Using Our Resources Wisely, a fifth grade science unit developed by the Institute for School Partnership’s (ISP) mySci program has been awarded the NGSS Design Badge.
The Badge is awarded to top-rated science units designed for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Since 2017, only four other units, including mySci’s From Sun to Food, have received this honor at Grades 3-5.
To earn the NGSS Design Badge, instructional materials must be reviewed by a panel of experts from NextGenScience or the Science Peer Review Panel and earn the highest rating on the Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products (EQuIP) Rubric for Science across all three categories: design, instructional supports and monitoring student progress.
“We are excited to have a second mySci unit recognized with this prestigious distinction,” says ISP Associate Director Rachel Ruggirello. “One of the many factors that distinguishes mySci’s curriculum is our commitment to ensuring that the content aligns with standards that teachers in our partner school districts throughout the region strive to meet as they engage students in meaningful science learning. We are very proud of Using Our Resources Wisely and to have the unit elevated as an example of a High Quality NGSS Design reflects the work and intention that make mySci a trusted classroom resource.”
We are very proud of Using Our Resources Wisely and to have the unit elevated as an example of a High Quality NGSS Design reflects the work and intention that make mySci a trusted classroom resource.”
Rachel Ruggerello, ISP Associate Director
Using Our Resources Wisely provides students an opportunity to investigate the anchoring problem: we need farms to grow food, but the process of producing food for all of us can harm Earth’s systems. Throughout the learning sequence, students investigate and design solutions related to the natural resources used on farms and the impact on Earth’s systems. The mySci K-5 curriculum strives to develop the region’s next generation of scientific thinkers by engaging elementary students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through interactive learning experiences and creative curriculum. Each year, more than 13,000 mySci kits are delivered to 245 schools across the St. Louis region.