Localizing Your 4th Grade Amplify Science “Earth’s Features” Unit

Presenters

Celina Steiger, Brad Street, Kim Zemel

Description

Do you teach 4th grade Amplify Science? Have you been wondering how you could make Amplify more relevant, meaningful, and culturally responsive for YOUR students? Are you interested in STEM and Equity clock hours?

Localizing Your 4th Grade Amplify Science “Earth’s Features” Unit is a free asynchronous online course for Western Washington teachers with access to Amplify Science Earth’s Features unit. You can prograss through it at your own pace as you implement the unit with your students between January 3rd, 2025 and May 30th, 2025. Those who complete it will earn up to 5 STEM and 2.5 Equity clock hours.

IslandWood collaborated with the developers of Amplify Science, Educational Service Districts, teachers, and Seattle Public School’s science department to create unit-specific “localizing guides” that help students make meaningful and authentic connections between the science they are doing in their classroom and their region, community, and personal funds of knowledge.

The course provides an opportunity to unpack the Earth’s Features unit storyline and explore the opportunities in the guide. You will learn how local phenomena like the “Seattle Sloth” and “Suciasaurus Rex” can make the learnings about the unit’s fictional fossil meaningful in understanding the actual geological history of our region. You will be provided a variety of specific adaptations you can use in your classroom and the opportunity to identify and leverage assets from YOUR community and region.

Clock hours will be provided based on Topic Completion:

• Introduction to the Course (required)
• Introduction to the Localizing Guide (required)
• The Earth’s Features Unit Storyline & Progress Build (optional)
• Western Washington Geology & Fossils (optional)
• Leveraging Local Assets (optional)
• Implementing Ideas with Students (optional for those trying out localizing adaptations with students while taking the course)

Clock hours for completed course Topics will be turned in for those who complete a final survey by the closing date of the course (May 30th, 2025). You will then need to claim them through PDEnroller (there is an administrative fee in PDEnroller of $3 per clock hour).

Event Notes

Funding provided by the Washington State Legislature through the ClimeTime Proviso and is available to Washington state educators only.

The course will be taken through an online learning management system (Google Classroom), and you will need a non-district Google login to participate.

The Google Classroom link will be emailed to participants before the start of the course, or upon registration if registered after the course start date.

Dates

Fri, January 3, 2025
8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Online

Fri, May 30, 2025
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
asynchronous work due