Kristi Van Hoveln 6-8 th grade science teacher Milford Grade School

I am a science teacher. I am our district’s school improvement coordinator.

 Read alouds can be used to introduce lessons  Provide an introduction to new concepts and increase science vocabulary  Invite conversation and generate questions for discussion and investigations  Model scientific thinking  Provide content to support hands- on investigations  Model different problem-solving approaches to science that may support students in their own scientific investigations  Examine the colorful illustrations and photographs; they can tell a story beyond the words on the page Using a read aloud-think aloud…  When students are provided with models and explanations of the reasoning involved in reading, they are better able to use the modeled strategies on their own.  Typically a science-related read aloud focuses on a science concept, the author's craft or a particular literary feature.  Don't do everything with one read aloud; use a variety of opportunities to revisit a particular focus and limit how much you focus on with any one book.  Inspire questions and investigations by modeling curiosity and question-posing-- let the students in on the 'secret' of how you, the teacher, construct questions.  Explicitly share thinking processes-- thinking aloud is making thinking public. For instance, "When I look at this picture of children playing in the wind, I think of the wind near our school. It always seems strongest to me over near Ms. Foster's room." OR "I wonder what the author means when she says...." OR "Wait, this seems different than what we read in book X. I wonder how to decide which author to believe."

rces/docs/REVEarthStructure/EarthStructure_TeacherGuide.pdf Heads Together: Butts Up ating-student-collaboration

Gum Drop GPS Station Build a gum-drop model of a GPS Monument 1 gum drop for the receiver = GPS Receiver 4 toothpicks (3 legs, one center post) = Monument brace 3 small Playdoh feet = Cement Small piece of transparency paper = ‘see-through’ Earth’s plate MS.ESS-EIP.C Use representations of current plate motions, based on data from modern techniques like GPS, to predict future continent locations.

Reading GPS Time Series Plots by UNAVCO MS.PS-FM a. Formulate questions arising from investigating how an observer’s frame of reference and the choice of units influence how the motion and position of an object can be described and communicated to others. MS.PS-FM b. Communicate observations and information graphically and mathematically to represent how an object’s relative position, velocity, and direction of motion are affected by forces acting on the object. MS.PS-FM e. Plan and carry out investigations to identify the effect forces have on an object’s shape and orientation.

Year North (mm) East (mm) Height (mm) Reading GPS Time Series Plots Part 2: Determine the direction of movement of high-precision GPS Monument A Similar to a car GPS unit, high-precision GPS data is collected as coordinates such as latitude, longitude, and elevation. To make analysis easier, scientists convert the data into four parts: north, east, vertical elevation, and time. The data in the table show how far GPS Monument A has moved each year. The first column shows the Time in Years. The next three columns show how far the monument moved each year in the North-South, East-West, and the vertical directions. We will make four graphs to study this data.

GPS Monument REYK North: GPS Monument HOFN North: North East: East North 1a. What direction is Monument REYK moving? Your answer: _______________________ 1b. What direction is Monument HOFN moving? Your answer: ____________________ 2. How did you determine the directions of REYK and HOFN? Your answer: _______________________________________ 3. Are the two monuments moving towards each other, away from each other, or in the same direction? Your answer: __________________

Graham Cracker Model of Plate Tectonics MS.PS-FM b. Communicate observations and information graphically and mathematically to represent how an object’s relative position, velocity, and direction of motion are affected by forces acting on the object. MS.ESS-EIP.C Use representations of current plate motions, based on data from modern techniques like GPS, to predict future continent locations.

Edible Tectonics MS.ESS-EIP.C Use representations of current plate motions, based on data from modern techniques like GPS, to predict future continent locations. MS.PS-FM a. Formulate questions arising from investigating how an observer’s frame of reference and the choice of units influence how the motion and position of an object can be described and communicated to others. MS.PS-FM b. Communicate observations and information graphically and mathematically to represent how an object’s relative position, velocity, and direction of motion are affected by forces acting on the object. or Project Earth Science Geology by NSTA © 1996 Lithosphere Asthenosphere

Compare and Contrast – The Milky Way Lab or Graham Cracker Lab with your textbook or article ELA – Science 6-8 Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.

After researching ________ (informational texts) on________ (content), write a ________ (report or substitute) that defines ________ (term or concept) and explains ________ (content). Support your discussion with evidence from your research. What ________ (conclusions or implications) can you draw? (Informational or Explanatory/Definition) Literacy Design Collaborative – LDC template tasks are fill-in-the- blank “shells” built off the Common Core standards. They allow teachers to insert the texts to be read, writing to be produced, and content to be addressed. When filled in, template tasks create high-quality student assignments that develop reading, writing, and thinking skills in the context of learning science, history, English, and other subjects. Grades

Common Core Teaching and Learning Strategies by ISBE K-5 core/pdf/ela-teach-strat-k- 5.pdf core/pdf/ela-teach-strat-k- 5.pdf core/pdf/ela-teach-strat pdf Mapping the Meaning The teacher takes a significant word from an essay/article and places the word in the middle of a graphic organizer. Students provide the teacher with images, emotions or feelings (connotations) as well as definitions (denotations) of the word. The class discusses why the author has chosen that specific word and how it changes the meaning and tone of the article/essay. This shows students how word choice is deliberate and impacts the meaning of the text (Adapted from Stahl. 2005). See this link for a web graphic organizer.

Kristi Van Hoveln