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At a summer institute NGSS workshop I heard the presenter say that we could modify the Next Generation Science Standards to meet the needs of our students. So I did just that!
We get to visit Mt Saint Helens as part of our 6th grade outdoor education experience to Camp Cispus. Because of that 6th graders learn about volcano types, lava types, eruption types, and then specifically learn about Mt Saint Helens. The next gen standard that most closely fits this learning experience is NGSS MS-ESS2-2 Earth’s Systems:
Students who demonstrate understanding can: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
Clarification Statement – Emphasis is on how processes change Earth’s surface at time and spatial scales that can be large (such as slow plate motions or the uplift of large mountain ranges) or small (such as rapid landslides or microscopic geochemical reactions), and how many geoscience processes (such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and meteor impacts) usually behave gradually but are punctuated by catastrophic events. Examples of geoscience processes include surface weathering and deposition by the movements of water, ice, and wind. Emphasis is on geoscience processes that shape local geographic features, where appropriate.
Well, there are many parts of that standard that we won’t do this year. We have other things we study this year in Science so instead of using a standard that no 6th graders can show evidence that they learned, I modified it to fit what 6th graders are actually learning.
Here’s an assessment I gave along with different learning opportunities:
So I modified the standard by making the following proficiency scale to help me and students assess their understanding of the part of the standards that deals with volcanoes only:
Now kids can meet standard and we can spend weeks instead of months on this one standard. I know this isn’t the best way and is an example to Standards-Aligning instead of Standards-Based but it’s what needs to be done unless I can find time, or the will, to create units based on the NGSS. Here’s an example I wrote of Standards-Aligning what I already have in the form of curriculum.
