Science and Math: Working to Connect NGSS and CCSS

CSTA Classroom Science
Science and Math: Working to Connect NGSS and CCSS


Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014
by Peter A'Hearn

All science people know that there is a strong connection between science and math, so finding the connections between the Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core Math Standards should be a no brainer. Last year, Palm Springs USD conducted a dozen Science/Math lesson studies to explore the connections. We found many strong connections and also identified some challenges in putting the two sets of standards together. 

The math and science teacher used a modified version of the K-12 Alliance TLC lesson study to plan their lessons. There were two teams from grades 6, 7 and 8, and teams for Earth Science/Algebra, Biology/Geometry, and Chemistry/Algebra II. Some o the lessons clicked perfectly, some failed awkwardly, and many lessons were learned about the challenges of implementing NGSS and the Math Common Core Standards.

One of the Biology/Geometry teams focused on data analysis (part of Geometry in the CCSS). They decided to do a science lesson based on HS-LS4-3:

In a pre-lesson, the class acted as predators of two kinds of beans in a cup. When they chose beans without looking they preferentially chose the larger kidney beans over smaller pinto beans. Click below to read the entire article....
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