Science Monthly

District NGSS and Science News

THE SPOOKY ISSUE

OCTOBER, 2018

Website of the Month:

The Wonder of

Science

YouTube Channel of

the Month:

TheSpanglerEffect

Gross and Engaging:

Dissections

Science Monthly

Website of the

Month: The Wonder

of Science

thewonderofscience.com

Bringing Phenomena Into the Classroom

The Wonder of Science is a website dedicated to helping you help students to stay curious. This site is a resource of resources as it

provides lesson plans, phenomena, sample assessments, vocabulary, links to other STEM sites, and so much more!

Search by Standard: One of the greatest tools is searching by the NGSS Standard. Say for instance there is a particular standards you

feel uncomfortable with and you just need some more support within that particular content area. If you search up a particular standard,

you will find attached to it sample materials of assessments, phenomena, anchor charts, videos, vocabulary, and learning plans.

Teaching with 3 Dimensions: The Next Generation Science Standards are sectioned out into Science and Engineering Practices (how

students learn), Disciplinary Core Ideas (what students learn), and the Crosscutting Concepts (how students think). These 3 dimensions

take into account the entire student’s learning experience from what they are actively doing to learn a concept and how they are

processing the information. When looking at an entire standard, you can see how it is just more than the opening statement (Performance

Expectation) but it is a whole page of information that gives the teacher an in-depth background on what the students should be mastering.

At first glance, the standards may appear intimidating but take advantage of the added information so that your lessons are as well

designed as possible. Looking to better understand what all of these parts really mean? Check out this site’s “Teaching” page for more

information on what all of this means and how to understand all of the SEPs, DCIs, and CCCs.

Science Monthly

YouTube Channel of

the Month:

The Spangler Effect

Science Fair Ideas and Demos

Steve Spangler has appeared on the Ellen Show and many TV newscasts as the science experiment expert! His videos are full of multiple

demonstrations that can be used in the class and even some that can be safely replicated at home. The complexity of the content ranges

through k-12 with some physics and chemistry experiments that would be appropriate all through higher level high school courses. Most

demonstrations are quick and can be done in a single class period, if not just in the first few minutes of class. For some of the safer

demonstrations, students can do their best as engineers to either recreate the demo or think of ways to add on or apply the same

techniques as a project or mastery assessment. If you are looking to share a video of something so you don’t have to set it up due to

supply or space restrictions, these are a great set of videos to share with students as phenomena to get them curious.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSpanglerEffect

Gross and Engaging:

Dissections

Hands On In Learning?

Second only to small classroom explosions, dissections are something that

students expect to be part of the real science class experience. While both

explosions and dissections come with a lot of prep work and clean up, they

are experiences that inspire students like no textbook or website really can.

There is little to compare to actually opening up a thawed out bait squid and

using your little gloved hand inside to find and pull out the pen of the squid’s

mantle, then poking the ink sack and writing your name on a paper. The act of

using your hands to examine the specimen, to see how hard it is to detach

certain body parts, seeing where organs interact and rest within each other,

all of this engagement provides a new level of understanding that students

can use to really visualize how these body systems work together in a living

organism.

Science Monthly

There are many benefits to performing in-class dissections, but sometimes it

is difficult to find specimens or purchase enough for a whole class with a

given budget. One option is purchasing one prepared specimen as a

demonstration to use throughout the day, or you can check out your local

butcher department for budget friendly and readily available options! A few

favorites you can find at many grocery stores are cow eyes and hearts,

whole fish and seafood, and even your everyday whole chickens to break

down.

Jacob Mathis at Monte Vista Middle School shared a chicken wing dissection

he did with his middle school students. To better understand the muscle and

skeletal systems, students dissected store-bought chicken wings. Students

were given instructions prior to the dissection on how to safely handle the

equipment, proper ways to clean equipment, and how to use and remove

gloves without contamination. The students then began the process of

literally peeling away the layers of the wing down to the bone to observe the

different connective tissues. Students looked at the shapes of the bones and

made connections to their own bodies, seeing how two bones come together

at a joint and fit perfectly together. One student asked the question about how

these wings were bigger than the ones he had the night before for dinner and

then learned that these whole wings were actually broken down into the

“buffalo wings” he is used to eating. Chances are that student will look

differently at his food the next few times he grabs some Wing Stop for dinner.

Remember that not all dissections have to be animals or bugs, plants can be

dissected too! Try comparing and contrasting strawberries and tomatoes to

decide what classifies something as a fruit. Keep it seasonal! Dissect (carve)

a pumpkin to see what is inside, then set an uncarved pumpkin next to the

dissection “specimen” to test how long it takes to rot and students can plan

out when to carve their own pumpkins to make sure they look their best in

time for the 31st.

These personal connections are the strongest ties a student can build and

they are the most motivational when it comes to students wanting to stay

engaged. If the content is relevant to the students, they are much more likely

to remember it and be inspired to want to know more on their own.

Dissections inspire lifelong learners of science, so get messy!

Science Monthly

Phenomenal Phenomena!

Night Blooming Cactus

You may have seen these around town, you may even know what they are and

why they are so special, but see if your students can figure out why this

cactus chooses to bloom only under lots of moonlight, and only for just a

single night. No werewolf DNA sets these flowers to bloom under a full moon,

but you can find a hint on the cover of this newsletter!

Students make better connections to the content when they are personally

relevant, so why not look at things happening around us? Email your lesson

ideas or musings based on this phenomena with the subject line

“Phenomenal Phenomena” and your submission could be featured here

next month!

Halloween Science

SpoOoOoOoky Themed Learning

What is the real science behind things we fear? Halloween is a magical time

of year when the world around us turns spooky, playful, macabre, and

mischievous. These sorts of themes creep through our schools and all ages

get into the fun of it all! Take time to tap into the natural curiosity and wonder

of things unknown to get your students engaged in the curriculum.

While Halloween has become nearly a national holiday, there are still religious

ties to the day so be sure to survey your students to see if all of them can

participate, however spooky and gross science does not have to have

Halloween in the title. Learn about bats and caves, the changing fall colors, or

try some dry ice demos (you can purchase dry ice at many grocery stores, I

like Smart and Final). Seasonal learning is just another way to make science

relevant to all students.

Science Monthly

Contact, Support, and

Additional Resources

Resources for Different Needs

Depending on what sort of help you need, whether it is building your own

personal content knowledge or just polishing off well used lesson plans, it is

my duty to be a resource to you in all aspects of science education. For quick

help though, there are a few resources you can access online.

Requesting a Site

Support Visit

Support in All Shapes and Sizes

Whether you are looking for some additional pointers on how to use

STEMscopes or are you looking for an hour of dedicated time to just learn

how to read the Next Generation Science Standards, your friendly

neighborhood NGSS TOSA is ready to meet your needs. A site visit could be

one on one or with a small group such as grade level or subject groups. A

support visit could include any combination of supports that fit into the

available time, such as: 1) Lesson Observation 2) Lesson Planning 3) Lesson

Co-Teaching 4) Demo Lesson With or Without Students Present 5)Curriculum

and NGSS Tutorials. Whatever your needs, please reach out. For specific

questions, you can always email me at jgardner@sanjacinto.k12.ca.us or you

can request a visit using the following Google Form: http://bit.ly/NGSSvisit

Have

something

awesome to

share?

Everyone knows something that you don’t, but maybe that special thing

you know is a great science resource. If you would like to share your ideas

with the SJUSD NGSS network or write a short article on something for

Science Friday, please email your friendly neighborhood NGSS TOSA or

add it to the SJUSD Science Department Freebies.

jgardner@sanjacinto.k12.ca.us http://bit.ly/sjusdsciencefreebies