Those of you who have attended my Science Through and Inquiry Lens Series (and even those who haven’t)…materials including draft “4 pagers” (topic summaries with lots of teaching suggestions and links) are now posted on line. Please take a look and give me some feedback on what you think and suggestions for what to add.  Find it under the workshop tab above or a quicklink here.

Get Outside!

As spring comes, more and more of us want to get outside.  I’ve put together a list of PLANTS and ANIMALS to KNOW IN BURNABY …can you and your students find them all?  Some dedicated Burnaby teachers who are members of the Environmental Educators PSA have put together a blog about Place Based Learning.  You will find a lot of tips, tricks and ideas to getting outside.

Drop me an e-mail at Donna.Morgan@burnabyschools.ca if you want some advice, resources or a trained biologist (me) to come outside with you.

Grade 3-4 students at Lakeview design containers to minimize heat loss by radiation.

I’ll be hosting a series of workshops in the new year focused on exploring the new curriculum from an inquiry lens.  You can sign up for one or for all 5.  The series kicks of with a look at Energy–and we will see how the curriculum builds from Kindergarten to Gr 7, and how you can use simple hands on experiences to get your students engaged in science and learning the curricular competencies. Here is a poster for more information Science After School Sessions Spring 2018.  Sign up on the staff development calendar.

Argument Driven Inquiry

Do you want to increase the ability of your students to read, write and discuss scientific ideas and processes? Consider using some of these Argument Driven Inquiry resources.  This is an excellent way to get more critical thinking and communication out of  lab activities.  The linked resource goes through the 8 steps of ADI, and then there are specific labs to cover all disciplines of science.

If you are interested in trying out Argument Driven Inquiry, send me an e-mail, as I have a few titles that I’m willing to lend out: donna.morgan@sd41.bc.ca 

What are some of your challenges when teaching the revised science curriculum?  Throughout our district, there are many combined classes. The elementary science committee put together a document last year to help teachers and schools cope with this issue.  You can find it here. The document will hopefully assist you in sharing the curricular competencies and content in your combined classes.  

Perhaps you are looking for some cross curricular resources? Picture Perfect Science–both the teacher books and the student books–are available through the DLRC.  As you know, picture books give students a context for the concepts they are exploring in the science classroom. They often have interesting storylines that can help students understand and remember concepts better than they would by using textbooks alone. Contact me if you would like to have a planning session or demo class in how to use them.

Another challenge you may have is supplies and equipment.  Don’t forget to use our fabulous District Learning Resource Centre to borrow equipment. And if you are looking for something specific, give me a call or e-mail and I will try to help track things down or put you in touch with someone who can help.  

In the new year, I will be hosting a series of after school session on major curricular areas in elementary science.  These sessions will include resource lists and lesson ideas to help you explore the Big Ideas using inquiry.  Check the Staff Development Calendar after Dec 15th for more details.

Low NSTA fees for First Year Teachers

If you are a first year teacher, the American National Science Teachers’ Association (NSTA) is offering discounted memberships for only $29. This gives you a one year subscription to the journal of your choice (which ranges by age level) and access to everything on the NSTA website, which includes many science teaching resources. You also get a discount on the many publications. In addition to joining our local BCScTA, I highly recommend the NSTA for the resources they have.

Biointeractive

The HHMI Biointeractive website is a source for great videos and lessons across the breadth of biology.  Most useful for Grade 7 teachers (evolution) and high school, the high quality videos are a joy to watch and are scientifically accurate.

New on the Website

I’ve added a page for Burnaby teachers to share resources and ideas–check the tab above called SD41Shares.  If you have things you have used that can be shared, e-mail me the link or even the document, at Donna.Morgan@sd41.bc.ca and I will share it.