Grades 9-12
May 2018 Newsletter
Jenny Nord
Email: jnord5257@columbus.k12.oh.us
Website: http://www.ccsoh.us/Science.aspx
Location: Mifflin Middle School, 3000 Agler Road, Columbus, OH, USA
Phone: 614-932-0045
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColumbusCitySchools/
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! (May 4th - 11th)
Reimagine ME conference
Not in the group of 10? Good news! We have opened up the first two days, June 11 and 12, for any teachers! (We cannot exceed attendance of 800.) Sign up with your principal if you are interested. He/she will enter your attendance in CiMS.
Interested in presenting? More good news! We are looking for presenters for 50 minute sessions for Tuesday, June 12th. Please submit your topic, by May 4th, through this link if you are interested:
Project-Based Learning
Take a few days out of this summer to take part in the 2018 Project-Based Learning Ohio Institute, July 24-27 on the New Albany-Plain Local Schools campus near Columbus. The institute is an internationally attended academy that gives educators a chance to learn and create new ways of educating and engaging students to get them ready for college and careers. Among other things, participants will learn the basics of project-based learning, fine-tune their project-based learning practices, acquire skills to support teachers in implementing processes and design strategies to implement project-based learning in their districts and schools.
Close Reading
In the March Newsletter, we introduced science literacy. In the April Newsletter, we examined UDL. This month, we are looking at Close Reading. Close reading is thoughtful, critical analysis of a text that focuses on significant details or patterns in order to develop a deep, precise understanding of the text's form, craft, meanings, etc. Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. Directing student attention on the text itself empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details. Here are some resources to assist you:
How to do Close Reading: https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/how-do-close-reading
https://nieonline.com/tbtimes/downloads/CCSS_reading.pdf
Close Reading strategies: https://www.weareteachers.com/strategies-for-close-reading/
Grade/course examples of close reading with text-dependent questions: https://bpsscience.weebly.com/science-and-literacy-close-reading-cwa--more.html
Video demonstrating close reading in a HS science classroom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQc1q3qq7wU
Free Workshop for STEM Teachers
What's in it for you? 4 CEUs, demonstration materials, meals; 2 graduate level credits are available through the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Questions: asmmaterialscampteacher@asminternational.org
440-338-5151 X5533
Apply: http://bit.ly/2HMLirm
Department Chairs
Safety Time
If you have not done so already, please make sure that you complete your science laboratory check-off sheets and get them to your Department Chair for your principal's signature. Thank you for caring about the safety of our staff and students!
http://www.uft.org/chapters/lab-specialists/lab-safety-rules-for-students
Parent Information
What Happened at NSTA?
Book Recommendation from a Colleague
17,000 Classroom Visits Can’t Be Wrong: Strategies That Engage Students, Promote Active Learning, and Boost Achievement
Most educators are skilled at planning instruction and determining what they will do during the course of a lesson. However, to truly engage students in worthwhile, rigorous cognition, a profound shift is necessary: a shift in emphasis from teaching to learning. Put another way, we know that whoever is doing the work is also doing the learning—and in most classrooms, teachers are working much too hard.
Journal Articles
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180423135054.htm
Chemistry and Environmental Teachers:
Emissions from products such as shampoo and perfume are comparable to the emissions from auto exhaust
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180430131828.htm
Anatomy and Physiology Teachers: New organ in the human body?
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161220095129.htm
What's going on at Spruce Nature Center this month?
Something to do this summer: The Henry Ford Farm Visit: See the Past; Learn about the Present
Topics include:
- Innovative thinking
- Historical farming (with connections to social studies standards)
- Genetics
- Technological improvements in ag
- Uses of soybeans
MI Social Studies standards addressed:
High School U.S. History: Describe the major trends and transformations in American life prior to 1877
Grades K-2: D2.His.2.K-2. Compare life in the past to life today.
Grades 3-5: D2.His.2.3-5. Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today.
Grades 6-8: D2.His.2.6-8. Classify series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity.
Science NGSS: MS-LS 4-5 Unity and Diversity—Gather and synthesize information about technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
SEE YOUR EMAIL FOR THE REGISTRATION LINK.
Want a fun way to test for student knowledge?
Office of Teaching and Learning (365-5297)
Sandee Donald, Executive Director
Sharee Wells, Director of Secondary Curriculum and Instruction
Heather Allen, K-5 Science Coordinator,hallen704@columbus.k12.oh.us
Jennifer Nord, 6-12 Science Coordinator,jnord5257@columbus.k12.oh.us
Geri Granger, K-12 Spruce Run Coordinator, ggranger9556@columbus.k12.oh.us