Learning Experiences and Instruction

Context: My 5th grade science classes that will be the focus of this project have 30-35 students in each section and there are
7-10 diverse learners consisting of those with learning disabilities and/or English learners. I am fortunate to have 70 minute
class periods with each of my sections everyday and students have 1:1 chromebooks. I also have an interactive whiteboard in
my classroom. There are typically no aides in the room, and while protected planning time is not possible due to scheduling
conflicts, I reach out to both the ESL specialist as well as special education teacher(s) for feedback and support. Throughout
my varied teaching experiences, one thing proves to be consistent-- the struggles students face in connecting evidence to
their claims, explanations, and arguments in meaningful ways.
Content (as described by the evidence statements within the NGSS):

Students identify and describe relationships (interactions) within and between the parts of the Earth systems identified
in the model that are relevant to the example (e.g., the atmosphere and the hydrosphere interact by exchanging water
through evaporation and precipitation; the hydrosphere and atmosphere interact through air temperature changes,
which lead to the formation or melting of ice).

Students develop a model, using a specific given example of a phenomenon, to describe ways that the geosphere,
biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact.

Students use the model to describe a variety of ways in which the parts of two major Earth systems in the specific
given example interact to affect the Earths surface materials and processes in that context. Students develop a model
to describe a phenomenon that includes the idea that matter is made of particles too small to be seen.

Students use the model to describe how matter composed of tiny particles too small to be seen can account for
observable phenomena (e.g., air inflating a basketball, ice melting into water)
Pedagogy: Below is a list of the instructional strategies I will employ throughout the learning experiences. Talk Science!

Talk Science Moves

Hands-on explorations
Group projects and presentations
Debate
Journaling
Technology: The technologies that will be employed to reach these goals vary widely in their complexity. Students will make
use of the following to support their learning:

science journals
group whiteboards
Google Classroom
Google Docs, Sheets, Drawing, Forms
Youtube