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New York City Department of EducationModule A: Accessing Program ResourcesOutline, materials and preparationGrade 3

Session title Module A: Accessing Program Resources

(flexible time 60-100 minutes, which can be customized by site)

Session outcomes

Participants will be able to:

Explain the structure of Amplify Science units and lessons. Navigate the Teacher's Guide and locate supporting resources. Plan for managing resources and materials within a unit.

Materials Protocols and handouts: Module A Participant Notebook:

Module A: Key Understandings Amplify Science elementary curriculum course structure Amplify Science unit structure Navigation within a lesson Lesson-level scavenger hunt Managing materials and planning to teach Unit guide resources Unit guide scavenger hunt

Participants will bring: Computer or tablet

Other materials N/A

© 2018 Amplify Education, Inc. All rights reserved. amplify.com

Date and time

Flexible

Module A Condensed Outline Part Overview

A1. Navigating within a Lesson (flexible time 25-40 min)

1. Review A1 plan, lead participant temperature check2. Introduce Amplify Science (5 min)

a. Lawrence Hall of Science & Amplify Partnershipb. Amplify Science elementary curriculum course structure

i. Identify first unit by grade levelc. Amplify Science unit structure

i. Review the structure of the program, including: Courses (grade levels) Units (# per grade level) Chapters Lessons (# and approximate length) Activities

d. Planning for pacing i. Review pacing options for K–2 and 3–5 grade bands

e. Experience the Teacher's Guide (5-15 min)f. Guided tour of Teacher’s Guide (Amplify Science link:

learning.amplify.com/science-guided tour) or presenter-ledg. Teacher’s Guide Partner discussionh. Log in to Amplify Science

3. Lesson-level scavenger hunt (10–20 min)

A2. Managing resources and materials (flexible time 25-40 min)

1. Review A2 plan2. Introduce components of the Amplify Science curriculum (5 min)

a. Instructional materialsb. Student materials (and Spanish translations)c. Formative and summative assessments

3. Managing materials and planning to teach (20–35 min)

a. Kit Materialsi. Unpacking a kitii. Turn and talk about kit materials

b. Access Unit guide resourcesi. Materials and preparation

© 2018 Amplify Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

ii. Getting ready to teachiii. Reflection

A3. Navigating unit-level resources(flexible time 15-20 min)

1. Review A3 plan2. Unit guide scavenger hunt (10–15 min)

a. Revisit unit guideb. Point out the unit guide resources page in the Participant

Notebookc. Participant work time

3. Closing

Module A: Accessing Program ResourcesFacilitator’s ScriptGrade 3

Part Overview

Opening activity (optional — 10 min)

● Welcome and introductions ● Welcome participants● Describe your role/experience as an educator. ● Invite participants to share their role, regions, grade-level and a

response to the following question: Which aspect(s) of Amplify Science are you most excited about?

● Objectives ● Review workshop learning objectives.

● Agenda● Review agenda● Point out the Participant Notebook that participants have in

front of them. Give them a moment to review the Module A: Key understandings.

● Norms ● Review norms and ask participants if there are other norms that

should be added.


● Introduce Module A: Accessing Program Resources

● Review each Module A component. We’ll start with a high-level overview of the scope and

sequence of the Amplify Science elementary curriculum. Then we’ll dive into an exploration of the lesson level of the Teacher’s Guide.

Next, we’ll get acquainted with the components the Amplify Science and the materials included in each unit kit. You’ll have some time to plan how to manage these materials in your classroom.

Finally, we’ll spend some time navigating the resources found in the Amplify Science Unit Guide.

● Review Module A objectives. These objectives encompass the learning outcomes across all three components of Module A.

When we’ve completed this module, we’ll be familiar with the structure of an Amplify Science unit. We’ll also understand how to navigate the Teacher’s Guide and manage the resources included within a unit.

A1: Navigating the Teacher’s Guide ● Introduce A1: Navigating the Teacher’s Guide.

We’ll start by learning how to navigate the digital Teacher’s Guide.

Review and share agenda for A1: Navigating the Teacher’s Guide.

● Lead the Temperature Check Invite your colleagues to rate themselves on a scale of 1 to 5

according to their comfort level accessing Amplify Science materials and navigating a digital curriculum.

On a sticky note or scratch sheet of paper, ask them to provide a bit of rationale to support their rating.

1 (extreme discomfort) 2 (discomfort) 3 (mild) 4 (comfortable) 5 (extremely comfortable)


Ask those participants who rated themselves as a 4 or 5 to distribute themselves equally around the room, to support and thought-partner with their colleagues throughout this, and future, sessions.

● Introduce the Lawrence Hall of Science – Amplify partnership[Note: The purpose of these talking points is to provide a high-level overview of the partnership behind the Amplify Science digital curriculum. You may decide to skip this slide/content if your participating colleagues have already established a foundational understanding of the curriculum through one of your other turnkey modules.]

The first thing I’d like to talk about is the Amplify partnership with the University of California, Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science.

The Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) has over 50 years of experience developing amazing science programs. You may be familiar with some of their legacy programs: FOSS, Seeds of Science, Roots of Reading, and SEPUP. Those programs were developed in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, before the Next Generations Science Standards (NGSS) were created.

The team at LHS wanted to develop a program specifically designed to support student learning around the NGSS. LHS partnered with Amplify to develop Amplify Science… the only LHS program developed from the ground up to address the Next Generation Science Standards!

The way the partnership works is this: LHS is 100% responsible for developing the instructional materials. They have a team of science, math, engineering, and literacy experts who developed the program. Amplify has a team of designers and engineers that developed the technology, which serves up Lawrence Hall of Science’s content.

● Introduce the elementary curriculum course structure This slide shows the 21 units that make up the K-5 curriculum. You can see that there are 3 units per year for Grades K-2 and 4

units per year for Grades 3-5. What is the first unit you will teach this year?

[Note to facilitator: a copy of this table is located in the Module A Participant Notebook.]

● Introduce the Amplify Science unit structure The curriculum is easy to navigate. Courses are grade levels

which contain units, chapters, lessons, activities. As we just learned, each course in Amplify Science consists of


3-4 units. Each unit is broken into instructional sequences called chapters.

There are 3-6 chapters per unit. Within each chapter there are lessons. Across chapters, there

are a total of 22 lessons per unit. So, for example, if you were to teach all three units in 1st

grade, it would mean 66 lessons in order to teach all NGSS standards at that grade level. If you were to teach all four units in 4th grade, it would mean 88 lessons.

The lessons are further broken down into activities. Lessons in K-1 units are generally 45 minutes in length, lessons

in 2-5 are generally 60 minutes in length. We can always expand or contract the timing to fit our needs. We’ll have a chance to explore more about the digital

curriculum after reviewing the materials Amplify Science provides us.

[Note to facilitator: a copy of this graphic image is located in the Module A Participant Notebook. Encourage your colleagues to refer to this resource as they explore their first unit, chapters, lessons, and activities.] ● Introduce the plan for pacing

There are several pacing options you can use to ensure adequate time to teach Amplify Science at your grade level.

At grades K-2, there are 3 units per year If you opt to teach 2 lessons per week, you would need

approximately 11 weeks to teach a unit, or about 33 weeks to teach all units at your grade level.

If you opt to teach 3 lessons per week, you would need approximately 8 weeks to teach a unit, or about 24 weeks to teach all units at your grade level.

At grades 3-5, there are 4 units per year If you opt to teach 3 lessons per week, you would need

approximately 8 weeks to teach a unit, or about 32 weeks to teach all units at your grade level.

If you opt to teach 4 lessons per week, you would need approximately 6 weeks to teach a unit, or about 24 weeks to teach all units at your grade level.

It’s important that the lessons in each unit are taught in sequence, so abiding by a schedule will be key.

As your time permits, you can extend some lessons to include additional time for writing, multiple reads of books, engaging in optional reflections pages in the Investigation Notebook, or increased time for investigations.

● Introduce the tour of the Teacher’s Guide


Option 1: Amplify Science Guided Tour The goal is for each participant to take 10-15 minutes to

complete the guided tour individually. Each participant should have a device and internet

access (Safari or Chrome) in order to follow the guided tour.

Provide participants with the Amplify Science Guided Tour URL: (learning.amplify.com/science-guidedtour)

Option 2: If you feel that your colleagues would benefit from the

opportunity to pause and ask questions while learning about the teacher’s guide, you might opt to project the teacher’s guide and model navigating through each component of a lesson.

[Note: Although participants will have an opportunity to navigate the unit-level resources in greater depth in Part A3, it’s important that they are introduced to the location of the Unit Guide by the end of this tour in order to support the work they will do in Part A2.]

● Introduce the guided tour partner discussion Once you’ve completed the guided tour, take a few minutes to

discuss these questions with a partner: What is the structure of Amplify Science units and

lessons? What questions do you have about navigating the

curriculum during instruction?

● Use this slide to help teacher’s login to access the digital Teacher’s Guide.

● Lesson-level scavenger hunt Direct participants to the Lesson-level scavenger hunt in the

Module A Participant Notebook. Review the directions for the scavenger hunt and invite your

colleagues to work in pairs or small groups (depending on group size) to explore the Teacher’s Guide and respond to the questions on the page.

Encourage participants to use the Navigation within a lesson (also in the Module A Participant Notebook) as an additional resource for supporting lesson-level navigation.


A2: Managing resource and materials● Introduce A2: Managing resources and materials.

Now we’ll transition to learning about resources and materials included in the Amplify Science kits.

● Review and share agenda for A2: Managing resources and materials

● Introduce the instructional materials We just had a chance to explore the Teacher’s Guide. As you

observed, this guide contains: Step-by-step instructions for implementing each lesson Embedded supports and strategies for each lesson

In addition to the lesson-level supports we observed, the digital Teacher’s Guide also has a Unit Guide with unit-support information to help you feel prepared and confident to implement the unit. We’ll explore some of these resources a bit later in the module. Examples include:

A science background document An overview of the assessments and rubrics An overview of the standards addressed in each unit An overview of the hands-on materials that are included

in the kit and which lessons they’ll be used in The really amazing thing is that Amplify has established a

partnership with the Lawrence Hall of Science until the year 2032, which means they are committed to continuous improvement of program for many years to come. Unlike many other programs, Amplify will continue to keep the program up-to-date and incorporate improvements that they get from teachers.

As a perfect example, Amplify received feedback after the first year that teachers loved the digital Teacher’s Guide, but some still wanted to have a print version. So now Amplify offers a print version of the Teacher's Guide.

● Introduce the student materials For students, Amplify offers a program that consists of digital,

print, and hands-on student materials. For grades 2-5, there are digital apps and Simulations

included in about 1 of every 3-4 lessons. Students work together in the simulations and apps; therefore one


device per student is not needed. Every unit includes a kit which consists of student books

and hands-on materials. At K-2, there are enough materials for 2 uses in a classroom size of 25 students. At 3-5, there are enough materials for 2 uses in a classroom size of 30 students.

For each unit, there are five original student books written specifically for the program by the literacy and content experts at the Lawrence Hall of Science. Each kit includes one copy of each for book for every two students to support the program’s partner reading approach. At K-1, there is also a big book version of each student book.

The kit also includes an Investigation Notebook for students to complete written work. Notebook pages include a combination of open-ended prompts, data sheets, and scaffolded pages to support students in writing and reflecting like scientists.

● Introduce the Spanish translations of student materials All student-facing materials are available in Spanish – this

includes student books, Investigation Notebooks, and classroom wall materials.

● Introduce the Assessment System The Assessment System for each Amplify Science elementary

unit is designed to provide teachers with actionable and diagnostic information about students’ progress toward the three-dimensional learning goals for the unit.

The Assessment System includes formal and informal opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding and for teachers to gather information throughout the unit. Examples of assessment features include:

Formative assessments Summative assessments Rubrics Suggestions for follow-up instructional support

[Note: Module P provides a more in-depth introduction to the Assessment System.]

● Unpacking an Amplify Science kit Direct participants to the Managing materials and planning to

teach page in the Module A Participant Notebook. Have them go to the NYC Resources site (URL:


amplify.com/science/nycresoures) to access and watch the video for their grade level unit.

Encourage participants to respond to the questions in ‘Part 1: Unpacking the Kit’ as they watch the video for their unit.

● Turn and talk about Amplify Science kit materials Ask your colleagues to turn and talk about the following

questions. What materials did you see? What materials are you excited about? Which materials do you have questions about? Where might you store these materials in your

classroom? Invite volunteers to share their ideas with the group.

● Revisit accessing unit-level resources Participants were introduced to the location of the unit guide

during the digital Teacher’s Guide tour. Use this slide as needed to support participants in locating the Unit Guide for their work with the remainder of the Managing materials and planning to teach activity.

● Managing materials and planning to teach Direct participants to the remaining sections of the Managing

materials and planning to teach pages in the Participant Notebook.

Use the following slide to help teachers login to access the Teacher’s Guide.

Provide participants with time to navigate the teacher’s guide and complete the remaining sections of the activity.


A3: Navigating unit-level resources● Introduce A3: Navigating unit-level resources

We’ll conclude the module by familiarizing ourselves with resources available in the Unit Guide.

● Review and share agenda for A3: Navigating unit-level resources.


● Unit Guide scavenger hunt Direct participants to the Unit guide resources page and the

Unit guide scavenger hunt in the Module A Participant Notebook.

Review the directions on the page and invite your colleagues to work in pairs or small groups (depending on group size) to explore the Unit Guide and respond to the questions in the notebook.

Use the following slide to help teachers login to access the Teacher’s Guide and if needed, revisit the Accessing Unit-Level Resources slide from A2 to support participants in locating the Unit Guide within the digital Teacher’s Guide.


Congratulations!


New York City Department of EducationModule M: Multiple Sources of EvidenceOutline, materials and preparationGrade 3

Session title Multiple sources of evidence (Module M)

(100-175 minutes total)

Session outcomes

Participants will be able to:

● Explain the Amplify Science Approach and how it supports three-dimensional learning.

● Understand how reading and writing is incorporated in service of scientific understanding.

● Recognize and utilize the program’s instructional routines.● Analyze modeled reading, small group, and writing components of

a lesson to support students gathering scientific evidence.

Materials Protocols and handouts:● Module M section of AMP Participant Notebook:

Module M: Key understandings Amplify Science Approach Multiple modalities in Amplify Science Unit Map Coherence flowchart structure Analyzing coherence Coherence flowchart Unit essentials and instructional builds NYSSLS reference sheet Analyzing 3-D learning

Participants will bring:● Computer or tablet

Other materials


● For the 15-minute Balancing Forces activity sequence: 2 magnets and 1 paper clip 1 copy of What My Sister Taught Me About Magnets

● For the 30-minute Balancing Forces activity sequence: For each pair:

● 2 magnets and 1 paper clip

● 1 copy of What My Sister Taught Me About Magnets

● For the 60-minute Balancing Forces activity sequence: 1 gallon bag of Balancing Forces Lesson 2.1 investigation

materials● Small paperclip

● Steel spoon

● Plastic spoon

● Washer

● Craft stick

● Balloon

● Penny For each pair:

● 2 magnets and 1 paper clip - 1 copy of What My Sister Taught Me About

Magnets

Date and time

Flexible


Multiple Sources of Evidence OutlineM1. Figuring out like a scientist (flexible time 45-90 min)

1. Opening question: How do scientists learn about the natural world?2. Amplify Science Approach (10 min)

a. Figure out, not learn aboutb. Problem-based deep divesc. Introduce the Balancing Forces unit problem

3. Experience how students collect evidence from multiple sources (flexible time 15-60 min)

a. 15-minute version of Balancing Forces activity sequence (Version 1)

i. Summarize Chapter 1 and introduce Chapter 2ii. Demonstrate a “DO” and engage participants in a “TALK”:

Demonstrate and discuss magnet tricks (Lesson 2.3)iii. Summarize a “TALK”: Think-Pair-Share discussion of

magnet tricks (Lesson 2.3) iv. Summarize a “WRITE”: Quick-Write about magnet tricks

(Lesson 2.3)v. Summarize a “READ”: Read an excerpt of What My Sister

Taught Me About Magnets (Lesson 2.4)vi. Introduce Chapter 2 key concepts

b. 30-minute version of Balancing Forces activity sequence (Version 2)

i. Summarize Chapter 1 and introduce Chapter 2ii. Engage participants in a “DO/TALK”: Participants do and

discuss magnet tricks (Lesson 2.3)iii. Summarize a “TALK”: Think-Pair-Share discussion of magnet

tricks (Lesson 2.3)iv. Summarize a “WRITE”: Quick-Write about magnet tricks

(Lesson 2.3)v. Engage participants in a “READ”: Participants skim What My

Sister Taught Me About Magnets (Lesson 2.4)vi. Introduce Chapter 2 key concept

c. 60-minute version of Balancing Forces activity sequence (Version 3)

i. Summarize Chapter 1 and introduce Chapter 2ii. Summarize a “DO”: Non-touching forces investigation with

magnets (Lesson 2.)iii. Demonstrate a “VISUALIZE”: Introduction to diagrams in the

force diagraming tool (Lesson 2.1)iv. Engage participants in a “DO/TALK”: Participants do and

discuss magnet tricks (Lesson 2.3)v. Summarize a “TALK”: Think-Pair-Share discussion of magnet


tricks (Lesson 2.3)vi. Summarize a “WRITE”: Quick-Write about magnet tricks

(Lesson 2.3)vii. Engage participants in a “READ”: Participants skim What My

Sister Taught Me About Magnets (Lesson 2.4)viii. Introduce Chapter 2 key concept

4. Reflecting on the Amplify Science approach (20 min)a. Introduction to multimodal instructionb. Work time: Participants use unit maps to familiarize themselves

with the grade-level unit they’ll teach first and discuss the Amplify Science approach in their units

c. Introduction to the coherence flowchartd. Work time: Participants use analyzing coherence and grade-

specific coherence flowcharts to analyze how ideas build in Chapter 1 of their units

e. Reflection: returning to how scientists learn about the natural world.

M2. Multiple modalities and instructional builds (flexible time 25-50 min)

1. Review of multiple modalities in Amplify Science (10 min)a. Overview of supports for engaging in different modalities;

emphasize how the NYSLSS (NGSS) and Amplify Science are literacy-rich

2. Work time (20-35 min)a. Introduce the unit essentials and instructional builds activity.b. If needed (depending on participants’ comfort with navigating the

teacher’s guide), demonstrate how to find more information about one of the Balancing Forces supports, and how to locate and analyze an example of students engaging with that support.

c. Participants use the unit essentials and instructional builds pages of the Participant Notebook to become familiar with the particular supports used in their grade-level unit, and to analyze how students use these supports in their unit.

3. Reflection (5 min)

M3. Three-Dimensional Learning(flexible time 30-35 min)

1. Introduce the three-dimensions (5 min)2. Analyzing three-dimensional learning in Amplify Science (20-25 min)

a. Presenter models, then group practices, analyzing three-dimensional learning in Balancing Forces activity sequence (from M1)

b. Presenter introduces 3-D Statements doc in Unit Guidec. Work time: Participants read about 3-D learning in Chapter 1 of

their unit and analyze 3-D learning using a graphic organizer.3. Reflection (5 min)


Module M: Multiple Sources of EvidenceFacilitator’s ScriptGrade 3

Part Overview





● Agenda● Review agenda● Point out the Participant Notebook that participants have in front

of them. Give them a moment to review the Module M: Key understandings.


should be added.

● Welcome participants as they enter the room and ask them to discuss the projected question.

● Module M: Multiple Sources of EvidenceIntroduce Module M: Multiple Sources of Evidence

Amplify Science units are not the typical textbook based-science instruction, and they’re also not solely based on hands-on activities. Instead, Amplify Science supports students to learn about the natural world as scientists do.

Students construct understanding of science ideas by engaging with multiple sources and types of evidence.

We’ll get to know our units by looking at the types of evidence students engage with and how they engage with them.

● Review Module M components To see how students figure out like a scientists in Amplify


Science, I’ll lead us in a sequence of activities from the kindergarten Balancing Forces unit. We’ll use this unit as an exemplar throughout this module, but you’ll have time to get to know your own units too.

Then we’ll reflect on the instructional approach. We’ll focus in particular on how students are supported to use multiple modalities — doing, reading, talking, writing, visualizing — to engage with different sources of evidence as they construct understanding.

● Review Module Objectives When we’ve completed this module, we’ll be familiar with how

the Amplify Science Approach supports three-dimensional learning, and with some of the program’s instructional routines, including those for reading and writing.

M1: Figuring Out Like a Scientist ● Introduce M1: Figuring out like a scientist

We’ll start by experiencing how students figure out like scientists.

● Review and share agenda for M1. Figuring out like a scientist.

● The NYSSLS, which align with the national Next Generation Science Standards, or NGSS, represent a major shift in teaching and learning science, which can be summarized as engaging students in figuring out, not learning about.

● To meet these new demands of the NYSSLS, Amplify Science uses a new instructional approach.

● The short version of the Amplify Science Approach is problem-based deep dives. In other words, students inhabit the role of scientists and engineers to explain or predict phenomena. They use what they figure out to solve real-world problems.

● To expand on what problem-based deep dives look like, here is a high-level view of how each unit in Amplify Science is organized.

First circle: Each unit begins by introducing a phenomenon, and a real-world problem related to it. Explaining the phenomenon will help students solve the problem.

Second circle: As students work to figure out the


phenomenon, they collect evidence from multiple sources. Third circle: The evidence they gather supports students in

explaining the phenomenon. Blue arrows: Explanations increase in complexity throughout the

unit. Students might construct a relatively simple explanation early in the unit, but as they continue to dive deeper and gather more evidence related to the phenomenon, their explanations become more and more complex.

Fourth circle: Once students have constructed a deep causal explanation to help solve the unit’s problem, they apply their understanding to a new context to solve a different problem.

● Let’s look at how the problem in the 3rd grade Balancing Forces unit is introduced.

Students are introduced to a problem in the fictional city of Faraday with a slideshow.Read aloud the slide.

Read aloud the slide.





Play the video.How does this phenomenon motivate students’ learning?As participants share, guide them to the idea that the phenomenon gives students a reason to learn—to figure out how the floating train works. They need to understand science concepts to explain what causes it to rise of the tracks, float, and fall back to the trains.

Direct participants to summarize the problem in the Balancing Forces unit and record under the first circle in Amplify Science Approach graphic organizer in their participant notebooks.


If presenting the 15 minute version of the Balancing Forces activity sequence, use the slides that follow. If presenting the 30 or 60 minute version of the Balancing Forces activity sequence, skip to the appropriate slides.

15 minute version● Now we are going to dive into some activities in second chapter of the

Balancing Forces unit to experience how students collect evidence from multiple sources.

● Point out the notes pages at the end of the Module M section of the Participant Notebook where participants can take notes during this activity sequence if they’d like.

Summarize Chapter 1 and introduce Chapter 2● We’re jumping to Chapter 2, so to quickly summarize Chapter 1—it

covers some content that students learn prior to third grade, which is embedded in this unit because it is foundational to where students need to go.

● To summarize, in Chapter 1, after the floating train problem is introduced, students figure out that a force is a push or pull, and explore forces between touching objects to figure out that a force acts between two objects, and that when an object starts moving or stops moving, that is evidence that a force has acted on it.

● Since students only investigated forces between touching objects in Chapter 1, this leads them to the Chapter 2 question: Why does the train rise without anything touching it?

Demonstrate exemplar of a “DO” activity:● Students engage in multiple hands-on investigations of non-touching

forces, but for time’s sake, I’ll just demonstrate one of them. By the time students do this activity, which happens midway through the chapter, they would have already explored how magnets can cause objects to move without touching them, and how magnets only attract certain objects, but not others.

Hold up two ring magnets and a paperclip. In this activity, students create magnet tricks. They’re

guided by the question: In what ways can magnetic forces make objects move?

Demonstrate magnet tricks, e.g. using one magnet to attract the other magnet, or to attract the paperclip; using one magnet to repel the other magnet.● Students present their magnet tricks and discuss evidence of forces in

their tricks.● Show a trick where a magnet is attracting the other magnet or the

paperclip.


What evidence of a force do you observe in this trick? [The magnet/paperclip started to move.]

Are the objects attracting during this trick or pushing apart? [attracting]

● Show a trick where one magnet is repelling the other magnet.● What evidence of a force do you observe in this trick? [The magnet

started to move.]● Are the objects attracting during this trick or pushing apart? [pushing

apart] 15 minute versionSummarize exemplar of students engaged in a “TALK” activity:

● After sharing their magnet tricks, students reflect on them through a Think-Pair-Share discussion.

15 minute versionSummarize exemplar of students engaged in a “WRITE” activity:

● Students also complete a quick-write to explain how they think one of their magnet tricks works.

15 minute versionSummarize exemplar of students engaged in a “READ” activity:

● Hold up a copy of What My Sister Taught Me About Magnets. To gather more evidence of how magnetic forces can make

objects move, students read this book about a girl who investigates magnets. The book touches on magnetic forces, magnetic poles, and what magnets attract.

Before reading the book, students set a purpose for reading. Students use the strategy of setting a purpose each time they read a book in this unit to help them make sense of the texts and construct new understandings.

● Show/read pages 4-7 to give participants a sense of the book.

15 minute version● Through their experiences in Chapter 2, students construct

understanding of these key concepts.● Keep in mind that we only looked at a small subset of the all the

activities students engage in, so if it seems like these key concepts go beyond what we did, or would require more exposure or sense-making, remember that Chapter 2 of Balancing Forces spans 5 60-minute lessons, and we just got a snapshot.

Skip over the Balancing Forces Activity Sequence Version 2 and 3 slides to the Approach graphic organizer.


If presenting the 30 minute version of the Balancing Forces activity sequence, use the slides that follow. If presenting the 60 minute version of the Balancing Forces activity sequence, skip to the appropriate slides.


Balancing Forces unit to experience how students collect evidence from multiple sources.

● Point out the notes pages at the end of the Module M section of the Participant Notebook where participants can take notes during this activity sequence if they’d like.





● Students engage in multiple hands-on investigations of non-touching forces, but for time’s sake, I’ll just demonstrate one of them. By the time students do this activity, which happens midway through the chapter, they would have already explored how magnets can cause objects to move without touching them, and how magnets only attract certain objects, but not others.

30 minute versionEngage participants in an exemplar of a “DO” activity:Hold up two ring magnets and a paperclip.● In this activity, you’re going to explore some tricks you can do using

magnetic force. As you do so, think about this question: In what ways can magnetic forces make objects move?

● Pay close attention to evidence of forces in your tricks. Is an object changing its motion by starting to move or by stopping? Do you see evidence of an attraction (a pull) or a push?

Distribute two ring magnets and a paperclip to each pair. Give participants a few minutes to create magnet tricks.Ask a few pairs to share their magnet trick, and ask the following


questions:● What evidence of a force do you observe in this trick? [e.g. The

paperclip started to move.]● Are the objects attracting during this trick or pushing apart?

30 minute versionSummarize exemplar of students engaged in a “TALK” activity:● After sharing their magnet tricks, students reflect on them through a

Think-Pair-Share discussion.

30 minute versionEngage participants in an exemplar of a “READ” activity:Hold up a copy of What My Sister Taught Me About Magnets.● To gather more evidence of how magnetic forces can make objects

move, students read this book about a girl who investigates magnets. The book touches on magnetic forces, magnetic poles, and what magnets attract.

● Before reading the book, students set a purpose for reading. Students use the strategy of setting a purpose each time they read a book in this unit to help them make sense of the texts and construct new understandings.

● Distribute one book to each pair and give them 10 minutes to skim the book. Encourage participants to consider how the book provides evidence to help students answer the question: In what ways can magnetic forces make objects move?



activities students engage in, so if it seems like these key concepts go beyond what we did, or would require more exposure or sense-making, remember that Chapter 2 of Balancing Forces spans 5 60-minute lessons, and we just got a snapshot.

Skip over the Balancing Forces Activity Sequence Version 3 slides to the Approach graphic organizer.

If presenting the 30 minute version of the Balancing Forces activity sequence, use the slides that follow. If presenting the 60 minute version of the Balancing Forces activity sequence, skip to the appropriate slides.


Balancing Forces unit to experience how students collect evidence


from multiple sources.● Point out the notes pages at the end of the Module M section of the

participant notebook where participants can take notes during this activity sequence if they’d like.





Summarize an exemplar of a “DO” activity and engage participants in an exemplar of a “VISUALIZE” activity:Hold up a bag of Lesson 2.1 investigation materials and two ring magnets.● In the first lesson of Chapter 2, students do a hands-on investigation to

figure out how a force can act without objects touching. They use ring magnets and a variety of other materials and observe that magnets can cause objects to move without touching them.

Open the Balancing Forces 2.1 Introduction to Diagrams app (Student Apps Page → Balancing Forces → Box 1: 2.1 Introduction to Diagrams).● After discussing the results of their hands-on investigation, the class

completes this digital diagram to reflect on how forces cause objects to move. Students complete multiple digital diagrams similar to this throughout the unit.

Open up the instructions box in the app to review the instructions then, with participant input, complete the diagram.Transition to the next activity:● For time’s sake, we’re going to skip ahead a couple lessons now to

another hands-on investigation of non-touching forces.

60 minute versionEngage participants in an exemplar of a “DO” activity:Hold up two ring magnets and a paperclip.● In this activity, you’re going to explore some tricks you can do using

magnetic force. As you do so, think about this question: In what ways


can magnetic forces make objects move?● Pay close attention to evidence of forces in your tricks. Is an object

changing its motion by starting to move or by stopping? Do you see evidence of an attraction (a pull) or a push?

Distribute two ring magnets and a paperclip to each pair. Give participants a few minutes to create magnet tricks.Ask a few pairs to share their magnet trick, and ask the following questions:● What evidence of a force do you observe in this trick? [e.g. The

paperclip started to move.]● Are the objects attracting during this trick or pushing apart?

60 minute versionSummarize exemplar of students engaged in a “TALK” activity:● After sharing their magnet tricks, students reflect on them through a

Think-Pair-Share discussion.

60 minute versionSummarize exemplar of students engaged in a “WRITE” activity:● Students also complete a quick-write to explain how they think one of

their magnet tricks works.

60 minute versionEngage participants in an exemplar of a “READ” activity:Hold up a copy of What My Sister Taught Me About Magnets.● To gather more evidence of how magnetic forces can make objects

move, students read this book about a girl who investigates magnets. The book touches on magnetic forces, magnetic poles, and what magnets attract.

● Before reading the book, students set a purpose for reading. Students use the strategy of setting a purpose each time they read a book in this unit to help them make sense of the texts and construct new understandings.

● Distribute one book to each pair and give them 15 minutes to read the book. Encourage participants to consider how the book provides evidence to help students answer the question: In what ways can magnetic forces make objects move?



activities students engage in, so if it seems like these key concepts go beyond what we did, or would require more exposure or sense-making,


remember that Chapter 2 of Balancing Forces spans 5 60-minute lessons, and we just got a snapshot.

Direct participants to the middle box in the The Approach graphic organizer in their Participant Notebooks. Read the prompt aloud.● Ask participants to reflect on the activity sequence they just

engaged in as they discuss the prompt in pairs then record responses in the graphic organizer.

● Invite volunteers to share their ideas.● Ask participants to recall how grouping in the activity

sequence varied (i.e. which activities were whole class, which were in small groups, which were individual, etc.). Ask how this variation in grouping/format could support students in gathering scientific evidence.

● Have participants discuss in pairs: What do you notice about the different types of evidence sources that led to the key concepts?

● Lead a whole group share out and guide discussion towards the different modalities in the model activity sequence: students collect evidence from hands-on investigations (DO) and books (READ), and make sense of them through talking and writing (and for the 60 minute version, visualizing with the digital diagramming tool).

Students collect and make sense of evidence through multimodal instruction. What does this mean?● If you did the 15 minute version of the Balancing Forces

activity sequence: We saw how students collect evidence by doing an investigation of non-touching forces with magnets and reading a book. We also saw that they make sense of that evidence through talking and writing, for example in the Think-Pair-Share and Quick-Write about their magnet tricks. In addition, students engage with digital and physical models to visualize how non-touching forces act between objects and can affect their motion, though this wasn’t part of the sequence we did. Throughout each Amplify Science unit, students learn science through these five modalities: Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize.

● If you did the 30 minute version of the Balancing Forces activity sequence: We experienced collecting and making sense of evidence through doing an investigation with magnets, reading a book, and talking about evidence of non-touching forces. We saw that students also write to make sense of evidence, for example in their Quick-Write about magnet tricks. In addition, students engage with digital and physical models to visualize how non-touching forces act


between objects and can affect their motion, though this wasn’t part of the sequence we did. Throughout each Amplify Science unit, students learn science through these five modalities: Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize.

● If you did the 60 minute version of the Balancing Forces activity sequence: We experienced collecting and making sense of evidence through doing investigations of non-touching forces with magnets, reading a book, talking about evidence of non-touching forces, and visualizing using the digital diagramming tool. We saw that students also write to make sense of evidence, for example in their Quick-Write about magnet tricks. Throughout each Amplify Science unit, students learn science through these five modalities: Do, Talk, Read, Write, Visualize.

● Direct to the Multiple Modalities in Amplify Science page of their Participant Notebooks and give them time to briefly read the descriptions of how students engage with each modality in Amplify Science.

● Direct participants to the bottom box in the Amplify Science Approach graphic organizer in their participant notebooks. Read the prompt aloud.

● Ask participants to reflect on the activity sequence they engaged in and the multimodal instructional approach as they discuss the prompt in pairs then record responses in the graphic organizer. They may also refer to the Multiple Modalities in Amplify Science table to support their thinking.

● Invite volunteers to share their ideas.

● Transition: Now that you have a sense of Amplify Science’s multimodal

approach to instruction, you’re going to have some time to look at this approach in your own unit.

• First, we’re going to use unit maps to get a high-level overview of our units.

• This is the unit map for the Balancing Forces unit we just looked at, but in your participant notebook, you have the unit map for the first unit you’ll teach at your grade level.

If you are teaching Balancing Forces, you just learned what the phenomena is and saw some activities from Chapter 2, so focus on what happens in the other chapters as you read your unit map.

● Give participants time to read their unit maps and encourage them to


think about the questions in Amplify Science Approach Graphic Organizer as they read. They may also discuss these questions with other teachers from their grade level.

Introduce the Coherence flowchart.● Now I want to show you another tool—the Coherence flowchart—for

getting to know your unit. Again, I’ll show you an example from the Balancing Forces unit and then you’ll have time to work with the Coherence flowchart for your own unit. As I walk you through the Balancing Forces Coherence flowchart, don’t worry about the specifics of the unit so much as the structure and flow that the Coherence flowchart tool shows. The general chapter structure I’ll talk through holds across every chapter in every unit, even though the content is different.

● Suggest that participants follow along on the “Coherence flowchart structure” page in their Participant Notebook.

Click through the animations on the slide as you describe the flow of questions, activities, and ideas:● Recall that the problem students are trying to solve in the Balancing

Forces unit is: How does a floating train work? The Chapter 2 question is: Why does the train rise without anything touching it?

● This chapter question leads to the Investigation Question: How can a force act without objects touching?

● Students collect and reflect on evidence from multiple sources using multiple modalities, which leads to key concepts.

● These Key Concepts lead to a new Investigation Question: In what ways can magnetic forces make an object move?

● Putting together everything they’ve figured out throughout the chapter, students come back to the problem of the floating train and construct an explanation to answer the Chapter Question.

● Though the content is different in different chapters and different units, and the number of investigation questions, evidence sources, and key concepts differ in different chapters, this flow of real-world problems motivating questions, which drive students to collect and reflect on evidence from multiple sources, which helps them construct understanding, which they apply to solve problems is common to every chapter in every Amplify Science unit.

Direct participants to turn to the Analyzing Coherence page in their Participant Notebooks.● Let participants know they’ll work with other teachers at their grade

level, to gain confidence in using a Coherence flowchart as a tool to see how ideas build across a chapter.

● Review the directions. Point out that participants have the


Coherence flowchart for their units in their Participant Notebooks (following the Reading a Coherence Flowchart page), and that they will be opening up the digital Teacher’s Guide to find and read about activities.

● Guide participants in forming grade-level groups of about 4 people.

● Introduce the work time activity You’ll get a chance to learn about the Progress Build for your

unit and how it connects to your unit’s phenomenon. We’ll use a useful resource in the digital Teacher’s Guide called

the Unit Map. We will log in to locate this resource.

Lead a discussion of the prompt.

M2: Multiple Modalities and Instructional Builds● Introduce M2: Multiple modalities and instructional builds

In this part of the module we will take a deeper look at how students are supported to engage in multiple modalities in Amplify Science.

You’ll leave with a stronger understanding of how students are supported throughout a unit to gather and make sense of evidence through multiple modalities.

● Review and share agenda for M2. Multiple modalities and instructional builds

● Direct participants to the Multiple Modalities in Amplify Science page of their Participant notebooks and view modalities.

In each Amplify Science unit, students are supported to engage in multiple modalities: doing, talking, reading, writing, and visualizing.

● Doing has been central to hands-on, activity-centric, inquiry-based science instruction for a while.

● However in Amplify Science, Doing is more nuanced than just engaging in a hands-on activity. Students are supported to “do” science through different science and engineering practices called out by the NYSSLS, including Developing and Using Models, Planning and Carrying Out Investigations, and Designing Solutions.

● Each Amplify Science has a particular focal practice, which means that students receive explicit instruction with this practice, have repeated opportunities to engage in this practice, and gradually assume greater


independence with it across a unit. That said, students also engage in multiple practices throughout every unit.

● For example, the focal practice in Balancing Forces is developing models that show abstract interactions to explain observable phenomena.

● Students have multiple opportunities to develop both digital and physical models throughout the unit to show how forces affect the motion of objects

● Notice that several of these modalities, in particular talking, reading, and writing, are things we more commonly associate with literacy. In alignment with the NGSS’s (NYS Science Learning Standards’) emphasis on science and engineering practices, which include constructing explanations, engaging in argument, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, Amplify Science is a literacy-rich science curriculum.

● Listening, speaking, reading, and writing are integrated throughout each Amplify Science unit.

Each unit includes one or more discourse routines. Each unit has a focal sense-making strategy used in both

reading-focused and science-focused activities. Each unit also has a focal writing genre, either argumentation

or explanation, and students writing is supported through a gradual release of responsibility.

● Supported by routines, strategies, and scaffolds, students are expected to engage with each of these modalities with increasing complexity and independence throughout each unit.

● For example, in Balancing Forces, each time students read a book, they use the strategy of setting a purpose to make sense of the text. The teacher models this in the beginning of the unit, but students gradually assume more responsibility for setting a purpose and using their purpose to focus their reading.

● Finally, all Amplify Science units engage students in visualizing. This takes a variety of forms, including:

supporting students to use the strategy of visualizing to make sense of texts;

creating or analyzing diagrams; and developing physical or digital models.

● Introduce the work time activity


You’ll get a chance to learn about the Progress Build for your unit and how it connects to your unit’s phenomenon.

We’ll use a useful resource in the digital Teacher’s Guide called the Unit Map. We will log in to locate this resource.

● Direct participants to turn to the “Unit essentials and instructional builds” page in their Participant Notebooks.

There are several unit essentials in Amplify Science which support students in gathering and making sense of evidence through multiple modalities. This activity will familiarize you with those unit essentials and deepen your understanding of how students engage in multiple modalities throughout a unit.

● Review the directions. Point out that Table 1 is provided as a reference, and participants may choose to read more information as indicated in the right column, but they may also choose to prioritize working through Table 2 to analyze builds. Point out the reflection questions to think about how these instructional builds support students engagement with multiple modalities. Let participants know how long they’ll have to work so they can decide how to structure their time.

● Point out that the tables for the grade 4 and 5 units include an extra support: Simulations. Remind participants that simulations only exist in the grade 4 and 5 units of Amplify Science elementary and enable students to investigate and visualize phenomena in a digital environment.

● Work time Use the following slide to help participants login to

access the Digital Teacher’s Guide. If needed (depending on participants’ comfort with

navigating the Teacher’s Guide), demonstrate how to find more information about one of the Balancing Forces unit essentials, and how to locate and analyze an example of students engaging with that unit essential.

For example: For Table 1: Open up Standards and Goals from the

Balancing Forces Unit Guide, scroll down to the Focal Practice Trajectory section and point out that this provides more information about the focal practice in Balancing Forces.

For Table 2: Navigate to the Early-in-Unit Example of engagement with the focal practice (Lesson 2.1, Activity 3, Diagramming Magnetic Forces) and reflect on how the teacher heavily guides students


in creating a model in this lesson. Think aloud about how you might pay attention to how much guidance the teacher provides in the Later-in-Unit Example, and record what you find in the What I Notice column.

Give participants time to: Review Table 1 to become familiar with the unit

essentials in their unit; Use the digital Teacher’s Guide to complete Table 2 to

analyze how students’ engagement in the modalities builds in complexity and independence across the unit.

Answer the reflection questions in part 3. Let participants know when they have five minutes

remaining until you bring them together for a debrief discussion.

● Invite participants to discuss the projected questions in pairs, then lead a whole group discussion.

● Synthesize or guide takeaways: Explicit instruction, repeated opportunities for practice, and a

gradual release of responsibility model support all learners in developing the complex language, science, and engineering skills required to engage with scientific content as scientists or engineers.

M3: Three-dimensional Learning● Introduce M3: Three-dimensional learning

In this part of the module we will look at how the Amplify Science approach engages students in three-dimensional learning.

You’ll leave with a stronger understanding of what the three dimensions of the NYSSLS are and how students engage with them in Amplify Science lessons.

● Review and share agenda for M3. Three-dimensional Learning● Clarify the sequence:

First, we’ll discuss the three dimensions of science teaching and learning called for in the NYSSLS.

I’ll model analyzing an activity from our Balancing Forces sequence in terms of three dimensional learning. Then, we’ll practice analyzing a different activity from that unit together.

Once we’ve learned how to do this type of thinking, you’ll think about what three dimensional learning looks like in your unit.


● Introduce the three dimensions. The NYSSLS call out three dimensions that students should

engage with to figure out science ideas. Students engage in science and engineering practices to construct understanding of disciplinary core ideas—what you might traditionally think of as content, and use crosscutting concepts—concepts which hold true across different disciplines, to support their engagement with practices and disciplinary core ideas.

● Direct participants to the NYSSLS Reference page in their Participant Notebooks.

Here is a list of all the disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts in the NYSSLS.

Note that there are fewer core ideas than in previous standards. The intent here is that teachers and students can go deeper with fewer core ideas rather than teaching a wide range of topics with little depth each year.

Looking at the list of practices, you can see that these cover more than just inquiry. They also incorporate the math and literacy practices that are integral to science.

Finally, the crosscutting concepts represent big ideas, or themes, that help students make sense of disciplinary core ideas across life science, physical science, earth science, and engineering.

● Discuss how the exemplar activity sequence from Balancing Forces (from M1) engages students in three-dimensional learning.

Think back to the sequence of activities we looked at from Chapter 2 of the Balancing Forces unit, including the activity with magnet tricks and the book, What My Sister Taught Me About Magnets, and the key concepts those activities (and others in the chapter) led to.

● Think aloud to model analyzing three-dimensional learning in the What My Sister Taught Me about Magnets reading activity

I’ll start by modeling, thinking about reading the What My Sister Taught Me About Magnets text.

I want to consider how students engage with the 3 dimensions in that activity. I’ll use the NYSSLS reference to help me.

● Disciplinary Core Ideas: In Chapter 2 of Balancing Forces, students are working towards

understanding ideas related to Motion and Stability. The Motion and Stability DCI is a focus in the Physical Science

set of disciplinary core ideas.


The specific ideas students work towards in Chapter 2 of Balancing Forces are embodied by the key concepts on the slide.

● Practices: I’m referring to my NYSSLS reference to analyze which

practices students are engaged with. In this text, students analyze information from a data table.

This connects to Practice 4: Analyzing and Interpreting Data. In addition, when students are reading, they’re obtaining

information. So they’re also using Practice 8: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information.

● Crosscutting Concepts: Now, I’ll think about crosscutting concepts, the big themes that

help students make sense of the ideas they’re figuring out. I see evidence of patterns in this activity. When you observe

something to be similar over and over again, you’ve found a pattern.

Magnets attracting and repelling other magnets is a pattern. Each time the girls in the book observe magnets, something similar happens. The magnets are either attracted or repelled.

● Have the group work together analyze three-dimensional learning in the Magnet Tricks activity.

Let’s think about the Magnet Tricks activity, where students discover magnet tricks as they try to figure out the ways magnets can make objects move.

They’re discovering ideas about non-touching forces, which connects to that same Physical Science Motion and Stability DCI.

Let’s think about the other two dimensions, the Practices and Crosscutting Concepts.

Practices: Which science practices were students engaged with as they discovered magnet tricks? Talk to a partner and refer to the NYSSLS reference.

● Have participants discuss then share their ideas. Encourage them to explain their thinking. They may mention:

Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

Practice 1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems

Practice 6: Constructing Explanations from Evidence.

● Crosscutting Concepts: Now, let’s think about crosscutting


concepts. Which crosscutting concepts helped students make sense of what they observed?

● Have participants discuss then share their ideas. Encourage them to explain their thinking. They may mention:

Crosscutting Concept 2: Cause and Effect Crosscutting Concept 7: Stability and Change Crosscutting Concept 1: Patterns

● As students worked with magnets to figure out ideas about non-touching forces, they engaged in a few different practices, and made sense of ideas using crosscutting concepts. Magnet Tricks were a three-dimensional activity.

● All Amplify lessons are designed to be 3 dimensional. In fact, there is a document in the Unit Guide section that describes each chapter and lesson in 3-D terms. Let’s look at it.

● PLACEHOLDER SLIDE: Navigate to the Unit Guide for Balancing Forces in the Teacher’s Guide.

Click Unit Guide Scroll to the 3-D Statement document Scroll down so the Lesson 2.3 and 2.4 statements are

visible.● Read the Lesson 2.3 Statement aloud. Clarify the

color coding: orange text for DCIs, blue text for Practices, green text for Crosscutting Concepts.

● Have participants turn to the Analyzing 3-D Learning page of their Participant Notebook.

● Review the directions. Have participants fill in the blank for the chapter number with Chapter 1. Clarify the notes table is meant for them to record big takeaways – they do not need to record details from every lesson.

● Have participants turn to the Analyzing 3-D Learning page of their Participant Notebook.

● Review the directions. Have participants fill in the blank for the chapter number with Chapter 1. Clarify the notes table is meant for them to record big takeaways – they do not need to record details from every lesson.

● Introduce the work time activity You’ll get a chance to learn about the Progress Build for your




Lead a discussion of the prompt.● Synthesize:

As students gather evidence from multiple sources, they’re engaging in a variety of science and engineering practices, and using crosscutting concepts to make meaning across multiple activities.

Because of Amplify’s multimodal approach, students are continually supported to make meaning of the world like scientists do.

Congratulations! Be sure to leave your feedback for Module A using the link on the last slide.


Module P: Progress BuildsOutline, materials and preparationGrade 3

Session Title Progress Builds (Module P)(flexible time 70-120 minutes, which can be customized by site)

Session outcomes

Participants will be able to:● Explore 3-D formative and summative assessment resources and

discuss how to use assessment results to inform instruction.● Discuss ways to use the program’s formative assessment

resources to organize small-group instruction.

Materials Protocols and handouts:● Module P section of AMP Participant Notebook

Module P: Key Understandings Connecting Progress Build levels to chapter explanations Assessment system reference Assessment types cards Formative assessments: Planning for small group instruction Three dimensions (3-D) in the end-of-unit assessment

organizer NYSSLS reference sheet

Participants will bring:● Computer or tablet

Other materials ● N/A

Date and time Flexible


Module P: Multiple Sources of Evidence Condensed Outline

Part P1. Building ideas within a unit (flexible time 20-40 min)

1. Instructional Approach overview (5 min)a. Amplify Science Approach (4 Circles)b. Progress Build structurec. Balancing Forces example Progress Build

2. Connecting Progress Builds to unit phenomena (5 min)a. Introduce Balancing Forces phenomenonb. Discuss science conceptual

understanding needed to explain the phenomenon

c. Connect Progress Build to explanations of phenomenon

d. Discuss connection between generalizable science concepts in the Progress Build and phenomena-specific explanations students construct

3. Connecting Progress Build levels to chapter explanations activity (10–20 min)a. Participants analyze the build of ideas in

their unit, and how they connect to end-of-chapter explanations

● Connecting Progress Build levels to chapter explanations

● Unit Map or coherence flowchart (in Module M section of the participant notebook)

Part P2. Amplify Assessment System(flexible time 15-25 min)

1. Introducing opportunities for Assessment along the Progress Build (5 min)a. Identify each assessment type (7 total)b. Placement of assessment types along

the Progress Build2. Activity: Opportunities for assessment

(10–20 min)a. Presenter models how to locate

assessment resources in Teacher’s Guide

b. Participants follow navigation pathways on cards in their participant notebook to practice locating opportunities for assessment in the units they will teach

i. Participants consider how assessments they read provide credible, actionable,

● Assessment types cards

● Assessment System Reference


and timely information about student learning.

c. Solo reflection followed by group share out

P3. Using Formative Assessment to Inform Instruction(flexible time 20–25 min)

1. Planning to use formative assessmenta. Presenter models planning to use

formative assessment data to inform instruction, using assessment resources in the Teacher’s Guide (5 min)

b. Participants use graphic organizer to analyze formative assessments from their unit (10 min)

2. Participants reflect on how to collect data to plan for individual and small group instruction. (5-10 min)

● Formative assessments: Planning for small group instruction

P4: Summative Assessment(flexible time 15-30 min)

1. Locating summative assessment and resources (5-10 min)a. Participants reflect on how they have

used summative assessments in their teaching

b. Presenter models locating resourcesc. Participants locate resources

2. 3-D summative assessment (10-20 min)a. Participants read summative

assessment rubricsb. Participants complete a graphic

organizer about the three dimensions in their summative assessment

c. Group reflects on 3-D assessment and Amplify assessment resources

● Three dimensions in the end-of-unit assessment


Module P: Progress BuildsFacilitator’s ScriptGrade 3

Part Overview





● Agenda● Review agenda● Point out the Participant Notebook that participants have in front

of them. Give them a moment to review the Module M: Key Understandings.


should be added.

Welcome the group, introductionsModule P: Progress Builds● Introduce Module P: Progress Builds

Amplify Science units are structured around a conceptual build of ideas – they call this learning progress a Progress Build.

We’ll get to know our units by looking at Progress Builds.● Review Module P components

The conceptual build of ideas in a unit structure student learning and the program’s assessment system. We’ll get a chance to look at how ideas build through a unit, and to think about the different assessment opportunities that exist.

● Review Module Objectives When we’ve completed this module, we’ll be familiar with

available assessment resources and how to use them, and we’ll learn some ways to use assessment data for organizing small-group instruction.


P1: Building Ideas Within a Unit● Introduce P1: Building ideas within a unit

We’ll start by thinking about how ideas build in a unit.

Review and share agenda for P1: Building ideas within a unit

● Introduce Amplify Science Approach. If participants have already worked through Module M, you may want to call on a few volunteers to share what they remember about what this graphic represents.

Amplify Science units at every grade level have a similar structure. We’ll return to this graphic a few times, and may have seen it before. I’d like to emphasize one part that connects to our work with Progress Builds.

Point at the middle circles and the blue arrows:● The middle circles, and the blue arrows around them,

really show the ideas we’ll be working with today.● Amplify Science units are designed to deepen

understanding around a set of science concepts, rather than cover a few topics at a surface level.

● Students continually collect evidence that deepens their conceptual understanding, which helps them build increasingly complex explanations.

● A Progress Build structures this sequence.

● Discuss participants’ ideas about the image This graphic is useful for understanding the goal of a Progress

Build. ASK: What do you notice? What do you think this image shows?

● Discuss the parts of the image Prior Knowledge: On the left-hand side, you can see “Prior

Knowledge.” At the beginning of a unit, instruction starts with what students already know. The designers of the program researched to see what prior understanding students at a unit’s grade level typically have.

Layers: Then, piece by piece, instruction is meant to deepen that understanding. At the beginning of a unit, students work to figure out Level 1, which is the most foundational or basic understanding in the unit. Once they understand the first level,


that use that understanding to build Level 2, which is more complex, and Level 3.

Deep, Causal Understanding: By the end of a unit, students have a deep conceptual understanding which they can use to construct an explanation of their unit’s problem.

● Summarize What’s important to note here is this idea of adding layers little

by little. Students use what they learn in early chapters to make meaning in later chapters. Let’s see an example.

● Introduce the Balancing Forces Progress Build structure Let’s see an example of how students construct a deep

understanding little by little in the Balancing Forces. Amplify Science units sequence the science ideas in a way that

is supportive for student learning. The ideas become more complex and build on previous levels through a unit.

● Read and explain the Balancing Forces Progress Build At the first level, students figure out what a force is. They need these ideas about forces in order to progress to the

Level 2 understanding that forces can be touching or non-touching.

At the third level, they use ideas about forces, touching and non-touching, to explain how the multiple forces acting on an object in one moment can be balanced, meaning the object’s motion does not change, or unbalanced, leading to a change in the object’s motion.

● Point to the grey boxes on the left side of the slide This progression of ideas builds from students prior knowledge –

they have experience with pushes and pulls from their own life. The unit adds complexity piece by piece until students have a

deep understanding.● Note the Progress Build represents conceptual understanding,

and is not related to the unit’s phenomenon. You know Amplify Science units are designed for students to

solve a problem, but note the levels of the Progress Build describe generalizable science content, not an explanation of a phenomenon.

Let’s look at how these ideas connect to the problem in the Balancing Forces unit.

Introduce the Balancing Forces phenomenon In this unit, students find out people in Faraday are excited to

hear that a new train service will be built for their city, but concerned when they hear that it will be a floating train.


Students will be challenged to figure out how a floating train works in order to explain it to the citizens of Faraday.

While students try to figure out how the floating train works, they are building a conceptual understanding of what makes objects move.

Introduce the solution to the problem in Faraday By the end of the unit, students have built a conceptual

understanding of the relationship between force and an object’s motion, and how different types of forces can be acting on an object at the same time.

They explain the train’s movement is mostly caused by magnets.

● There are magnets in the train, and an electromagnet in the track.

● When the electromagnet is turned on, a repelling force between the magnets in the track and those in the train cause the train to rise.

● When it floats, the repelling force is balanced by the force of gravity pulling the train down.

● When the electromagnet is turned off, the force of gravity is no longer balanced, and the train falls.

● In other words, the train moves when the forces acting on it are unbalanced.

Point out the grey text summarizes the solution to the problem. Invite participants to turn and talk in response to the orange

text. If necessary, think aloud to model: One idea students would need to come up with this explanation

is the idea that forces can act between objects that are not touching. If they don’t know about non-touching forces, they won’t be able to explain what is happening with the magnets.

ASK: What other science ideas do students need to understand to come up with this explanation?

Guide discussion to include:● Forces make things move● Forces act between two objects● Multiple forces can act on an object at the same time● Gravity is a pulling force● Forces can be balanced or unbalanced.

Connect the Progress Build ideas back to the unit problem As you can see, the levels of the Progress Build aren’t related to

the floating train – they’re related to science concepts: forces.


Students can apply understanding represented in the Progress Build to explain the floating train.

The slide shows some pieces of the explanation students construct at each level.

● The Progress Build is a tool students use to explain the unit problem, piece by piece.

Connect the Progress Build to other phenomena They can use these same understandings to explain other

phenomena they encounter.● For example, a student can use the Level 3

understandings of balanced and unbalanced forces to explain what’s happening in a tug-of-war game.

Introduce the work time activity You’ll get a chance to learn about the Progress Build for your



[Slide is animated]● Show teachers how to navigate to their first unit’s Unit Map in

the digital Teacher’s Guide.● Explain the steps:

1. Once at your unit’s landing page, select “JUMP DOWN TO UNIT GUIDE”

2. Select “Unit Map”3. You can click on “Open printable unit map” or just view as is on

the screen.● Mention participants could also refer to the copy of the Unit

Map for their unit in the Module M section of their Participants Notebooks.

Have participants turn to the “Connecting Progress Build Levels to Chapter Explanations” page in their participant notebook.Review directions, then provide participants about ten minutes to work in pairs:● Read each level of the Progress Build (it’s described in more detail than

on the Progress Build slide shown earlier)● Read each explanation in the right-hand column.● Draw a line from each Progress Build level to the explanation(s) that

apply the content.● Discuss with a partner how each explanation applies the content of the

relevant Progress Build level.


● Identify in which chapter(s) students construct understanding of each Progress Build level.

[If participants have completed Module M, note that they may choose to use the Coherence Flowchart to figure this out, but if they have not completed Module M, they should use the Unit Map. Both of these resources are in the Module M section of the Participant Notebook.]Call participants together to share reactions.● Synthesize understanding

A Progress Build maps the conceptual understanding students build through a unit. It is structured around generalizable science concepts, not related to the unit’s problem or phenomenon.

Throughout the unit, students gather additional evidence to add complexity to their conceptual understanding.

Each level of the Progress Build builds on the level or levels before it.

The Progress Build does work for students in terms of explaining the unit problem. They apply the conceptual understanding to the unit’s problem.

As students build this increasingly complex science understanding, they are able to apply it to construct an increasingly complex and complete explanation of the unit’s central problem.

Students can apply this conceptual understanding in other contexts, too. They can explain a variety of phenomena using the ideas represented in the Progress Build.

P2: Amplify Science Assessment System● Introduce P2: Amplify Science Assessment System

In this part of the module we will learn about the Assessment System provided by Amplify Science.

You will be introduced to all seven assessment components and leave with a stronger understanding of where they are located in the curriculum and their purpose for informing instruction.

● Review and share agenda for P2: Amplify Science assessment system

● Introduce formative assessment approach: Assessments are designed to provide credible information

about student understanding of science concepts, or about their dexterity with practices, crosscutting concepts, or reading comprehension strategies.


Assessments are actionable by providing specific suggestions for supplementing instruction based on the information provided.

Assessments are timely in the way they are embedded into instruction - they provide insight to teachers as they’re teaching, meaning instruction can be immediately adjusted based on the data they provide. This is different than traditional assessment, where teachers must wait until the end of the chapter or unit to find out what students understand.

We’ll use a lens of “Credible, actionable, and timely” as we get to know the different types of assessments in the assessment system.

● Introduce Pre-unit and End-of-Unit Assessments The Pre-unit and End-of-Unit Assessments, represented by the

gray bars at the base and top of the Progress Build, occur at the beginning and end of the unit and are often similar, or even identical tasks, but have very different purposes.

The Pre-Unit Assessment lets you know what preconceptions and alternate conceptions your students are bringing to the unit so that you can teach accordingly.

The End-of-Unit Assessment can be used summatively and comes with rubrics you can use for scoring students’ work along the Progress Build, as well as their facility with science and engineering practices and cross-cutting concepts.

● Introduce Critical Juncture Assessments Critical Juncture Assessments, represented by the hummingbird

icons, typically occur at the end of a chapter. They allow you to gather data about students’ understanding of

a level of the Progress Build before they move onto the next level.

Critical Juncture Assessments are meant as formative assessments that provide information you can use to adjust your teaching to address gaps in student understanding.

● Introduce On-the-Fly Assessments On-the-Fly Assessments, represented by the smaller

hummingbird icons, occur approximately once per lesson. On-the-Fly Assessments are embedded in the lessons

themselves and provide additional opportunities to formatively monitor student learning.

● Introduce Self-Assessments Self-Assessments, represented by the smiley face icons,


typically occur at the end of each chapter and provide opportunities for students to reflect on their learning.

● Introduce Portfolio Assessment The Portfolio Assessment, represented by the rectangular box

around the progress build, allows students to select artifacts throughout the year. This process allows students to reflect on their understanding during the year, and then to examine and articulate how that understanding has deepened over time. Take a moment at the beginning of the year to determine when artifacts will be collected, where they will be stored, and determine guidance for student reflection.

● Introduce Investigation Assessment An Investigation Assessment occurs once per grade level and

provides an opportunity to assess students’ facility with the practice of investigation.

The Grade K Investigation Assessment occurs in the Sunlight and Weather unit. In some grades, the Investigation Assessment occurs in the first unit of the year.

You will now get the opportunity to explore many of the assessment components just shown. Because the Investigation Assessment is only located in certain units and the Portfolio Assessment is not located within the Teacher’s Guide, you will not locate those in the activity today.

● NOTE: For reference, Investigation Assessments occur in the following units:

Grade K: Sunlight and Weather (Unit 3) Grade 1: Light and Sound (Unit 2) Grade 2: Plant and Animal Relationships (Unit 1) Grade 3: Balancing Forces (Unit 1) Grade 4: Vision and Light (Unit 2) Grade 5: Patterns of Earth and Sky (Unit 1)

● Introduce the assessment types activity You will now practice navigating to different types of

assessments to identify the purpose of different types of assessment in the assessment system.

You’ll think about about how the different assessment types are credible, actionable, and timely.

● Direct teachers to the Assessment System Reference sheet in their Participant Notebook. Here they will find an overview of the assessment system. This reference document will be used in the next activity.


In groups of 5, each decide on an assessment type to become an “expert” on. Over the next 10 minutes you will use the pathway on the left side of your card to navigate to your chosen assessment type in your first unit, and the questions on the right side to learn about that assessment type.

Use the Assessment System Reference sheet to support you in answering the questions about the assessment. There is a lot of information in that reference you’ll find useful when you start teaching. For now, just focus on the descriptions of the assessment types.

(NOTE: Conducting this worktime as a JIGSAW is optional. If you are not going to facilitate the Jigsaw in groups of 5 teachers, you can have teachers work through all 5 cards on their own.)

● Use this slide to help participants login to access the digital Teacher’s Guide to navigate to the assessments noted on the Assessment types cards.

● If participants are struggling with navigating the Teacher’s Guide, suggest they use the Navigation within a lesson in the Module A section of their Participant Notebooks.

● After 10 minutes or sooner if participants are finished exploring, prompt them to take turns sharing out to the rest of their group one at a time - sharing responses to the questions on the slide.

● Prompt participants to write a response to the prompt on a notes page in their Participant Notebook. Then, ask several participants to share out.

● Synthesize takeaways: All assessments provide credible information about student

understanding along the progress build, and their dexterity with practices, crosscutting concepts, and reading comprehension strategies. They indicate exactly what to look for as evidence of this

understanding. Formative assessments are actionable by providing

specific suggestions to support understanding for students who demonstrate the need for supplemental instruction.

Formative assessments are timely in the way they are embedded into instruction.

A teacher can see and address gaps in student understanding immediately, rather than needing to wait until the end of the chapter or unit to find out what students understand.


● Summative assessments do not provide suggestions for supplementing instruction and are stand-alone rather than embedded into instruction.

The actionable and timely nature of the formative assessment system means teachers will have a sense of how students will perform on a summative assessment as the unit closes.

P3: Using Formative Assessment to Inform Instruction● Introduce P3: Using formative assessment to inform instruction

You’ve thought about how different formative assessment opportunities can be used as tools to inform instruction in the classroom.

Our purpose for this next part of the module is to think about planning for individual or small group instruction in response to formative assessments.

● Review and share agenda for P3: Using formative assessment to inform instruction

● Review formative assessment system: On-the-Fly Assessments monitor student learning along a level

of the Progress Build Critical Juncture Assessments provide insight about student

learning along the entire Progress Build. They occur at critical moments in the unit, when

instruction will move to the next level of the Progress Build.

● Review formative assessment approach: Formative assessments provide credible information about

student understanding along the Progress Build, and their dexterity with practices, crosscutting concepts, and reading comprehension strategies.

They indicate exactly what to look for as evidence of this understanding.

Formative assessments are actionable because they provide specific suggestions to support understanding for students who demonstrate the need for supplemental instruction.

Formative assessments are timely in the way they are embedded into instruction.

A teacher can see and address gaps in student understanding immediately, rather than needing to wait until the end of the chapter or unit to find out what students understand.


● Introduce the analyzing formative assessment activity You now have an understanding that the assessment system in

Amplify Science is primarily formative in nature to support teachers in monitoring student understanding along the Progress Build.

Let’s look at a specific example of one formative assessment opportunity called an On-the-Fly Assessment.

● Have participants turn to the Formative Assessments: Planning for Small Group Instruction page in their Participant Notebook.

We will use this template as we analyze how this assessment opportunity could be used to inform our instruction.

As a model, we’ll examine an assessment found in Chapter 2, Lesson 2.3, Activity 4 of the Balancing Forces unit.

I would note that I’m in the Balancing Forces Unit, Chapter 2, on my graphic organizer.

● Describe the activity and the assessment At this point in the lesson students explore a series of stations,

each with one specific habitat. With a partner, students look at animal cards and figure out where they think the animal can live.

The instructional guide for this activity suggests that the teacher circulate to offer support while pairs are working.

The instructional guide calls out that this is an On-the-Fly Assessment opportunity to informally assess students’ ability to discuss why animals can live in certain habitats and not others.

I would note this is an On-the-Fly Assessment on my graphic organizer.

● Model using the Assessment System reference document to analyze the three dimensions of the assessment

When planning for formative assessment opportunities, it is helpful to read all the resources provided in the curriculum.

You can read about each opportunity in the Unit Guide’s Assessment System document seen here.

I would note on my organizer what this assessment is assessing in terms of the three dimensions

For this assessment I can see that it is formatively assessing student understanding of DCIs: ESS3.A: Natural Resources, LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms; SEPs: Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations, Practice 4: Analyzing


and Interpreting Data and Practice 8: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information; and CCC: Patterns, and Systems and System Models.

You'll notice that the Assessment System document in the Unit Guide refers to the Next Generation Science Standards. These are the national standards with which the NYSSLS align. Both sets of standards have the same three-dimensional structure.

If participants ask about how synthesizing ideas about systems addresses disciplinary core ideas about energy, point out that an understanding of systems provides foundation for understanding how energy is transferred, converted, and conserved in an electrical system.

● Model reading the assessment to determine what data can be collected In the instructional guide of a lesson, look for the orange

hummingbird icon to find notes to help you plan what you will look for/listen for from your students and suggestions for next steps for instruction.

From reading these “look for” notes I understand that I should collect data on whether my students are connecting the text to relevant other sources of information to synthesize ideas about systems.

I would note what I discovered on my graphic organizer.

● Show partially completed graphic organizer as a model This is how I would record the thinking I was modeling for you so

far. You’ll record your ideas when you analyze assessments in your

unit.

● Model thinking through the bottom three rows. Now that I’m familiar with the assessment, I’ll think more to

connect the assessment to my classroom. I’d consider how I’d collect the data, how I’d plan for small groups,

and my ideas for how to select students.

● Review instructions on the slide. Work only in the first column for now, you’ll move onto analyzing a

second assessment after we discuss the first one.● If necessary, use the following slide to help participants login

to access the Teacher’s Guide.● Provide participants time to work on the “Formative

assessments: Planning for small-group instruction” graphic


organizer, circulating to support their navigation. If participants are struggling with navigation, you might also suggest they use the annotated Teacher’s Guide Reference in Module A.

● Following work time, have a few participants share out what they discovered from the exercise.

[NOTE: If you do not have time for participants to analyze a second assessment, call the group together at this point and skip comparing and discussing two assessments. Let participants know they can analyze a second assessment and answer the reflection question at the bottom as a self-study.]

● Use this slide to help participants login to access the digital Teacher’s Guide to navigate to assessments.

● Review instructions on the slide. Provide participants time to work on “Formative

assessments: Planning for small-group instruction” graphic organizer, circulating to support their navigation

Following work time, have a few participants share out what they discovered from the exercise.

● Have participants discuss the reflection question with a partner.

● Have participants share ideas from their discussion.● Synthesize as a summary:

Since On-the-Fly Assessments assess the three dimensions of science learning, they will reveal students’ needs for support in different skills. Student grouping for small-group instruction will vary according to data revealed on different assessments.

● Have participants discuss data collection methods and ideas with a partner.

● Invite participants to share. Suggested ideas to collect formative data: checklists, notes on a

seating chart, assessment-planning organizer

P4: Summative Assessment Introduce P4: Summative Assessment

Our purpose for this next part of the module is to become


familiar with the 3-D summative assessments included in Amplify Science.

● Review and share agenda for P4: Summative Assessment● Have participants discuss the reflection question with a

partner.● Have participants share ideas from their discussion.

● Introduce analyzing a summative assessment To prepare to learn about the summative assessments in your

unit, I’ll walk you through the summative assessment in the Balancing Forces unit.

● Use the Teacher’s Guide to show the End-of-Unit Assessment: Navigate to Lesson 4.4

● In Lesson 4.4, the teacher sits with students one at a time and prompts them to explain how their newly designed Garden will allow caterpillars and milkweed to get what they need to live. These one-on-one assessment conversations are an opportunity to assess students’ progress toward the core learning goals of the unit as specified in the Progress Build and to provide evidence of students’ growth over time when compared with their responses from the Pre-Unit Assessment.

● In Assessment Guide: Assessing Students’ End-of-Unit Explanations About How Plants and Animals Can Live in the Garden (in Digital Resources for Lesson 4.4), rubrics are provided for assessing students’ responses along several dimensions. These dimensions include attention to students’ understanding of discipline-specific concepts, as well as students’ understanding of the crosscutting concept of systems and system models and their developing facility with a key practice of science and engineering — recording observations as data.

Introduce the “Three dimensions in the End-of-Unit Assessment” graphic organizer and the NYSSLS reference sheet in the Participant Notebook.

Provide teachers time to analyze their unit’s End-of-Unit Assessment.

Circulate to support navigation. If necessary, use the following slide to help participants log in.

Following work time, invite participants to share takeaways about the rubrics in the Assessment Guide and responses to


the reflection questions at the bottom of the page.

Use this slide to help participants log in to access the digital Teacher’s Guide.

To conclude, connect the summative assessment back to Progress Builds.

This module is titled Progress Builds. Through Parts 2-4, we’ve mostly talked about assessment.

This is because the assessment system is so closely tied to a unit’s Progress Build.

The data you collect in formative assessment provides credible, actionable, timely information about students progression through the progress build.

In a summative assessment, you’re assessing where students understanding falls on the Progress Build at the end of the unit.

● Congratulations!


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