SPOTLIGHT: Palmer School District Rethinks Resources

"How are we going to address these standards? The 6th grade doesn't have any resources for them!" Tara Kisiel and Ann Royce, 6th grade teachers in the Palmer Public School District, shook their heads as they looked at the list of new Earth Science standards to be covered in 6th grade. During two days facilitated by Laura Christian, Project Director for The Curriculum Group, a curriculum team representing the 6th, 7th and 8th grades had been making tough decisions about how to divide up the state frameworks. The team's goal was to divide them in such a way that each grade would be able to focus deeply on specific standards rather than covering many superficially. In addition, they hoped to "spiral" each strand throughout the grades, so that students would have exposure to each strand every year. However, the team was faced with a dilemma: how to make their existing resources support the revised curriculum.

In the past, necessity has forced many districts to "put the cart before the horse" and decide where and how to emphasize content areas based on the resources available. If a 6th grade science text focuses on cells, then 6th grade is where cells are taught, regardless of how it fits into the larger scope and sequence as a whole. This has often resulted in an incoherent journey for students, and one which has sometimes meant the only exposure a student gets to required material might be two years before they are tested on it. Superintendent Dr. Linda Denault wanted to avoid the kind of gaps that can be created in student learning by this approach, and was firm about supporting teachers in the kind of revisions that would be necessary, calling this year the "Year of Science." Dr. Denault and Curriculum Director Debora Zablocki agreed that substantial time for science teachers to rethink not only what they were teaching but how they were teaching it was essential.

Resource reallocation began when members of the curriculum team began to discuss what they already had available. Valerie Huey, an 8th grade teacher, pointed out that many of the Earth Science resources currently being used at the 8th grade were actually too basic for most 8th grade students, and that they could easily be moved to the 6th grade to support the Earth Science student learning outcomes now assigned there.

Another approach Palmer teachers used was to research free resources available online for science teachers and students. Sites that demonstrate virtual frog dissections were ideal for some of Joe Gralenski's 7th grade students who prefer not to experiment on actual animals, and Ms. Kisiel and Ms. Royce were able to find supplemental activities for some of the new technology/engineering standards facing 6th graders. Curriculum teams were then able to compile pages of recommended free resources aligned to curriculum units in the guides for their colleagues to use during the year.

Another advantage to the process of selecting resources after curriculum alignment, according to Ms. Zablocki, is that teachers are more open to moving beyond a traditional textbook-driven approach. Because textbooks do not necessarily group standards in the same units teachers have captured in their curriculum guides, teachers are more apt to use textbook excerpts at teachable moments while incorporating learning tools such as manipulatives and simulations into their instructional repertoire. Special Educator Patricia Hogan points out that having more grade-appropriate texts and hands-on activities could be very helpful with students who benefit from modifications.

Other grade level curriculum teams have continued to find new ways to use curriculum guides to support resource development. While new requirements will continue to pose challenges to schools faced with multiple initiatives, Dr. Denault is optimistic that the choices they have made in science this year will ultimately provide the best education for students.

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