Proposal
Fellow kindergarten teachers, I would like to propose that we reform the science education throughout our grade level. I feel, as do many of you, that we are pressured to focus on reading and math so that standardized test scores increase. Little attention is given to science, where students learn skills like problem solving and thinking skills (Bainbridge).
While we have always incorporated science into our lesson plans as often as we can I am proposing that we begin using Picture Perfect Science as a supplement to our curriculum. This program uses both fiction and nonfiction books to incorporate science into basically everything. As a group we also need to begin researching the Next Generation Science Standards and see how it
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We will begin researching these standards because they are to be implemented in the state in the 2016 school year (2014, Next). In June, during our staff development workshops, we will create a pacing guide that indicates when each Arkansas Framework will be taught for the whole year. Next we will assign each framework a teacher to teach it. This will give each of the nine kindergarten teachers’ four science labs to create and teach for the entire school year. Another step that must be taken is that all kindergarten teachers attend a Picture Perfect workshop this coming summer. We will order the supplies for this supplement over the summer and begin using them in the fall to further integrate science into reading and mathematics.
Evaluation
Both summative and formative assessments will be used to evaluate the results of this proposal. The teacher giving the science lab will perform formative assessments during the lab to check for understanding. A summative evalution created by the nine kindergarten teachers will be given at the end of each nine weeks to check for understantding and retention. Each summative assessment will cover material and skills learned during those nine weeks. There will be a total of four summative assessments given within the school