The NWESD Science Materials Center (SMC) cooperative launched its effort to bring our materials up to NGSS standards in the fall of 2015/16. At that time teachers from across SMC member districts worked in teams to provide “interim transition documents” to support the use of current materials, as NGSS professional learning was brought to teachers all across Washington State. Our next step was to try and create some materials of our own design that incorporated NGSS practices and cross-cutting concepts. In the fall of 2016/17, a group of intrepid teachers worked on writing lessons. By spring of 2016/17 we could see we did not have the capacity as a group, to re-write all the lessons currently being used by SMC districts. That same spring we brought teachers together and chose storylines for K-5 science. Using those storylines to guide us, in the fall of 2017/18 we formed an SMC Materials Team and that Team is currently involved in looking at possible materials for adoption by the SMC.
Below are links to the documents that chronicle this journey. As more documents are generated they will be added.
If you have any questions about this process, do not hesitate to contact Amy Colburn, Technology & Science Coordinator. acolburn@nwesd.org | 360-299-4046