAELA Common Core addresses LITERACY
for Science.LEA’s will self-select how Science Literacy
standards from the Common Core will be addressed by teachers
What Has Changed Grade Levels? Hand- Out
For some light reading later . . . Check out the vertical alignment plan for all grade levels.
Vertical Alignment K-12
Revised Bloom’s TaxonomyProvides the
framework used for all NC Science Essential Standards
Common language used for all curriculum areas
Two-Dimensional Taxonomy: Cognitive Process and Knowledge Dimension
Literacy Standards & Tech StandardsLiteracy Standards
Tech Standards 6-8
Tech Standards 9-12
These will be layered into the Science Curriculum.
Strands of the Information and Technology Essential Standards
Sources of InformationInformational Text (K-5)Research Process Technology as a ToolSafety and Ethics
What is Science Literacy?Familiarity with the natural world and respect for its
unityAwareness of important ways in which mathematics,
technology, and the sciences depend upon one another
Key concepts and principles of scienceCapacity for scientific ways of thinkingKnowing that science, mathematics, and technology
are human enterprises and what that implies about their strengths and limitations
Ability to use scientific knowledge and ways of thinking for personal and social purposes
Ensuring a full, rich inquiry experience….
For the 21ST Century Critical Thinking Classroom
NC Science Essential Standards:…from theory to practice
Science is built of facts
the way a house is built
of bricks;
But… an
accumulation of facts is no
more science…
…than a pile of
bricks is a house.
Henri Poincaré
Themes, Strands and Organizational Structure
Domains and Strands K-12The standards are based on three
domains of science: physical, earth and life sciences.
Within these 3 domains there are 10 topic strands.
• Physical Sciences - Forces and Motion; Matter: Properties and Change; Energy: Conservation and Transfer; Interactions of Matter & Energy (Chemistry and Physics only)
• Earth Sciences – Earth in the Universe; Earth: Systems, Structures and Processes; Earth History
• Life Sciences – Structures and Functions of Living Organisms; Ecosystems; Evolution and Genetics; Molecular Biology
Essential Standards . . .Within these topic strands
essential standards are mastered as students engage in a vertical progression of
steps along the K-12 journey in science education.
STRAND
P- Physical Science E-Earth Science L-Life Science
6 : Grade 6P: Strand Physical Science2: Essential Standard Number3: Clarifying Objective Number
Crosswalks
Pacing Guides . . . Where do we begin? 1. Join Essentially Science WikiEssentially Science Wiki SpaceEssentially Science Web Page 2.Fill in pacing guide templates with objective,
learning targets, vocabulary and essential questions3.Compile Science activities to support objectives 4.Start looking at ways to incorporate formative
assessment 5.More detailed look at Bloom’s Taxonomy and review
activities as a group6.Layer Literacy and Technology Standards into Pacing
Guides