| Project
Objectives
- To implement instrumentation sensitive
to low socioeconomic learners for purposes of identification
and assessment of learning.
- To implement, refine, and extend
research-based concept curriculum units of study in
grades PreK-3 in three different school districts.
- To develop and implement professional
training models for teachers, administrators, and
broader school communities.
- To conduct research on short term
and longitudinal student learning gains as well as
the mechanisms that promote the institutionalization
of innovation through scaling up.
Project Timeline
| Year One |
- Development of curriculum
units
- Ambassador meetings to collaborating
districts
- Commitments received
from collaborating districts
|
| Years Two, Three, and Four |
- Pre/Post Assessments
- Implementation of curriculum
intervention
- Classroom observations
|
| Year Five |
- Unit refinement
- Dissemination of project
research and resources
|
Curriculum
Goals
Goals
- 1. To develop selected basic concepts
related to understanding the world of science and
mathematics
- 2. To develop selected overarching
concepts that unifying understanding of basic concepts
in science and mathematics (i.e., systems, change,
patterns, cause and effect)
- 3. To develop knowledge of selected
content topics in science and mathematics
- 4. To develop interrelated science
process skills
- 5. To develop critical thinking
skills
- 6. To develop creative thinking
- 7. To develop curiosity and interest
in the world of science
The Clarion Science
Units
The Clarion Science Units for Primary Grades
have been designed to introduce young students to science
concepts, science processes, and macro-concepts. A hands-on,
constructivist approach is used to allow children to
build their knowledge base and their skills as they
explore science topics through play and planned investigations.
The units include math and language connections to enhance
the interdisciplinary connectedness of learning. Students
are engaged in creative and critical thinking, problem
finding and solving, process skill development, and
communication opportunities. Each unit is designed to
teach essential concepts such as quantity, direction,
comparison, shapes, etc., as well as the overarching
concepts of systems, patterns, change, and cause and
effect.
Bracken Basic Concepts
Preschool and primary grade students’ understanding
of science concepts is often inhibited by their insufficient
mastery of the basic language concepts necessary for
describing the nature and elements of science (e.g.,
colors, shapes, sizes, textures). The Bracken Basic
Concept Scale-Revised (BBCS-R) identifies which
basic language concepts students have and have not mastered
and can thereby facilitate differentiated instruction
for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first, and second
grade students (see Appendix C—Bracken Basic Concepts).
The BBCS-R assesses 308 basic language concepts
that are foundational to students’ cognitive and
academic development. These important concepts are classified
into 11 discrete categories:
| Colors |
Direction/Position |
| Letter Identification |
Self- and Social Awareness |
| Numbers/Counting |
Texture/Material |
| Sizes |
Quantity |
| Comparisons |
Time/Sequence |
| Shapes |
|
Once non-mastered concepts are identified through assessment
using the BBCS-R, concept instruction should occur naturally
throughout day-to-day classroom experiences and through
formal and informal lessons, learning centers, and daily
conversations. Students also can be grouped for targeted
instruction based on collective need. Importantly, Bracken
concepts may also be taught through the use of The
Bracken Concept Development Program (BCDP), with
its related learning centers and lesson plans. Additionally,
teachers should intentionally and systematically identify
and teach basic concepts embedded within Project Clarion’s
science and math curriculum units. The emphasis of these
teaching methods is on providing naturalistic and developmentally
appropriate instruction. Teachers should strive to incorporate
as many Bracken concepts as possible into every Project
Clarion science unit and lesson.
Overarching Concepts
An overarching concept is addressed in each unit.
In several of the units, the overarching concept of
Change is integrated throughout unit lessons. Students
examine the relationship of important ideas, abstractions,
and issues through the application of the concept “generalizations.”
- Change is everywhere.
- Change relates to time.
- Change can be natural or manmade.
- Change may be random or predictable.
Other units incorporate the overarching concept of
Systems. Students examine new knowledge, important ideas,
abstractions, and issues through the application of
the concept “generalizations.”
- Systems have parts (elements).
- Systems have boundaries.
- Systems have inputs and outputs
- The interactions and outputs of
a system change when its inputs, elements, and boundaries
change.
Scientific Processes
In each Clarion unit students are guided through the
process of scientific investigation. Simulating the
work of real scientists, students develop a systematic
set of inquiry skills.
Students are introduced to The Wheel of Scientific
Investigation and Reasoning which contains five
components of scientific investigation:
- Make observations.
- Ask questions.
- Learn more.
- Design and conduct experiments.
- Create meaning from experiments.
- Tell others what was found from
the experiment.
Students apply the components of scientific investigation
throughout unit and use the Wheel to analyze aspects
of an investigation or to plan an investigation.
Content Topics by Grade Level
| Grade Levels |
Life Science |
Earth Science |
Physical Science |
| Pre-K |
How Does Your Garden Grow? |
|
|
| K-1st |
Survive and Thrive |
How the Sun Makes Our Day |
Water Works |
| 1st-2nd |
Budding Botanists |
|
|
| 2nd |
|
The Weather Reporter
|
|
| 2nd-3rd |
|
|
What’s the Matter? |
| 3rd |
|
Dig It! |
Invitation to Invent |
Unit Descriptions
How Does Your Garden Grow
is a pre-kindergarten Life Science unit. Students are
introduced to vegetables as plants. They explore various
vegetables we eat that are roots, stems, leaves, flowers,
and fruits. Each lesson in the unit offers students
opportunities to observe, ask questions, and learn more
about vegetables as examples of plant life. Students
are engaged in scientific experimentation to learn more
about seeds and the function they play in the life cycle
of the vegetables. Their active involvement in the unit
activities supports conceptual development related to
science content as well as investigative processes. (Unit not currently available for purchase)
The kindergarten and first grade unit, Survive
and Thrive, engages students in a study
of animals, their characteristics, and their natural
environments. Students learn how to distinguish features
and life needs of several familiar animals including
an arachnid, an insect, a bird, and mammals. Students
also observe unfamiliar animals in their habitats. Students
learn to classify animals by simple characteristics
and to observe live animals. Students raise mealworms
in the classroom and observe their life cycle. The concept
of Change is used to deepen understanding of the scientific
concepts in the unit.
How the Sun Makes Our Day,
a kindergarten and first grade unit, engages students
in investigations and observations that support their
learning about the Sun as a source of light and energy,
the nature of shadows, and the need for humans to conserve
natural resources. Students explore natural and man-made
sources and develop a conservation plan for their home,
school, or community. The overarching concept of Change
is used to deepen understanding of the scientific concepts
in the unit.
The unit Water Works
engages kindergarten and first grade students in close
observations and experimentation on water.
The overarching concept of Change is reinforced as students
notice, react to, reflect on, and discover more about
force and change. Students ask questions and design
experiments to reinforce their learning. Generalizations
about how things change are developed through students’
analysis of their finding. Students explore the characteristics of water,
discover whether objects sink or float,
experiment to make things float, and examine materials
and their interactions with water.
Budding Botanists, a first-second
grade life science unit, engages students in a scenario-based
approach to investigating plant life. Students assume
the role of botanists seeking answers to a question
related to alternative fuel sources. Students work in
teams to investigate plant life and to understand the
structure, nature, and life cycle of plants. Budding
Botanists builds upon students’ prior knowledge
of plant life and encourages them to use inquiry skills
to observe, gather evidence, analyze data, and make
inferences. Students explore the overarching concept
of Systems to reinforce the development of science concepts
and seek connections among these important concepts
to solve a relevant problem.
The Weather
Reporter, a Second Grade Earth/Space Science
unit, provides students with opportunities to observe,
measure, and analyze weather phenomena. The Weather
Reporter includes a scenario-based approach to allow
students to make decisions about observing, predicting,
and forecasting the weather. Building upon students’
prior knowledge of weather and their newly acquired
understanding of meteorology, The Weather Reporter promotes
life-long learning by encouraging students to investigate
naturally occurring weather patterns after the completion
of the unit. Finally, The Weather Reporter includes
literary and math components to engage students in discussions
and to reinforce the concepts addressed in the unit.
What’s the Matter?
is a second-third grade unit that focuses on the properties
of solids, liquids, and gases and the processes by which
matter changes states. Students work on problem-solving
scenarios where they use their new knowledge of matter,
change in physical properties, and the measurement of
matter to prepare a presentation to share new ideas
and discoveries about matter for a “science conference.”
The overarching concept of Change is used to deepen
understanding of the scientific concepts in the unit.
Dig It! is a third grade
Earth & Space science unit. Students are encouraged
to investigate man’s effects on the environment,
the importance of Earth’s natural resources, and
sound conservation practices. Using a scenario-based
approach, the unit builds upon students’ prior
knowledge by providing opportunities to relate local
examples of environmental pollution and conservation
with hands-on scientific experiments and demonstrations.
Dig It! also includes literary and math components to
engage students in discussions and to reinforce the
concepts addressed in the unit.
Invitation to Invent, a third
grade unit, engages students in investigations and observations
that support their learning about simple machines and
their uses. Students explore force, motion, and friction
as they learn about the six simple machines and how
they are put together to form compound machines. The
overarching concept of Systems is used to deepen their
understanding of the scientific concepts in the unit.
Each unit has been piloted and field tested in several
classrooms. These units are now available for purchase. Water Works and Whats the Matter? are available for purchase from Prufrock Press. The Center for Gifted Education will continue to process orders while supplies lasts.
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