Re: Query

[George Sheridan <gsheridan@BOMUSD.EDCOE.K12.CA.US>]

At 09:05 AM 11/28/1999 -0500, Gerald Bracey wrote:
>George---Is that the end of it?
>
>The CTA blurb on standards definitely says that the standard expect 5th
>graders to memorize the table.

Gerald:

I have not found evidence for that statement in the standards. The fifth
grade standards say more about elements and their physical and chemical
properties, but not, as far as I can see, about the periodic table. See for
yourself at http://www.cde.ca.gov/board/science.html

Vanishingly few California teachers had any role in determining the
standards. Many feel unprepared for the statewide testing and
"accountability" that the standards entail. If the statement on the CTA
website is inaccurate, it may be that the union is reflecting the frantic
tone of teachers whose jobs and students are now at risk from the standards.

There is a reference to the periodic table in the Grade Three standards:
"i. people once thought that earth, wind, fire, and water were the basic
elements that made up all matter. Science experiments show that there are
over 100 different types of atoms which are displayed on the Periodic Table
of the Elements."

The following reference to the periodic table is excerpted from the Grade
Eight standards:
"3. Elements have distinct properties and atomic structure. All matter is
comprised of one or more of over 100 elements. As a basis for understanding
this concept, students know:

a. the structure of the atom and how it is composed of protons, neutrons
and electrons.                     b. compounds are formed by combining two
or more different elements. Compounds have properties that are different
from the constituent elements.
c. atoms and molecules form solids by building up repeating patterns such
as the crystal structure of NaCl or long chain polymers.
d. the states (solid, liquid, gas) of matter depend on molecular motion.
e. in solids the atoms are closely locked in position and can only vibrate,
in liquids the atoms and molecules are more loosely connected and can
collide with and move past one another, while in gases the atoms or
molecules are free to move independently, colliding frequently.
f. how to use the Periodic Table to identify elements in simple compounds."


>> At 11:38 PM 11/27/1999 -0400, Deborah Meier wrote:
>> >Please send details re Periodic Table for 5th
>> >graders..  What's the framework descriptor or the test item?   It's so
>> >preposterous  that I need credible details.  We've got equally funny ones
>> >from MCAS on the 4th grade test.  The worst are in history however.
>>
>>
>> California's worst are in history, too, as you can read in Susan Ohanian's
>> book. I'm not a fifth grade teacher, but it appears to me that the
>> statement Rick quoted from the CTA website may not accurately represent
>the
>> state's science standards (although I can certainly imagine some schools
>> interpreting the standards to require memorization of the periodic table).
>> Below is an excerpt from the California science content standards for
>grade
>> five (online at http://www.cde.ca.gov/board/science.html).
>>
>> 1. Elements and their combinations account for all the varied types of
>> matter in the world. As a basis           for understanding this concept,
>> students know:
>>
>> a. during chemical reactions, the atoms in the reactants rearrange to form
>> products with different properties.
>>
>> b. all matter is made of atoms, which may combine to form molecules.
>>
>> c. metals have properties in common, such as electrical and thermal
>> conductivity. Some metals, such as aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni),
>> copper (Cu), silver (Ag), gold (Au), are pure elements while others, such
>> as steel and brass, are composed of a combination of elemental metals.
>>
>> d. each element is made of one kind of atom. These elements are organized
>> in the Periodic Table by their chemical properties.
>>
>>
>> George Sheridan



George Sheridan

Northside School
Black Oak Mine Unified School District
P.O. Box 217
Cool, California 95633

Hope is...not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the
conviction that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.

Vaclav Havel

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