It Ain't Watcha Do, It's the Way Thatcha Do It
Lora Holt, M.Ed
Graphic Organize It!
This actually is a training that I do for teachers so I am going to continue to treat it like one. At this part we normally start doing a folded graphic organizer (ala Dinah) or any type of graphic organizer that has four compartments. You can even just divide your piece of paper into four spaces to take notes. Number each part of the compartments to 4, and we will be ready to rock and roll...
This actually is a training that I do for teachers so I am going to continue to treat it like one. At this part we normally start doing a folded graphic organizer (ala Dinah) or any type of graphic organizer that has four compartments. You can even just divide your piece of paper into four spaces to take notes. Number each part of the compartments to 4, and we will be ready to rock and roll...
Let's Get Started
The Texas Science standards are actually comprised of Knowledge and Skills Statements and Student Expectations. A Knowledge and Skills statement is a broad learning goal that the student is expected to perform. Each Knowledge and Skills Statement is numbered and the first 4 knowledge and skills statements grades K-8 are dedicated to the Science Process Standards. Once you get to high school, the first 3 Knowledge and Skills statements are considered Process.
The first section that you will label in your 4 part graphic organizer for section "1" will be for Safety and Conservation of Materials.
The Texas Science standards are actually comprised of Knowledge and Skills Statements and Student Expectations. A Knowledge and Skills statement is a broad learning goal that the student is expected to perform. Each Knowledge and Skills Statement is numbered and the first 4 knowledge and skills statements grades K-8 are dedicated to the Science Process Standards. Once you get to high school, the first 3 Knowledge and Skills statements are considered Process.
The first section that you will label in your 4 part graphic organizer for section "1" will be for Safety and Conservation of Materials.
Most all Knowledge and Skills statements are followed by Student Expectations. Student Expectations are more specific learning goals that consist of a "Verb" the cognitive activity that the student will do and "Content" which is the content the student is expected to master for that grade level. For the Process Standards in Science, the Knowledge and Skills statements don't really change much from grade level to grade level because the process of thinking like a Scientist is pretty much the same learning goals, however the student expectation for each grade level may change verbs and content because as students get older they can handle more complex cognitive expectations, in other words as they get older they can perform at a higher level of thinking.
The student expectation (otherwise known as SE) labeled "A" describes Safety in the Classroom as described in the Texas Safety Standards. As a Science teacher, whether you are teaching kinder Science or Physics, safety considerations need to be made inside the classroom, lab or outside in the field. If you are doing a hands-on investigation or lab that requires safety concerns, for instance wearing safety goggles, gloves, etc, you should cite this standard in your planning.
The SE labeled "B" describes the Conservation of Materials. If you are doing a lesson involving or direct teaching the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle), how to dispose of materials safely, such as using the chemical hood, placing broken glass in a special container before disposal or not releasing live materials into the local environment, you should cite this SE in your lesson plans.
How Do I Use Section 1?
Section 1 is pretty easy to know, right? If you are looking at any lesson that refers to your student making safety precautions then you are doing 1.A and if your students are doing anything that has to do with conservation of materials your students are doing 1.B. It's easy to remember and with that you have 1/4 of your process standards memorized! Also, if you are tweaking a cookie cutter lesson, you can always add in the ingredients for safety or for conservation as a direct teach and you will have reviewed a crucial process that your students need to know while learning content. Here is an example:
Cookie Cutter Lab: Mealworm observation
Activity: Students investigate whether mealworms prefer dark or light. Content: 7.13 A Investigate how organisms respond to external stimuli found in the environment
That's an example of cooking with section 1. Notice that the opportunity to add in section 1 was NOT, "The teacher will now say, hey kids don't forget to wear gloves" or "Hey kids, after we are done with those worms, lets save the planet by feeding them to the lizard" We need to be very clear that these are performance TEKS for the kids to do. The kids need to demonstrate what to do about safety and the kids need to make informed choices about how to dispose of materials correctly. If we tell them what to do or lecture them a standard as a sage on the stage, we will be just as bad as a worksheet. They won't pay attention because we are doing all of the thinking for them. Process standards are about empowering your students to think on their own.
I think you are ready for Process Section 2
However, before we move on to section 2 of your graphic organizer, lets take a little quiz on the Scientific Method. I want you to take out a separate sheet of paper and I want you to write down the steps of the Scientific Method before you press the next button on this website page. Don't be too embarrassed if you don't remember all of the steps because a lot of teachers cannot remember all of them, but I'll give you a hint: you will probably be on the right track if you have at least 6 steps written down. (Oh yeah, and no cheating! Don't Google the answer!)
The student expectation (otherwise known as SE) labeled "A" describes Safety in the Classroom as described in the Texas Safety Standards. As a Science teacher, whether you are teaching kinder Science or Physics, safety considerations need to be made inside the classroom, lab or outside in the field. If you are doing a hands-on investigation or lab that requires safety concerns, for instance wearing safety goggles, gloves, etc, you should cite this standard in your planning.
The SE labeled "B" describes the Conservation of Materials. If you are doing a lesson involving or direct teaching the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle), how to dispose of materials safely, such as using the chemical hood, placing broken glass in a special container before disposal or not releasing live materials into the local environment, you should cite this SE in your lesson plans.
How Do I Use Section 1?
Section 1 is pretty easy to know, right? If you are looking at any lesson that refers to your student making safety precautions then you are doing 1.A and if your students are doing anything that has to do with conservation of materials your students are doing 1.B. It's easy to remember and with that you have 1/4 of your process standards memorized! Also, if you are tweaking a cookie cutter lesson, you can always add in the ingredients for safety or for conservation as a direct teach and you will have reviewed a crucial process that your students need to know while learning content. Here is an example:
Cookie Cutter Lab: Mealworm observation
Activity: Students investigate whether mealworms prefer dark or light. Content: 7.13 A Investigate how organisms respond to external stimuli found in the environment
- Opportunity to add in: Safety 1A: students determine some safety precautions before starting the observation lab in which students should decide to wear gloves during investigation when handling meal worms or wash hands after handling meal worms.
- Opportunity to add in: Conservation 1B: students are asked what to do with meal worms after the investigation. Should they release them into the wild? Should they throw them away? students should determine that meal worms are invasive and can harm the environment. They should decide to use them as food for other animals in the lab.
That's an example of cooking with section 1. Notice that the opportunity to add in section 1 was NOT, "The teacher will now say, hey kids don't forget to wear gloves" or "Hey kids, after we are done with those worms, lets save the planet by feeding them to the lizard" We need to be very clear that these are performance TEKS for the kids to do. The kids need to demonstrate what to do about safety and the kids need to make informed choices about how to dispose of materials correctly. If we tell them what to do or lecture them a standard as a sage on the stage, we will be just as bad as a worksheet. They won't pay attention because we are doing all of the thinking for them. Process standards are about empowering your students to think on their own.
I think you are ready for Process Section 2
However, before we move on to section 2 of your graphic organizer, lets take a little quiz on the Scientific Method. I want you to take out a separate sheet of paper and I want you to write down the steps of the Scientific Method before you press the next button on this website page. Don't be too embarrassed if you don't remember all of the steps because a lot of teachers cannot remember all of them, but I'll give you a hint: you will probably be on the right track if you have at least 6 steps written down. (Oh yeah, and no cheating! Don't Google the answer!)
Once you have written down the steps to the Scientific Method Press the "Next" button
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