Secondary Science Newsletter
September 9
Edmodo
Revised/New Documents for Science Assessment
Test Items Specification Documents:
2014-2015 Released Science Items:
Oklahoma Science Teacher Association Conference: OSTA Flips for Science
November 1, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm at the University of Central Oklahoma
For details and to register go to: http://www.oklahomascienceteachersassociation.org/?p=5780
Workshop opportunity: Transitioning to the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science
he Oklahoma State Department of Education is offering two-day regional workshops designed to provide districts and teachers the support they need to begin the transition to the new science standards.
Day 1:
The first day of the workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the 3 Dimensions of Science (Science and Engineering Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Disciplinary Core Ideas) integrated into the new Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science. Participants will have opportunities to engage in several classroom activities that embody the 3 Dimensions and provide ample opportunity for participants to reflect on the shifts exhibited in the new OAS-Science.
In this session participants will explore the following topics as they relate to the OAS-Science:
· Integrating the 3 Dimensions into Classroom Instruction
· Integrating Engineering
· Constructing Explanations
· Teaching Natural Phenomena
· Science Discourse Strategies
· Assessing Student Understanding
Time: 8:30 – noon, noon-1:00 (lunch on your own), 1:00 - 4:00
Day 2:
The second day of the workshop will be devoted to supporting districts and teachers in developing resources that will assist them as they begin to transition to the new OAS-Science.
In this session participants will collaborate to develop the following resources:
· Transition Plans
· Grade Level or Course Curriculum Maps
· Science Performance Tasks
· Strategies for Redesigning Existing Curriculum
Time: 8:30 – noon, noon-1:00 (lunch on your own), 1:00 - 4:00
The resources developed along with all presentation materials will be available for participants to take back to their districts to share with others.
Workshop Registration, Dates and Locations:
To register for one of the workshops and to get directions to the workshops go to:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/science-standards-workshop-tickets-12977180095?aff=eorg
· September 18th-19th: Sand Springs – Sand Springs Public Schools Early Childhood Education Center
· September 25th-26th: Stillwater – Meridian Technology Center
· October 9th-10th: Pryor – Northeast Technology Center
- October 23rd-24th: Ardmore – Sam Nobel Foundation (The Sam Nobel Foundation is hosting the Ardmore workshop and providing lodging at no cost to participants who require it on the evening of October 23rd. To sign up for lodging or if you have questions about lodging, contact Frank Hardin at cfhardin@noble.org.)
· November 13th-14th: Norman – Moore/Norman Technology Center
· December 4th – 5th: Weatherford – Western Technology Center
· February 12th – 13th: Altus – Southwest Technology Center
OSDE is still working to secure a few more locations for additional workshops around the state. As more locations are added I will provide that information via the science listserv. The updated locations will also appear on the registration link.
Workshop FAQ:
Who should attend the two-day workshops?
K-12 teachers, teacher leaders, science department chairs, science curriculum coordinators, administrators and higher education faculty members from the departments of education and sciences. Ideally, at least two members from each school or district should attend the workshop.
Do I have to attend both days?
It is highly recommended that teachers participate both days as day 2 builds on day 1. However, administrators and higher education faculty may benefit from attending just day 1, as day 1 provides a glimpse of the changes that are expected with the new standards.
Is lunch provided for participants?
Lunch is not provided for participants. A lunch break is embedded into each day’s schedule from noon-1:00 pm.
Does it cost to attend the workshop?
There is no registration fee associated with the workshop. However, travel and substitute costs are the responsibility of the sending school or participant.
If you have additional questions regarding the workshop or registration for the workshop contact Joel.Smith@sde.ok.gov
***EPSAC is unable to provide subs for this event. Please consult your principal if you are interested in attending.
Cool Tech Tool of the Week: Strip Designer
Strip Designer is fabulous app that encourages children to create their own personalised comics. Kids can choose from a range of page styles and layouts, add photos and drawings and let their imaginations run wild! They can even add stickers, speech bubbles, text effects and funny captions. We believe that Strip Designer encourages children to improve their story telling skills while having a great time!
Learning Outcome
This app encourages children to improve their story telling skills by creating, editing and publishing their own comics. It encourages users to be creative as it offers numerous tools that allow for text, photos, drawings and accessories to be added and manipulated.
This app suits children who like open ended tasks because it offers unlimited possibilities and endless options. It also suits creative children as there are many artistic options available.
Usability
There is a help section within this app that allows kids to view pages that explain the numerous features this app has to offer. This option contains quite a lot of text that needs to be read by the user. There are also links to Youtube videos (requires an internet connection) that serve as more advanced tutorials. Alternatively children can spend some time exploring the app themselves to discover its various features. Some younger children may need some guidance initially.
More info
This app enables children to:
- Improve their language and writing skills and express their creativity by creating their own comics. They can add photos, drawings, write their own text, add stickers (e.g. ‘boom’, ‘splash’ ‘beep’, moustaches), a range of speech bubbles and even customise the background.
- Publish their comics by printing them, exporting them as PDF documents, saving them in their photo albums and sharing them via various social networks and email.
Fun factor
Your children will love this app as the quality of comics they can create is amazing and they can personalize them by adding their own photos. They will enjoy exploring the endless features that this app has to offer and will love adding moustaches to their characters and creating a BANG! Great fun!
Instructional Strategy of the Week: Exit Tickets
Click here for more instructional strategies.
Need Resources?
And please send me awesome lessons or ideas so that I can share those across the district.
Safety Reminder
Please review the following documents before beginning any activity that may pose a risk to students (directions for locating these resources are in parentheses).
- Science Class Safety Information Sheet (R:\Safety Information\Internal Policies)
- Secondary Science Safety Notebook (R:\03 High School Resources\Science\Secondary Science Safety)
- Review all documents in R:\03 High School Resources\Science\Secondary Science Safety
If you have any questions at all regarding safety in the science classroom, please contact me.
Important Dates
- Pets in the Classroom Grants (PK-8th)- now open
- RSVP with Brandi Williams for STEM discussion with Dr. Kathy Thornton (see flyer above)- September 2
- Climate Change Workshop sponsored by OU Biostation (registration= $25; scholarships still available)- September 15
- Vernier Data-Collection workshop (FREE)- September 24, 5-8 pm
- Fund for Teachers Travel Grants- opens October 1
- PASCO STEM Educator Award nominations (provides funding to travel to NSTA conferences)- November 30
- AP Grants- due December 15
- High school benchmark dates: October 9, December 5, March 11, May 6 (except biology)
- Middle school benchmark dates: October 9, December 19, March 11, May 13 (except 8th grade)