The Next Generation Science Standards were designed to be "rich in content and practice, arranged in a coherent manner across disciplines and grades to provide all students an internationally benchmarked science education." In practice, the NextGen Standards cover more than the science disciplines – the directives integrate all subject areas. The standards are so cross-curricular, you might sometimes think you’re reading a writing prompt for a language arts class or as a math story problem. Their nature makes them ideal for teaching in a project-based learning environment, where the goal is to synthesize curricular topics into one global learning experience. Nexgenscience.org provides a valuable resource on cross-curricular classroom sample tasks to get you started.
There are many ways to bring Science Standards into other disciplines and lessons. Think about presenting the science activities that are aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards as cross-curricular projects that will deepen student learning and engagement. For examples, consider the following 12 projects.
deep,’” said Manny Perez, Mimio’s general manager. “As schools attempt to cover everything from physical science to life science, nothing is taught or learned in sufficient depth, a problem that really plagues science education. Our goal in developing MimioScience was to design a teaching tool that effectively and efficiently distills science teaching to its fundamental core elements: concepts, principles, and processes. The lessons’ targeted activities give students a way to apply and extend what they’ve learned through application and inquiry.”
