IslandWood

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)* call for students to use the practices, concepts, and content of science and engineering to understand and solve problems relevant to their lives. When teachers emphasize their students’ home environments, they make science more applicable and engaging while building foundations to understand global issues like climate change.

Courses

IslandWood courses are for teachers and educators who teach science to K-8 graders. Each course is focused on teachers in a different grade band. The courses span three months and include a Saturday kick-off session followed by multiple shorter after-school sessions. Each one provides an example NGSS curriculum as a model for incorporating local phenomena into storylines, embedding equity and justice in teaching, integration of Next Generation Science Standards with other subjects and inclusion of indigenous ways of knowing. Separate cohorts for each grade band will provide for both online only options and in-person Saturdays if/when appropriate.

2022-23 School Year Course Offerings:

• Fall: Seasonal Change in the Schoolyard for preK-2nd grade teachers. Uses observable seasonal changes to anchor Next Generation Science Standards-aligned curriculum that will get students excited about doing science in their schoolyard.
• Winter: Community-Centered Climate Change for 6-8th grade teachers. Uses the changes in water levels at a local river to explore the impacts of climate change on snowpack and how changes in the river impact human and animal communities in the watershed.
• Spring: Community-Centered Climate Action for 3-5th grade teachers. Uses the perimeter of their school to inquire about and monitor air quality as well as learn about emissions and activism in their community.
• Spring: What Makes A Weed A Weed for 3-5th grade teachers. Uses the springtime blooming of Dandelions to explore changes in climate and human interactions with the environment.

Focus School Project

During 2022-2023, we are continuing our second year supporting Science curriculum implementation across grade levels at Rising Star Elementary. This project explores how focused curricular efforts can build on community resources and empower Black, Indigenous, and other Students of Color (BIPOC students). The school is a Targeted Supports school in Southeast Seattle and we have partnered with the school’s administration, Puget Sound Educational Service District, and EarthGen on the project.

We are also continuing to cultivate partnerships with local organizations including Nurturing Roots, the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps, and Dirt Corps to build the capacity of sustainable school partnerships and particularly center place-based, BIPOC-led organizations in the community. We started off this year with an all-school retreat and professional development session for Rising Star staff at Islandwood headquarters and are following up with grade level meetings (PreK-5th) and direct support for teachers and students, as needed. After this second year of intensive curricular support, we will assess the impacts and share our learnings with a wider audience.