Science in Cobb County

Myths, Misconceptions, & The Truth

1.

Students in grades K-2 should be learning curriculum outlined in the Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) and not GPS.

• K-2 students should be taught using the new GPS for science. Course guides, unit outlines, and lessons on PICASSO are all GPS based, not QCC.

2.

CCSD is implementing Science GPS in grades 3-5 in the 2006-2007 school year and grades K-2 during the 2007-2008 school year.

• CCSD is implementing K-5 GPS Science this school year, 2006 2007.

3.

Students in grades 1-5 will be asked to complete a science section on this year’s CRCT.

• Students in grades 3-5 will be completing a science section on the CRCT. • There are no plans, that we know of, to add a science section for 1 st or 2 nd grades.

4. Students will have to make a certain score on the science portion of the CRCT, in order for schools to make AYP for the 2006-2007 school year.

• AYP will not be based on science CRCT scores for the 2006-2007 school year.

5. The science and social studies departments will be doing a program evaluation this year.

• Advanced Learning (ALP), Science, and Social Studies will all be completing a program evaluation this year.

6. Students, Parents, Teachers, and Administrators in grades K 12 will be asked to complete a survey about the Science, SS, and ALP programs.

• Teachers and administrators will be asked to complete an on-line survey.

• Parents and students (grades 3-12) will given a paper and pencil survey.

7. The new science GPS has two different types of standards, content standards and characteristics of science standards.

• The content standards tell teachers

what

to teach.

• The characteristics of science standards tell teachers

how

to teach.

8. It is important to teach specific lessons on science process skills.

• Whenever possible it is best to teach process skills embedded into content. For example: Integrate a lesson on how to use a magnifying glass into a lesson on types of soil.

9. Links to the elementary science BLOG can be found on PICASSO under each science course guide on PICASSO.

• www.cicobb.typepad.com/es/ address for the BLOG.

is the • You can click under any science course guide to access the BLOG.

• You can also access the BLOG from the instructional resources tab.

10. A teacher demonstration of a science concept is just as powerful as having students do a hands-on experiment.

• There is no substitute for allowing students to actually experience science. Student hands-on is the best way to help students learn a new concept.

11. Teachers in any grade can reserve the Starlab mobile planetarium to use with their students.

• Currently only

trained

teachers in grades 4, 6, 8, and HS Astronomy can reserve the Starlab.

• We have five working Starlabs for 103 schools. We are doing to best we can to ensure that we accommodate all schools wanting to schedule the Starlab.

12. Science consumable funds can be used to buy resource books and bulletin board kits from the School Box.

• Science consumable funds can be used to purchase hands-on science consumable items only.

• Office supplies, vertebrate animals*, and bulletin board kits can not be purchased.

13. JoAnn Wood is the new Social Studies Supervisor and Sally Creel is the Science Supervisor.

• Amy Krause is the Mathematics Supervisor.

• Jan Hollis is the new Language Arts Supervisor.

• Contact any of them or any of the literacy coaches or math facilitators if you have curriculum questions.

14. CCSD has purchased AIMS resource books, electricity kits, simple machine kits, and magnet kits for each elementary school in the district.

• These resources are in your buildings. We want you to be aware that you have them.

• We hope to purchase even more GPS support materials this year.

15. CCSD has purchased butterfly garden kits to be used in all first grade classrooms.

• This is no longer a 1 st grade standard. • Life cycles have moved to 2 nd (Standard S2L1) grade. • All 2 nd grade classrooms will be getting butterfly garden kits in March.

16. The science course guides located on PICASSO were based on the Harcourt science textbooks.

• CCSD teachers worked collaboratively to create the course guides on PICASSO, based on the new Georgia Performance Standards.

• Our Harcourt textbooks are a curriculum resource, not our curriculum.

17. There are plans to revise the science course guides on PICASSO over the summer.

• The 2006-2007 course guides will be revised over the summer.

• Teachers should continue to send their comments, ideas, concerns, and general feedback regarding the course guides to Sally Creel.

18. During the 2 students in 2 nd nd 9 weeks, grade will be learning about motion and celestial bodies.

19. Having your students rub their hands together or rub objects in the room is one way to teach them that energy of motion can be transferred into heat energy.

• The standard asks students to identify sources of energy and how they are used.

20. Second grade students should be encouraged to investigate and see if you can pull a box of books faster than you can push it.

•

When we see the word “investigate” as part of a standard, it means “mess around with.” Let the students mess around with stuff in your class and see what happens. That is inquiry.