ERIC ED466403: Planning Curriculum in Science.

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by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
SE 066 485
ED 466 403
Planning Curriculum in Science.
TITLE
Wisconsin State Dept. of Public Instruction, Madison.
INSTITUTION
ISBN-1-57337-100-9
ISBN
2002-01-00
PUB DATE
303p.; Shelley A. Lee, Science. Consultant.
NOTE
Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction, Drawer 179,
AVAILABLE FROM
Milwaukee, WI 53293-0179 ($42). Tel: [phone] (Toll
Free); Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]; Web site:
http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/pubsales.
PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom (055)
EDRS PRICE
MFO1 /PC13 Plus Postage.
*Academic Standards; *Curriculum Development; Elementary
DESCRIPTORS
Secondary Education; Instructional Materials; National
Standards; Program Evaluation; *Science Instruction; *State
Standards
*Wisconsin
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
This publication is designed as a tool to assist science
curriculum committees and individuals plan a science program. The guide
offers methods for a local committee to use when developing the curriculum
for their program. The guide embraces Wisconsin's Model Academic Standards
for Science and the National Science Education Standards. A program
evaluation tool has been developed and included to assist with improving the
science program. The guide suggests ways to select science products,
including textbooks, for a specific grade or grades. Classroom assessment is
addressed as both a district and a classroom strategy that reveals to parents
and teachers how students are learning science. The guide is built upon
current research in science and science education. Chapters include:
"How
(1)
Do We Achieve Scientific Literacy for All Students?"
"What Does a
(2)
"What Should Students Learn in
Standards-Led Science Program Look Like?"
(3)
"How Do Teachers Teach Science and Students Learn Science in a
Science?"
(4)
K-12 Standards-Led Science Classroom?" "How Are Students' Understandings
(5)
"What Is Professional Learning in Science
about Science Revealed?"
(6)
"Implementation: What Support Is Needed To Implement a K-12
Education?"
(7)
"Does the K-12 Science Program Achieve
Standards-Led Science Program?"
(8)
"What Is in the Future for
Scientific Literacy for All Students?" and (9)
Science Education?" (YDS)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
SE
U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
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This document has been reproduced as
ceived from the person or organization
originating it
Minor changes have been made to
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document do not necessarily represent
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Shelley A. Lee
Science Consultant
Elizabeth Burmaster, State Superintendent
epa rtment of Public Instruction
Wisconsin
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Madison, Wisconsin
3
This publication is available from:
Publication Sales
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Drawer 179
Milwaukee, WI 53293-0179
[phone] (U.S. only)
[phone]
[phone] Fax
www.dpi.state.wi.us/pubsales
Bulletin No. 2046
© January 2002 Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
ISBN 1-57337-100-9
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction does not discriminate on the basis of
sex, race, religion, age, national
origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional,
or
learning disability.
Printed on recycled paper
Forreword
Photograph by
Carl Sams II, Courtesy
of International Crane
Foundation.
cience and discoveries in science have changed our lives in ways
unimaginable to previous generations. As educators it is our goal to
understand those changes, to teach our young students to think scien-
tifically, and to prepare them for even more unimaginable and unpredictable
changes in science in the future. It is our task to prepare them for a global fu-
ture by educating them about science so they can use science and scientific
evidence to make choices. As adults our students must be able to engage in-
telligently in public discourse and debate important issues in science and
technology. And all Wisconsin students must be able to share in the joy and
wonderment of learning about nature and the natural world.
Planning Curriculum in Science has at its foundation, Wisconsin Model
what we expect all students throughout
Academic Standards for Science
Wisconsin to know and be able to do in science. This new guide has been de-
veloped to assist school districts with the design of a science program that
meets or exceeds the expectations of the science standards and achieves sci-
entific literacy for all students. The guide uses the standards for science as a
springboard to suggest ways in which students can make connections in sci-
ence, to become scientifically literate, and to understand the role scientific
literacy plays in the workforce and in their daily lives.
Wisconsin science teacher Joe Riederer wrote A Central Wisconsin Love
Story. In the story, Corey was curious about the world around him. This cu-
riosity led him to seek answers to his questions by inquiring and investigating
about many things in nature. During his investigations he was able to learn
much about his world and even about science. One day he came across a pair
of sandhill cranes and he began to make observations about the pair. Through
these observations, he learned about the plight of the cranes, which led him
to take action. While each student taking science in Wisconsin will not have
Corey's experiences, each student can experience the same curiosity, inquiry,
and the same quest for knowledge within the science classroom.
This guide is designed to assist districts and teachers of science establish
a science program that allows students to explore science, to investigate na-
ture, to ask questions, and to find answers to those questions. Further, the
guide is designed to assist the teachers in developing the habits and practices
that allow students to construct their own knowledge about science.
My predecessor, former state superintendent John T. Benson, appointed
the'task force for this guide. I am highly appreciative of his initiative, his fore-
sight, and his understanding of the type of support school districts have
come
to expect from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. His work is
to be applauded.
I am proud of the work of the task force and authors of this guide, so on
behalf of them I hope that each teacher of science will become involved in
developing a science program that is described in this guide. I will continue to
give my support to curriculum development at the Department of Public In-
struction. I know that Planning Curriculum in Science will be an invaluable
planning tool in every school district throughout Wisconsin.
Elizabeth Burmaster
State Superintendent
Foreword
&DDT
A Cent re:1E1 Msconslin
by Joe Riederer
A ground-fog hung in the air as the sun climbed
The two had been together for three years and
the eastern horizon. The,chill of the morning left no
would stay together for the rest of their lives.
doubt that their time in the north was almost over.
To the scientist, it was nothing more than a
Feeding on corn that had been missed during the
preprogrammed, biochemical response. Love was a
harvest, they stayed in sight of each other. Whether
word for the poet. This was how it was and any talk
it was the scientist's "instinct" or the poet's "love,"
of emotions just muddied the picture.
didn't matter. They had become a single functioning
As the pair walked through the tall grass of a
unit. Neither would be complete without the other.
Central Wisconsin September, swallows gathered in
A flash of brown fur was the first thing he saw.
large flocks on the telephone line. Somewhere to
This was followed immediately by his mate's bugling
the east, a truck hauling potatoes to a processing
alarm and the dog's angry growl. Next came the hot
plant in Plover loudly downshifted. To the west,
canine breath and a sudden loss of balance. The
sandstone hills towered over the otherwise flat land-
dog's yellow teeth firmly grasped the large bird's
scape. The sights and sounds of late summer meant
wing as they tumbled together to the ground. The
nothing to the two of them. They focused on only
kicks from the fragile legs of the crane were futile.
one task, preparing for the long trip back to Florida.
His beak, however, found its mark just above the
A leopard frog darted between them. She missed
dog's left eye socket. Stunned and in pain, the dog
ithe didn't. With an archer's precision he grabbed
ran off with blurred vision and its tail firmly be-
the startled frog just behind the front legs and swal-
tween its legs.
lowed it whole. A stretch of wings, a short run, and
The wounded crane struggled to return to his
the pair of cranes flew to another field.
Sandhill cranes had been coming to Central
feet. He kept one wing neatly folded. The other wing
Wisconsin for thousands of summers. Parents
was bent out and forward, dripping blood. His mate,
having taken to the air to avoid the beast, returned
showed the way to their offspring, and the cycle
cautiously. Still wary of the danger that lurked in the
continued. If culture is the passing of wisdom from
farmyard nearby, she jumped into the air and
one generation to the next, crane culture is surely as
flapped her wings, trying to encourage her mate to
old as any on the continent.
leave. This field was too dangerous for an injured
The mix of prairie, marsh, and pine barrens
crane. He too jumped into the air, but could only
found here provided the diversity of habitat needed
move one wing. Both the poet and the scientist
for cranes to raise their young. As agriculture ex-
would have agreed that cranes were able to feel pain.
panded into the area, the cranes adapted. Their love
Their first need was cover. They slowly made
of tender corn seedlings did not endear them to
their way from the cornfield to the adjacent stand of
people trying to eke out a living by farming. At the
jack pine and scrub oak. She flew over the barbed-
same time, most people overlooked the benefits
wire fence. He tried, but instead only managed to
provided when the cranes ate grasshoppers, mice,
scrape himself on the rusty steel. A second try, this
and other crop pests. This area was a perfect place
time more of a hop than a flight, got him safely to
for cranes to spend the summer. It was not, how-
the other side.
ever, any place for a crane to be in the winter.
The bleeding had stopped, leaving a crust of
where the cranes were hiding. Both
cranes bugled a
dried blood on his now useless wing. The pain con-
startled alarm and the boy screamed. The birds flew
tinued through the night. Morning came and other
north to the other end of the field. The boy
ran
cranes called from distant fields as they began to
south into the woods, stopped, and then slowly
congregate into larger flocks. She flew over the
crawled back to the edge of the cornfield.
fence, landed in the corn stubble, and then called
In the days that followed, the weather started to
back to where he was standing. He didn't join her.
change. Cirrus clouds filled the sky, followed by ever
She called again, but the result was the same. A slow
darkening stratus clouds. The cold wind shifted di-
and low flight took her back to where he spent the
rections and the birds could sense a drop in air pres-
night with his injured wing. She called and flew
sure. There was a storm on the way. A heavy snow
back to the field, but again, he did not follow. Fi-
could make finding food difficult, but they'd been
nally, after a fourth call he managed to jump the
through that before. Nearly every April a late snow-
fence and feed on the corn.
storm blanketed Central Wisconsin, but the heavy
Their days went by in much the same fashion
snow never lasted long. In an early December bliz-
_
for the next several weeks; staying as far away from
zard, it was the starving cranes that wouldn't last long.
the farmyard as possible, hiding near the trees at
The storm began as heavy wet snow and the
night and eating any food they could find. Three
birds took cover in the scrub oak. Then the worst
days of cold weather and an early dusting of snow
possible turn of events, the air temperature climbed
sent most of the other cranes heading south. Twice
to 32 degrees and the snow turned to freezing rain.
she tried encouraging him to fly but failed both
Birds near starvation must stay dry. Wet feathers
times. Conflicting needs frustrated her. She knew
wouldn't insulate properly and much needed energy
they should leave before the weather closed in. She
would be wasted.
also knew that she could not leave her mate.
The rain continued through the night. Crusts of
Changes in ocean currents on the other side of
ice formed on the backs of the cranes, only to crack
the planet helped to put the crisis on hold for weeks.
and fall when they walked. His broken wing seemed
The warmest fall in years kept the fields open and
to collect water, making warmth even less of a possi-
their limited food supply uncovered well into No-
bility.
vember. Almost all of the other cranes had left. As
By sunrise the storm had passed, leaving the
they flew overhead, she would take flight to join
world encased in a clear crystal coat. The wintry
them, only to circle back when she saw that her
blast left grasses, soil, and even barbed wire fences
mate had not followed.
covered with a thick layer of ice. The sounds of tree
The muscle tissue in his wing had healed, but
limbs, cracking from the weight of the frozen water,
the wing itself was no longer the correct shape for
shot through the cold air. With the last of their
sustained flight. He had managed to make a few
strength, the two birds carefully made their way to
short trips. He was even able to move to a nearby
the center of the field. What they needed most was
field and a replenished food supply. Migration, how-
food. They saw the corn that could keep them alive
ever, was out of the question.
for a few more days, but the ice was too thick. The
Cold nights and a dwindling cache of food put
birds walked slowly, picking hopelessly at the ice-
both birds on edge. Weather had become the most
covered corn. Occasionally they found a defect in
threatening predator. The other predator, the dog,
the ice and earned a few kernels.
had not returned since the attack.
Each night the clear sky sent the temperature
Cautiously moving through the tall grass and
dropping. Each morning their food, still clearly visi-
scrub oak along the edge of the field, both birds
ble, was impossible to get. Starvation was
a cruel
stopped suddenly. A subtle noise or a slight move-
predator. The same bond that kept them together
ment caught their attention. Necks upright, heads
for nearly three years was now only days, maybe
turning to scan the surroundings, they were not
hours, from causing them to die together.
going to get surprised again. A thirteen-year-old boy
From the far side of the field, she saw two peo-
stepped out of the woods only a few yards from
ple running towards them. Both cranes made a fee-
A Central Wisconsin Love Story
8
"Cover their eyes!" a woman in khaki canvas
ble attempt at escape. The humans, closing in fast,
began shouting and flailing their hands over their
overalls, shouted. "And stay clear of those beaks."
hearts pounded with adrenalinefour
hands. With the last of their strength, the birds
Six
human, two avian. One belonged to the thirteen-
headed for the shelter of the scrub oak less than a
year-old boy who had been watching and worrying
hundred yards away.
Suddenly, as if from nowhere, two more hu-
about this pair of sandhill cranes for over a month.
"Nice work, Corey," said the man from the
mans jumped up from the very spot the birds had
counted on for safety. Escaping between the hu-
wildlife hospital. "Another day or so and these two
mans, both birds hit the net and fell to the ground,
wouldn't have made it."
entangled in a mesh of nylon. Humans quickly sur-
"Are they going to be alright?" asked the boy.
"That's hard to say at this point, I can tell you
rounded her and held her to the ground. He strug-
this much though, they'll have a much better night
gled briefly, re-injuring the muscle tissue that had
tonight than they did last night."
taken so long to heal, before the humans wrestled
him to the ground also.
O
SANDHILL CRANE FACTS
Scientific name: Grus canadensis
Cranes can be 48" tall, with a wingspan of 80".
Cranes fly with an outstretched neck, while hei-ons fly with their neck bent into a "U" shape.
...
about 60 million years.
Sandhi lls have the oldest fossil record of any living bird
The International Crane Foundation's 1999 Crane Count reported 10,626 sandhill cranes in
Wisconsin.
Reprinted with permission of Big Bluestem Press
Copyright ©1999 Big Bluestem Press
12321 87th Street South
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin 54494
A Central Wisconsin Love Story
Sc
idene Gaikka as .( Force
ancd Contrilbuthg AUCTOTS
1 this team of dedicated science educators spent many hours developing both the content and the con-
text for Planning Curriculum in Science. The team committed their personal time, energy, and exper-
tise to the project through both face-to-face meetings and electronic communication and worked tire-
_
lessly toward the goal of science education for all students in Wisconsin. The department expresses the
utmost appreciation and thanks to the task force for taking the personal time and energy to make their goal
a reality. Indeed, students in Wisconsin are lucky to have such a dedicated team of authors working for them
on this guide.
Lisa Wachtel
Rhulene Artis
Science Coordinator
Director, Milwaukee Urban Systemic Initiative
Madison Metropolitan School District
Milwaukee Public Schools
Madison, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Sue Whitsett
Mark Klawiter
Science Teacher
Science Teacher
Fond du Lac High School
Ladysmith High School
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Ladysmith, Wisconsin
John Whitsett
LeRoy Lee
Science Education Consultant
Science Teacher
Fond du Lac High School
De Forest, Wisconsin
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Wayne LeMahieu
WEST Executive Secretary
Paul Williams
Professor Emeritus
Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin
University of WisconsinMadison
Pat Marinac
Madison, Wisconsin
Science Program Leader
Frank Zuerner
Appleton Area School District
Science Teacher and Department Chairperson
Appleton, Wisconsin
Memorial High School
Tim Peterson
Madison, Wisconsin
Science Program Leader
Marshall Public Schools
Marshall, Wisconsin
Paul Tweed
Science Teacher and Department Chairperson
Augusta High School
Augusta, Wisconsin
10