A week from now, I'll set aside a weekend day to study the science curriculum. I need to take a large number of lessons and cull it down to the time available. This will take at least a day of concerted focus and study.
I'll begin with the standards that students need to learn for standardized tests and system expectations. I want to understand those standards well.
I will also take a close look at the expected assessment students will need to take. I'll move that assessment to a Google form which I find to be an excellent way to assess as the data reports truly inform the follow-up teaching and reporting I need to do.
Next, I'll dive into the numerous lessons and activities possible and choose the ten best activities--activities that will engage students with hands-on exploration, and activities that fit into the time available. I'll likely create a website to match the activities so that students have a resource to go to for essential and enrichment information and activities.
I look forward to the learning, and the challenge has been finding an open day for the kind of deep work this takes to teach well.