Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda UFSD
Providing our students with the supports, tools, and diverse opportunities needed to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world
- Kenmore Town of Tonawanda UFSD
- Overview
As Part of Science Unit, Sledding Helps Kindergarten Class With Understanding of Forces
Students in Karen Davies’s kindergarten class were learning about pushing and pulling and how that relates to the science of forces. They will be some of the first who take the new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) exam in fifth grade and Ken-Ton teachers have begun implementing the new NGSS performance expectations, which includes the kindergarten unit on forces.
To help the students gain a greater understanding of forces, Mrs. Davies along with Lisa Davidson, Ken-Ton School District science coach; teacher aide Janet Kemp; Trevor Brown, school support specialist; and Davidson’s daughter, Kaleigh, all worked together to provide the students an experience that was both fun and educational. They took advantage of the winter weather and took the students sledding during recess to reinforce the concepts of pushing and pulling. The students not only learned a lot but they had a lot of fun too!
As schools prepare for NGSS implementation, Ken-Ton teachers recently had the opportunity to learn with Paul Anderson, a nationally recognized science teacher and one of 10 educators identified by YouTube as an EDU Guru. As part of a day-long session, the Ken-Ton teachers took part in experiments using NGSS practices, and they built the longest-lasting and tallest structure as part of the Marshmallow Challenge!