1-30-02
- Developmentally appropriate
- Expand single concept
- 3 yr. Field test with invoice teachers
- Unit set-up: K-2 individual
3-6 Collaborative/teams
(Again - developmentally sound)
- Binder for teachers manual
- Activity based, follow-up with ISAT success
- Support with newsletter, web site as needed
- Professional development (free of charge)
- 96% - 98% materials covers ISAT
- Units can correspond multi-age
- Open-ended approach with video support
- Activities essential to program
- Allow teachers to utilize before purchasing decision made
- Assessment variety (formative and summative)
- Home-School extension
- Average cost of kit refill - $27.00
- Integration with other subjects (ex-weekly math problem, social studies, writing, art)
- Comprehension skills - vocabulary, information learned, graphic organizers
- Video - provides support for teacher
- Limited number of resources are easier to manage.
- High motivation - promotes “fun”
- Students construct own learning
- Inquiry based
- Other schools utilizing: Davenport
- Unit requires development of higher order thinking.
- Potential for success for more needy children and consistency between buildings.
FOSS
Areas of Concern/Cautions
- Need for person to manage materials - probably building level, not district level
- Requires lots of storage space
- Need to decide how to divide by grade level to address district mobility
- Management of shared units (scheduling)
- Lack of textbook reduces support for content area reading
- Need some alignment so it is not “haphazard” and dialogue with junior high
- Requiring individuals to collect own supplies (e.g., crayfish) might inadvertently give staff permission to not follow program
- Constant - high activity, hands-on
McGraw/Hill
Strengths/Positives
- National Geographic link
- Diagrams, visuals in materials extremely good
- Balance of approaches, variety
- Trade books - strong selling point, leveled, useful in 4-block, balanced literacy
- Provide resources for integrating in primary
- Supports reading program
- Quality - durable big books
- Technology - many resources
- Grades 3-6 interactive videos
- Connections to stories, people in science
- Stand-alone units
- Ease in integration to other areas - math, social studies
- Staff development provided - as long as we need it, multiple years
- Lots of evaluation assessment choices - performance assessment
- Introduction of unit with activity
- Lots of choices of activities
- Materials easily accessible not as costly as others. Provide purchasing list to committee for supply orders
- Meaty reading content concepts; vocabulary
- Grade/age-appropriate reading
- 2-page design of text support initial question. (Ease in student use)
- Shows lots of people in science and their involvement
- Provides comfort for teachers with different backgrounds, experience levels
- Reading, passages brief, non-threatening
McGraw/Hill
Areas of Concern/Cautions
- Lack of home connection for ESL
- Reading concepts seem advanced in some areas (ex - geology - 5th grade)
- Not all photos seem to correspond to text
- Materials, ordering by fax from Texas
- Discussed supporting disproving hypothesis
- Use of video after exploring activity could limit kids idea of procedure
- Many add-ons could be costly
- Book based - not activity based
- Brief passages might not be enriching enough
Houghton Mifflin
Strengths/Positives
- Good match to standards
- Magic School Bus, Bill Nye resources
- Technology a plus
- Relationship strong with our language arts program
- Custom design own books, units
- Link to AIMS correlation
- Baseline assessment and follow through
- Simple & powerful assessments
- Assessments for multiple learning styles
- Highlighted “essentials” of instruction
- Open-endedness
- Trade books - good variety
- Scientific method of inquiry theme throughout levels
- Safety goggles for each student
- Tool box in student materials encourages student participation
- Science Fair link on web site
- Materials easily accessible
- Strong link/match of materials to our reading program
Houghton Mifflin
- Trade books not really leveled, more resource materials
- Teachers edition a bit difficult to follow - so much provided that it can make planning a bit tricky
- Cost of supplementary materials
- Many kit choices made decisions difficult - some confusion