To support the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Middle School Engineering Design, we have three goals for our students: to define problems accurately, design the best solution using a rigorous process, and evaluate and improve their designs based on evidence. When guiding our students to meet these goals, we first use various video clips, articles, and flow charts to introduce them to the steps of the engineering design process (EDP). 

We then use a template we developed and have the students complete it as they work through the EDP during a project. The template divides the EDP into seven steps: identify the problem, gather information (including scientific principles, criteria, and constraints), brainstorm possible solutions, select the best solution, make a model, test and evaluate, and refine and release (see diagram). We use the same student template for all of our middle school design projects to provide consistency for our students. 

Our goal is to give our students opportunities to practice engineering skills like engineers do in the real world. Real engineers collaborate with other engineers, scientists, and architects to develop, test, and refine their designs. Since the EDP depends on successful collaboration and communication, our students always work in groups to develop their design solutions.

We use many different types of data to form student groups based on students’ needs. In our seventh- and eighth-grade science classes, we used reading and math MAP data, pre-test data, behavior data, and formative assessment data to group students for the engineering design projects. This process sets the groups up for success. Sometimes we create homogenous groups, and sometimes heterogenous groups, depending on student needs. In one of the eighth-grade design units, we used heterogenous grouping, which allowed each group to have a high-achieving, high-medium, medium-low, and low-achieving student participant. During the unit, students were engaged, communicating, and making progress on the student template while coaching one another through the different steps of the EDP (see picture above).

During a unit on forces and interactions, seventh-grade students applied Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects. Students had to solve the problem of increased traffic injuries due to vehicle collisions. The challenge was to protect a passenger (a raw egg) that rolled down a steep ramp and collided into a wall.

We gave the students wheels and axles; some basic materials like cardboard, rubber bands, and cotton balls; and tools to use, like hot glue guns and utility knives. We also enforced some regulations to ensure a real-life engineering experience and realistic design solutions. For example, the students could not use kits, and all materials had to be modified. The egg had to be able to “see” where it’s going and easily enter and exit the vehicle like a real driver would. The students were very excited about building their vehicles, which is why the student template was necessary to ensure they completed each step of the EDP thoroughly.

During the project, the students determined the importance of the problem, applied the science of Newton’s Third Law to their solution, identified criteria and constraints, and evaluated possible solutions. While the students were building their prototypes, they used the ramp and wall to test their solutions and refined their designs as they worked. Once their prototype was finished, the teacher conducted an official crash test, and the students evaluated their solution based on the results.

During a unit on human impacts , eighth-grade students worked together to apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment. Each group chose one of the six major human impacts as their focus: climate change, habitat destruction, invasive species, overpopulation, pollution, and overexploitation of resources. As a group, they identified the problem and those affected by it, and the reason it is important to solve or minimize.

The groups communicated about the effects on the environment and the needs of society. They researched how humans have contributed to the problem and its effect on resource availability. They also identified the criteria and constraints relevant to their problem. While the students were brainstorming possible solutions, they showed real creativity and ingenuity. In this particular unit, the students didn’t actually build a prototype, but instead developed a blueprint diagram that allowed them to be as creative as possible without limitations.

The students enjoyed the flexibility and freedom that this project offered, and it was a wonderful experience for us because we were able to see our students successfully draw, explain, and act out their solutions. After completing their blueprint, they identified the strengths and weaknesses of their solution and designed ways to improve and refine it. When teaching the NGSS, teachers have many opportunities that allow for student choice and ownership of their learning. The students’ finished designs are a true testament to the success of the NGSS in the classroom (see pictures below).

Sean Gormley has been teaching science for 15 years in the Chicago area. Cathy Boland is a fifth-year middle school science teacher in Skokie, Illinois. Together they have presented their expertise with NGSS at both the Skokie district and Niles Township inservices and at the Illinois Science Teacher Association, Northern Illinois Science Educators, and Illinois Science Educators conferences. Both serve on their district NGSS Leadership Team, which was showcased in the district newsletter for NGSS implementation. Gormley serves as Science Department Chair for his district, and Boland is very active on Twitter, sharing resources and moderating NGSS science teacher accounts (@MsBoland_SD735).

This article was featured in the October issue of Next Gen Navigator, a monthly e-newsletter from NSTA delivering information, insights, resources, and professional learning opportunities for science educators by science educators on the Next Generation Science Standards and three-dimensional instruction. Click here to access other articles from the September issue on assessing three-dimensional learning. Click here to sign up to receive the Navigator every month.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Visit NSTA’s NGSS@NSTA Hub for hundreds of vetted classroom resources, professional learning opportunities, publications, ebooks and more; connect with your teacher colleagues on the NGSS listservs (members can sign up here); and join us for discussions around NGSS at an upcoming conference.

Future NSTA Conferences

2017 Fall Conferences

• Milwaukee: Nov. 9–11, 2017
• New Orleans: Nov. 30–Dec. 2, 2017

National Conference

• Atlanta: March 15–18, 2018

Follow NSTA

I hope that everyone has learned who the most important adults in the school are: the support staff! Custodians, administrative assistants, teachers’ assistants (TAs)— these people are invaluable and can make your life much easier. Many of these people have been working with young people for a long time and will often have insights and relationships with students that are unique and different than the ones teachers have.

I have been saved many times by the custodian lending me a tool or getting me paper towels when I ran out during a lab!

If you want something done or don’t know how things work, the administrative assistants can give you exact directions for submitting orders, reports, and insight into the sometimes murky processes. They are the people who bear the brunt of that work and they know how to get things done right.

Depending on your district or school, the TAs may be the most capable people to assist with some students. If it’s an option, consider having a TA help the general class from time to time while you concentrate on helping students with greater needs.

Please remember that these people have demanding jobs, too, and that you can’t always go to them with a request and expect immediate assistance, but when you really need them they can make all the difference.

I highly recommend that you get to know them and treat them well. (Snacks and thank you cards can go a long way!)

Hope this helps!

Photo:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Shearwater_Admin_Office.jpg

Introduction

UL Xplorlabs is a new educational platform that is designed for middle-school students to engage in problem solving. UL Xplorlabs is a motivating and interactive program that uses videos, instructional experiences, hands-on classroom activities and creative classroom challenges to engage students in scientific reasoning. Moreover, perhaps the best news for teachers is that it is a FREE, and offers a STEM-based learning experience with the Next Generation Science Standards for students.

The module that is explored here is the Fire Forensics: Claims and Evidence, which gives students an opportunity to investigate a fire. Hence, students need to figure out the origin and cause of the fire. Integrated into the module is an overview with background information and the students can progress through a series of steps that come with complimentary videos:

Step 1- Inside the Fire Lab

Step 2- Investigators Academy

Step 3- Live Burns

Step 4 – Guided Investigation

Step 5 –Investigate the Mystery

Step 6 – Accept the Challenge

Once all of the video steps are completed, students can “Submit your Summary.” By using the evidence gathered from the solo investigation, students can tell the story of what they think happened in the kitchen burn. Below, you will see that you can earn a certificate that can be emailed to the teacher who assigned this lesson. Included with the completion certificate is a final video that explains how the actual fire started.

Summary

The “Fire Forensics: Claims and Evidence” activity by XPLORLabs is a well-designed STEM-based activity that is designed for middle-level students. It is flexible and can be completed in 2-4 class periods. As you can see from the well-designed videos, the materials for the module is well-sequenced and meets the following Next Generation Science Standards:

MS-PS1: Matter and its Interactions. The DCI’s address in this module include:
• Structures and properties of matter
• Chemical reactions
• Deƒnitions of energyMS-PS3: Energy.

The DCI’s addressed in this module include:
• Deƒnitions of energy
• Conservation of energy and energy transfer
• Relationship between energy and forces

In addition, there is a “Teacher Guide,” that can be found here:

http://ulxplorlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Fire_TeacherGuide_v2-9_1.pdf

One of the nice things included in the “Teacher Guide” is a “Rubric” that will be useful to evaluate the student learning outcomes. Overall, I really enjoyed using this activity and recommend it for teachers who have the classroom technology to complete this activity, e.g., internet access, computer stations, etc. Ideally, using a projector to show the videos to an entire class and having the students break into investigative groups would be a nice way to do this activity. However, one of the advantages of this activity is that is can be done at home or in the classroom. Undoubtedly, students tend to find Forensics to be interesting an interesting way to do scientific inquiry. Ultimately, given that this Learning Module is free for teachers, there is no reason not to give it a try. My recommendation is to find a way to integrate this into your middle school classroom.

To access the site, please take time to visit the following:

Fire Forensics: Claims and Evidence

.

Edwin P. Christmann is a professor and chairman of the secondary education department and graduate coordinator of the mathematics and science teaching program at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania.

This week in education news, researchers and teachers want to change the way students learn science; Californians strongly support expanding science and computer education beginning at the primary level; teachers are finding creative ways to use robots in class; New Mexico’s Public Education Department drops some of the proposed changes to state science standards; Lego unveils new set of figures celebrating the women of NASA; and rural schools can teach STEM skills thanks to Makerspaces.

Educators Want To Rethink The Way Students Learn Science

Researchers and educators are trying to transform the way students learn science. Forget sit-and-get lessons, they say—students should be active participants in their learning, which should be inquiry-based. Students should be encouraged to vocalize their understanding throughout the learning process, educators say. Read the article featured in Education Week’s TEACHER magazine.

California Voters Strongly Back Expanded K-12 Science And Computer Education, Poll Shows

Californians overwhelmingly support expanding science and computer education starting in elementary school, according to a Berkeley IGS/EdSource poll. The online survey of 1,200 registered voters in California found that 87 percent favored schools putting “greater emphasis on integrating science as part of the entire public school curriculum.” Although by far the majority of respondents said they had never heard of the Next Generation Science Standards, the new science standards adopted by the state in 2013, 68 percent support the concept once the standards were described to them. Read the article featured in Ed Source.

Dive Into STEM: Engaging Diverse Students Requires An Inward Look

The National Center for Education Statistics shows from 2008 to 2015 the percentage of STEM degrees and certificates were granted to women in the U.S. dropped from 65.1% to 60.4%. And in terms of race, NCES shows that in the same period the same percentage of degrees going to going to blacks and hispanics didn’t really change much, hovering at around 9% and 10% respectively. But at the same time, performance standards from National Assessment Educational Progress report show girls ranked about the same on the science test as men. And since 2009, both blacks and hispanics saw overall percentage point increases in scores as well. Decent and increasing performance, combined with declining rates of degrees among underrepresented groups, presents a much different picture than the one suggested by many in the industry of diverse students and women naturally lagging behind their counterparts. Read the article featured in Education DIVE.

Teachers Are Finding Innovative Ways To Use Robots In Class

While some teachers remain wary of bringing artificial intelligence and automatons into the classroom, others are taking robots beyond STEM classes and into lessons on language arts, social studies, and even art and music. Read the article featured in Education Week’s TEACHER magazine.

K12 Leaders See Flexibility In Alternative Credentialing

Fourteen teachers in Utah’s Ogden School District reached the classroom via a nontraditional, perhaps looser route. Rather than attend a teaching college and earning the standard credentials, they leveraged their bachelor’s degrees and professional expertise. The new state rule that allows this—called Academic Pathway to Teaching—mimics new policies a handful of other states have passed or are considering to cope with a nationwide teacher shortage. Read the article featured in District Administration.

State Backs Off Controversial Science Standards

Hundreds of people turned out in Santa Fe on Monday to oppose the state’s plans to enact science standards that left out facts on climate change and evolution. Now, the head of the Public Education Department (PED) says he has reconsidered those controversial changes. Read the article featured in the New Mexico Political Report.

Women Of NASA Get Their Own Lego Set

Lego has unveiled a set of figures celebrating the women of NASA. The 231-piece set features Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut, and Mae Jemison, the first black woman to travel in space. Also included in the set are figures of astronomer and educator Nancy Grace Roman and computer scientist Margaret Hamilton. Read the article by the Associated Press.

The Problem With The Pipeline

If you’ve spent any time listening to conversations about STEM education, you’ve surely heard about the pipeline. Different groups talk about variations of the pipeline. Some describe a pipeline from science education to a STEM career, or as a way to describe a treacherous path through such an education that loses many female, black, Latino, or American Indian people along their educational careers. But the variations are all based on an idea that impacts entire sectors of our 21^st-century economy: the preschool-to-Ph.D. pipeline. Read the article featured in Slate magazine.

Thanks To Makerspace, Rural Schools Can Teach STEM Skills Too

While rural schools are often struggling with digital equity issues — from Wi-Fi outside of school to adequate technology-related professional development for teachers — they can still embrace innovative technologies with a few tweaks. With 9 million students enrolled in rural school districts, organizations such as Future Ready Schools have stepped up to outline plans so those students don’t get left behind from trends like personalized learning. Some school districts are finding that those same 9 million students are perfectly suited for a “maker mindset” and makerspaces at their schools can be a one-two punch of offering up STEM skills and helping communities. Read the article featured in Ed Tech: Focus on K-12.

High-Achieving Students Don’t Want To Be Teachers. What Can Change Their Minds?

Around the world, students who want to go into teaching tend to have poorer math and reading skills than students who plan to work as professionals outside of teaching. This is according to a new analysis of 2006 Program for International Student Assessment survey data of 15 year olds. On average, around 44 percent of students in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries said they expect to work in professions that require a university degree—but only 5 percent of students expected to work as teachers. Read the article featured in Education Week.

Stay tuned for next week’s top education news stories.

The Communication, Legislative & Public Affairs (CLPA) team strives to keep NSTA members, teachers, science education leaders, and the general public informed about NSTA programs, products, and services and key science education issues and legislation. In the association’s role as the national voice for science education, its CLPA team actively promotes NSTA’s positions on science education issues and communicates key NSTA messages to essential audiences.

The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.

Follow NSTA

Having just completed an online course on climate change, I was interested in the Commentary: Why the Scientific Consensus on Climate Change Matters for Science Education, from The Science Teacher, and the important role science teachers play in helping students understand this global issue.

The featured articles in Science Scope and The Science Teacher focus on climate change. Both journals have excellent ideas to help students understand the local relevance of this global issue, with lessons that could be adapted for different grade levels.

Science Scope – Climate Change

From the Editor’s Desk: Tackling the Complex Issue of Climate Change: “…teaching climate change as if it were a debatable topic sends the message to students that it is acceptable to ignore scientific evidence and theories. The controversial nature of climate change is therefore exactly why we must teach it; to do so will help our students learn how to evaluate scientific information for the purpose of helping responsible citizens make informed consumer and voter decisions.”

Articles in this issue that describe lessons include a helpful sidebar (“At a Glance”) documenting the big idea, essential pre-knowledge, time, and cost. The lessons also include connections with the NGSS, and many follow a 5E format and include examples of student work and classroom materials.

• Empowering Sixth-Grade Students Through a Climate Change Lesson incorporates the question “Can a single human impact the planet’s climate?” with a 5E lesson on carbon footprints and mitigating climate change.
• Climate Change, Photosynthesis, and Misleading Information: Navigating Critical Thinking and Scientific Reasoning in the Classroom addresses whether plants benefit from increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. [I also learned a new word in this article—”agnotology”—the study of misinformation.]
• Students assume the role of paleoclimatologists using proxy data to infer past climate conditions in Looking Backward, Looking Forward
• Using Packrat Midden Models to Investigate Climate Variability demonstrates the value of using “natural archives” to explore climate variability.
• Take your lesson on food webs to a new level with The Seabird Mystery Lesson: Integrating Science Inquiry and Science Literacy. The lesson takes a systemic look at the causes leading to a phenomenon affecting seabirds.
• A Gassy World: A Climate Change Investigation looks at the question “Will warming oceans be better or worse at absorbing carbon dioxide?”
• Integrating Technology: Lens on Climate Change: Using Place-Based Learning to Explore Climate Change Effects has suggestions for students creating videos about environmental changes in their own community. The article includes suggestions for adapting the activity to local communities.
• Scientists study bats as to see the effects of climate change on their food supply and echolocation abilities. The project described in Citizen Science: Be a Bat Detective! asks volunteers to classify bat calls available online. The author includes classroom suggestions.
• The 5E lesson in Disequilibrium: Measuring Our Rising Sea Levels models the effects of melting ice with a hands-on activity..
• Using greenhouses gases as a context, Teacher to Teacher: Vote, Discuss, Revote: A Formative Assessment Classroom Technique has an example of this technique and related resources.

These monthly columns continue to provide background knowledge and classroom ideas:

• Listserv Roundup: Growth Mindset in the Classroom
• Science For All: Self-Improvement Through Goal Setting
• Scope on the Skies: A Candle in Space

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Bats, Carbon Cycle, Change in Climate, Ecosystems, Food Webs, Geologic Time Scale, Greenhouse Effect, Ice, Ocean Currents, Photosynthesis, Sea Level Change, Sonar, Wind Currents

 Continue for The Science Teacher and Science & Children.

The Science Teacher – Teaching About Climate Change

Editor’s Corner: Hot Topic: “Climate change is one of the great moral imperatives of our time. Science teachers must provide students with the accurate knowledge that can inspire them to take action on a personal, community, and global level.”

The lessons described in the articles include connections with the NGSS and many include illustrations of student work.

• Is the Climate Changing Where We Live? has a 5E lesson and suggested resources for helping students see local effects of climate change.
• Even if you don’t live near the ocean, the ideas in Using Models to Understand Sea Level Rise illustrate the value of modeling in studying environmental phenomena.
• Modeling is also a feature of From Global to Local, using a socio-scientific approach to climate change.
• In the activity described in What’s Inside a Termite’s Gut?, students investigate the effects of environmental disruption on living things, among other topics.
• The authors of Science 2.0: Teaching the Facts About Climate Change suggest reputable websites with information about climate change.

These monthly columns continue to provide background knowledge and classroom ideas:

• Focus on Physics: The Ever-Present Atmospheric Pressure
• Career of the Month: Climate Scientist
• Right to the Source: Thomas Jefferson’s Observations on the American Climate
• How Quickly Do They React?

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Atmospheric Pressure, Carbon Cycle, Climate Change, Ecosystem, Endosymbiosis, Homeostasis, Osmosis, Sea Level Change, Symbiosis

Science & Children – Early Childhood Life Science

Editor’s Note: Revisiting the Framework: A Clear Pathway: “Of all the sciences, life science is probably the one that is most familiar and comfortable for early childhood educators. It is easily accessible to children and relatable—a good place to start using the tools of the Framework and NGSS.”

Children are naturally curious and enjoy learning and investigating. The Guest Editorial: How to Integrate STEM Into Early Childhood Education has the results of an examination of STEM environments for young learners and recommendations for educators and parents.

The lessons described in the articles have a chart showing connections with the NGSS and many includes illustrations of student work .

• There’s a Zoo in Our Room! illustrates how students created a replica of a zoo while applying a variety of scientific practices to learn about the characteristics of animals.
• The lessons in Scaly, Slimy Fun in Prekindergarten use local turtles and frogs in NGSS-aligned investigations. Students develop a greater understanding of animal adaptations behaviors.
• Teaching Through Trade Books: Animal Parents and Their Offspring has two 5E lessons: Raising Their Young (K-2) and Living in Groups (3-5).
• In addition to traditional plant growth investigations, Growing Plants and Minds has suggestions for incorporating digital tools in ways that are appropriate for younger students.
• Planting Deeper goes beyond listing the needs of plants to investigating plant growth, adaptations, and biodiversity in the outdoors.
• How Do Plants and Animals Prepare for Winter? has suggestions for designing inquiry-based 5E projects in an outdoor setting. The “wonder wall” is a variation of a traditional word wall.
• With the ideas in Early Years: What Other Colors Can Bean Seeds Be?, students learn about the needs of and variation in bean plants.
• Formative Assessment Probes: Uncovering Young Children’s Concept of a Plant

These monthly columns continue to provide background knowledge and classroom ideas:

• The Poetry of Science: Science in the Garden
• Science 101: How Do Amphibians Breathe?
• Engineering Encounters: The Paper Airplane Challenge
• Methods and Strategies: Formative Assessment Practices to Support Students who Struggle in Science
• Teaching Teachers: Inquiry in Inclusive Preschools

For more on the content that provides a context for projects and strategies described in this issue, see the SciLinks topics Adaptations of Animals, Amphibians, Characteristics of Living Things, Classification, Pollination, Reptiles, Seasons, Seed Germination, What Are the Parts of a Plant?

TEACHERS!  What do you do with that last 40 minutes of class at the end of the week on a Friday? You may have thoughts like, “I can’t wait until this week is over!  I’m exhausted and these kid are driving me nuts!” Well, help has arrived. End the week with a “Mission Accomplished” feeling, knowing your students have something to look forward to on Fridays using NASA educational resources. It meets all the required standards across the content areas!  I will share what I do; and I am convinced you can do this, too!

My name is Pam Leestma, and I’m a 2^nd grade teacher at Valley Christian Elementary School in Bellflower, CA. In May of 2017, (and for the past 10 years), my 2nd graders and Mr. Nick Vander Dussen’s 6th graders from my school presented their Space Station models to NASA’s Digital Learning Network (DLN) expert, Michael Hare at Johnson Space Center. Our “Space Buddies” were divided into six working groups. After meeting almost every Friday throughout the year, which we called “NASA Fridays,” we learned about space related topics and living and working on the International Space Station. We ended the year with culminating activities which included planning our Space Station models, building them with parent help, using lots of “junk”, soda bottles, and hot glue guns for the modules, deciding, and then practicing what part of the model each student would share about with the NASA expert.  “NASA Day” arrived and the “Space Buddies” presented their six models, learned more about the International Space Station, had a time of Q&A, and saw LIVE images of the earth from the ISS!  It was “Mission Accomplished!” for all the students and they can now claim, “We talked to NASA!” 

I am inviting you to try having your own “Space Buddies.” Find a class at your school to connect with!  During the year, “NASA Fridays” can be simple like watching a short video clip of living and working on the International Space Station or doing a hands-on activity. It is always a good idea to check the NASA site for the most current events going on in Space and sometimes you can choose the NASA update for your time together. “Space to Ground” is a wonderful, 2-3 minute weekly update of activities.

The exciting resource that you can participate in right now is the “Year of Education on Station.”  STEM on Station is highlighting teacher Joe Acaba’s mission currently on the ISS as well as teacher Rickey Arnold’s flight in the Spring of  2018.

 I ALWAYS check the NASA main page and click on NASA TV, too.  You can watch for great programing to share or watch a thrilling, LIVE launch if it is during school hours.  Sometimes even a spacewalk which my class watched LIVE of Joe Acaba, is a blast!   

“Spot the Station” brings much excitement to my students, when they can watch a visible pass of the ISS fly over.  Enter your location and you can sign up for alerts of when the ISS will fly over your area.  We wave at Joe Acaba when we see it and I have the students send me pictures of their famiy and friends watching it and even kid’s sports teams are stopping at practice to “ooo and aww!”

The goal of “NASA Friday’s” gives the children a reason to be together and learn about space related events using NASA resources! When you do something special, make sure to take pictures of your activities! It is evidence of using STEM related topics using NASA resources!  You need a NASA media release with parent permission if you are going to share these pictures with NASA education social media.  They love your pictures and so appreciate it, proving their programs have an impact on this next generation of space explorers!        

I have done other activities using NASA resources and you may want to learn more about them in this NASA article – “The T in STEM.”

As this school year begins, consider launching NASA STEM resources into your curriculum!

Pam Leestma – 2nd grade teacher
NASA Excellence in Teaching Award 
National American Star of Teaching Award
Valley Christian Elementary School – 17408 Grand Ave.  Bellflower, CA 90706 
school:  562/920-9902     pammy_ccc@hotmail.com

This summer a group of Oregon teachers prepared to launch the Oregon Science Project, which focuses on professional development for rural teachers around NGSS. During our 3-day facilitator’s training we focused on dialogue not discussion.  As a group, this distinction was new to us. What we found was we were spending most of our time on dialoguing not discussing. When in dialogue the purpose is to gain and share information, listening deeply to the information others provide. When in discussion, the purpose is to present different viewpoints and come to a decision.

As I began this new year of teaching the NGSS and using new curriculum this new idea was at the forefront of my mind. The new curriculum also encourages these processes.  Scientists engage in dialogue as they share their ideas and look for perspectives from others. Students also need to practice both dialogue and discussion. As they gather information they need to dialogue and when they are using evidence to decide on a claim, they need to use discussion.

During one a lesson last week the importance and the engagement that occurs when students talk became quite evident.  The curriculum we are using has structured lessons to be 45 minutes long.  We had not been in-sync since we started the curriculum (starting with a warmup, doing the lesson, and ending with the homework).  That day we actually started with the warm up for the lesson.  I was determined to see if I could accomplish the lesson within the 45 minutes.  My evaluator happened to come in during one of my class periods to observe.  In my attempt to complete the lesson within the time period I rushed the students during their dialogue.  The evaluator overheard several students exclaim that they were disappointed because they didn’t get to share their information.

Needless to say, I was not able to finish the lesson in the allotted time and I had cut off students in the middle of their dialogue.  I was excited by the fact that they were disappointed that they didn’t have time to finish sharing.

Since that brief time ago, I have worked at being sure to give students adequate time to dialogue and discuss. But I have also learned that they need to have a very clear purpose.  The students have been gathering evidence over the past week or so and this last week they had to decide which claim their evidence was supporting and how well it supported the claim. They needed to come to a decision about their evidence, hence they were involved in discussion. But the students had trouble with discussion.  They could come to a decision but when quizzed about why they ranked the evidence where they did, they couldn’t explain why they didn’t rank the strength of the evidence higher or lower than they did. So, I explained in greater detail that they needed to be able to say why it was ranked the way it was and why they didn’t rank it higher or lower.  I asked them to discuss the evidence again with this in mind. About a third of the students had changed their rankings and could explain in much greater detail why it was placed there.

These processes are new to most students.  They can’t just go with their “gut” but need to be able to clearly explain how strong the evidence is.  This is an important step to being able to write an argument to support a claim. Both aspects of talk, dialogue and discussion, are important steps along the way.  It is important to be purposeful in what we want the talk to be, do they need to be gaining and sharing information or coming to a decision.  The more students have opportunities to practice talk the better they will become and the better their arguments to support a claim will be.

I’m a new teacher and I can’t believe how ragged I feel—I seem to be just barely ahead of the class. I have lessons that are not going to plan and I feel like I’m just running around non-stop. Please help! —W., Virginia

This is probably no surprise to anyone in the first months of teaching: this job is tough! You may often feel you have two types of lessons—those that bomb, and those that bomb BIG!

Here are some survival tips:

• Colleagues: They have done it before; they know the school; they know the students. Develop good relationships and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Talk about procedures and protocols that “everyone knows” but aren’t written down. Talk to your colleagues about grading and the time you can expect to spend on it and other tasks.
• Calendar/Daybook: Use it faithfully. Don’t be surprised by deadlines and meetings.
• Transitions: Moving from one activity to another in class is where breakdowns can occur. Take time to plan how you will distribute materials. Plan your student groups.
• Clean up: Don’t do all the clean-up yourself! Leave time and enlist your students’ help. Don’t let them leave until the room is ready for the next class. (Stand at the door and point, “That beaker is not where it should be;” “Those paper towels need to be in the garbage.”)
• Venting: Talk to someone when you have a bad day. Find a confidant and have a rant, and then don’t dwell on it.

Hope this helps!

Photo: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-working-girl-sitting-133021/ 

Poison Ivy By Famartin (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

If you live in an area of the world where leaves change color during Autumn you and the children might be looking for “The Most Beautiful Leaf” among the many fallen leaves. You can draw children’s attention to leaves at any time of the year by using them as play materials—a large leaf makes a plate and the small ones become pretend “food.”  Knowing which leaves are safe for children to handle is the first consideration! Poison ivy leaves turn a beautiful red color in the fall in many areas but they are still able to irritate our skin and make it blister.   

Looking at leaves and noticing their structure begins young children’s understanding of their function. Cutting leaves with scissors as a way to practice this fine motor skill also teaches children that leaves have different parts. It is easy to imagine the veins as small pipes carrying water to the body of the leaf–especially when you cut one open and see the “juice.” Making a rubbing on paper with crayons shows off the pattern of veining which is particular to each species. Dropping water onto the upper and undersides of leaves may reveal the tiny hairs that some species of plants have on their underside as children note how water drops either slide off or pool up. Understanding the function of this form, how the hairy underside and smooth upper side help the plant survive, will come later. Magnolia leaves are particularly useful for showing differences between upper and undersides. They make wonderful boats too, floating in puddles or small tubs of water. 

Changes in leaves can be a sign of changing seasons that young children can observe along with changing air temperature and the position of the sun in the sky. Understanding the chemistry involved in those beautiful words “chlorophyll” and “photosynthesis” can wait until middle school when students begin learning that living things are made of cells (MS-LS1-1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes). See Appendix E – Progressions Within the Next Generation Science Standards to see how student thinking progresses with grade level. 

Teachers who want to learn more about the processes that cause deciduous leaves to change color in the fall can read these resources:

Robertson, Bill. 2012. Q: Why Do Leaves Fall off Trees in the Fall?  Science and Children. 49(7): 68-69 

USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area. Why Leaves Change Color.

The changing leaf color in Autumn occurs at a cellular level due to a process that young children are not yet ready to understand. But they do understand beauty and how to make a collection of the “best” leaves!