| Earth Science | Life Science | Physical Science |
About this Evaluation Report Content Analysis Instructional Analysis
| Categories | |
| I. | [Explanation] This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material attempts to make its purposes explicit and meaningful to students, either in the student text itself or through suggestions to the teacher. The sequence of lessons or activities is also important in accomplishing the stated purpose, since ideas often build on each other. |
| II. | [Explanation] Fostering understanding in students requires taking time to attend to the ideas they already have, both ideas that are incorrect and ideas that can serve as a foundation for subsequent learning. This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material contains specific suggestions for identifying and addressing students’ ideas. |
| III. | [Explanation] Much of the point of science is to explain phenomena in terms of a small number of principles or ideas. For students to appreciate this explanatory power, they need to have a sense of the range of phenomena that science can explain. The criteria in this category examine whether the curriculum material relates important scientific ideas to a range of relevant phenomena and provides either firsthand experiences with the phenomena or a vicarious sense of phenomena that are not presented firsthand. |
| IV. | [Explanation] Science literacy requires that students understand the link between scientific ideas and the phenomena that they can explain. Furthermore, students should see the ideas as useful and become skillful at applying them. This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material expresses and develops the key ideas in ways that are accessible and intelligible to students, and that demonstrate the usefulness of the key ideas and provide practice in varied contexts. |
| V. | [Explanation] Engaging students in experiences with phenomena (category III) and presenting them with scientific ideas (category IV) will not lead to effective learning unless students are given time, opportunities, and guidance to make sense of the experiences and ideas. This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material provides students with opportunities to express, think about, and reshape their ideas, as well as guidance on developing an understanding of what they experience. |
| VI. | [Explanation] This category consists of criteria for evaluating whether the curriculum material includes a variety of aligned assessments that apply the key ideas taught in the material. |
| VII. | [Explanation] The criteria in this category provide analysts with the opportunity to comment on features that enhance the use and implementation of the curriculum material by all students. |
| References |
I. Providing a Sense of Purpose
Conveying
unit purpose (Rating = Fair) However, even though the questions are there for students to consider, it
is not made clear that they are part of the material's attempt to convey the
unit's purpose. Similarly, subsequent questions about the forest canopy and
its role in preventing the underlying layers from receiving rainfall and light
are not linked explicitly to the unit's purpose. For the most part, the questions
provided at the beginning of units are understandable and consistent with
the topics to be studied, although they may not be motivating to students.
Another component, called Unit Focus, is intended
to provide "interactive suggestions for introducing
students to the unit" (p. T27). The Unit Focus for unit
1 suggests that teachers ask students three questions
("identify some of the biological processes that keep
them alive,"identify some of the processes that keep
plants alive," and consider whether "plants need to
exist in order for animals to exist") and then tell
them that "this unit explores some of the life processes
that all living organisms have in common" (Level Blue,
p. 2t). While this is a clear attempt to convey the
purpose of the unit to students, the purpose may not
be comprehensible or motivating to them. Chapter introductions follow a common format of
involving students in responding to questions related to what will be learned
in the chapter and then stating: "Think about these questions for a moment,
and answer them in your ScienceLog. When you've finished this chapter, you'll
have the opportunity to revise your answers based on what you've learned"
(e.g., Level Blue, pp. 4s, 28s, 54s). Some students may see this passage as
a statement of purpose, but it is not sufficiently forthright for all students.
However, in contrast to the questions in the unit introductions, those in
the chapter introductions are more understandable, although not necessarily
more motivating to students-as evidenced by the following three examples:
(1) "Where do plants get their food? Describe a typical plant. What's inside
a leaf?" [Level Blue, p. 4s], (2) "How much of you is water? How does water
get from the roots to the top of this tree?" [p. 28s], and (3) "How is the
energy in your food released in you? What keeps heat near the Earth's surface?"
[p. 54s]). After the chapter introduction, Chapter 1:
Energy for Life clarifies its purpose further in the first lesson. Students
are asked to examine a sequence of photographs (?, wheat, cow eating wheat,
girl eating hamburger) and to "[f]igure out what should go where the question
mark is" (Level Blue, p. 6s). Then the purpose of the chapter is stated: "By
thinking [about] and doing the Explorations in this chapter, you will figure
out the answer to the question, 'How do plants get food?'" This purpose is
returned to at the end of the chapter: Here, the purpose is not only explicit and consistent
with what students study, but it is also reverted to at the end of the chapter.
Unfortunately, chapter 1 is the exception, rather than the rule; subsequent
chapters do not have this feature.
Have students imagine what
life would be like in such a place. Ask: What would you do for food? What
do you think plants or animals who might live in this forest do for food?
When answering these questions, students should consider where energy can
be found in the forest. [Level Blue, p. 3t]
This chapter began with the question, "How do plants get their food?"
Has your thinking changed since then? Here are some
suggestions to help you organize your ideas.
a.
Begin by writing a brief report about how
your thinking has changed.
b. Look at the poster your group made. Discuss
and write comments on the poster.
c. Produce a new poster and compare it with
the first one.
d. Prepare a way to explain to some fifth-grade
students how plants get food.
[Level Blue, p. 27s]
Conveying lesson/activity
purpose (Rating = Satisfactory) Exploration 1 in Lesson 1: Where Does the Energy Come From? begins
by stating its purpose and linking it to the unit purpose: "Before you get
serious about figuring out how plants get food, you have to know what kind
of food is in plants. The food in plants is starch." After showing
an electron micrograph of starch granules, the text states that "there is
another way to tell whether something contains starch, which you will learn
in Exploration 1. You will also use the technique later in the unit as you
answer the question, 'Where do plants get food?'" (Level Blue, p. 7s). Lesson
2: Where Does Starch the Come From? begins by stating: "In Explorations 2,
3, and 4 you will be figuring out where the starch in plants comes from. As
you do the Explorations, think about what light, water, and carbon dioxide
could have to do with the starch in plants" (p. 10s). Later in the lesson,
under the title "Put It All Together!" (p. 14s), students are told that based
on the explorations they have done so far, they can conclude that plants need
carbon dioxide, water, and light to make starch, and photosynthesis is defined.
Then they are asked why photosynthesis is a good name, given what they have
learned in the explorations, and they are informed that their next challenge
is to see what plants give off during photosynthesis. At the end of the lesson,
students review the process of photosynthesis. Lesson 3: Food Factory Basics
relates plant structures to their functions and attempts to connect this to
a design problem more generally: Unfortunately, the link to the unit's purpose (i.e.,
how the plant's structure makes it an efficient food
factory) is not made clear and may be buried among the
details of varieties of leaves, stems, and roots (pp.
18-19s). While the explorations of stomates (pp. 20-21s),
leaf cross sections (p. 22s), chlorophyll (pp. 23-24s),
and discussion topics (p. 25s) all involve students
in relating the structures of plants to their functions,
only one of the five discussion topics brings general
design considerations into the foreground ("Discuss
the design of a specific leaf.. In what ways is the
leaf well suited for its particular environment? Can
you find any 'design flaws'? If so, identify them and
suggest improvements").
A well-designed structure is a thing of beauty.
Architects and engineers strive to design buildings, bridges, machines, and
other structures that are elegant as well as efficient and functional. Structures
are also found in nature. Take plants, for example. How do they rate in terms
of their efficiency? their functionality? their "ingenuity" of design? [Level
Blue, p. 17s]
Justifying lesson/activity
sequence (Rating = Satisfactory)
II. Taking Account of Student Ideas
Attending to prerequisite
knowledge and skills (Rating = Poor)
Alerting teachers to commonly
held student ideas (Rating = Poor) In one instance, the student
text states: "When you started this chapter, you may
have thought that plants get their food only from the
soil. If you did, you are in good company. That's what
the great philosopher Aristotle thought too!" (Level
Blue, p. 11s). However, this pronouncement is presented
in a rhetorical way and is not direct enough to make
teachers aware of the persistent
difficulties that students have with the concept of
what is food for plants. In another instance in grade eight, at the end of Chapter
1: Energy for Life, which deals with photosynthesis, students are to compare
their new ideas about how plants get food to their initial ideas. The Annotated
Teacher's Edition provides the expected answer and lists some of the answers
that students may give: While some of these ideas
are indeed commonly held by students and have been documented in the research
literature, the information is placed at the end of the chapter, where it
can have little effect on warning teachers about common student misconceptions
and how persistent these misconceptions are.
Answers...might
include the following new ideas: (1) Plants make food for themselves as opposed
to being "fed" by fertilizers. (2) Plants make food in their leaves as opposed
to taking food in through their roots. (3) Water from the soil and carbon
dioxide from the air combine in green leaves to make food as opposed to plants
absorbing food that is already made. (4) Sunlight provides energy for food
making in plants as opposed to plants needing the sun for warmth only. [Level
Blue, p. 26t]
Assisting teachers in identifying
their students’ ideas (Rating = Satisfactory) While most
of these questions are specific and likely to be comprehensible to students,
they are insufficient (for example, there are no questions about what food
is), and no suggestions are provided about how teachers can probe students'
initial responses further or interpret their responses.
Addressing commonly held
ideas (Rating = Poor) Even the correct
idea is presented in a somewhat distorted way; carbon dioxide is more than
"a nutrient." It is the major source of the increase in mass. The Prior Knowledge and Misconceptions
sections at the beginning of each chapter encourage teachers to "[u]se what
you find out about your students' knowledge to choose which chapter concepts
and activities to emphasize in your teaching" (e.g., Level Blue, p. 4t). Apart
from this general suggestion, no specific questions or tasks are proposed
to address students' commonly held ideas. Given the extensive, well-documented
research related to students' ideas about food, photosynthesis, respiration,
matter cycling, energy flow, and digestion, this general statement is inadequate
to address these ideas.
But
even though he was careful, van Helmont made a major
mistake when he concluded that water alone was completely
responsible for the increase in mass in plants. What
do you think was wrong with his conclusion? [p. 12s]
Van
Helmont assumed that water was the only substance that entered the tree. He
also assumed that the tree absorbed all of its nutrients through its roots.
Van Helmont did not realize that the tree gained a nutrient (carbon dioxide)
from the air. [p. 12t]
III.
Engaging Students with Relevant Phenomena
Providing variety of phenomena
(Rating = Poor) For the idea
that food serves as fuel for all organisms (Idea a), only one phenomenon is
mentioned briefly, namely: "Perhaps in earlier studies you burned a peanut
(or some other food), to find out how much energy it contained" (Level Blue,
p. 57s). To demonstrate
the idea that plants make sugars from carbon dioxide
in the air and water (Idea c1),
SciencePlus includes an activity in which students
test leaves for starch and detect starch only on the
leaves grown in the presence of carbon dioxide. They
are led to conclude that carbon dioxide is necessary
for green plants to make starch (Level Blue, p. 14s).
While this activity is helpful, it would have been more
helpful if the generalization had been extended to other
plants. Moreover, students are not informed that iodine
turns black only in the presence of starch
(and not in the presence of any other substance), so
the conclusion that carbon dioxide (and water) are converted
to starch is not legitimate. An activity
in which students test for starch in leaves grown in
the dark and in the light (Level Blue, p. 10s) could
be used to support the key idea that plants use the
energy from light to make "energy-rich" sugars (Idea
d1). However, this
activity is explained in terms of the less sophisticated
idea that "light is needed," rather than by the key
idea that light energy is transformed into chemical
energy. For
the idea that plants get their energy from breaking
down the sugars, thereby releasing some of the energy
as heat (Idea d2),
students are asked to plan and carry out an experiment
to study whether plants produce heat when they respire
(Level Blue, p. 64s). This activity is explained using
the term "respiration," and it is assumed that students
understand what the term means. A few other relevant phenomena are included that are not explained in terms
of the key ideas about matter and energy transformations. For example, in
grade six, students are to make composts in buckets, observe the changes over
several weeks, and record the temperature increases (Level Green, pp. 154-155s).
However, this activity is related to the idea that microorganisms are beneficial,
but not to the more sophisticated concepts of matter and energy transformations
carried out by decomposers.
Providing vivid experiences
(Rating = Poor)
IV. Developing and Using Scientific Ideas
Introducing terms meaningfully
(Rating = Very
Good) Occasionally, terms are not linked so well to phenomena. For example,
the term "decomposers" is used with a photograph of a compost pile, but no
evidence is provided that the pile's mass appears to decrease as a result
of the decomposing activity (Level Red, p. 31s). Usually, technical vocabulary is restricted to the terms needed to
discuss the important ideas. Although occasionally unnecessary terms, such
as "palisade cells" in leaves (Level Blue, p. 21s), are included, food synthesis
and breakdown are presented without resorting to technical terms.
So now what do you think
about how plants get food? If you decided, as a result
of doing these Explorations, that plants use light,
water, and carbon dioxide to make starch, you are right.
Plants actually make their own food in their
leaves. To do this, they need energy from the sun plus
two raw materials: water and carbon dioxide. The process
by which plants make food is called photosynthesis.
Like many scientific terms, this one is a combination
of two Greek words: photo, which means "light,"
and synthesis, which means "putting together."
Given what you learned in doing the Explorations, why
do you think the process is called photosynthesis?
[Level Blue, p. 14s]
Representing ideas effectively
(Rating = Poor) SciencePlus does not contain a
sufficient number and variety of representations to
make the abstract ideas of matter and energy transformations
more intelligible to students. Furthermore, it includes
several representations that students are likely to
find misleading or incomprehensible. For example, it
attempts to draw an analogy between the burning of food
and the burning of other fuels. In grade seven, the
text states: In grade eight, students study several photographs
and compare the release of energy from food to the release
of energy from gasoline and candle wax. They are supposed
to notice that all of the cases involve "burning" and
require oxygen and that the burning that occurs in cells
is the slowest (Level Blue, p. 57st). While this analogy
might be helpful, SciencePlus assumes that students
are already familiar with the burning of gasoline and
does not provide any questions or explanations that
clarify the analogy. Some of the diagrams are likely to be incomprehensible.
For example, in grade seven, the text states briefly
that plants use energy from sunlight to manufacture
their food, which then is used by other organisms "as
you can see from the following energy diagram: Sun's
energyàPlantsàAnimalsàAnimals" (Level Red, p. 28s). It is not clear that the arrows
show the direction of the movement of energy and what
this transfer of energy means. In grade eight, a cartoon depicts a plant eating a
sandwich (Level Blue, p. 4s). Such a representation
may perpetuate in student's minds the idea that plants
eat like animals do. Also, two word equations of photosynthesis
differ in how light is represented; the first uses "light"
and the second uses "light energy" (p. 16s). There are two better representations in
the eighth-grade textbook. Students are to complete the word equation for
photosynthesis and are asked what the arrow means (Level Blue, p. 16s); later,
they are asked to compare the word equations for respiration and burning (p.
62s).
You know that an automobile gets its
energy from burning a fuel, usually gasoline. Well,
a community of living things also gets its energy from
"burning" a fuel, but it gets energy in a different
way and from a different fuel-food. [Level Red, p. 28s]
Demonstrating use of knowledge
(Rating = Poor)
Providing practice (Rating
= Poor)
V. Promoting Students' Thinking about Phenomena, Experiences, and Knowledge
Encouraging students to
explain their ideas (Rating = Poor) Students are given very few opportunities to explain
their own thoughts about the key life science ideas.
They have the following opportunities to express and
represent their ideas about the role of plants in transforming
light energy (Idea d1)
and in making sugars for other organisms to use (Idea
d3): The same is true for the idea that matter and energy
are transferred and transformed repeatedly in ecosystems
(Idea e): However, there are no opportunities
for students to express, clarify, or justify their beliefs
about other key life science ideas. Mainly, they are
asked to express their ideas in large group discussions,
although journal writing and small group work are included,
ensuring that all students can express their ideas.
Teachers are not instructed specifically to provide
feedback to students, nor are suggestions made about
how feedback they could provide help students develop
their ideas further.
Guiding student interpretation
and reasoning (Rating = Poor) Only occasionally can the questions at the end of activities
in SciencePlus guide students to interpret their investigations in
terms of the key ideas. For example, after students observe the presence of
starch only on leaves grown in the light, a single question is posed about
this observation: "What effect did darkness have on the amount of starch in
the plant?" (Level Blue, p. 10s). Two other questions on the same topic focus
on the sequence of the steps in the experiment and do not help students to
relate the observation to the scientific idea. Later in the same chapter,
teachers are advised to heat some starch and have students look at the black
substance produced as evidence for carbon (p. 13t). While this activity can
support some of the key life science ideas, such as the transformation of
carbon dioxide into sugar, no questions follow it. In Exploration 3 (p. 14s),
students observe starch production only in the presence of carbon dioxide.
They are asked: "Do you observe differing amounts of starch? What do you conclude
about the relationship between carbon dioxide and starch in plants?" These
questions can be a good start, but they stop short of linking the observation
to the concept of the transformation of matter. At the end of the unit, students
are told to observe germinating seeds and identify carbon dioxide. They are
asked to summarize the results, explain their observations, list conclusions,
and compare plant and animal processes (p. 63s). This is a better set of questions,
but again, it emphasizes gas exchange in respiration only and does not make
clear the idea that the source of the carbon dioxide is in the breaking down
of the sugars made in photosynthesis. SciencePlus misses several opportunities to guide students'
interpretation of readings and investigations. For example, after they read
about van Helmont's experiment, students are asked separate questions about
the data, about evidence that he was a careful experimenter, and about what
was wrong with his conclusion (Level Blue, pp. 11-12s). However, there are
no questions to help students relate their own ideas (for example, that plants
get their food from soil) to the phenomenon or to the scientific idea. Furthermore,
no questions are provided that anticipate common student misconceptions or
ask students to contrast these beliefs with the scientifically correct ideas
(for example, it would be useful to make the following comment to teachers:
sixth-graders often think that soil is food for plants, so what would you
say to a sixth-grader who thinks that?). Moreover, there are no sequences
of questions or tasks of increasing complexity that can help students move
toward the scientific ideas.
Encouraging students to
think about what they have learned (Rating = Poor) Where do plants get their
food? [Level Blue, p. 4s] Do plants need animals
in any way? How is the energy in your food released in you? [Level Blue, p.
54s] However, while students do have opportunities to revise their
answers to the ScienceLog questions, they are not asked usually to consider
how their ideas have changed. In one instance in SciencePlus, students are asked specifically
to write a brief report about how their thinking has changed. In
grade eight, before examining photosynthesis, students are asked, "Okay, but
how does the plant get food?" (Level Blue, p. 6s). In response, they complete
a diagram, work in groups to answer the question, develop a poster to represent
photosynthesis, and plan how they can test their ideas. They are told: "As
you do the Explorations in this chapter, see how closely they resemble the
plan you suggested on the back of your poster." At the end of the chapter,
they are told to go "Back to the Drawing
Board" and write a report about how their thinking has changed. They look
at their poster and write comments on it, then they produce a new poster and
compare it with the first one (p. 27s, question 3). Yet, even in this instance,
the suggested answers in the teacher's notes state new answers only, rather
than contrasts to the initial ideas.
All microorganisms have
been eliminated from the Earth. Would this be good news or bad news? [Level
Green, p. 148s]
Aligning assessment to
goals (Rating = Fair) While all of the key life science ideas are treated
in the SciencePlus program, most of them are
not assessed adequately. The ideas that food provides
fuel for all organisms (Idea a) and that decomposers
transform dead organisms into simpler reusable substances
(Idea c4) are not assessed
at all. The idea that plants make their own food, whereas
animals obtain their food by eating other organisms
(Idea b) is assessed somewhat in a single question:
students are asked to "[e]xplain two important reasons
why plants are essential to human life" (Unit 1, End-of-Unit
Assessment, p. 19, item 12).
Testing for understanding
(Rating = Poor)
Using assessment to inform
instruction (Rating = Poor) Only in one instance are the Assessment and Reteaching
components focused on the same idea. After examining the photosynthesis process
in detail, the Assessment component asks students what would happen to green
plants if the sun were blocked for several months. The Reteaching component
suggests that students make a diagram that illustrates the process of photosynthesis
and shows "the roles that water, carbon dioxide, sugar, oxygen, and sunlight
play in the process" (p. 16t). Furthermore, while some relevant questions are
included, SciencePlus does not contain suggestions for teachers about
how to probe beyond students' initial responses to understand better where
they are in their learning, nor does it contain specific suggestions for them
about how to use students' responses to make decisions regarding instruction.
Providing teacher content
support (Minimal to Some support is provided.) The material
provides some sufficiently detailed answers to questions
in the student text for teachers to understand and interpret
various student responses. While the material usually
provides correct, well-developed answers to questions,
little additional information is provided for teachers
on how to field potential student questions or difficulties
(e.g., Level Red, p. 35t, Answers to What If.?;
Level Red, p. 45t, ScienceLog). In addition, some answers
are brief and require further explanation (for example,
"Accept all reasonable answers" [Level Green, p. 317t,
Focus]). The material
provides minimal support in recommending resources for improving the teacher's
understanding of key ideas. While the material presents lists of references
(including books, films, videotapes, software, and other media with addresses
for ordering) that could help teachers improve their understanding of key
ideas (e.g., "Attenborough, David. The Private Life of Plants. Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995" [Level Blue, p. 1A]), the lists lack
annotations about what kinds of information the references provide or how
they may be helpful.
Encouraging curiosity
and questioning (Some support is provided.) The
material provides many suggestions for how to respect
and value students' ideas. Introductory teacher's notes
about concept mapping respect and value students' ideas
by stating that "there is no single 'correct' concept
map" (p. T39), but also give teachers some guidance
about general characteristics of good maps. In addition,
students and their ideas are highlighted throughout
the text. For example, photographs and dialogue balloons
present students discussing scientific ideas to be studied
(e.g., Level Blue, p. 5s). Students are specifically
referenced in some student tasks (e.g., Level Red, p.
554s, Checking Your Understanding, item 1). In addition,
the material explicitly elicits and values students'
ideas in some text passages (e.g., Level Blue, p. 11s,
Water-How Essential Is It?) and in many tasks. For example,
teacher's notes for a student writing exercise about
the importance of plants for all life state, "Students
should be encouraged to express their ideas in their
own words" (Level Blue, p. 9t, Starch-Essential for
Life). The
material provides a few suggestions for how to raise
questions such as "How do we know? What is the evidence?"
and "Are there alternative explanations or other ways
of solving the problem that could be better?" However,
it does not encourage students to pose such questions
themselves. Specifically, the material includes a few
tasks that ask students how they know something or to
provide evidence in their responses (e.g., Level Blue,
pp. 9s, 8t, Questions, item 2; Level Blue, p. 26st,
item 1). The
material provides many suggestions for how to avoid
dogmatism. Introductory teacher's notes provide suggestions
for avoiding dogmatism through the use of guiding principles
such as, "Anyone can learn science" and "Science is
a natural endeavor" (p. T17). Introductory teacher's
notes also explain the STS (science, technology, and
society) approach of the material that "teaches science
from the context of the human experience and in so doing
leads students to think of science as a social endeavor"
and "emphasizes personal involvement in science" (p.
T35). In accordance with the introductory guiding principles,
the student text portrays the nature of science as a
human activity in which students participate (e.g.,
Level Red, pp. 38-43s, Exploration 2) and it describes
changes over time in scientific thinking (e.g., Level
Blue, pp. 11-12s). In addition, the material includes
some text passages and special features illustrating
the work of particular practicing scientists (e.g.,
Level Green, pp. 386-387s) and highlighting the contributions
of specific cultural groups (e.g., Level Red, p. 56s).
The
material does not provide examples of classroom interactions
(e.g., dialogue boxes, vignettes, or video clips) that
illustrate appropriate ways to respond to student questions
or ideas. However, some sense of desirable student interactions
may be gained from student dialogues about the scientific
ideas studied (e.g., Level Green, p. 317s) and procedural
directions and descriptions of student roles in cooperative
group activities (e.g., Level Blue, p. 7t, Cooperative
Learning: Exploration 1; Level Blue, p. 63t, Cooperative
Learning: Exploration 3; pp. T41-T46, Cooperative Learning).
Supporting all students
(Considerable support is provided.) The material
provides some illustrations of the contributions of women and minorities to
science and as role models. Most of the contributions of female and minority
scientists, however, appear in a few special features at the end of each unit.
For example, one Science Snapshot feature focuses on the work of Francine
Patterson, a female scientist studying behavior in gorillas, and describes
Koko, one of the gorillas Dr. Patterson taught to use sign language (Level
Red, p. 68st). In addition, Multicultural Extension teacher's notes within
chapters highlight specific cultural contributions related to chapter topics
(e.g., Level Blue, p. 59t). All of these sections highlighting cultural contributions
are interesting and informative, but may not be seen by students as central
to the material because they are presented in sidebars and teacher notes. The material
suggests multiple formats for students to express their ideas during instruction,
including individual ScienceLog writing (e.g., Level Green, p. 316s, ScienceLog),
cooperative group activities (e.g., Level Blue, p. 6s), laboratory investigations
(e.g., Level Blue, pp. 61-62st, Exploration 2), whole class discussions (e.g.,
Level Green, p. 327t, Closure), essay questions (e.g., Level Blue, pp. 27s,
26t, item 4), concept mapping (e.g., Level Green, p. 318s, In-Text Question
B), creative writing (e.g., Level Red, p. 25st, item 2), play acting (e.g.,
Level Red, p. 43t, Extension), visual projects (e.g., Level Red, p. 15t, Closure),
and oral presentations (Level Blue, p. 34t, Reteaching). In addition, multiple
formats are suggested for assessment, including individual ScienceLog revising
(e.g., Level Blue, p. 27st, ScienceLog), oral discussion (e.g., Level Green,
p. 322t, Assessment), essay (e.g., Level Blue, p. 71st, item 6), performance
(e.g., Level Blue, p. 9t, Assessment), portfolio (e.g., Level Green, p. 324t,
Portfolio), and visual projects (e.g., Level Green, p. 318t, Assessment).
In a few instances, the material also provides a variety of alternative formats
for the same task (e.g., Level Red, p. 502t, Closure). The material
does not routinely include specific suggestions about how teachers can modify
activities for students with special needs. However, the Annotated Teacher's
Edition and supplemental resources (including review, reinforcement, and
enrichment work sheets and activities with transparencies) provide additional
activities and resources for students and sometimes specify ability levels.
The Annotated Teacher's Edition includes a Meeting Individual Needs
feature that provides activities for students related to chapter topics and
specifically designated for gifted learners, second-language learners, and
learners having difficulties (e.g., Level Blue, p. 9t; Level Green, p. 324t).
For Spanish speakers, there are English/Spanish audiocassettes, which preview
each unit in both languages. Also, in the Teacher's Resource Binder and
Teaching Resources there are Spanish unit summaries, work sheets, glossaries,
and English and Spanish Home Connection letters, which introduce parents to
each unit and provide related home activities for students to do with parents.
However, the placement of supplemental resources in individual booklets separate
from the main text may discourage their use, and the special needs codes within
chapters may discourage teachers from using those activities with all students
when appropriate. The material
provides many strategies to validate students' relevant
personal and social experiences with scientific ideas.
Some text sections relate specific personal experiences
that students may have had to the presented scientific
concepts (e.g., Level Blue, p. 13s). In addition, some
tasks ask students about particular personal experiences
they may have had or suggest specific experiences they
could have. For example, beginning teacher's notes for
a lesson about energy flow ask teachers to "[i]nvolve
students in a discussion of their community" and then
to explain that the biological meaning of community
is similar. Next, the teacher's notes suggest extending
the discussion by asking students to identify other
communities in the natural world and to explain that
"energy flows through every community in a similar way"
(Level Red, p. 28t, Teaching Strategies). For a few
tasks, however, the material does not adequately link
the specified personal experiences to the scientific
ideas being studied (e.g., Level Blue, p. 6t, Homework).
