Resources for Science
To access supporting materials for teaching Ohio students, click on the links below.
Science Newsletter
Science Newsletter The Ohio Science Education newsletter provides timely information to science educators regarding important news from the Ohio Department of Education professional development opportunities and classroom resources.
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Reset, Restart, Go Teach Science! - JULY 17, 2020
Join the Ohio Department of Education Science Team to learn about resources and strategies to help support implementation of the updated Ohio's Learning Standards for Science. The focus will be on the Nature of Science components, which were made more explicit in the current revision. Tools related to general vertical alignment, planning and teaching strategies are available, as well as items specific to virtual or at-home science instruction. We will also share plans for professional learning opportunities during the upcoming school year. This live virtual session will be held via zoom. Participants will receive the zoom link and password emailed to them the morning of the event. Questions about registration? Contact Jinae Buchannan@jinnae.buchannan@esccorg.
Virtual Meetups: Science
The science content specialists in the Office of Learning and Instructional Strategies are scheduling virtual meetups in collaboration with various professional organizations across the state to support educators and administrators during extended remote learning. The purpose of the forum is to encourage educators and to give them a platform to network, share, and gain new skills or strategies to help students succeed during this unprecedented time. This aligns with the vision of Ohio Strategic Plan for Education,
Each Child, Our Future which focuses on the whole child by empowering teachers to help their students to become resilient lifelong learners who contribute to society. These meetups help to facilitate discussions about equitable learning opportunities and practices for each child while partnering with educators and professional organizations to promote quality schools and student success.
The Department will host and publicize the meetups in conjunction with guest facilitator who is sponsored by a professional organization. The virtual meetups will be scheduled across grade bands and content areas as appropriate.
Schedule
Facilitator: Robin Deems
Email:
Robin.Deems@education.Ohio.gov
All Meetup session times are Eastern Standard Time.
Partnering Professional Organizations
Meeting Norms
All meetings will follow the suggested norms:
- Be respectful.
- Recognize that everyone has expertise.
- Assume positive intent.
- Seek clarification in language and ideas.
- Share experiences.
- Use the chat feature when you have a question.
- Mute your microphone when not speaking.
Instructions on Zoom
Zoom video collaboration software enables teachers and students take part in high-quality, live, online learning opportunities. Zoom requires no special technology, and participants can use it on any platform including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Chromebooks. Students situated remotely and lacking computers or smart devices still can receive audio instruction using a telephone.
Educators who missed the last Zoom training found here can attend the next Zoom as a Teacher-Host webinar series or watch any of the previously recorded webinars online. There is no fee or registration for the webinars. Find previous webinar sessions, additional remote resources, Zoom how-to videos and more information about INFOhio's free digital content and resources on the Management Council’s Community site supporting remote learning. For more information about the training, contact the Management Council or your local Information Technology Center.
Virtual Meetups Resources - Choice boards
To learn more about Choice Boards and explore how the faculty at Genoa Area Local Schools have successfully utilized Choice Boards in their K-12 curriculum, access the Recording of the Ohio Department of Education's Virtual Meetup for Science: Choice Boards. Examine the templates and slides offered by Genoa Area Local teachers, to inspire your efforts to incorporate choice boards into your classroom curriculum. There are many examples provided for implementation across the curriculum and in all grade levels.
Science Explorations To Do at Home
These investigations are designed to be completed in a home setting and are specifically targeted to each of
Ohio’s Learning Standards for Science. These activities use easy to find, familiar household items. The projects are intended to be used by parents to supplement instruction in the classroom or for teachers to assign during remote learning, particularly for students who do not have access to online resources.
Teaching Students About COVID-19
The Smithsonian Science Education Center, in collaboration with the InterAcademy Partnership and the World Health Organization, has created a free guide for youth called, “COVID-19! How can I protect myself and others?” The purpose of this 7-lesson module is to help youth engage in hands-on activities that they can do at home with simple materials to help them understand the underlying science (and social science) of COVID-19.
Ohio Science Standards COVID-19 Gap Analysis
This document was created to assist educators in preparing instruction for the 2020-2021 academic year. It will illuminate any gaps in learning that may have been created during the school building closure of 2020, in order to address them with students during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Science Standards COVID-19 Gap Analysis
Resources Created by Outside Organizations
These resources were created by other professional organizations, many of which are outside Ohio, and are not guaranteed to fully align to the
Ohio Learning Standards and Model Curriculum for Science. When reviewing these resources, educators can use the standards, content elaborations and expectations for learning contained in the Model Curriculum to help make determinations on whether to use the materials with their instruction.
- Supporting Students’ Science Learning During School Closures – Council of State Science Supervisors created a guide to provide guidance around how to support student science learning during these unique circumstances. Here is the link to these documents translated to other languages.
- State of the Planet - Columbia University on April 6 will launch an online video series, Earth Institute Live, for K12 students and educators. The series will feature science experts in 60-minute live sessions where they will share aspects of their work through lectures, interactive activities, and/or demos.
- Project Wild – The mission is to help students learn how to think about wildlife and the environment. Materials are created by professionals within the fields of education and natural resource management from across the county.
- Science Education Council of Ohio – This state science teachers organization provides resources to support the instruction of Ohio’s Learning Standards and Model Curriculum for Science. From now until June 15th all SECO resources will be available at no cost.
- National Science Teaching Association – This organization provides resources to support science instruction. For the remainder of this school year NSTA is offering free memberships.
- cK-12 - The CK-12 Foundation provides a library of free online textbooks, videos, exercises, flashcards, and real world applications for over 5000 concepts from arithmetic to anatomy. cK12 integrates with many Learning Management Systems including Google Classroom, Schoology, Canvas and Edmodo
- Merlot – Community Portals for a variety of topics to provide content support.
- The Cornell Lab – Citizen Science Projects to connect students to the world of birds.
- PBS Learning Media – Provides videos, interactives, and lesson plans for science.
- Understanding Science – The University of Berkeley provides resources to understand the nature of science and address common misconceptions.
- Concord Consortium – Virtual guided STEM lessons to engage students in scientifically accurate models and activities.
Making the Case for Elementary Science
Professional Resources for Science
- Curriculum Analysis - Curriculum analysis documents provide a tool to closely review current instructional resources to ensure alignment with the expectations of Ohio's Learning Standards and Model Curriculum for Science.
- Instructional Implications - Instructional implications documents are intended to provide an overview of the most significant shifts in content or instructional focus between the 2010 and 2018 standards. Teachers or district teams are encouraged to examine these changes more thoroughly using Ohio's Learning Standards and Model Curriculum for Science. Advanced science courses at the high school level are not included in these documents because there were limited changes to the content in those courses.
- Vertical Alignment Example - The vertical alignment document provides one example of an overview of the K-8 progression within each topic area. This document is a high-level view and cannot serve as a substitute for the breadth of information provided in Ohio's Learning Standards and Model Curriculum for Science. The information provided is not sufficient to adequately plan instructional details of lessons or units. Please refer to the intended uses in the introduction to this document.
Last Modified: 7/2/2020 12:05:09 PM