During spring break my husband and I visited some friends who live in the south.  During our visit, I was picking up sticks in their backyard, and saw a chameleon darting up the side of their house and under the siding. Watching him quickly leave the green grass and scurry up the tan siding, I was amazed at how rapidly he began to change his color based upon his surroundings. 

This type of teachable moment scenario may be used as a basis for a science lesson at Columbia School District for students in grades kindergarten through 12^th.  How does a teacher know what to teach in science?  It has always seemed logical for high school teachers, because students select biology, anatomy, physics or chemistry, but what tips the scales for teachers in kindergarten through eighth grade? 

Columbia School District has always had a science curriculum, but now we have additional updated input from the State.  Last November the State of Michigan released the new science standards for our children.  One of the goals of the new document was to promote the ideology that science, technology, and engineering saturate nearly every facet of our lives.  In addition, the new standards underscore the fact that science, technology, and engineering are integral to defining and solving many current and future global concerns and challenges.

The new science standards give our teachers the parameters with which to lay out the curriculum for each grade level and help them get our students prepared for State Assessments, such as the MSTEP (that was initially given in the spring of 2015). Now in its second year, the MSTEP assesses English language arts and mathematics for children in grades three through eight, science in grades four and seven, and social studies in grades five and eight.  From this list, it almost looks like we only need to teach science in fourth and seventh grade, however each grade is provided with State of Michigan science standards.  In fourth grade, children are assessed on the standards and information they learned in not only grade four, but in kindergarten through third grade. 

In order to assist our teachers with the huge impact of giving our students the base of understanding for science, technology, and engineering, the standards are organized around seven concepts*: (1) Patterns, (2) Cause and Effect, (3) Scale, Proportion, and Quantity, (4) Systems and

System Models, (5) Energy and Matter in Systems, (6) Structure and Function, and (7) Stability and Change of Systems.  These concepts provide a cross disciplinary framework for our students and their teachers.  Within the framework there are eight different practices that are to be used when investigating a concept.  The practices that our teachers are using are*: (a) Asking questions and defining problems, (b) Developing and using models, (c) Planning and carrying out investigations, (d) Analyzing and interpreting data, (e) Using mathematics and computational thinking, (f) Constructing explanations and designing solutions, (g) Engaging in argument from evidence, and (h) Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.  Combined, the concepts and practices give our students a powerful ability to build a knowledge base from which to become life-long learners in the area of science, technology, and engineering.

If you are interested in learning more about Columbia School District and our focus on science, technology, and engineering, email me at pamela.campbell@myeagles.org or call 5175926641.

                                                                                                        

(*) The information regarding the State of Michigan K-12 Science Standards is taken from http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/K-12_Science_Performance_Expectations_v5_496901_7.pdf