Montana Science Content Standards and Resources

Professional Development Request Form

Science Instructional Coordinator: Michelle McCarthy| 406-444-3537
Return to the K-12 Content Standards home page.

Announcements and Opportunities

2024

 

Carnegie Corporation on the Call to Action
ICYMI: BOSE, NASEM: Taking Stock of Science Standards Implementation Summit recording

 

​​​​​

Grant or Paid Opportunities

Grant or Paid Opportunities

  • Call for Presenters: Montana Environmental Education Association, MEEA, is excited to announce our March 2025 Conference! In Helena, from March 7-9th we will be gathering together to share stories, ideas, and lessons all connected to the theme of Roots of Tomorrow. We cant wait to see you! 
    As we finalize our finalizing our ticket sales platform, which will soon be on our website for you to register, we wanted to provide you with this information so you could mark your calendars. In the meantime, if you would like to apply to be one of the presenters at our March conference, please fill out this form ! Learning sessions will mostly take place on Saturday March 8th, 2025.
  • Montana Students on the Land Travel Grants

    $300 Field Trip Travel Grants Available for Primarily Fourth Grade Classrooms

    Glacier National Park has been selected as a National Park Foundation Open Outdoors for Kids (OOK) Grant recipient. Glacier National Park and the Montana Environmental Education Association are partnering together to provide students from across Montana the opportunity (with an emphasis on fourth grade) to

    visit public lands and tribal lands of their choice.

    How to Apply for a grant:

    To apply for a grant, complete a 2024-25 Montana Students on the Land Travel Grant Application. Grant applications will be reviewed on a monthly basis and continued to be awarded as long as funds are available.

    Field trips must take place by June 1, 2025. Applicants must indicate that they are going to a public land or tribal land site that is supported by the Open OutDoors for Kids Grant Program. Educators receiving grant awards must agree to complete a post-visit report after their field trip that includes a field trip photo.

    Preference will be given to applicants that:

    • Describe in their applications how they will implement a “three aspect” project that includes a pre-visit lesson, the field day, and post visit elements. (Ex. Plan to include interpretative and/or educational programs at public lands sites.)

    • Hold Title 1 school classification during the 2024-25 school year (if the applicant is school-based)

You can find answers to commonly asked questions on our FAQ sheet. If you have other questions please contact glac_education@nps.gov.  Have a majority of fourth graders in their classroom/group.  Originate from underrepresented geographic areas across the state.

  • Montana Environmental Education Association (MEEA) has a contracted position openhelp them reach and grow their network, and organize opportunities for environmental educators across Montana by acting as their Administrative Coordinator. This position can be remote, with some in-person presence at specific events.  This position will be contracted to a payment of $7,333 per year.

 

  • 21st Century Community Learning Center Competitive Grant Update  The 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant provides funds to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and community-based organizations (CBOs). Grantees are awarded a minimum of $50,000 each year for 5 years. The 21st Century Community Learning Centers provide opportunities for academic enrichment during out-of-school time in a community learning center environment.  Services reinforce and complement regular academic programs and offer literacy and educational development to students and families. You can apply, see the timeline learn a little more on the website
  • CSX Community Service Grants (includes schools) with suggested ranges from $1,000 to $5,000

  • A Series of Webinars Exploring the Power and Promise of Invention Education

    We’re excited to share the recordings from our recent Partners in Invention Education webinar series. Each session dives into key topics designed to empower educators and administrators and explore how anyone can bring invention education to their school or district. The sessions include:

    • What is Invention Education? Why does it Matter?

      • This webinar presents an overview of invention education and what makes it unique. Discover how invention education can be implemented in classrooms along the pathway from elementary to higher ed.

    • Introducing Lemelson-MIT Resources and Curricula

      • We share highlights of our unprecedented curricula and demonstrate how incorporating invention education in the classroom is not only feasible, but engaging for both educators and students.

      • The webinars are all available on the Lemelson-MIT YouTube channel. Click below for to be directed to the playlist with all three webinars available to view.

    • Educators Share Stories from the Field

      • During this webinar, educators currently facilitating invention education will share how they got started, the challenges they faced, and the remarkable outcomes demonstrated by their students.

  • Aldrin Family Foundation Map Package Grant Application Aldrin Family Foundation has worked with donors to make Giant Mars and Moon Map packages available for distribution to individual schools, school districts, and informal education organizations throughout the country in areas where we believe they can do the most good, especially in under-served communities.

Challenges and Competitions

Challenges and Competitions

 

Student and Classroom opportunities

Student and Classroom Opportunities

K-8

  • Nautilus Live - Ship to Shore Interactions: 

    Looking for an exciting way to bring STEM to life in your classroom? Nautilus Live is offering free, live Ship-to-Shore interactions with their team of scientists and engineers currently conducting expeditions in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

    These interactive sessions, lasting 30-60 minutes, are a fantastic opportunity for students to ask questions and engage directly with experts working aboard the ship. The Nautilus team is particularly eager to connect with Montana teachers before their season concludes in mid-December.

    Learn more and schedule your session here: Nautilus Live - Ship-to-Shore Interactions

    Don’t miss this chance to inspire your students with real-world science and exploration!

  • From NASA EXPRESS:

    NASA’s Climate Kids brings climate science to life with games, interactive features, and exciting articles.

    Explore key concepts about Earth science, missions, and climate with "NASA's Earth Minute" videos.

    Find tips for incorporating hands-on data collection activities into your programs with the GLOBE Observer: Toolkit for Informal Educators.

    Peer into NASA's Earth Observatory to find images, stories, and discoveries about the environment and Earth's systems.

    For even more Earth science resources, visit the NASA STEM.

K-12

  • Visit the New MSTA Website and view all the upcoming events!
    • Join MSTA's business lunch on Thursday, October 17th at 12:00pm at MFPE in Bozeman!
  • National Girls Collaborative Project

The Moonshot has launched a nationwide search for the 2024 Flight Crew - a group of youth advocates promoting the value of out-of-school STEM learning and equity in STEM for young people across the nation. 

Encourage girls, non-binary or cis-gender youth, ages 13-18, with experience in afterschool and summer STEM learning, to apply!

If you have any questions reach out to heather@mtafterschoolalliance.org

  • Air Quality Flag Program. This program is funded by the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Flags, onsite training, and educational materials are free.  If you would like to get involved, contact mac.nollde@ontanahphc.org, (406) 763-1006.
  • Bugs, bugs, bugs!  Field trips, Classroom visits, Distance Learning, all available through Missoula Butterfly House, scholarships are available.
  • Coding: CS Ed Week, Computer Science for Educators-resources
  • EPA Region 8 (Mountains and Plains) offers virtual presentations to the general public, teachers and students on a variety of environmental topics. Presentations can be tailored for any age group and are offered during the school week. EPA also has lesson plans, activity books, pre-recorded presentations and games available.  EPA Region 8 offers informal mentorships to young people who are interested in finding out more about environmental/conservation issues, projects and careers. Students are matched with a subject matter expert who can discuss with the students their environmental questions or career paths. Mentorships can be one-time visits, a phone call, virtual meetings or last a few months depending on the student’s needs/interests. Mentees can be of any age. Teachers or parents interested in finding out more about these offerings should contact Wendy Dew at dew.wendy@epa.govor 303-877-0428
NASA:

When scientists and engineers want to communicate with spacecraft in deep space, they turn to the Deep Space Network, NASA’s international array of giant radio antennas. Next month marks the 60th anniversary of this communication network, and you can celebrate in your classroom with these new STEM resources.

Decoding Space Images

Grades 4-9

Exploring the Doppler Effect

Grades 9-12

Learn more about the Deep Space Network with STEM Lessons for Educators  and Activities for Students.

 

K-5

4-8

6-12

  • Re: Ideas for making learning more relevant (and providing perspective on current issues)

    Teacher Leaders in Montana History Cynthia Wilondek and Dylan Huisken (former MT Teacher of the Year) led a dynamite professional development workshop a few weeks ago on "Connecting Past to Present." They created a Google Doc with links to many resources and lesson plans. I'll only highlight a few here.

    • In the 2023 case Held vs State of Montana, kids sued the state of Montana over not doing enough to prevent climate change, claiming that the state's inaction violated the Montana constitution's guarantee of a "clean and healthful environment."  You can use this as an entry into discussing Montana's 1972 Constitution.
    • Digitized newspapers are a great way to research the history of current events, for example, the closure of a local business or bridge.
    • There have been a number of recent articles on trying to document all of the students who died at Indian boarding schools and returning the remains to their communities. This obviously connects to a study of the boarding school era. 
    • Discussions of dark money in politics today tie nicely with a discussion of the Clark-Daly feud, fight for the state capitol and decision to pass the direct election of senators after William A. Clark successfully bribed his way into the U.S. Senate in 1899.
  • City College at MSU Billings to host Women in Automotive Events:  City College at Montana State University- Billings will host free Women in Automotive events where participants can learn about basic car repair and maintenance. Both introductory and advanced classes will be available.

    • The introductory classes will teach participants how to maintain oil, coolant, and brake condition, and how to change a tire and measure tire pressure. The dates of the intro level classes are:

      • February 24, 2024

      • March 30, 2024

      • April 20, 2024

    • The advanced classes, meanwhile, will focus on fuel systems, emission systems, and electrical systems. Attendees will have the opportunity to bring their personal vehicles into the lab and will work with the instructors to identify specific components. The dates of the advanced level classes are:

      • January 6, 2024

      • May 11, 2024

    • All classes will take place from 10 am-1 pm; participants need to attend only one class. The Women in Automotive events will be instructed by Amy Hunt, an automotive technician at a local repair facility, and Kat Pfau, one of the automotive instructors at City College.All events are free and open to the public; participants are encouraged to register in advance. Lunch will be provided. 

  • NASA Graphing Global Temperature Trends for 5-12 
  • Climate Emergency Feedback Loops, 5 short Climate Change videos with curriculum guides, as seen on PBS
  • PBS LearningMedia: Grades: 6-12

9-12

  • The Montana Aerospace Scholars (MAS) is a two-phase program for high school students to take part in an extracurricular experience that immerses them in aerospace-related activities. MAS is offered through NASA partnerships with the Montana Learning Center at Canyon Ferry Lake and the Northwest Earth & Space Sciences Pathways program.

    Phase One is a remote portion where students will make an introduction video and complete a research essay. These assignments help students build general space technology and career knowledge while allowing them to develop skills such as problem solving, creativity, proposal writing, and critical thinking.

    Students who pass Phase One will be invited to the in-person experience at the MLC campus, Phase Two. They will work as a team to plan a detailed mission to either the Moon or Mars, depending on their program. Other activities provided at this residency include learning how to fly a plane, engaging in engineering challenges, partaking in aerospace-industry tours, and interacting with NASA personnel. Students will also spend time observing objects in the night sky at our state-of-the-art observatory, featuring the largest public access telescope in Montana (weather permitting).

    If you have any students who are interested, please encourage them to apply! This program is FREE. Applications are due by March 1st.

    A description of the program, a FAQ document, and the application can be found here:
    https://montanalearning.org/apollo50/ [montanalearning.org]

    If you or students have any questions, contact Executive Director Ryan Hannahoe at MontanaLearningCenter@gmail.com.

  • Girls Who Code’s Free Virtual Summer Programs

Ready to shape your future and join an empowering sisterhood? Become a coder this summer with Girls Who Code! 

Girls Who Code’s free virtual Summer Programs empower you to build skills, community, and a professional network for your future, in the ways that work best for you. Choose your adventure with two free programs:

  • Curious to create your own computer games? In our two-week Summer Immersion Program (SIP), you’ll learn how to design your own games using p5.js, a JavaScript library for creative coding. Join classmates and our dedicated Teaching Teams in live virtual classrooms hosted by industry-leading companies like MetLife, Bank of America, Logitech, and Synchrony. We’ve got three rounds to fit your schedule: June 14 to June 28, July 8 to July 19, and July 29 to August 9.

    SIP is for current 9th-11th grade girls and non-binary students with beginner or intermediate coding experience, including program alums. Eligible students can even apply for a $300 SIP Student Grant [t.yesware.com] and laptop and hot spot access [t.yesware.com]!

  • Excited to explore the biggest topics in tech at your own pace? Our six-week Self-Paced Program offers tracks in Web Development, Cybersecurity, and – new for 2024 – Data Science + AI! From July 1 to August 9, you get to decide how and when to build your coding skills, and you can always ask questions in our Discord server or optional Student Hours.

    The Self-Paced Program is for current 9th-12th grade girls and non-binary students with beginner to advanced coding experience, including program alums.

  • SD Pathways [solardecathlon.gov] is back this year, with more opportunities to bring a STEM in-person or virtual career talk into your high school classroom, club, or other student group. SD Pathways aligns with the following career clusters: Architecture & Construction, Information Technology, Manufacturing, and STEM fields. Sign up here to get a presenter in your classroom this Fall!

    There are a few great things about our program:

    • Students will be introduced to career and education paths they might not have known about before
    • SD Pathways also includes option pre or post activities
    • Our presenters go through training on how to work with high school students, as well as presentation slides and school visit guidance

We worked with over 1,000 students last year and are ready to work with yours too. Sign up here [forms.office.com] to get started, and then a team member will reach out to you to schedule a STEM career talk.

Teachers

Apply here [t.yesware.com] by the early deadline, February 14, 2024 for priority consideration or apply by our general deadline, March 22, 2024. Don't miss this incredible opportunity to level up your coding skills, kickstart your future, tap into lifelong career support, and have fun along the way!
Need help? Learn more with our program flyer [t.yesware.com], webinars [t.yesware.com], or FAQs [t.yesware.com], or email us at summer@girlswhocode.com.

 

 

 

Conferences and PD

Conferences and Professional Learning​​​​​​

  • More Self-Paced Science Courses:
    • Place-based Education: Your Local Watershed  STEM inquiry will guide you through problem-based learning with real-world authentic data. Engage your students in their community and see an exemplar curriculum that meets standards!*

    • Exploring NASA with Inquiry:  Earth and Space Science lessons and activities reinforced with NASA website!*

    • "Backpack Science" Inquiry Activities: Mapping:  Hands-on mapping activities and resources that can be integrated into science class, as well as, other disciplines!

    • Science Fair 101: Using Science Fair Projects in your Classroom:  Using Science Fairs in the classroom to meet MT Standards and 3 Dimensional learning!

    • New Montana Science Assessment This course presents an overview of the New Montana Science Assessment that was implemented in 2022 and provides guidance on how to best prepare your students for the science assessment by teaching you how to access and administer preparatory materials in your classroom. There are many opportunities for you to engage with the content and actually test out the practice questions before you introduce them to your students. Student-facing videos are included.

  • Are you missing Walt's Science eBlast?  I know I have been, and was so glad to see it back up and running as of January 2022!  However, in order to get back on the list please follow these steps:
  1. Go to NSTA (nsta.org)

  2. If you have an account, login and skip to step 9

  3. Click "Join" in the top right

  4. Scroll down and click "Create a Free NSTA User Account"

  5. Click "Continue and Complete Your Profile to Get Started"

  6. Enter our Name, Email and Password, click "Continue"

  7. Complete the form, click "Continue"

  8. Select your Areas on Interest, click "Get Started"

  9. In the top right click "menu" and then "My Account"

  10. Click "Manage Subscriptions"

  11. Select the "Montana Science Matters Listserve" is the one you want to subscribe to, click "Save"

​​​​

 

 

 

NASEM: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering

NASEM Opportunities/Information

Subscribe to the NASEM Climate Resources at the National Academies Newsletter

Subscribe to the NASEM Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

Other News:

Past Coffee Talk Recordings:
Coffee Talk #1:  A Review of the Numbers
Watch the first in the series as Sean Smith from Horizon Research, Inc. provides an overview of the landscape of implementation described in a number of reports produced by Horizon. 
Watch the archived video

Coffee Talk #2:  Rural Science Standards Implementation
The second webinar in the series, moderated by Tom Keller, hones in on implementation efforts within rural communities. A panel discussion with small group think time was used to allow the science education community to reflect on and discuss how to best support rural science standards implementation efforts.
Watch the archived video


Coffee Talk #3:  Informal Ed Science Implementation
The third webinar in the series, moderated by Elizabeth Mulkerrin, includes panel discussion to consider the opportunities that exist within informal education spaces.
Watch the archived video

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STEM Community

STEM Community 

 

Community links:

Regional Educational Websites:

2020 Montana Sci-Tech Summit Scholarships - School Services ...

Region I

CSPD Region II (Havre)

Region III

Region IV

Western CSPD

 

FB Groups:

 

STEM U.S. Department of Education:

American Association for Advancement of Science
National Science Teachers Association:
NASA Express
NGSS NOW
National Energy Education Development (NEED Project)
 
Please contact me to add a site that you find useful, mmccarthy5@mt.gov 

Vetted Curriculum

Finally some curriculum that "Meets Expectations" from EdReports  for MS & HS


Amplify 6-8 Science Curriculum Meets Standard Alignment, Meets Usability per EdReports

OpenSciEd 6-8 Curriculum meets standard alignment and meets usability per Ed Reports
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BSCS Biology Life High School meets EdReports on aligning with standards and usability

 

Approved Montana Distance Learning Providers

Curriculum Case Study: A Massachusetts Town Boosts Students’ STEM Learning by Letting the Students Do the Talking, ‘It’s Real Life’

Can you believe it?!  Free science curriculum from OpenSciEd.  Currently they have middle school curriculum available and the High School curriculum is currently being piloted.  They are also scheduled to have an EdReports review.  When this data becomes available, it will be reflected here.

To be completely transparent, below is a response to my questions about this curriculum from Casandra Gonzalez, Science Content Support Specialist from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education where they have been using OpenSciEd for over two years in middle schools:

"OpenSciEd is an NGSS-designed curriculum where students use the science and engineering practices to figure out a scientific phenomena. There is a big emphasis on discussion, use of evidence, and what I have heard called “minds-on” learning. So the students do lab activities and experiments in each unit, but they are very much connected to the overall themes that they are figuring out. They don’t necessarily do a lab every day – some days are more dedicated to discussion or making sense of data. There is a lot of writing as well.

The biggest shifts are pedagogical. The content is usually well within the wheelhouse of the teachers. But it’s a shift from starting each class with “ok, this is what we’re going to talk about today” to “hey, who can tell me what we figured out in our last class? And what questions will still have to answer about our anchoring phenomenon?” The students are really co-piloting the unit.

The biggest challenges we have run into are – 1-the first time around, teachers take a longer time than estimated to do the unit. It usually stresses them out a bit. But by the second time around it is much easier and smoother. And 2-the students are often not used to the teacher really turning around on them and saying “no, I’m not going to tell you the answer, you tell me what the evidence says”, but if the teacher sticks to it and really makes it a classroom expectation, the students do rise to the occasion.

It is critical to have the PD along with the curriculum, and OpenSciEd has certified providers that do it. I also strongly recommend that whenever possible, building administrators or whoever is in charge of evaluating teachers also attend the PD, so that they know what to expect and are on board with the changes. OpenSciEd classrooms are not necessarily going to be quiet and orderly, so admin need to know that is not a bad thing.

One legitimate critique of the curriculum is that, in appealing to a national audience, there may not be locally/culturally relevant phenomena or connections for every place in the country. I think this is an important concern. My recommendation would be that if the teachers & students feel this way, they spend the first year trying to teach the curriculum “out of the box” so that they get used to the pedagogical shifts, which are critical and important. Then spend some time, maybe in PLCs or with support from experts on culturally relevant teaching, thinking about how they could modify the phenomena, the transfer tasks, or other components of the units to make them more relevant, but still staying true to the rigor and coherence of the units. I do also know that the middle school student materials are available in Spanish. I am hopeful that they will add more languages soon."

 

NextGen Science, NGSS, and Edreports release on, "Critical Features of Instructional Materials Design for Today's Science Standards: A Resource for Science Curriculum Developers and the Educations Field"  Released July 2021

NSTA's Daily Do Playlists are suggested instructional sequences of NSTA Lessons that can be used to help students coherently build science ideas over time.
 

 

 

2025

Montana March

2025

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Great Falls Science & Engineering Fair

Montana Science Olympiad - SMRC

Big Sky HS Regional Science Bowl

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

St Andrews Science Fair

2025 MSU Billings Science Expo

St Andrews Science Fair

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

UM 69th Annual MT Science Fair

MT Tech MT State Science Fair

2024

 

Name & Link

Dates

Participating Grade Levels

Registration

Montana Tech Sci & Engineering Fair

Mar 2, 2023

9-12

Division 1: 9-12 Registration OPEN

MSU-Billings Science Expo

Important Dates and Times

March 3 & 4, 2023

Elem, 6-8, 9-12

Elem & Middle School Registration

High School Registration

U of M

Apr 4 & 5 2024

6-12

OPEN

Great Falls College MSU Elementary School Science Fair

Mar 5, 2024

K-5

OPEN

Flathead County

Set up Mar 6,

Fair Mar 7, 2024

3-12

Open January 2024

Great Falls College MSU 6- 8 & 9-12 Science Fair

Mar 7, 2024

6-8 & 9-12

OPEN

Big Sky High Regional School Science Bowl

Mar 8, 2024

6-12

October 2, 2023

 

Intermountain Science and Humanities Symposium

Symposium Dates February 9, 2024

9-12

Deadline for Applications is January 20, 2024

Application Page

Montana Science Olympiad

April 19, 2024

6-12

OPEN

National Science Bowl

National Finals

April 25 – 29, 2024

6-8 & 9-12

 

March 2024

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

Montana Tech Regional Science & Engineering Fair Grades 9-12

3

MSU-Billings Science Expo

4

MSU-Billings Science Expo

5

Great Falls College Elementary School Science Fair

6

Flathead County Science Fair: Set up

Grades 3 through 12

7

Flathead County Science Fair: Set up

Grades 3 through 12

 

Great Falls College 6-8 & 9-12  Science Fair

 

8

Big Sky High Regional School Science Bowl

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2024

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

4

U of M Montana Science Fair MS grades 6-8 (Division II) and HS Division I

5

U of M Montana Science Fair MS grades 6-8 (Division II) and HS Division I

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Montana Science Olympiad

20

21

22

23

24

25

National Science Bowl: 6-8 and 9-12

26

National Science Bowl: 6-8 and 9-12

27

National Science Bowl: 6-8 and 9-12

28

National Science Bowl: 6-8 and 9-12

29

National Science Bowl: 6-8 and 9-12

30

 

 

 

 

Helpful Resources

  • Climate Change Resources: Interested in helping your students learn Climate Literacy?  PBS LearningMedia has a multitude of resources and lesson ideas for grades 3-12.  Michelle McCarthy is looking for feedback on how this works for you, please share your findings to MMcCarthy5@mt.gov.

  • Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Educational Resources OpenSciEd Instructional Materials

  • Data Science:

    • Code.org

    • Crash Course Data Literacy Study Hall: Crash Course Data Literacy is a 15-video series that explores data literacy fundamentals. By the end of the course, you will be able to define foundational statistical concepts, explain methods for visualizing data, locate datasets, analyze data, and recognize ethical issues connected to data interpretation.

    • Data4Kids: To assist educators in supporting students’ data science learning, we created five “Data Stories” that educators can freely use and modify for their own uses and student experiences. Each story is a starter kit for educators at different levels–grades 3-5 (Band 1); grades 6-8 (Band 2); or grades 9-12 (Band 3).

    • Data Education in Schools: The Data Education in Schools Project is part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal Data Skills Programme, funded by the Scottish and UK Government. The Data Skills Programme brings together industry, universities, colleges, schools and others to provide routes into data or digital careers. FInd out more about our Project, our aims and our vision.

    • Phet Interactive Simulations: the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder creates free interactive math and science simulations. PhET sims are based on extensive education research and engage students through an intuitive, game-like environment where students learn through exploration and discovery.

    • Tableau Data Kids: We are here to help parents and educators discover new approaches to teaching young learners about data. Check out our engaging activities, fun visualizations, and tips for inspiring kids to explore the data that's around them every day.

    • Tuva Labs: The Tuva Data, Graphing, and Statistical Tools (or the Tuva Tools) enable students to easily explore, manipulate, and analyze data. Students drag and drop attributes into the plotting area to create a variety of graphs, including dot and scatter plots, line graphs, pie graphs, bar charts, histograms, box plots, and maps. They can visualize data in different ways to look for patterns and analyze data using mathematical modeling and statistics features.

    • Youcubed: Data Science K-10 Big Ideas are descriptions of the most important content in data science through the grades to help focus attention on ways to increase data literacy. Big ideas are those that are central to the discipline of data science, and that link understandings into a coherent whole.

  • ePals Bring global collaboration to your students

  • Real life Data Challenge: Inspired Classroom   

 

Montana Environmental Education Association (MEEA) mini grants for teachers:  Member Resources

*Covid-19 Toolkit for Montana Child Care & Out of School Programs 

Montana Science Assessment (MSA) and MSA Alt

New Self-paced Hub Course:  New Montana Science Assessment

     The state of Montana implemented the summative Montana Science Assessment (MSA) field test and the Alt MSA that aligns with the current science standards for the first time in the spring of 2022, as a scored test. 

Summative Assessment Preparedness and Resources Available

     The assessments measure the three dimensions of the science standards, the Science and Engineering Practices, the Disciplinary Core Ideas, and the Crosscutting Concepts.  

 

Science Alternate Assessment Information

MONTANA ALTERNATE ASSESSMENT FOR SCIENCE – NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS (NGSS)
ESSENCE STATEMENTS

Purpose of the Alternate Academic Achievement Standards in Science (AAAS)
The Montana Board of Public Education (Board) is responsible for adopting standards of accreditation for Montana schools including challenging academic achievement standards (see §20-2-121 and §20-7-101, MCA). All Montana public and non-public accredited schools are required to follow these standards of accreditation and participate in state assessments (see ARM 10.55.603):
Montana was a member-state of this consortium and leveraged the grant to help design, develop, and deliver the OPI’s Alternate Assessments that assess student proficiency and progress on Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (AAAS) in mathematics (math), English Language Arts (ELA), science, and English language proficiency (ELP) for students with significant cognitive disabilities (NCSC Brief 1 and ARM 10.53).
The AAAS set expectations of performance that differ in scope and complexity from grade-level achievement standards. In Montana, the AAAS are not adopted separately by the Board because they are the “same but different” standards-based expectations for students with significant cognitive disabilities. For students who, because of their disability, cannot participate in the state’s general assessment, the OPI has constructed and implemented guidelines for participation in the Alternate Assessment, including eligibility criteria (see Appendix A). The OPI meets the requirement of providing Alternate Assessments aligned to the State challenging academic achievement standards through its selection of the state assessments.
The decision to move a special education student to an Alternate Assessment has significant implications for the path that a student will take in their K–12 school career. It means the student is not able to participate in the general education curriculum even when provided with accommodations. A student who participates in an Alternate Assessment requires a modified curriculum. In addition, the IEP team for a student shall determine if the student meets the eligibility criteria for the Alternate Assessment. All students enrolled in accredited schools are expected to take part in state assessments in one of three ways:
1. Participate in the general education assessments without accommodations (ARM 10.56.104(1)).
2. Participate in the general education assessments with accommodations (ARM 10.56.104(1)).
3. Participate in Alternate Assessments when the participation criteria are met (see Appendix A and ARM 10.56.104(2)).

Formative assessment is valuable to teachers in the classroom.  Below are examples of formative assessment that align with the 3 Dimensional science standards. 

What does formative assessment look like in 3D Science?

Want to learn more about…

…how NGSA designed and developed 3-dimensional assessments using evidence-center design?

…how NGSA developed 3-dimensional scoring rubrics for formative assessment tasks?

  • Designing NGSS-aligned Assessment Tasks and Rubrics to Support Classroom-based Formative Assessment. We describe how principles of evidence-centered design inform the development of classroom-based science assessment tasks and rubrics that integrate three dimensions of science proficiency addressed in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The rubric development approach centers on the development of multiple rubric components, each of which corresponds to distinct aspects of proficiency of interest to teachers for classroom assessment.

…the NGSA 3-dimensional tasks?

…how NGSA designed and developed formative assessment tasks to promote equity?

Montana Science Standards

Comparison NGSS to Montana Science Standards

K-12

Standards and Resources

Model Curriculum Guides   

​​​​

Grade Level and Grade Band

Tech Directors: To access a machine readable version of the official Montana Content Standards for Science, please visit the 1EdTech CASE Network site.  Create a free login, select Montana Office of Public Instruction, and view or download the standards. The CASE version of the standards can be uploaded to student information systems, curriculum mapping programs, and a variety of other uses. Learn more about the CASE Network CASE Network FAQ