23/24 Science/Health

SECOND STEP LESSONS

Yesterday, we started the Second Step curriculum. There are 3 units to complete (Empathy and Skills for Learning, Emotion Management, and Problem Solving). Most Tuesdays, we will complete a lesson. Since there are 22 lessons, we have some wiggle room. Therefore, there are some Tuesdays we do something else. Throughout the year, we will be working on and reviewing these lessons.

Every lesson has a Home Link to complete with an adult family member. I always give kids a week to complete this, knowing that some days are busier than others in each family. The Home Link is typically due the following Tuesday. Please make sure that the link is signed by the adult family member who completed the assignment with the student.

SCIENCE BOOK OF THE MONTH

Every month, students are assigned a new science topic. They need to find and read a nonfiction book on that topic. It must be a book. They may not choose an article, a section of a book, or a website. It's okay to choose a physical book or an e-book. Audio books don't work well with this type of assignment. 5th grade non-fiction books tend to be more successful if they include pictures, and you can't see pictures on an audio book.

The book should be written at your student's reading level or fifth grade level. Please guide them in choosing a book at their level. Also, the book should meet the topic requirement. For example, a book about plants or ecosystems should not be about desert animals as this is unlikely to cover an entire ecosystem.

When finished reading, students fill out the form, sign it, get you to sign it, and turn it in. Your signature tells me that you checked what book your child read and know that they read it. You're welcome to read it with them or discuss what they learned.

I have some books available in the classroom. Other good resources are the VG Library, the PV Library, and local bookstores.

I've attached the schedule for the year, if you and your child want to plan ahead.

Claim-Evidence-Reasoning Assessments

11/27: The first CER assessment has been sent home for review and a loving adult's signature. Here's some information you may find helpful in understanding this CER and future ones. CERs are not easy, so we'll be practicing them all year.

The "Claim" is like the hypothesis. This is something the student believes to be true and that they plan to test and prove. This is the easiest part of the CER, and is often given or hinted at in the experiment or "explore". For the Matter is Everywhere CER, the claim was stated in the prompt and students just needed to find it and write it down.
The claim was worth 10 points on this CER. They could get partial credit for putting part of the claim or writing something close. If they wrote something, I gave them 2 points. I want them to get in the habit of at least trying everything.
The "Evidence" comes from data. I'm trying to get students to focus on the senses and what can be measured when asked about evidence. In this case, evidence would stem from the chart of mass and volume measurements and what Lea and Paul saw. Explaining what the evidence means comes under reasoning. We've gone over that, but it might take several tries to get it right. That's okay; they're just learning now. Whatever they understand will help them a lot in middle school and high school.
The evidence was worth 10 points. Including the data numbers and mentioning what had happened in the experiment were important. Students could get partial credit, and I gave them 2 points just for writing something, even if it was wrong!
"Reasoning" is the most difficult part. The curriculum wants students to be able to state something they know to be true, then add something that happened in the experiment that ties what is true to the claim, then use a "therefore" statement to restate the claim. That's a lot for a 5th grader. We're taking baby steps.
Reasoning was only worth 3 points. 1 point for writing something. 2 points for getting part of the reasoning (what's true or what happened). 3 points for stating all three parts fairly or really well.
I also gave a point if students used the words "mass", "matter", and "volume" someplace in the CER. They had to use all three words. I want them to practice using scientific words in their answers.
The final point out of 25 was for writing some of their answer in cursive. They took the assessment in October, so half should have been in cursive. I don't measure or count, though!
There are also CERs after each Explore (experiment) we complete in class. I plan to do one CER with the kids each chapter. At first, they'll complete them with their groups and we'll review. Later, they'll complete with a partner, and finally, they'll complete them on their own. These CERs won't be graded, and we'll go over them in class. This will give them practice before the end-of-chapter assessment.

Open-Ended Response

11/27: The open-ended response also went home today. This also needs a loving adult's signature, and should be returned by Thursday. We reviewed the entire test in class, so please have your child explain it to you.

# 1 & 2 were worth 4 points each. #3 was worth 8 points, as it was one similar to an experiment we completed in class.
I thought asking about evidence was misleading for #1, as I've been telling kids that evidence involves using senses or measurement tools. If a student was mislead and gave a good evidential answer, I gave points.
Most of the time, I gave a point just for writing something that showed some thought or logic, as I want to encourage everyone to think and try.
Using science words like matter, gas, dissolve, and evaporate helped earn a higher score.
Spelling does count in life, and I want to encourage careful spelling. This time, I gave a point if matter (#1), balloon (#2), and sugar (#3) were spelled correctly. Also, a point was earned for writing at least half of the answer in cursive.
Air is fine, gas is better.
Details are important, even the "obvious" ones. I reminded kids that I need proof that they understand certain scientific concepts. If they don't state the concept or show understanding, I can't give them full credit, even if they "probably" understand. Sometimes, it's necessary to state the obvious.
I love to give partial credit, and I'll try to find ways to do so.

Non-fiction book schedule