1. I see great potential for programs which support active literacy through a math/science curriculum. Using a problem based math curriculum and a inquiry based science curriculum goes hand in hand with many literacy and reading activities which require critical thinking and reading fluency. We can incorporate literature into our lessons to help introduce, support, or produce curiosity around a math or science concept. We can ask our students to respond to the evidence which they find in their experiments by writing to senators, other scientists, or policy decision makers so that students go beyond performing inquiry and problem solving techniques. They learn how to apply their knowledge to real world problems and affect change through the use of communication and literacy skills. Through this aproach I believe that students are more likely to make lifelong decisions to seek "truth" through the use of scientific inquiry and problem based math.

2.For our math question I would ask the question, "Which of the following best explains why the Sun appears to move across the sky every day?" This question be a good pre-asesment for our sciene unit which will focus on using the North Star to navigate to determine which earth movements students are familiar with. Students would use several literacy skills with this question. They would need to unerstand the sentence structure and word meanings in order to answer this.

3. For our math lesson where we are going to ask students to chart their findings using a tool and the north star to determine direction. They will create a bar graph of all class findings. As a pre-asesment we could ask the question, "In the school sale Bob sold 10 boxes of fruit, Kyla sold 20 boxes, and Chris sold 15 boxes. Complete the bar graph below to show how many boxes each student sold." This would help us to see how familiar students were with bar graphs. It would require reading comprehension skills to decifer this question.

Science, Math, Literacy and Assessment

Two out of three fourth graders cannot read proficiently and seven out of ten inner-city and rural fourth graders cannot read at the most basic level (Paige, 2002). With increasing pressure on teachers to elevate reading proficiency because of NCLB, how do you envision a math/science education curriculum that supports literacy while still proving a rich environment for science inquiry and problem-based math learning? For example, how can you balance math practice problems, not drill, with your approach?

One of the further challenges of implementing a problem-based math and science curriculum is that assessment questions often require strong reading comprehension skill levels as well as science and math conceptual understanding. Visit the NAEP site explored in science methods and choose one science and one math question that you could use for your thematic unit as either a pre- or post assessment. What literacy skills would students also have to have to be successful on your selected question?

Please post these in your grade bands ~ Thank you!!!

Week #4 Critique Integrated Curriculum

Compare SAE curriculum to AIMS or GEMS curriculum.

You have seen how the math and science is integrated within the SAE curriculum (Jet Toy). Compare this to an AIMS or GEMS curriculum (found in the TRC).

Grade Level 3-4

Week #3: Jet Toy/Force and Motion Questions

The math involved in the World in Motion Jet Toy curriculum is graphing distance traveled vs. weight carried. Is this activity appropriate for the level of student you have been researching? Describe exactly what you would have a class do? In other words, what mathematics are they learning or are you teaching?

The science concepts involved in the curriculum include Newton's Laws of Motion. What force and motion concepts would you want students in the 3-4 band to know before exploring factors which can affect the distance traveled by the Jet Toy constructed in math methods? How did you decide this? (Hint: NSES). How would you adapt the learning episodes we explored in science methods to develop these force and motion concepts?