Benchmarks for Science Literacy

This resource is for teachers who are interested in understanding science as it pertains to the classroom. It provides information as to what students need to know by the end of each specific grade level. I highly recommend this excellent resource for those who are pursuing National Board Certification and/or those who are pursuing excellence in science instruction.

I teach science in a small, very rural school to grades 7-12. I have been using this book for the first time this year. I like how this book makes the benchmarks clear and specific. It doesn't just say, "Students will understand the structure of atoms" the way my state's standards do. It spells out exactly what the student should know about the structure of the atom.I used to run a very textbook driven curriculum, but I found that the textbooks were woefully inadequate, but I lacked direction as to what I should be doing. When I recently changed schools, I also discovered this book, and it presented the answer.At my new school, my textbooks are only a reference that mostly sit on the shelf. I have designed my curriculum more around these standards and my state standards.This book makes it clear that there are many topics that I have taught that don't need to be taught. For example, during the past 2 years, I taught photosynthesis and respiration from the book: electron transport chain, pyruvate, and all. This year, I talked more about the carbon and the energy and where all the atoms went. My students this year can actually answer questions about these subjects. For the most part, they understand them. My previous students did not understand.This book also has an excellent section on dealing with vocabulary. Much of science education substitutes vocabulary for understanding. I am now using many fewer technical words, and even then only introducing those words when the students understand the concepts.I don't agree with some of the things in this book. There are a few subjects I think are more important than the authors do. There are also a few subjects the authors think are more important than I do. I also dislike their emphasis on attitudes about science and the amount of time they spend on the culture and history of science. I would like to see more emphasis on content.Overall, however, this will make you a better teacher. If you are a parent, it will equip you to question what your child is learning (at any level) and to get your school to start making the changes our education system needs.

Many states have created specific standards for students to acheive throughtout their schooling. This publication is extremely useful in helping to understand the intent of standards and what they look like in the classroom. Anyone that is working on science and math curriculum must have a copy of this. It is also very useful for new teachers to get insight into exemplary content and practices. This document also helps people understand misconceptions that students develop over certain concepts. I've been using it continuously and have bought copies for many people in my school district.