Elementary Science Exemplars

Project Description

Schools: Joseph P. Manning Elementary, Oliver W. Holmes Elementary, F. Lyman Winship Elementary, Wolfgang A. Mozart Elementary, Horace Mann School for the Deaf

Elementary Science Exemplars project develops quality Open Response/Key Questions (OR/KQ) for each of the BPS elementary science topics. Each is connected to the MA Science & Technology/ Engineering Framework. To ensure high quality, the team uses the create/try/modify approach that is recommended by experts in the field. A holistic scoring rubric, which has been used by some BPS teachers for over a year, is included. Also included is exemplary student work. It addresses the regular education population and some components of the special education population. All members of the team teach special education students (the settings vary from self-contained to inclusion classes).

This work aligns the Student Technology Competencies with the K-5 Science Program in Boston Public Schools. Students will be able to respond to many of the OR/KQ using computers in a way that addresses some specific BPS Student Technology Competencies, appropriate to the grade of the science topic. For example, an OR/KQ in fourth grade may require a student to use computer capabilities of KidPix to draw a complete electrical circuit and word-process an explanation. Only the standard suite of software already available in schools is required to answer questions. OR/KQ formats, with instructions for use, are "user friendly" to teachers of various technical competency levels.