Grades 0 (PreK)-2

Good Vibrations (K-2)

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This sequence of instruction was developed in the Growing Elementary Science Project to help elementary teachers who were working remotely.  We developed a short storyline that ties together a few sessions to help explore a specific concept.  We tried to include some activities that honored and included the student’s family and experience, and some that included the potential for ELA learning goals.Unlike other units in our series, this was not developed as a complete stand-alone unit. Our intent, in this case, was to provide a set of options for the teacher, as well as some materials for consideration of opportunities to integrate reading in science.It is part of ClimeTime - a collaboration among all nine Educational Service Districts (ESDs) in Washington and many Community Partners to provide programs for science teacher training around Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and climate science, thanks to grant money made available to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) by Governor Inslee. 

Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: Clancy Wolf, Jeff Ryan

Grade 2 and 3: Climate Forecasters from Gonzaga Climate Center

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In partnership with the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the legislature-funded ClimeTime program, the Gonzaga Climate Center has created the Climate Literacy Fellows program. This lesson was developed in collaboration with the Gonzaga Science in Action! program.  The Science in Action! Program helped test the kits included in these lessons and helped guide Gonzaga undergraduates in developing the accompanying lessons. We thank Gonzaga SIA! for their collaboration and support!  

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Simulation

Author: Gonzaga Climate Institute

Grade 2 and 3: What's the Big Deal with Wind from Gonzaga Climate Center

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In partnership with the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the legislature-funded ClimeTime program, the Gonzaga Climate Center has created the Climate Literacy Fellows program.  This lesson was developed in collaboration with the Gonzaga Science in Action! program.  The Science in Action! Program helped test the kits included in these lessons and helped guide Gonzaga undergraduates in developing the accompanying lessons. We thank Gonzaga SIA! for their collaboration and support!

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Homework/Assignment, Interactive, Lesson, Lesson Plan

Author: Gonzaga Climate Institute

K-1 Where does food come from?

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Overview: In partnership with the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the legislature-funded ClimeTime program, the Gonzaga Climate Center has created the Climate Literacy Fellows program. Students will learn about where different types of food comes from, why nutrition is important, and how to grow their own food. Students will also learn the basic conditions required for plants to grow, and the importance of human action in maintaining the availability of these conditions.  Authors: Jordan Kremer Gonzaga University, Class of 2025

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive, Lesson, Lesson Plan

Author: Gonzaga Climate Institute

Native American Stories Science Connections

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The original Native American story component lesson was developed as part of an Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Washington State Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform (LASER) project funded through an EPA Region 10 grant. The stories were told by Roger Fernandes of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe. Mr. Fernandes has been given permission by the tribes to tell these stories.As these lessons and stories were shared prior to the adoption of the Washington State Science Learning Standards in 2013, there was a need to align these stories with the current science standards. This resource provides a current alignment and possible lesson suggestions on how these stories can be incorporated into the classroom. This alignment work has been funded by the NGSS & Climate Science Proviso of the Washington State Legislature as a part of North Central Educational Service District's award.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Authors: MECHELLE LALANNE, Barbara Soots, Ellen Ebert, Carissa Haug, Johanna Brown, Lori Henrickson, Kimberley Astle

Phenomenal Investigations Activity

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An adaptable exploratory and reflective activity that works with all ages and uses the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS*), Asking Question and Defining Problems Practice and one of several possible Crosscutting Concepts to explore students’ awareness, prior knowledge and cultural experiences related to a phenomenon or Disciplinary Core Idea .

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Authors: Emma Pesis, Brad Street

K-5 NGSS Resource Sets for Teaching Science and Integrating with ELA

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This OSPI resource provides curated collections of free activities, lessons, units, and informational "texts" (articles, passages, e-books, videos, podcasts) to support every NGSS Performance Expectation (standard) in grades K-5.  This resource is intended to support teachers with teaching science while also integrating science and ELA to grow student knowledge, thinking, application, and skills in both content areas.  Materials are organized into units based on the topics and essential questions in each grade. Resources listed are all freely available online, with some requiring teachers to create free accounts to access.  Some trade books are also listed that might be accessed through a library system. Gratitude is expressed to the Washington State Science Fellows, Science Fellows Emeriti, and ELA Fellows who contributed to curating the informational texts.  For questions or comments contact OSPI Elementary Science at Kimberley.Astle@k12.wa.us. 

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Diagram/Illustration, Full Course, Homework/Assignment, Interactive, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Primary Source, Reading, Simulation, Teaching/Learning Strategy, Textbook

Author: Kimberley Astle