We are very proud of the co-curricular classes that we offer to our students. It is our amazing specialist teachers, including our STEAM Team, who make these engaging courses happen!
This is the first in a series of Q & A articles highlighting our specialists and some of what makes their programs so unique, starting with our science program. We asked our two esteemed science teachers to interview each other, and we hope you find their responses enlightening.
Ms. Rubin: So, Mrs. Snyder,, what is your favorite thing about teaching science here at Wise?
Mrs. Snyder: Here at Wise, my classes are nice and small, so I can give more individualized attention to a student or a small group of students when introducing a new science concept. Also, with the small class sizes and the attentiveness of our Wise students, we can do a lot more “fun science”, like roller coaster building, Rube Goldberg machines, and chemical reactions.
Ms. Rubin: We work really hard on skill-building at every single grade level. Mrs. Snyder, since you focus on K-3 curriculum, what should a third grade student be able to do in science by the end of the year?
Mrs. Snyder: Great question! And the reason why I say that is because that is exactly what they should know – how to ask meaningful questions! We work hard throughout the year engaging students in inquiry, learning to use relevant question words, and encouraging deeper level questioning, as those are the types of questions that help scientists make new discoveries. We move away from “if/can/do” questions and focus more on “how/why” queries.
Mrs. Snyder: A lot of our standards spiral through the grades, meaning multiple grades learn about similar topics, but do so in more depth and complexity as they move up the grade levels. What is something students get to do in 6th grade that younger students can look forward to?
Ms. Rubin: Students in 6th grade have the honor of participating in our Science Fair at the end of the school year. They will choose a topic, research that topic, collect sufficient data, then design a trifold poster to neatly arrange all their data and collected information. At the Fair, these budding young scientists present their findings and are on call to answer relevant questions from younger students and their teachers about their topic and research. The 6th grade Fair is a unique culmination of their science journey here at Wise, demonstrating their knowledge of the Scientific Method and the Engineering Design Process.
Ms. Rubin: Here at Wise, parents may have heard that we use the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). What are these and why do we use them?
Mrs. Snyder: California adopted the Next Generation Science Standards a few years ago. These new standards really focus more on science practices and processes, instead of memorizing specific science content. This means that students can engage more in doing science, instead of just accumulating facts, which they could just Google search for anyway! Here at Wise, we plan all of our lessons to align with NGSS. Wise students learn how to define problems, ask questions, record observations, and compile data. They develop and use models, plan and carry out investigations, and use mathematical and computational thinking. By 6th grade, Wise students are constructing explanations and designing solutions, engaging in argumentation from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating and communicating information! They are empowered with all these science skills and practices to become successful science students in middle school and beyond.
Mrs. Snyder: Ms. Rubin, you’ve incorporated the Stemscopes curriculum into grades 5 and 6. What excites you about this new addition to our science program.?
Ms. Rubin: Stemscopes is a comprehensive online science curriculum, aligned to NGSS, that features important best practices such as: accessing students’ prior knowledge, incorporating science vocabulary, and participating in hands-on investigations. Because it is digital, the content is continually updated to reflect current science events that are happening in real time. It includes benchmark assessments that enable me to frequently check-in on the growth of individual students, to make sure they are on-target with the year’s learning goals. This program teaches our students to make claims, provide evidence, and use sound reasoning to support their collected data.
Ms. Rubin: What is your favorite type of science to teach?
Mrs. Snyder: I have to admit – I don’t think I can pick just one! Our life science units focus on the important relationships between both living and nonliving things, our earth science units focus on the natural and human-caused shifts that continue to affect our planet, and our physical science units dive into interesting phenomena that both fascinate and inspire our students such as magnetism and chemistry. What is so wonderful about science here at Wise is that the learning goes beyond the science lab. Our general studies and Hebrew/Judaic teachers work hard with us to incorporate science topics into their own curriculum, allowing students to apply their scientific knowledge in a variety of ways. I’m proud to be a part of such a STEAM-centric school!
Mrs. Snyder: Ms. Rubin, you have had such an interesting teaching journey that led you to be a science specialist. I’d love for you to share a bit of that with our community.
Ms. Rubin: When I was young, I loved science and wanted to become a science teacher. But my mother told me, “Girls don’t do science.” My father suggested that I become an art teacher because there’s a lot of science in the art process. So, after receiving my bachelor of fine arts, I became first an art teacher, then a traditional classroom teacher. But my love for science was just too much to contain, so I decided to switch gears and started an outreach program at the local children’s museum. Once there, I created “Science on the Go”, in which I traveled to different schools in various states and presented grade-specific, hands-on science experiences in the classrooms. I then went back to school myself and earned my degree in elementary science education, moved out here to the west coast, and have been a science specialist ever since.
