Archives
The Williams Act and You - A Love Story
Wherein science teacher meets legal requirement for student instructional materials, the teacher is baffled and bewildered by the legal requirement for student instructional materials, teacher and legal requirement for student instructional materials…
Beyond Makerspaces
Schools are evolving and the demand for education is in how we meet the unique learners of the 21st century.
Will Your District Fund NGSS? It's Up To You!
Great News! A key component of California's new accountability system, the California School Dashboard, specifically requires districts to report on NGSS implementation in the Local Indicators section under "Implementation of Academic Standards."
Empower
It’s been a difficult few weeks as we watch and hear the news of yet another school shooting. This tragedy has had a profound impact on myself and many of my teacher colleagues. So much so, that I feel I’d be remiss not to take this moment to…
Beyond Marshmallow Towers - Engineering in the Early Elementary Classroom
Elementary teachers in Kings Canyon Unified School District (KCUSD), a participating district in the CA NGSS K-8 Early Implementation Initiative, have been diligently working on transitioning to the NGSS in their classrooms.
That’s My SCIENCE Teacher!
As I walk across my school campus, a second-grade student says, “Hi Ms. Nielsen.” I return the greeting, with a smile and a chuckle.
Find Your Reason to Engage
I was recently reflecting on events in the news and remembered that several years ago, National Public Radio had a story about a man named Stéphane Hessel, a World War II French resistance fighter, Nazi concentration camp survivor, and contributor to…
The Condensed Framework
The California Science Framework was commissioned by the State Board of Education. Its purpose is to help us translate the vision of the state's science standards into classroom practice--including guidance to teachers at all grade levels about what…
Start Big!
Oh to be a first-year teacher again! I had just spent four (ok five) years getting a degree in Biology and I was pretty sure I could teach everything I knew in one year of high school Biology.
Integrating Science & ELA: Discoveries from the Early Implementer Evaluators
A second-grade classroom is “a-buzz” with students drawing designs and researching pollinators.