New Resources

Science

New Resources

Update: May 4, 2009:

· Updated Assessment section to reflect new information from NJDOE

Update: December 22, 2008:

· Updated Assessment section to reflect new information from NJDOE

Update: December 17, 2008:

· Added Additional Curriculum Maps

Update: October 28, 2008:

· Added Learnia Powerpoint and Summary to assessment page

· Added Standards Clarification Project Training Video featuring Grant Wiggins to Standards Clarification page

· Added Performance Level Describers for NJASK 3-8 and HSPA

This Standards Clarification CD-ROM will be continuously updated. As the NJDOE makes corresponding revisions:

· The areas of focus materials are intended to be living documents, additional examples and comments will be added periodically to provide further guidance for teachers. These materials (including a forthcoming training video from Grant Wiggins) may be accessed at: http://www.nj.gov/education/aps

· Phase Two of the standards clarification project will align with New Jersey’s new 2009 standards and include an array of resources, such as “…sample units for each content area, lesson plans containing performance tasks and accompanying rubrics, ideas for additional performance assessments that reflect various facets of understanding, samples student work and content resources.”

District Resources - As the Standards Clarification Project makes clear, “… the design of curriculum, which considers context, emphasis and order of the standards and accompanying cumulative progress indicators (CPIs) is and remains the responsibility of local districts.” Therefore, in this section we will continuously incorporate Newark-specific items (e.g., exemplary lesson plans, assessment questions, activities, etc.). We have began this process by incorporating curriculum maps that align with the “big ideas”, “enduring understandings” and “essential questions” in NJDOE’s Standards Clarification Project.

Curriculum Maps -

NEWARK PUBLIC SCHOOLS INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM PROJECT

The Newark Public Schools District has been involved for several years with implementing Interdisciplinary Curriculum Projects. To this end, we realized that we had to map out projects within a timeframe and include the district’s curriculum, as well as the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standard.

About 17 schools currently use the Curriculum Mapper Collaborative Learning software to download the standards into the maps. This also gives teachers an opportunity to revise and edit. Via the internet, all maps can be reviewed by the various schools in the district, as well as globally in schools across the United States.

Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs and her consultants have worked in our district for several years through grants from the Victoria Foundation. Our classroom teachers write essential questions, concepts, content, skills and assessments. This has really assisted teachers to align and focus their work and make connections to each content area. Students’ work also remains focused and analyzed for rigor. Assessments are aligned to the content and skills and students progress is measured.

With the new New Jersey State Clarification Project, we revised our maps for each content area in language arts literacy and mathematics to reflect the Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings for the content area. We have added the Focus under the skills section. This additional measure helps us to remain focused and clarifies the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standard.

Maps are attached for you to peruse:

Science 4th Grade - Inventors

Math 5th Grade - Saving the Gorillas

Language Arts Literacy 5th Grade- Saving the Gorillas

Science 5th Grade- Saving the Gorillas

Social Studies 5th Grade- Saving the Gorillas

Language Arts Literacy 6th Grade- Ancient Egypt

Science 6th Grade- Ancient Egypt

Reading 7th Grade - Promised Freedoms/Dreams Deferred

Writing 7th Grade - Promised Freedoms/Dreams Deferred

Math 7th Grade - Promised Freedoms/Dreams Deferred

Math 7th Grade - Oceans