Our system recently purchased a host of new science study units. The units appear well researched and a good match for new Science and Technology standards. The challenge is finding the time to read, research, and prep the materials. With at most a one-hour a day planning period, there isn't much time for the initial multi-hour prep of the materials and lessons.
Now that the math is prepped for a few weeks to come, I'll use my after-hours prep time to prepare for the science.
First, I'll read through the standards related to the unit.
Then I'll read through the material to get the big idea of the unit I'll be teaching. After that I'll look for ways to break the multi-activity lessons down into in-school and at-home activities. For example, I can imagine that I'll take a module of nine or so lessons and turn it into one two-hour in-class investigation, related in-class reading/discussion, and at-home enrichment choices. I will focus the in-school activities on the activities most closely related to the Massachusetts STE MCAS standards.
I may also have students create a website to host their study notes, videos, models, and other information. This will give them a good place to revisit when they review the material for the spring STE MCAS. And I'll add the test to a Google form so that students can take the test both on paper and online as a good way to prep for the spring MCAS tests and for an efficient way to complete the test and receive their grades. Further the online test helps those with any kind of print disability making it a good assistive technology.
If I have additional time, I'll read a book about matter that I've purchased. I find that reading books at a higher level related to the topic helps me to teach a topic in a much more interesting way than if I just read the materials written for young children.
In the future, I think it's best if new curriculum is introduced prior to the summer vacation. While teachers do not have to read and prepare over the summer, I find that during the summer I have more time to dig in and think deeply about new curriculum as once the school year starts, most of my time is spent on the day-to-day prep, planning, teaching, and taking care of students rather than the deeper, more meaningful side of the teaching equation.
