Services for Parents & Community

Checklist for Supporting Classroom Science

  1. Familiarize yourself with the California science standards at your child’s grade level, and the grade above/below: Earth Science, Physical Science, Life Science, Investigation and Experimentation strands.
  2. Talk to the teacher about science projects s/he’s already done this year. What is s/he planning for the rest of the year?
  3. Find out what resources your child’s teacher already has available in the classroom or on-site: textbooks, FOSS kits, other curriculum materials. What else is in the classroom or on the school site (indoor/outdoor) to support science teaching – in the library, the garden, the neighborhood.
  4. Find out what kind of help your teacher needs from you, and if they would like you to help them work with Community Resources for Science (CRS):
If your teacher is looking for…… How you can help your teacher:
Classroom organization & preparation support: Inventory, organizing materials, maintaining special tables, caring for pets, getting ready for lessons Help inventory and organize curriculum, books, materials, science exploration tables, pets. Collect needed materials before lessons.
Classroom Activity Support: setting up materials for lesson, help supervising during lessons, clean-up, and project maintenance Provide an extra pair of hands to help with set-up, activity assistance, and clean-up. Help maintain longer-term projects (e.g. watering plants).
Science Background Help: answering kids’ or teacher’s content questions or helping them do research in books or on the internet Make a CRS request in your teacher’s name for websites and references for background information.
Enrichment/Field Trip Support: identifying appropriate field trips or other enrichment experience; getting parents to help with chaperoning & driving; identifying preparation and follow-up activities to help make curriculum connections Make a CRS request in your teacher’s name for field trip or in-class programs about a specific subject; Ask CRS to make reservations for the field trip or in-class programs chosen by your teacher; Ask CRS to suggest appropriate pre- and post- activities.
Planning & Curriculum Connection Support: understanding standards, identifying activities, using diverse teaching approaches and resources, building connections to language arts, social studies or math curriculum and skill practice Make a request in your teacher’s name for Materials Overview, Standards-Related Literature, or activities connected to specific idea in math, language art, or social studies plans. Suggest teacher or grade-level group set up planning session with CRS staff.
Role Model Support: bringing scientists into classroom to help kids connect curriculum with diverse people, jobs, and educational paths in science Get Community in the Classroom training from CRS so you can share your interests, or request a CIC volunteer that could enrich a specific content area.
Purchasing Assistance: acquiring materials to support the teaching of a specific unit Make a request in your teacher’s name for a Materials Overview to get ideas about a range of materials; request a Vendor Report to get ordering information about specific materials.

 

 

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