The activities included here are designed to help you facilitate a successful NGSS training for a team of educators. All are flexible and modular. Use them all together, or just pick and choose a few that meet your needs!
NGSS Unlocked
Introduction to the NGSS
Start your very first training by addressing some of the more straightforward questions about the NGSS.
Performance Expectations and Reading the NGSS Tables
What exactly is a Performance Expectation?
Exploring the Science and Engineering Practices
Practices Brainstorm and Sort
Help teachers connect their prior knowledge about science practices to this new conceptual framework.
Comparing Science and Engineering
Teachers leave this activity comfortable with the idea of bringing aspects of engineering into their classroom.
Science and Engineering Practices Circus
Which practice is in focus? Teachers visit stations to identify the main practice highlighted at each.
Considering the Crosscutting Concepts
Introducing the Crosscutting Concepts: The Chess Metaphor
How do CCCs help students organize new information?
CCC Speed Dating and Station Rotation
A basic introduction to the seven CCCs and the content that might be sorted among them.
Vertical Alignment and CCC Lenses
Explore how the CCCs progress across grades and can be used to draw different ideas out of the same content.
Digging into the DCIs
Anatomy of the DCIs
The Disciplinary Core Ideas prioritize moving away from the “mile wide, inch deep” model of science learning.
Be the first to hear about distance learning programs, upcoming workshops, and new resources for science learning.