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Oroville Union High School District |
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Science Curriculum |
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Science Curriculum - Addendums |
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Mission Statement
The mission of the Oroville Union High School District is to prepare our students for the future by providing them with the necessary skills to be productive citizens.
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Introduction
The Science Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve represents the content of science education and includes the essential skills and knowledge students will need to be scientifically literate citizens in the twenty-first century. By adopting these standards, the State Board of Education affirms its commitment to provide a world-class science education for all California students. These standards reflect the diligent work and commitment of the Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards (Academic Standards Commission) and the commission's Science Committee to define the common academic content of science education at every grade level.
Glenn T. Seaborg, one of the great scientific minds of this time and of all times, chaired the Academic Standards Commission's Science Committee. In "A Letter to a Young Scientist," Dr. Seaborg said, "Science is an organized body of knowledge and a method of proceeding to an extension of this knowledge by hypothesis and experiment."1 The National Science Education Standards reflects this view of science and the balance between the "body of knowledge" and the "method" of scientific inquiry.2 The standards provide the opportunity to make substantial and significant improvements in California's education system.
The standards include grade-level specific content for kindergarten through grade eight. A significant feature is the focus on earth science in the sixth grade, life science in the seventh grade, and physical science in the eighth grade. The standards for grades nine through twelve are divided into four content strands: physics, chemistry, biology/life sciences, and earth sciences. An Investigation and Experimentation strand describes a progressive set of expectations for each grade from kindergarten through grade eight, and one set of Investigation and Experimentation standards is given for grades nine through twelve.
The elementary and middle school standards provide the foundational skills and knowledge for students to learn core concepts, principles, and theories of science at the high school level. The standards are organized in sets under broad concepts. This organization is intended to help the reader move between topics and follow them as the content systematically increases in depth, breadth, and complexity through the grade levels.
The Science Content Standards serves as the basis of statewide student assessments, the science curriculum framework, and the evaluation of instructional materials. The Science Framework for California Public Schools is being revised to align with the standards. The framework will suggest ways in which to use the standards and make connections within and across grades; it will also provide guidance for instructional planning. However, the standards do not prescribe the methods of instruction. Students should have the opportunity to learn science by receiving direct instruction, by reading textbooks and supplemental materials, by solving standards-based problems, and by doing laboratory investigations and experiments. The Investigation and Experimentation standards should be integral to, and directly and specifically support, the teaching of the content strands and disciplines.
Development of the Standards
The California State Board of Education and the Academic Standards Commission reviewed the National Science Education Standards, the Benchmarks for Science Literacy,3 and science standards and frameworks from numerous local school districts in California, from around the country, and from other nations with successful science education programs. In addition, hundreds of pages of written recommendations and hundreds of hours of testimony were considered. The Academic Standards Commission hosted nine community meetings, and the State Board of Education held five public hearings throughout California. Parents (guardians), teachers, school administrators, and business and community leaders participated and helped define key issues. Expert reviewers around the nation submitted formal comments on the drafts and also participated in invited public testimony. Their ideas contributed substantively to the final standards adopted by the State Board of Education.
Highlights of the Standards
These science standards will challenge not only California's students but also the entire K-12 education system. The elementary school standards call for early introduction of science facts and terms and will challenge the multiple-subject teacher to find time in the school day for science education. Quality textbooks and reading materials in science can support students in mastering these standards as they develop their reading skills and vocabulary. The Investigation and Experimentation standards should be implemented to allow students to make a concrete association between science and the study of nature as well as provide them with many opportunities to take measurements and use their basic mathematical skills.
The middle school science standards, with emphasis on the disciplines at each grade level, are intended to raise the bar substantially for students. Many teachers, schools, and districts will need to restructure their curriculum to meet these standards. The Science Content Standards provides educators with the opportunity to make the middle school curriculum more rigorous in response to a national call for excellence and better prepare these students for in-depth study of science at the high school level.
The high school science standards require more than two years of science courses for students to achieve the breadth and depth described. Schools and districts will be challenged to develop a science curriculum that meets the needs of their students and provides them the maximum opportunity to learn the standards while encouraging students to study further in science. In grades nine through twelve, standards that all students are expected to achieve in their science courses are unmarked; standards that all students should have the opportunity to learn in those courses are marked with an asterisk (*). Those opportunities should be offered at every high school.
The Science Content Standards reflects the desired content of science curriculum in California public schools. This content should be taught so that students have the opportunity to build connections that link science to technology and societal impacts. Science, technology, and societal issues are strongly connected to community health, population, natural resources, environmental quality, natural and human-induced hazards, and other global challenges. The standards should be viewed as the foundation for understanding these issues.
Time and considerable resources will be needed to implement the Science Content Standards. But the goal is clear, and the process of implementing the standards should start immediately.
1Gifted Young in Science: Potential Through Performance. Edited by Paul Brandwein and others. Arlington, Va.: National Science Teachers Association, 1989.
2National Academy of Sciences, National Science Education Standards. Washington, D. C.: National Academy of Sciences, 1995.
3American Association for the Advancement of Science staff, Benchmarks for Science Literacy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
ENGLISH CURRICULUM STATE FRAMEWORK EMPHASIS
California's educational system began a revolutionary journey in 1987 with a single giant step--publication of the English-Language Arts Framework. The framework melded existing effective teaching practices with new ideas about the development of literacy.
A skill-based curriculum has given way to a literature-based curriculum. A curriculum that once focused primarily on decoding, viewed skills as an end in themselves, and taught reading, writing, listening, and speaking as separate subjects, now bases instruction on acquisition of meaning. It integrates skills and various language arts processes into the context of the lesson.
Formal assessment that relied heavily on multiple-choice tests has given way to performance-based assessment that affirms the role of the teacher as the best observer of progress in the classroom. Even the traditional roles of the student as the recipient of knowledge and the teacher as the dispenser are giving way to a new vision that sees students as generators and evaluators of their own learning and teachers as facilitators and researchers.
The goals of the English curriculum are as follows:
· To develop skills of reading, writing, listening, speaking, and thinking.
· To prepare all students to function as informed and effective citizens.
· To prepare all students to function effectively in the world of work.
· To prepare all students to realize personal fulfillment.
· To understand significant human, ethical, cultural, and political issues and values.
· To engage students in a reassessment of their own values based on those embodied in literature.
· To provide equitable access of the English curriculum to culturally and linguistically diverse student populations.
· To develop a performance-based/integrated assessment system.
Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are integrated in a total learning program that emphasizes higher order thinking skills. Students learn to read with understanding, listen with purpose, write in their own style, speak with influence, and handle the proper conventions of Standard English--all within the context of studying the central issues embodied in literature.
Students gain English language proficiencies by reading a central core of literary works that focus on the significant issues of human civilization. The skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking are developed by a systematic study of enduring literary works. Students must actively use their language arts skills to comprehend the ideas and values that these works embody. The English/Language Arts curriculum is comprehensive, systematic, and developmental. The central core curriculum is organized around literary works selected from great essays, poems, short stories, novels, biographies, dramas, myths, and speeches. English teachers use literature as the medium for teaching the fundamental human values that connect us as human beings and as a means to teach reading, writing, listening, speaking, and thinking. The curriculum is developmentally sequenced so all students gain an increased understanding of the works of literature they study and are better prepared to read and comprehend similar works of their own.
Students write daily. They learn to write clear, cogent, concise prose related to the literary works they study. They learn to use the writing process to prewrite, draft, revise, and edit to develop their own style and voice.
All students will take at least seven semesters of English core courses in which they systematically develop their ability to read, write, listen, and speak the English language. They will also become more knowledgeable about their cultural heritage. Courses are offered for students who want or need to gain greater proficiency in English for post secondary or career goals. Opportunities are also available for students with limited English proficiency.
This curriculum guide is to be used in conjunction with the English/Language Arts Framework for the State of California to provide teachers with the information necessary to meet the following goals:
· To provide a balanced approach to the teaching of skills, literature, and language-rich activities to ensure that all students are able to read and write proficiently.
· To include the study of literature and other high-quality materials.
· To engage students in reading, writing, speaking/listening/viewing so that they become competent users of language.
· To emphasize the cultural heritage communicated through language.
California Department of Education
Purposes of Career Vocational and Agricultural Education
Major Directions for Career Vocational Education
The Career Vocational Education Division of the State Department of Education is committed to educational reform. The major directions defined for career vocational education are:
1. Academic Excellence. To ensure that all vocational education students achieve a high level of proficiency in a foundation of core academic skills that will significantly increase their occupational and technological capacity to adapt to changing work environments and to contribute more effectively to domestic and international competitiveness.
2. Reinforcing Academic Core Curriculum. To ensure that vocational education curricula and instruction at all levels reinforce and complement, through practical application, core academic, critical thinking, and problem solving skills.
3. Standards of Excellence. To provide high quality vocational education programs and support services that are based on national and/or state standards of excellence.
4. Coordinating Instruction. To expand the effectiveness of vocational education and support services through collaborative 2+2+2 types of articulation with community colleges in order to permit a more systematic progression through various levels of academic and vocational instruction.
5. Addressing New Technology. To ensure that vocational education program content and instruction methodologies fully reflect and use all the new, emerging, and constantly changing technologies.
6. Access and Opportunity. To increase access to and success within the labor market for those not presently served, those underserved, those under-represented, and those with special needs.
Goals of Career Vocational Education in Agriculture
The first organized state and national system of agricultural education came about in 1917 with the passage of the federal Smith Hughes Act. This act put in place a standardized program of vocational agricultural education which served one population group: farm boys. The goal of the program was to return young men to the family farm upon graduation from high school prepared to make it more productive and a better place to live. The purpose of this legislation was limited to improving the standard of living on the farm and to ensuring the continued and improved supply of food and fiber to meet the needs of the citizenry. That relatively uncomplicated program has grown into a complex one with several purposes: serving a diverse population, and addressing the needs of a national and international agricultural enterprise that is much broader than farming.
The goals of modern organized instruction in career vocational education in agriculture (often referred to as agricultural education) are to:
1. Prepare students for entry level employment and advancement in all facets of the agriculture industry.
2. Assist students in making an informed choice of an agricultural occupation.
3. Prepare students for advanced training (postsecondary education) in agriculture.
4. Supplement and reinforce the student's acquisition of academic core competencies.
5. Ensure an adequate supply of trained and skilled students for employment in the agriculture industry.
The Science Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve represents the content of science education and includes the essential skills and knowledge students will need to be scientifically literate citizens in the twenty-first century. By adopting these standards, the State Board of Education affirms its commitment to provide a world-class science education for all California students. These standards reflect the diligent work and commitment of the Commission for the Establishment of Academic Content and Performance Standards (Academic Standards Commission) and the commission's Science Committee to define the common academic content of science education at every grade level.
Glenn T. Seaborg, one of the great scientific minds of this time and of all times, chaired the Academic Standards Commission's Science Committee. In "A Letter to a Young Scientist," Dr. Seaborg said, "Science is an organized body of knowledge and a method of proceeding to an extension of this knowledge by hypothesis and experiment."1 The National Science Education Standards reflects this view of science and the balance between the "body of knowledge" and the "method" of scientific inquiry.2 The standards provide the opportunity to make substantial and significant improvements in California's education system.
The standards include grade-level specific content for kindergarten through grade eight. A significant feature is the focus on earth science in the sixth grade, life science in the seventh grade, and physical science in the eighth grade. The standards for grades nine through twelve are divided into four content strands: physics, chemistry, biology/life sciences, and earth sciences. An Investigation and Experimentation strand describes a progressive set of expectations for each grade from kindergarten through grade eight, and one set of Investigation and Experimentation standards is given for grades nine through twelve.
The elementary and middle school standards provide the foundational skills and knowledge for students to learn core concepts, principles, and theories of science at the high school level. The standards are organized in sets under broad concepts. This organization is intended to help the reader move between topics and follow them as the content systematically increases in depth, breadth, and complexity through the grade levels.
The Science Content Standards serves as the basis of statewide student assessments, the science curriculum framework, and the evaluation of instructional materials. The Science Framework for California Public Schools is being revised to align with the standards. The framework will suggest ways in which to use the standards and make connections within and across grades; it will also provide guidance for instructional planning. However, the standards do not prescribe the methods of instruction. Students should have the opportunity to learn science by receiving direct instruction, by reading textbooks and supplemental materials, by solving standards-based problems, and by doing laboratory investigations and experiments. The Investigation and Experimentation standards should be integral to, and directly and specifically support, the teaching of the content strands and disciplines.
Development of the Standards
The California State Board of Education and the Academic Standards Commission reviewed the National Science Education Standards, the Benchmarks for Science Literacy,3 and science standards and frameworks from numerous local school districts in California, from around the country, and from other nations with successful science education programs. In addition, hundreds of pages of written recommendations and hundreds of hours of testimony were considered. The Academic Standards Commission hosted nine community meetings, and the State Board of Education held five public hearings throughout California. Parents (guardians), teachers, school administrators, and business and community leaders participated and helped define key issues. Expert reviewers around the nation submitted formal comments on the drafts and also participated in invited public testimony. Their ideas contributed substantively to the final standards adopted by the State Board of Education.
Highlights of the Standards
These science standards will challenge not only California's students but also the entire K-12 education system. The elementary school standards call for early introduction of science facts and terms and will challenge the multiple-subject teacher to find time in the school day for science education. Quality textbooks and reading materials in science can support students in mastering these standards as they develop their reading skills and vocabulary. The Investigation and Experimentation standards should be implemented to allow students to make a concrete association between science and the study of nature as well as provide them with many opportunities to take measurements and use their basic mathematical skills.
The middle school science standards, with emphasis on the disciplines at each grade level, are intended to raise the bar substantially for students. Many teachers, schools, and districts will need to restructure their curriculum to meet these standards. The Science Content Standards provides educators with the opportunity to make the middle school curriculum more rigorous in response to a national call for excellence and better prepare these students for in-depth study of science at the high school level.
The high school science standards require more than two years of science courses for students to achieve the breadth and depth described. Schools and districts will be challenged to develop a science curriculum that meets the needs of their students and provides them the maximum opportunity to learn the standards while encouraging students to study further in science. In grades nine through twelve, standards that all students are expected to achieve in their science courses are unmarked; standards that all students should have the opportunity to learn in those courses are marked with an asterisk (*). Those opportunities should be offered at every high school.
The Science Content Standards reflects the desired content of science curriculum in California public schools. This content should be taught so that students have the opportunity to build connections that link science to technology and societal impacts. Science, technology, and societal issues are strongly connected to community health, population, natural resources, environmental quality, natural and human-induced hazards, and other global challenges. The standards should be viewed as the foundation for understanding these issues.
Time and considerable resources will be needed to implement the Science Content Standards. But the goal is clear, and the process of implementing the standards should start immediately.
1Gifted Young in Science: Potential Through Performance. Edited by Paul Brandwein and others. Arlington, Va.: National Science Teachers Association, 1989.
2National Academy of Sciences, National Science Education Standards. Washington, D. C.: National Academy of Sciences, 1995.
3American Association for the Advancement of Science staff, Benchmarks for Science Literacy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
ENGLISH CURRICULUM STATE FRAMEWORK EMPHASIS
California's educational system began a revolutionary journey in 1987 with a single giant step--publication of the English-Language Arts Framework. The framework melded existing effective teaching practices with new ideas about the development of literacy.
A skill-based curriculum has given way to a literature-based curriculum. A curriculum that once focused primarily on decoding, viewed skills as an end in themselves, and taught reading, writing, listening, and speaking as separate subjects, now bases instruction on acquisition of meaning. It integrates skills and various language arts processes into the context of the lesson.
Formal assessment that relied heavily on multiple-choice tests has given way to performance-based assessment that affirms the role of the teacher as the best observer of progress in the classroom. Even the traditional roles of the student as the recipient of knowledge and the teacher as the dispenser are giving way to a new vision that sees students as generators and evaluators of their own learning and teachers as facilitators and researchers.
The goals of the English curriculum are as follows:
· To develop skills of reading, writing, listening, speaking, and thinking.
· To prepare all students to function as informed and effective citizens.
· To prepare all students to function effectively in the world of work.
· To prepare all students to realize personal fulfillment.
· To understand significant human, ethical, cultural, and political issues and values.
· To engage students in a reassessment of their own values based on those embodied in literature.
· To provide equitable access of the English curriculum to culturally and linguistically diverse student populations.
· To develop a performance-based/integrated assessment system.
Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are integrated in a total learning program that emphasizes higher order thinking skills. Students learn to read with understanding, listen with purpose, write in their own style, speak with influence, and handle the proper conventions of Standard English--all within the context of studying the central issues embodied in literature.
Students gain English language proficiencies by reading a central core of literary works that focus on the significant issues of human civilization. The skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking are developed by a systematic study of enduring literary works. Students must actively use their language arts skills to comprehend the ideas and values that these works embody. The English/Language Arts curriculum is comprehensive, systematic, and developmental. The central core curriculum is organized around literary works selected from great essays, poems, short stories, novels, biographies, dramas, myths, and speeches. English teachers use literature as the medium for teaching the fundamental human values that connect us as human beings and as a means to teach reading, writing, listening, speaking, and thinking. The curriculum is developmentally sequenced so all students gain an increased understanding of the works of literature they study and are better prepared to read and comprehend similar works of their own.
Students write daily. They learn to write clear, cogent, concise prose related to the literary works they study. They learn to use the writing process to prewrite, draft, revise, and edit to develop their own style and voice.
All students will take at least seven semesters of English core courses in which they systematically develop their ability to read, write, listen, and speak the English language. They will also become more knowledgeable about their cultural heritage. Courses are offered for students who want or need to gain greater proficiency in English for post secondary or career goals. Opportunities are also available for students with limited English proficiency.
This curriculum guide is to be used in conjunction with the English/Language Arts Framework for the State of California to provide teachers with the information necessary to meet the following goals:
· To provide a balanced approach to the teaching of skills, literature, and language-rich activities to ensure that all students are able to read and write proficiently.
· To include the study of literature and other high-quality materials.
· To engage students in reading, writing, speaking/listening/viewing so that they become competent users of language.
· To emphasize the cultural heritage communicated through language.
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Board Members
Dave Bruce, President
Kathy MacIntyre, Vice President
Mitch Brown, Clerk
Ed Hottell, Trustee
Dr. Steven Rocchi, Trustee
Dr. Chester Ward, President
Brenda Harris, Vice President
David Bruce, Clerk
Edward Hottell, Trustee
Dr. Steven Rocchi, Trustee
Dr. Steven Rocchi, President
Edward Hottell, Vice President
Kathy MacIntyre, Clerk
Mitch Brown, Trustee
David Bruce, Trustee
Brenda Harris, President
Dr. Steven Rocchi, Vice President
Edward Hottell, Clerk
David Bruce, Trustee
Dr. Chester Ward, Trustee
Dr. Chester Ward, President
Brenda Harris, Vice President
David Bruce, Clerk
Edward Hottell, Trustee
Dr. Steven Rocchi, Trustee
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Credits & Acknowledgements
Science Curriculum Committee
Carol Anderson, Teacher, Oroville High School
Bobbi Belko, Teacher, Oroville High School
Brad Bidlack, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Vernon Coggins, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Craig Domeyer, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Sandy Dovell, Principal, Las Plumas High School
Karen Falconer, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Leanna Felardo, Teacher, Oroville High School
Rich Hogan, Teacher, Oroville High School
Natalie Hutton, Teacher, Prospect High School
Pat Hutton, Teacher, Oroville High School
Brent McGhie, Teacher, Oroville High School
Tom Murphy, Teacher, Challenge Charter High School
Ryan Parker, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Lael Schneider, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Marla Vaughn, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
English Curriculum Committee
Dr. Oran Roberts, Director of Education, Oroville Union High School District
Rachel Gwinnup, English Subject-Area Coordinator and Mentor Teacher, OHS
Kathy Steinhaus, English Subject-Area Coordinator and Mentor Teacher, LPHS
Meigs Meier, English Subject-Area Coordinator, PHS
Scott Burket, English Teacher, OHS
Steve Brown, English Teacher, OHS
Niki Carter, English Teacher, OHS
Teisha Hase, Reading Teacher, OHS
Jeff Horsley, English Teacher, OHS
Emily Lorelli, English and ELD Teacher, OHS
Michelle Medford, English and Journalism Teacher, OHS
Bruce Besnard, English Teacher, LPHS
Laurence Boag, English Teacher, LPHS
Cristian Bruce, Reading and English Teacher, LPHS
Linda Draper, English and Journalism Teacher, LPHS
Kandis Horton, English Teacher, LPHS
Andrea Lavezzi, English and ELD Teacher, LPHS
Bret Lawson, ELD English Teacher, LPHS
Ken Lovegren III, English Teacher, LPHS
Eugene Perry, English Teacher, LPHS
Lisa Ross, English Teacher, LPHS
Russel Sorenson, English Teacher, LPHS
Susan Hoopes, Adult Education Teacher, OAS
Agriculture Curriculum Committee
Aaron Albisu, Agriculture Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Karen Falconer, Agriculture Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Jim Knapp, Agriculture Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Dan Ramos, Agriculture Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Cliff Scheer, Agriculture Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Science Curriculum Committee
Carol Anderson, Teacher, Oroville High School
Bobbi Belko, Teacher, Oroville High School
Brad Bidlack, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Vernon Coggins, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Craig Domeyer, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Sandy Dovell, Principal, Las Plumas High School
Karen Falconer, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Leanna Felardo, Teacher, Oroville High School
Rich Hogan, Teacher, Oroville High School
Natalie Hutton, Teacher, Prospect High School
Pat Hutton, Teacher, Oroville High School
Brent McGhie, Teacher, Oroville High School
Tom Murphy, Teacher, Challenge Charter High School
Ryan Parker, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Lael Schneider, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
Marla Vaughn, Teacher, Las Plumas High School
English Curriculum Committee
Dr. Oran Roberts, Director of Education, Oroville Union High School District
Rachel Gwinnup, English Subject-Area Coordinator and Mentor Teacher, OHS
Kathy Steinhaus, English Subject-Area Coordinator and Mentor Teacher, LPHS
Meigs Meier, English Subject-Area Coordinator, PHS
Scott Burket, English Teacher, OHS
Steve Brown, English Teacher, OHS
Niki Carter, English Teacher, OHS
Teisha Hase, Reading Teacher, OHS
Jeff Horsley, English Teacher, OHS
Emily Lorelli, English and ELD Teacher, OHS
Michelle Medford, English and Journalism Teacher, OHS
Bruce Besnard, English Teacher, LPHS
Laurence Boag, English Teacher, LPHS
Cristian Bruce, Reading and English Teacher, LPHS
Linda Draper, English and Journalism Teacher, LPHS
Kandis Horton, English Teacher, LPHS
Andrea Lavezzi, English and ELD Teacher, LPHS
Bret Lawson, ELD English Teacher, LPHS
Ken Lovegren III, English Teacher, LPHS
Eugene Perry, English Teacher, LPHS
Lisa Ross, English Teacher, LPHS
Russel Sorenson, English Teacher, LPHS
Susan Hoopes, Adult Education Teacher, OAS
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Ordering Information
For ordering information, contact:
Oroville Union High School District
2211 Washington Avenue
Oroville, CA 95966
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Copyright Information
Copyright 2002, EdVISION.com Corp. and
Oroville Union High School District
2211 Washington Avenue
Oroville, CA 95966
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