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Curriculum Coaches Infuse Social Studies, Science Into Other Subject Areas

Picture at right: JPS Social Studies Curriculum Coach Doug Foster works with Ring Elementary School third grade teacher and Peer Coach, Kim Austin.

“In third grade, we are looking at place value and problem-solving with place measurements,” said Ring Elementary School Teacher and Peer Coach, Kim Austin to Doug Foster, JPS science curriculum coach. “Using balances to measure would be a great way to tie-in science to their math lesson.”

“We could use fruits, like a banana, and have the students measure its weight, then eat the banana and re-measure the weight to use their math skills to determine what the difference is in grams and kilogram,” said Mr. Foster.

Mr. Foster was meeting with Mrs. Austin to offer ways to embed science skills into the third grade math curriculum. The science/math collaboration would be used during the third graders math enrichment time to offer a more hands-on lesson by utilizing science.

Mr. Foster and JPS Social Studies Curriculum Coach, Jeff Kresge, give teachers the opportunity to infuse social studies and science into classroom lessons. Math and ELA have been a focus in the district, but as students learn in many different ways, science and social studies can offer a more hands-on learning experience that helps students meet their goals in all subjects.

Mr. Kresge and Mr. Foster are full-time teachers on special assignment as Curriculum Coaches. They are experts in a social studies and science who provide peer leadership and professional development for teachers across the district in order to increase their abilities to effectively develop curriculum, plan lessons, create assessments, and provide high quality instruction to support all learners to achieve New York State Content Standards and Common Core Learning Standards for Literacy.

Picture at left: JPS Social Studies Curriculum Coach Jeff Kresge works with Washington Middle School sixth grade teacher Joel Sopak.

“One of the goals of our positions is to raise the energy level of students by delivering the new social studies and science standards through dynamic lessons,” said Mr. Kresge. “Our role is to work with teachers, or teams of teachers, to develop social studies and science curriculum and lessons that are in line with the standards but are also fun, engaging and utilize literacy.”

Mr. Foster and Mr. Kresge will support and address three key priorities as curriculum coaches:

¯     Lead the development of high quality, rigorous curriculum units aligned to New York State and Common Core Standards in science and social studies

¯     Provide instructional coaching to teachers in social studies and science to support and strengthen implementation of rigorous curriculum units

¯     Promote professional learning within social studies and science to strengthen teachers’ content

Mr. Kresge is currently working with Persell Middle School fifth grade teachers to pilot social studies curriculum for the fifth grade level. Mr. Kresge will go back and tweak the curriculum based on the feedback from teachers. Mr. Foster is also working with Ring Elementary School third grade teaches to incorporate more science practices directly into their ELA lessons.

The Curriculum Coaches will assist teachers in using technology to enhance science and social studies curriculum in their classrooms. Recently, Mr. Kresge helped facilitate a distance learning opportunity with the British Museum in London, England where students learned more about archeology and social studies through a fun, interactive experience. They are hoping to use more distance learning, including between classrooms in the district and between districts. The Curriculum Coaches plan to provide professional development workshops for teachers in the future. They are also opening Google Classrooms as a place for on-line learning and a place to share best practices amongst teachers.

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