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Social-Emotional Learning in the Science Classroom

Science Scope—September/October 2024

By Patty McGinnis

From the Editor's Desk
From the Editor's Desk
From the Editor's Desk
 

Meeting the Needs of the Refugee Students in Your Science Classroom

Science Scope—September/October 2024

By Gayle Buck, Arya Karumanthra, Shukufe Rahman

Your new student roster includes refugee students. You want to communicate with them and make them feel welcome in their new science classroom; however, given their limited English and traumatic experiences that are unlike anything you have known, you are uncertain how to do so. You also understand that they are unsure of how to interact with you. Feeling a mix of confusion and uneasiness, you try to plan in a manner that meets their educational needs while still meeting those of the non-refugee students in your class - not an easy task! This article is for you if you have ever encountered this situation in your classroom. Informed by the existing research, we have consolidated the best instructional practices that could be delivered in a science classroom with refugee students. Rather than viewing refugee students as a burden to the mainstream classroom, through this article, we show you ways to see them as a strength.
Your new student roster includes refugee students. You want to communicate with them and make them feel welcome in their new science classroom; however, given their limited English and traumatic experiences that are unlike anything you have known, you are uncertain how to do so. You also understand that they are unsure of how to interact with you. Feeling a mix of confusion and uneasiness, you try to plan in a manner that meets their educational needs while still meeting those of the non-refugee students in your class - not an easy task!
Your new student roster includes refugee students. You want to communicate with them and make them feel welcome in their new science classroom; however, given their limited English and traumatic experiences that are unlike anything you have known, you are uncertain how to do so. You also understand that they are unsure of how to interact with you. Feeling a mix of confusion and uneasiness, you try to plan in a manner that meets their educational needs while still meeting those of the non-refugee students in your class - not an easy task!
 

Expanding Language Use: Supporting Emergent Multilingual Learners’ Sensemaking in Science

Science Scope—September/October 2024

By Samuel Lee, Benjamin DiFrancesco, Caitlin Fine, Katherine McNeill

Students bring with them rich cultural and linguistic ways of knowing and communicating when engaged in figuring out explanations of phenomena. However, it is a challenge for teachers to support bi/multilingual learners in language-intensive science and engineering practices when they don’t share a common language. When we position students’ bi/multilingualism as an asset rather than an obstacle, we can support bi/multilingual students’ equitable sensemaking. To support bi/multilingual learners' equitable sensemaking, we offer two tools: language surveys and the multiple ways of communicating strategies sheet. We describe how a teacher (second author) used these resources to adapt an investigation about air resistance and contact forces for his bi/multilingual students. The tools and examples provided can help educators better understand their students and make principled changes to science instruction, to expand how we use language in science. We hope the tools aid teachers in this challenging work but also reframe how educators see what students are saying and doing as assets for developing their ideas and learning.
Students bring with them rich cultural and linguistic ways of knowing and communicating when engaged in figuring out explanations of phenomena. However, it is a challenge for teachers to support bi/multilingual learners in language-intensive science and engineering practices when they don’t share a common language. When we position students’ bi/multilingualism as an asset rather than an obstacle, we can support bi/multilingual students’ equitable sensemaking.
Students bring with them rich cultural and linguistic ways of knowing and communicating when engaged in figuring out explanations of phenomena. However, it is a challenge for teachers to support bi/multilingual learners in language-intensive science and engineering practices when they don’t share a common language. When we position students’ bi/multilingualism as an asset rather than an obstacle, we can support bi/multilingual students’ equitable sensemaking.
 

scope on the skies

Chasing Giant Ice balls

Science Scope—September/October 2024

By Bob Riddle

Scope on the Skies regular column. An SEL-based look at comets, their impact on society, and how they are named.
Scope on the Skies regular column. An SEL-based look at comets, their impact on society, and how they are named.
Scope on the Skies regular column. An SEL-based look at comets, their impact on society, and how they are named.
 

Integrating Careers Into Your NGSS Lessons

Science Scope—September/October 2024

By Kyle Gray, Jill Maroo, Alan Czarnetzki, Sadik Kucuksari

Middle school is a critical time when students form ideas and preferences regarding careers they might pursue. Employers sometimes have difficulties filling STEM job openings, yet students often are not even aware these jobs exist. The middle-school science classroom is an excellent place for introducing various careers by integrating them into NGSS-aligned lessons. Integrating careers into science lessons does not need to require much lesson time nor does it need to be complicated. Adding this element makes a lesson more interesting and relevant by illustrating how science is used in the real world. We provide several strategies for integrating careers into your existing lessons. These include using bellringers to describe different careers, role playing situations where the students view the target concept from a given perspective, projects with a career component, and direct instruction about specific careers. It has been our experience that students enjoy learning about careers, especially the ones they had never heard of before. We also recommend including careers with a range of education and skill levels. This way all of your students can learn about one or more jobs they find attractive, and may inspire students to pursue a career in STEM.

Middle school is a critical time when students form ideas and preferences regarding careers they might pursue. Employers sometimes have difficulties filling STEM job openings, yet students often are not even aware these jobs exist. The middle-school science classroom is an excellent place for introducing various careers by integrating them into NGSS-aligned lessons. Integrating careers into science lessons does not need to require much lesson time nor does it need to be complicated.

Middle school is a critical time when students form ideas and preferences regarding careers they might pursue. Employers sometimes have difficulties filling STEM job openings, yet students often are not even aware these jobs exist. The middle-school science classroom is an excellent place for introducing various careers by integrating them into NGSS-aligned lessons. Integrating careers into science lessons does not need to require much lesson time nor does it need to be complicated.

 

Unlocking the Power of Emotional Connections: Strategies for Teaching Climate Change in Middle School

Science Scope—September/October 2024

By Emily Godin, Jo'el Johanson

In the face of the escalating climate crisis, effective climate education is imperative, not only for imparting knowledge, but also for inspiring action. This paper explores innovative strategies for teaching climate change in middle school, recognizing the critical role of emotional connections in fostering meaningful content engagement and long-term behavioral change among students. Drawing on a case study conducted in two Arizona middle schools, this research investigates how educators interpret and implement state science standards related to climate change and assesses students' understanding and motivation regarding climate change causes, severity, and solutions. The study identifies two key discoveries: first, that heightened climate change concern correlates with a greater potential for proactive action, and second, that establishing emotional connection to climate change is pivotal for sustainable behavioral change. Building on these findings, the paper provides a comprehensive set of strategies for middle school educators that encompass making content relatable to students' lives, embracing social-emotional learning, and promoting open discussion. Incorporating these strategies not only enhances students' understanding, but also equips them with the emotional resilience and motivation needed to tackle the pressing challenge of climate change.
In the face of the escalating climate crisis, effective climate education is imperative, not only for imparting knowledge, but also for inspiring action. This paper explores innovative strategies for teaching climate change in middle school, recognizing the critical role of emotional connections in fostering meaningful content engagement and long-term behavioral change among students.
In the face of the escalating climate crisis, effective climate education is imperative, not only for imparting knowledge, but also for inspiring action. This paper explores innovative strategies for teaching climate change in middle school, recognizing the critical role of emotional connections in fostering meaningful content engagement and long-term behavioral change among students.
 

Using Conferences to Give Students a Sense of Belonging

Science Scope—September/October 2024

By Tasha Kirby

Conducting student conferences similar to those used by English Language Arts teachers to improve reading skills can give middle school science students a sense of belonging and ownership in science. Once a set of conference goals is determined, a teacher can develop a form to elicit responses from students that address established goals. During each conference, the teacher will take detailed notes of student responses with the intent of learning more about a student's opinions toward science, strengths and weaknesses, expert skills, and suggestions for improving the learning environment. Information from conferences can be used to strengthen student–teacher relationships, implement activities that interest students, and provide a sense of community in the classroom.
Conducting student conferences similar to those used by English Language Arts teachers to improve reading skills can give middle school science students a sense of belonging and ownership in science. Once a set of conference goals is determined, a teacher can develop a form to elicit responses from students that address established goals. During each conference, the teacher will take detailed notes of student responses with the intent of learning more about a student's opinions toward science, strengths and weaknesses, expert skills, and suggestions for improving the learning environment.
Conducting student conferences similar to those used by English Language Arts teachers to improve reading skills can give middle school science students a sense of belonging and ownership in science. Once a set of conference goals is determined, a teacher can develop a form to elicit responses from students that address established goals. During each conference, the teacher will take detailed notes of student responses with the intent of learning more about a student's opinions toward science, strengths and weaknesses, expert skills, and suggestions for improving the learning environment.
 

citizen science

Snapshot Safari: Elephant Edition

Science Scope—September/October 2024

By Jill Nugent

Citizen Science article for the September/ October 2024 issue of Science Scope

Citizen Science article for the September/ October 2024 issue of Science Scope

Citizen Science article for the September/ October 2024 issue of Science Scope

 

Fieldwork Fridays: Connecting Scientific Learning to Nature

Science Scope—September/October 2024

By Katie Coppens

Building routines around place-based learning allows students to apply their scientific learning to nature and form a connection with their local environment and the species in it over the course of a school year. Each Friday, in what are referred to as “Fieldwork Fridays,” Coppens brings her students outside to apply what they learned that week in class to the environment around them. This can range from using measuring skills to estimate the heights of trees, to looking for animal prints in the snow to better understand the concept of trace fossils, to thinking of an experimental design in nature. Tips for implementation are included, and some of the benefits and challenges of this hands-on, nature-based learning are addressed.
Building routines around place-based learning allows students to apply their scientific learning to nature and form a connection with their local environment and the species in it over the course of a school year. Each Friday, in what are referred to as “Fieldwork Fridays,” Coppens brings her students outside to apply what they learned that week in class to the environment around them.
Building routines around place-based learning allows students to apply their scientific learning to nature and form a connection with their local environment and the species in it over the course of a school year. Each Friday, in what are referred to as “Fieldwork Fridays,” Coppens brings her students outside to apply what they learned that week in class to the environment around them.
 

Dyeing to Last: Using Natural Dyes to Create an Ideal Fabric

Science Scope—September/October 2024

By Tyler St. Clair, Makayla Kraetsch, Mia Arrieta

In this project-based lesson, students explore how chemistry concepts relate to creative expression by investigating a variety of dyeing conditions. Through sequenced discussions and investigations, students arrive at a dyed cotton product that optimizes for both personal aesthetics and chemical processes. This NGSS middle school science lesson closely aligns with MS-PS1-3. Students who demonstrate understanding can gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society. Students were enthusiastic about generating ideas for what materials they wanted to explore, maintained interest throughout the investigations, and were excited to show off their creations.

In this project-based lesson, students explore how chemistry concepts relate to creative expression by investigating a variety of dyeing conditions. Through sequenced discussions and investigations, students arrive at a dyed cotton product that optimizes for both personal aesthetics and chemical processes. This NGSS middle school science lesson closely aligns with MS-PS1-3. Students who demonstrate understanding can gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

In this project-based lesson, students explore how chemistry concepts relate to creative expression by investigating a variety of dyeing conditions. Through sequenced discussions and investigations, students arrive at a dyed cotton product that optimizes for both personal aesthetics and chemical processes. This NGSS middle school science lesson closely aligns with MS-PS1-3. Students who demonstrate understanding can gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

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