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Hello Amanda,

In my opinion, I think you should teach all the disciplines throughout the year and definitely look at a STEM approach for teaching much of it.  Your state/province will have a science curriculum which would give you a very good idea of what you may want to teach as subjects and topics.  Most curricula have been developed to be developmentally appropriate for each grade and have been mapped out over several years.  Furthermore, there will likely be be resources identified that can be used alongside the curriculum.

Good luck!

Hope this helps,

Gabe

Gabe - 

Thank you so much for your response. I assumed that was the best way of going about it but I wanted some expert advice and my school does not have any experts 

Thanks!

Amanda

Amanda, you should definitely check out ngss.nsta.org for resources for teachers. Choose the grade level and the content area, the lessons are aligned to NGSS and will give descriptions of each part of the 3 dimensional design. You then click on the resource link for the lesson you want and they are usually free. The lessons will break down materials, handouts, etc. 

You should also consider building your library on here, using the Explore All Resources tab.

Hi Amanda!

I am replying as a fellow new teacher, also going into my full 2nd year (I started mid year during the 2017-2018 school year and, yes, it was also rough!)

Just like you, I did not have a really set curriculum so I kind of went with what was typically taught and brought my own ideas in. I found that it is very helpful to have a plan of what units you will cover during the year, how they might relate to one another, and how you sequence them in a way that makes sense and allows students to build knowledge from one unit to the next in a logical way.

I can relate to working in a private school, where your admin may not necessarily require the use of any particular standards like they might in a public setting. For me, I am trying out the NGSS for the first time this year. Otherwise, I find it is helpful to at least refer to standards when planning, whether they are NGSS or something else. It also helps me to have clear objectives pre-written. Looking at the standards would definitely help with what to teach at each grade level, but I would talk to other teachers at your school to see how that is determined. You could also plan it so that 6th graders have a foundation in a certain topic and by 8th grade you get more detailed/complex with the topic.

In answer to your question about focusing on one discipline, or doing an integrated curriculum: I agree with several respondents that an integrated curriculum is the best way to go. However, as a newer teacher whose background is in life science, I chose to focus on that because it was already established that way at my school and also because I decided it was better for me to master teaching before I mastered two disciplines I was not 100% confident in content-wise.

I hope that is helpful, and whatever you do, remember you are still learning and its ok if things don't go perfectly! I have to remind myself that a lot. Try your best and find a good, more experienced teacher friend at your school to give you advice when needed. It really helps!

Hope you have a great school year!

Best,

Alessandra

I am the only sciene teacher, not certerified in Science (small catholoic school - so it didn't matter :) )  I am in NY so I all the

public schools use NGSS.