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I risk sounding stupid here but I hear people talking about these and while I have read about the NGSS including the Framwework book, I have not heard anything about CCSS specifically for science. Are these two different things for science? Will science have CCSS AND NGSS to implement and coordinate with other core subjects? I have read a great deal about both but most material covers only math and ELA. If there will be NGSS AND CCSS how will that work? I would appreciate any resources on science CCSS that anyone might share.

Hi Anne, I think this is actually a great question since the CCSS is so huge right now. With 46? states having already adopted the CCSS, this is really on everyone's mind. The NGSS is still in draft form, so no one has formally "adopted" the NGSS. I'll try to explain a little about the CCSS and how they link to science. You are correct in that there are essentially two areas of focus in the CCSS, Math and ELA. The effects, however are far-reaching. In both, there are MAJOR shifts in thinking and instruction. A great document for these "shifts" is here: http://engageny.org/resource/common-core-shifts/ Notice the shift in math that we are expecting students to apply the math they are learning. This, of course, is in large part the application of math in science. In general, students are expected to have a deep understanding of the math they are learning; this will be done through using the math in meaningful ways---SCIENCE!!! :) In ELS, there are these "shifts" as well. One being the increased emphasis on informational, or non-fiction reading skills. Of course, students need to be reading ABOUT something...that's where the science fits in. Another shift you will see is the emphasis on using evidence from source to "inform or make an argument"...sound familiar??? These are similar skills that we are expecting from the scientific practice of argumentation. ELA also has a greater emphasis on the development of academic vocabulary and knowledge in the disciplines. The structure of the ELA CCSS, while it is not about science content, does have a section specifically for science teachers in upper grades. In grades 6-12, the ELA CCSS has a section for "ELA in Science, Social Studies, and Technical Subjects". We see the responsibility of teaching reading, writing, speaking and listening spread now to these subjects, not just for the English teacher. This is disconcerting for some, and for others, just makes sense. It is what good elementary teachers have really done all along. I think it is important to note that there is NO science content, practices, or benchmarks in the CCSS. They will not replace or be in lieu of science standards. They will, however, supplement the teaching of the science content. The NGSS, if adopted by your state, will be the "science standards" but you will notice that there are sections of the NGSS giving some connections to the CCSS ELA and Math. These connections are not fully fleshed out, yet (or at least they were not in the May draft), but have potential for a whole new integrated way of thinking about teaching. For now, most states have their own set of science standards, for better or for worse, and these are still in play. I must say, though that I for one, am already starting to transition to the NGSS! Hope this helps!

Hi Anne, I would like to add to Wendy's comments about how science is or is not linked with the CCSSI standards. I am going to attach a copy of the CCSSI standards here, and if you look at page 62, you will find science (6-12)section that Wendy mentioned explaining how to connect science content to reading standards for literacy. Also, I attended the first webinar on the NGS (Next Generation Science) standards through NSTA. One of the moderators stated that there would be an effort to link the NGS standards to the CCSSI standards once the NGS standards have been formally completed. That will certainly make life easier for us! Wendy has the right idea to start considering ways to incorporate the NGS standards. For example, one of the shifts in my thinking involves how I teach science process skills. Now I am trying to focus on scientific and engineering practices. The new terminology does involve new approaches to presenting the learning experiences/activities to our students. Carolyn

Attachments

CCSSI_ELA_Standards.pdf (1.60 Mb)

Hi Anne - Thanks for posting this question. Science teachers are struggling now to incorporate both the CCSS and the NGSS framework guidelines that have been released. I do like how the NGSS content standards are incorporating the CCSS, but the final copy will not be released for some time. This is an area where district coordinators and teachers need to work together to help ensure that we are using similar strategies and language in our instruction. Professional development needs to be provided as there is confusion about the adoption of the national standards and the relationship between the NGSS and CCSS.

One of the important thins to remember is that while we can use the Common Core English Language Arts Standards to leverage & enhane our science instruction, it is not science. Inquiry science can be what we ask our students to speak and write about. Having said that the instructional shifts expected by the Common Core will work for science instruction: 1.Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction across the curriculum-Digging deeper into science concepts 2.Reading, writing, and speaking/listening grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational- Regular practice with complex text and its academic language-Using science vocabulary in onversations and argumentation.

There is some overlap in the NGSS and CCSS (both mathematics and ELA) as we are asking students to think in a similar fashion across these areas. One that stands out is argumentation, In the K-12 Framework, Practice 7 is "Engaging in Argument from Evidence", in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, mathematically proficient students are expected to "construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others." In the Common Core ELA, on of the main goals (the College and Career Readiness standards) for reading asks students to be able to "delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence". For Speaking and listening, ""evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric" and "present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience." In writing, we see a similar strand in that we want students to be able to 'write arguments to support claims in an analysis", and "use valid reasoning and sufficient evidence". Integration is the key here!

Wendy, I do agree with you. We need to teach our students how to talk to each other, how to disagree with each other, and how to defend their position with evidence whether it is from a "text during reading class", "data from our science investigation" or evidence from our problem-solving in mathematics class. While each of the disciplines have nuances that our students need to be taught, whatever work we do in one discipline will support future work in another discipline. So what does this look like in K-2? Grades 3-5? 6-8 or grades 9-12? Is there someone who is doing work in this area that they wuld be willing to share with us? Kathy

Having debates in class is always happening, unfortunately most of the time they are not productive and without support. I also agree that choosing a point and defending it with evidence is a very important life skill. When I have time I have students do this with their math homework. They present the problem show how they came to their solution and if another math group disagrees then defend it. You can also have great debates in social studies and science. Students also seem to leave debates we have in class with no hard feelings when done the right way instead of just arguing with each other.

Michael, I think you have touched upon the issue of our student engaging in scientific discourse. They need to be taught the skills. They need to learn the skills and have multiple opportunities to practice those skills. We have to teach them how to argue appropriately. You mentioned debates..howdo you prepare your students for debating? Kathy

Teaching students how to debate is a difficult process but certainly not impossible. Many of our Biology teachers do an organelle debate project that allows the students to get their "feet wet." They must debate the importance of their organelle in comparison to the others in the cell. It helps to start the conversation between students. I think the key to success is to give the students multiple opportunies to practice the skill without being overwhelmed with too many new skills at the same time. A lot of the NGSS and CCSS are not entirely different in what already do. Most of what I see has to do with how and when we imbed stratgies to help students understand the concepts. We want the students to understand the concepts prior to reading complex texts. I see a lot of frontloading and scaffolding that is implemented in a different way than what I currently have my students engage in prior to reading the text. I find it very interesting and eye-opening. Beth

Since argumentation is an important component of the NGSS and with a lot a discussion about debating, I thought I would do an advanced search in our NSTA Learning Center to see what resources we already have available to us. I used the key words 'debate' and 'debating'. There are gobs of resources! Here is just one example of an article that provides some easy to follow basics for those needing help to organize debates in their science classes.
The Case Study: Intimate Debate Technique: Medicinal Use of Marijuana
It might be useful for anyone looking for some ideas on how to organize debates to check out some of these articles by doing a similar search. Happy debate hunting :-)
Carolyn

I am really worried that my district has not done enough to get ready for CCSS, thank you for all of your posts.

Heather Janes, June 4, 1:56 PM wrote:
I am really worried that my district has not done enough to get ready for CCSS, thank you for all of your posts.

Hi Heather,

I know that as I look at the implementation of the Common Core it can seem daunting! When does your start actually begin the implementation? In our district in North Carolina we started the Common Core this year. In addition to fantastic discussions, like this one, I've found some great resources that are helpful when implementing the common core. Here are a few of my favorites:
Common Core 360: website full of videos and implementation ideas
: Common Core workbook from Achieve to help you implement the CC at your school
Mailbox Magazines Common Core resources
Scholastic Common Core Aligned Materials
Common Core Lesson Planner
Common Core website

These are few of my 'GOTO' resources. Hope you find them helpful!

Maureen

I agree with Heather. There have been some rumblings from fellow teachers about common core and the new science standards but I have not heard anything from administration. As a new teacher I struggled this year to just get through the content, so I feel very behind in understanding the new standards! The posts and links have given me a great start in going through the all the information. I guess I know what I am doing this summer!!

Hi If I understand your questions about the usefulness of CCSS and NGSS, I highly recommend that you access the NGSS Archives and listen to : Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking. Robert Mayes from Georgia Southern University and Bryan Shader from the University of Wyoming use both CCSS-Math and Science Framework across grades. Math and Science teachers in collaborative efforts is key. Here is the link to the site: http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NGSS/webseminar9.aspx '' target="_blank"> http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NGSS/webseminar9.aspx ' target="_blank"> http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NGSS/webseminar9.aspx [/url]--Enjoy--M

One of the important thins to remember is that while we can use the Common Core English Language Arts Standards to leverage & enhane our science instruction, it is not science. Inquiry science can be what we ask our students to speak and write about. Having said that the instructional shifts expected by the Common Core will work for science instruction: 1.Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction across the curriculum-Digging deeper into science concepts 2.Reading, writing, and speaking/listening grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational- Regular practice with complex text and its academic language-Using science vocabulary in onversations and argumentation. I really like what Kathy said above. I know NGSS hasn't been adopted yet, but I can't help but feel that NGSS is already being railroaded by CCSS. I hope this isn't the case and that it's just my initial knee-jerk reaction to everything. Is anyone else feeling this way? Thanks, Kendra

I think it is great to implement both the knowledge of the curriculum and also debates to show the knowledge in a different manner. In my chemistry class, we learned about nuclear chemistry. After learning about the topic we had a debate over different parts of nuclear chemistry. For example; As a mayor of a township, would you endorse a nuclear power plant in your town? Is nuclear power dangerous? We discussed other similar questions. The kids really got into in and the discussion.

I am so glad you asked this question. I am a pre-service teacher and this is something I will need to know about. Thank you

Helen, As an incoming teacher, what about the Next Generation Science Standards excite you? Are you being asked to plan science instruction for students? What levels? Kathy

I am a teacher candidate in Indiana working with my fellow classmates to design science lessons for an elementary school under the guidance of our professor and the principal. My group is concentrating on Kindergarten. I am wondering if we should incorporate the NGSS into the current science standards Indiana uses and if anyone has any suggestions on doing so. I am not positive when(if) Indiana will adopt the NGSS but don't want our lessons to be unusable next year. Thanks!

Hi, I happen to be from a state who has adopted the NGSS and I think you pose a question that many people have. One of my first thoughts is for you to consider using your current standards but work on including and focusing on the Science and Engineering practices. 1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering) 2. Developing and using models 3. Planning and carrying out investigations 4. Analyzing and interpreting data 5. Using mathematics and computational thinking 6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering) 7. Engaging in argument from evidence 8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information Try to use one in each of your lesson sequences. Instead of thinking one lesson, try to plan a learning experience, an instructional sequence as recommended by Roger Bybee. I highly recommend his book Translating NGSS for Classroom Instruction. Just my thoughts Kathy

Does anyone know how the NGSS is to be tested? With the math CC it will be on the computer starting next year