Making Sense of SCIENCE: Energy for Teachers of Grades 6-8, Teacher Book
Published in Collaboration with NSTA Press.
Proven through more than a decade of rigorous research to be effective with both teachers and students, Making Sense of SCIENCE helps teachers gain a deep and enduring understanding of tricky science topics, think and reason scientifically, and support content literacy in science, thereby increasing student achievement.
The materials presented in this book help teachers gain a solid understanding of tough science concepts and common misconceptions, support productive and worthwhile professional learning communities, and prepare teachers to implement standards-based science curriculum. Topics are central to the Next Generation Science Framework and aligned with the Common Core State Standards in literacy.
This book guides teachers through investigations of energy, potential energy, heat energy, conservation of energy, and energy in ecosystems, and features:
- Hands-on experiments with easy-to-follow instructions and illustrations
- Clear explanations of tough science concepts
- Examples of classic misconceptions
- A bank of formative assessments
- A CD containing reproducible black line masters
- A guided protocol for evaluating student work in professional learning communities
Note: The complete Making Sense of SCIENCE for Teachers of Grades 6-8 professional development package contains the Teacher Book, plus a Facilitator Guide and additional CD. The Facilitator Guide includes extensive support materials and detailed procedures that allow science educators and staff developers to successfully lead a Making Sense of SCIENCE course for teacher learning.
Also available as part of this course is a set of wall charts that serve as a focal point for teacher learning during the course.
Facilitation Academies, designed to prepare staff developers, district science leaders, and other teacher educators to effectively lead Making Sense of SCIENCE courses, are also available.
Teacher Courses offer five days of engaging and worthwhile learning that help teachers implement science and literacy standards and have been proven to boost student achievement in science.
Visit the Making Sense of SCIENCE website for more information about Making Sense of SCIENCE for Teachers professional development books and Facilitation Academies.
Making Sense of SCIENCE: Energy for Teachers of Grades 6-8
Published in collaboration with NSTA Press.
This comprehensive professional development course for grades 6–8 science teachers provides all the necessary ingredients for building a scientific way of thinking in teachers and students, focusing on science content, inquiry, and literacy. Teachers who participate in this course learn to facilitate hands-on science lessons, support evidence-based discussions, and develop students’ academic language and reading and writing skills in science, along with the habits of mind necessary for sense making and scientific reasoning.
Energy for Teachers of Grades 6–8 consists of five core sessions:
- Session 1: What is Energy?
- Session 2: Potential Energy
- Session 3: Heat Energy
- Session 4: Conservation of Energy
- Session 5: Energy in Ecosystems
The materials include everything needed to effectively lead this course with ease:
- Facilitator Guide with extensive support materials and detailed procedures that allow staff developers to successfully lead a course
- Teacher Book with teaching, science, and literacy investigations, along with a follow-up component, Looking at Student Work™, designed to support ongoing professional learning communities
- CD with black line masters of all handouts and charts to support group discussion and sense making, course participation certificates, student work samples, and other materials that can be reproduced for use with teachers
Charts that serve as a focal point for teacher learning during the course as well as additional Teacher Books can be purchased separately.
Also available are Facilitation Academies designed to prepare staff developers, district science leaders, and other teacher educators to effectively lead Making Sense of SCIENCE courses.
For more information about Making Sense of SCIENCE courses and Facilitation Academies, visit the Making Sense of SCIENCE website.
Making Sense of SCIENCE: Force & Motion Formative Assessment Task Bank (eBook)
Formative assessment is an ongoing process that involves gathering and analyzing evidence of students’ thinking, then using what is learned to inform instruction.
This collection of formative assessment tasks is specifically designed as a tool to allow students to share their thinking.
These tasks:
- Go beyond facts or simple recall and encourage students to think
- Require students to decide what knowledge to apply when
- Can be solved in a number of ways
- Give students a chance to explain their thinking and ways of figuring things out
- Ask students to communicate in several modes (e.g., words and drawings)
- Are accessible and interesting
There are many ways to use these tasks to augment existing instructional activities. The tasks are not intended for use as end-of-unit tests or final assessments, nor are they a complete curriculum.
These tasks are an ideal complement to WestEd’s Making Sense of Student Work protocol—a guide that supports groups of teachers collaboratively analyzing and interpreting student work to inform their instruction.
Download Making Sense of SCIENCE Force & Motion Student Work Samples & Task Set A.
Additional Formative Assessment Task Banks:
SCIENCE
Energy for Grades 6–8
Matter for Grades 5–8
Matter for Grades 9–12
MATHEMATICS
The Number System for Grades 6–8
Equations & Expressions for Grades 6–8
Visit the Making Sense of Student Work website for more information about the Making Sense of Student Work protocol and teacher professional development.
Science Learning for Teachers That Improves Students’ Achievement
Professional development programs can document a positive impact on participating teachers, but does it make any difference for students?
According to several rigorous research studies analyzing WestEd’s Making Sense of SCIENCE professional development, the answer is a resounding yes.
Professional development improves teachers’ science and literacy understanding and pedagogical content knowledge so effectively that their students’ learning benefits significantly. A recent study found that students whose teachers participated in the professional development outperformed comparable students by more than 40 percent.
Using a case-based approach, similar to what helps doctors, lawyers, and other professionals wrangle with the ambiguities of knowledge in practice, Making Sense of SCIENCE provides teachers with tools to examine common misunderstandings about science topics—for example, incorrectly equating the concept of energy with a force or power.
After collaboratively analyzing student work in the case, teachers work with colleagues to identify effective interventions for students. Teachers also focus on literacy by exploring the language of science and how to use it to communicate with students and represent concepts in different ways.
Core components of Making Sense of SCIENCE include:
- Science Investigations
- Literacy Investigations
- Teaching Investigations
- Classroom Connections
Making Sense of SCIENCE: Energy Formative Assessment Task Bank (eBook)
Formative assessment is an ongoing process that involves gathering and analyzing evidence of students’ thinking, then using what is learned to inform instruction.
This collection of formative assessment tasks is specifically designed as a tool to allow students to share their thinking.
These tasks:
- Go beyond facts or simple recall and encourage students to think
- Require students to decide what knowledge to apply when
- Can be solved in a number of ways
- Give students a chance to explain their thinking and ways of figuring things out
- Ask students to communicate in several modes (e.g., words and drawings)
- Are accessible and interesting
There are many ways to use these tasks to augment existing instructional activities. The tasks are not intended for use as end-of-unit tests or final assessments, nor are they a complete curriculum.
These tasks are an ideal complement to WestEd’s Making Sense of Student Work protocol—a guide that supports groups of teachers collaboratively analyzing and interpreting student work to inform their instruction.
Download Making Sense of SCIENCE Energy Student Work Samples & Task Set A.
Additional Formative Assessment Task Banks:
SCIENCE
Matter for Grades 6–8
Force & Motion for Grades 6–8
MATHEMATICS
The Number System for Grades 6–8
Equations & Expressions for Grades 6–8
Visit the Making Sense of Student Work website for more information about the Making Sense of Student Work protocol and teacher professional development.
Making Sense of SCIENCE: Energy for Teachers of Grades 6–8, Charts
Wall charts serve as the focal point for teacher learning during Making Sense of SCIENCE courses.
This bundle includes 36 pre-made charts (24″ x 32″), making it easy to successfully lead an energy course for teachers, grades 6–8.
For more information about Making Sense of SCIENCE courses and Facilitation Academies, visit the Making Sense of SCIENCE website.
Making Sense of SCIENCE: Matter Formative Assessment Task Bank (eBook)
Formative assessment is an ongoing process that involves gathering and analyzing evidence of students’ thinking, then using what is learned to inform instruction.
This collection of formative assessment tasks is specifically designed as a tool to allow students to share their thinking.
These tasks:
- Go beyond facts or simple recall and encourage students to think
- Require students to decide what knowledge to apply when
- Can be solved in a number of ways
- Give students a chance to explain their thinking and ways of figuring things out
- Ask students to communicate in several modes (e.g., words and drawings)
- Are accessible and interesting
There are many ways to use these tasks to augment existing instructional activities. The tasks are not intended for use as end-of-unit tests or final assessments, nor are they a complete curriculum.
These tasks are an ideal complement to WestEd’s Making Sense of Student Work protocol—a guide that supports groups of teachers collaboratively analyzing and interpreting student work to inform their instruction.
Download Making Sense of SCIENCE Matter Student Work Samples & Task Set A.
Additional Formative Assessment Task Banks:
SCIENCE
Energy for Grades 6–8
Force & Motion for Grades 6–8
MATHEMATICS
The Number System for Grades 6–8
Equations & Expressions for Grades 6–8
Visit the Making Sense of Student Work website for more information about the Making Sense of Student Work protocol and teacher professional development.
Making Sense of SCIENCE: Matter Formative Assessment Task Bank (eBook), Grades 5-8
Formative assessment is an ongoing process that involves gathering and analyzing evidence of students’ thinking, then using what is learned to inform instruction.
This collection of formative assessment science tasks is specifically designed as a tool to allow students to share their thinking.
The tasks:
- Go beyond facts or simple recall and encourage students to think
- Require students to decide what knowledge to apply and when
- Can be solved in a variety of ways
- Give students a chance to explain their thinking and ways of figuring things out
- Ask students to communicate in different ways, for example, through words or drawings
- Are accessible and interesting
These tasks are an ideal complement to WestEd’s Making Sense of Student Work protocol — a guide that supports groups of teachers collaboratively analyzing and interpreting student work to inform their instruction.
Note: There are many ways to use these tasks to augment existing instructional activities. The tasks are not intended for use as end-of-unit tests or final assessments, nor are they a complete curriculum.
Additional Formative Assessment Task Banks:
SCIENCE
- Energy for Grades 6–8
- Force & Motion for Grades 6–8
- Genes & Traits for Grades 5–12
- Matter for Grades 9-12
MATHEMATICS
Visit the Making Sense of Student Work website for more information about the Making Sense of Student Work protocol and professional learning opportunities.
Making Sense of SCIENCE: Matter Formative Assessment Task Bank (eBook), Grades 9-12
Formative assessment is an ongoing process that involves gathering and analyzing evidence of students’ thinking, then using what is learned to inform instruction.
This collection of formative assessment science tasks is specifically designed as a tool to allow students to share their thinking.
The tasks:
- Go beyond facts or simple recall and encourage students to think
- Require students to decide what knowledge to apply and when
- Can be solved in a variety of ways
- Give students a chance to explain their thinking and ways of figuring things out
- Ask students to communicate in different ways, for example, through words or drawings
- Are accessible and interesting
These tasks are an ideal complement to WestEd’s Making Sense of Student Work protocol — a guide that supports groups of teachers collaboratively analyzing and interpreting student work to inform their instruction.
Note: There are many ways to use these tasks to augment existing instructional activities. The tasks are not intended for use as end-of-unit tests or final assessments, nor are they a complete curriculum.
Additional Formative Assessment Task Banks:
SCIENCE
- Matter for Grades 5-8
- Energy for Grades 6–8
- Force & Motion for Grades 6–8
- Genes & Traits for Grades 5–12
MATHEMATICS
Visit the Making Sense of Student Work website for more information about the Making Sense of Student Work protocol and professional learning opportunities.
Equations & Expressions: Formative Assessment Task Bank for Grades 6-8 (eBook)
Formative assessment is an ongoing process that involves gathering and analyzing evidence of students’ thinking, then using what is learned to inform instruction.
This collection of formative assessment tasks is specifically designed as a tool to allow students to share their thinking.
These tasks:
- Go beyond facts or simple recall and encourage students to think
- Require students to decide what knowledge to apply when
- Can be solved in a number of ways
- Give students a chance to explain their thinking and ways of figuring things out
- Ask students to communicate in several modes (e.g., words and drawings)
- Are accessible and interesting
There are many ways to use these tasks to augment existing instructional activities. The tasks are not intended for use as end-of-unit tests or final assessments, nor are they a complete curriculum.
These tasks are an ideal complement to WestEd’s Making Sense of Student Work protocol — a guide that supports groups of teachers collaboratively analyzing and interpreting student work to inform their instruction.
Additional Formative Assessment Task Banks:
SCIENCE
Energy for Grades 6–8
Matter for Grades 6–8
Force & Motion for Grades 6-8
MATHEMATICS
The Number System for Grades 6–8
Visit the Making Sense of Student Work website for more information about the Making Sense of Student Work protocol and teacher professional development.