Imagine IT: Phase 2
I am a 7th and 8th grade science teacher at Seward Communication Arts Academy. The school is currently an International Baccalaureate candidate school with a high stress on the implementation of project based learning. I teach five classes a day, about an hour each. In accordance with the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards), our seventh graders learn about life science while our eighth graders learn about physical science, a combination of physics and chemistry.
My ultimate goal in teaching is to teach the NGSS while focusing on social justice issues. I strongly believe that schooling should never be separated from real life issues that are affecting the communities of our students. There is a quote by Einstein, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” I feel that if we connect skills learned in school to meaningful real life experiences, then students will gain the passion to continue learning even outside of the classroom. I want my students to not only learn the content but to also feel a sense of responsibility to the world around them. Although being an IB candidate school has not changed my ideology in teaching in a major way, I feel that it is fitting that they encourage making a global connection while teaching. I want my students to look at scientific related events with a critical eye and to make any necessary changes needed to make our world a better place to live in.
For my Imagine IT project, I plan to use the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as a basis for my 7th grade life science curriculum. The book is a true account of an African American farmer whose cells were taken and studied without her consent and have since been used extensively for scientific research. While the book tells her story, in what seems to be a fictional narrative, it also covers a long list of content presented in the NGSS for Life Science.
My plan is to have the students read a chapter a week from the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I am currently re-reading the book because I will present my lessons in the chronological order in which they appear in the book. I am mapping out my school year based on the book. Along the way, students will learn about the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment which went on for 40 years and purposely did not make an attempt to cure African American men of the disease. They will learn about Jim Crow laws that hindered African Americans from getting the proper medical care due to discrimination. Not only that, but Henrietta Lacks was also ground breaking in medical ethics since her cells were used in the medical field for research without her consent. These issues, combined with the science content, allow students to see how science personally affects people’s lives.
One of my biggest challenges has been integrating meaningful technology lessons into my curriculum. One tool that I learned about in MSUrban STEM and truly found to be helpful is Storify. If my students can tweet about important events in the book as they’re happening in the story, we can Storify them at the end. This could serve as their interpretation of the summary of the book. I also plan to use Kahoot as a fun way to hold students accountable for their reading assignments in the book. Another way that I will be integrating technology is by having students record interviews of themselves and how they feel about certain social justice issues. They will do this several times throughout the year and see if their views change. If my plan works, these interviews will show growth in their responsibility and dedication towards a more just world.
My ultimate goal in teaching is to teach the NGSS while focusing on social justice issues. I strongly believe that schooling should never be separated from real life issues that are affecting the communities of our students. There is a quote by Einstein, “Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” I feel that if we connect skills learned in school to meaningful real life experiences, then students will gain the passion to continue learning even outside of the classroom. I want my students to not only learn the content but to also feel a sense of responsibility to the world around them. Although being an IB candidate school has not changed my ideology in teaching in a major way, I feel that it is fitting that they encourage making a global connection while teaching. I want my students to look at scientific related events with a critical eye and to make any necessary changes needed to make our world a better place to live in.
For my Imagine IT project, I plan to use the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as a basis for my 7th grade life science curriculum. The book is a true account of an African American farmer whose cells were taken and studied without her consent and have since been used extensively for scientific research. While the book tells her story, in what seems to be a fictional narrative, it also covers a long list of content presented in the NGSS for Life Science.
My plan is to have the students read a chapter a week from the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. I am currently re-reading the book because I will present my lessons in the chronological order in which they appear in the book. I am mapping out my school year based on the book. Along the way, students will learn about the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment which went on for 40 years and purposely did not make an attempt to cure African American men of the disease. They will learn about Jim Crow laws that hindered African Americans from getting the proper medical care due to discrimination. Not only that, but Henrietta Lacks was also ground breaking in medical ethics since her cells were used in the medical field for research without her consent. These issues, combined with the science content, allow students to see how science personally affects people’s lives.
One of my biggest challenges has been integrating meaningful technology lessons into my curriculum. One tool that I learned about in MSUrban STEM and truly found to be helpful is Storify. If my students can tweet about important events in the book as they’re happening in the story, we can Storify them at the end. This could serve as their interpretation of the summary of the book. I also plan to use Kahoot as a fun way to hold students accountable for their reading assignments in the book. Another way that I will be integrating technology is by having students record interviews of themselves and how they feel about certain social justice issues. They will do this several times throughout the year and see if their views change. If my plan works, these interviews will show growth in their responsibility and dedication towards a more just world.