 One of the results of my summer 3R's (relax, refresh, renew) STEAM trip earlier this month was to once again engage with Science Fiction as a powerful curricular theme. Both the visit to the UFO Research Center and Museum in Roswell, New Mexico and the visit to Meteor Crater were excellent inspirations as well as a treasure trove of resources for the creative teacher. One of my mottos is: Learning is serious, but that doesn't mean it has to be grim! WHAT IS SCIENCE FICTION? Science fiction predicts change, explores consequences, and studies potential futures. It teaches adaptability and open mindedness in the face of change. It performs "imaginary experiments" to see how people react to change before the change actually happens, and provides a different perspective on our world. Science fiction writers see the future as a consequence of our present day. In this light, it is also a vehicle for social analysis and an opportunity to experiment with new concepts and their effects on humanity and the world. Science fiction presents many issues from many different points of view for us to examine. Click the "Read More" link below to discover an amazing array of resources and idea sparkers for a Sci-FI PBL! It is easy and fun to provide students with curricular experiences in which they master all the content standards, all the basic skills, and the higher level skills contained in the CCSS (Common Core State Standards) as well as the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards). In addition to those standards you can build curricular experiences which meet all the criteria contained in my 3 compass roses: · Critical attributes of 21st century education · Multiple literacies for the 21st century, and · The 7 Survival Skills for the 21st Century (from Tony Wagner) Curriculum21CSI - a web site of resources for project-based learning! On my curriculum resources web site we have a new page dedicated to Science Fiction where you will find all kinds of excellent resources to use as you begin to brainstorm and plan that spectacular unit for the coming school year. You will find amazing resources for elementary, middle and high school curriculum related to Science Fiction. You will need to subscribe to get to all the pages on this site. There is no fee.
This documentary is a great way to introduce your students to innovators and the concept of "innovation", a critical 21st century skill. The interviewees include: · Astronauts and NASA scientists, · Professor Stephen Hawking; · Dr. Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer at SETI; · Marty Cooper, a chief engineer at Motorola; · Brilliant minds from Silicon Valley, and more! While you are on the Curriculum21CSI site you can also check out our resources dedicated to:
Sounds like fun, but think you do not have time? Try this: Invite one or more colleagues to meet with you. Brainstorm a theme for 15 minutes. It could be a broad theme such as "science fiction", or a narrower theme such as "The War of the Worlds" or "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". Get a whiteboard wall or a giant piece of bulletin board paper. Build a concept map as you start brainstorming every possible type of content that could be taught (naturally, not force fit) through this theme. What is it we teach in "English Language Arts" that could be taught through this theme? Think about various titles in both fiction and nonfiction. (I doubt there is any theme in which you would be unable to create a list of titles, both fiction and non-fiction. I was disappointed to see some teachers posting online that they had created a wonderful thing called “Non-Fiction Fridays” in order to meet the requirements of the CCSS. They did not put on their thinking caps :-) What about other disciplines? How would various sciences be connected – biology, botany, chemistry, physics, geology . . . ? Do a Google for "teaching science through science fiction" - you will be amazed. What about math, the arts, nutrition, physical education, history, psychology, sociology, government, geography? You will not find direct connections to every single standard in every single discipline. Nor should you! But you will be amazed at how many of the content standards in your curriculum pacing guides are already present in the theme you selected! Plan a six-week unit, do some really excellent deeper learning, celebrate, then move on to the next unit . . . and so on. You will have more than enough time to do this high level, authentic PBL21 curriculum and teach all the content standards and skills. Why? Because the PBL unit is an instead of, not an adding on to! You derive from, and teach your content standards and skills through the unit! The PBL unit is your curriculum. It just looks a little different.
I worked with a wonderful high school a few years ago. It is actually a high school for law enforcement and criminal justice. The entire faculty planned a PBL (project-based learning) unit, and it was implemented campus wide. The theme of their unit was Gunfight at the OK Corral! The culminating event of this unit was a student-produced reenactment of the famous gunfight at the school’s outdoor amphitheater; the audience was the community. Said to be the most famous event of the American Old West, this is a rich theme for history, government and law enforcement, and easily integrates history, geography, geology, music, film-making, research, writing, the arts, math and science (forensics, economics, mining). They even could have explored physiology and medicine, tracing developments of knowledge in those fields from the time of the historic event to the present day. There is a plethora of fiction, from novels to movies, to television programs. Non-fiction reading includes not only books but historical documents such as the Coroner’s Inquest, testimony recorded at the trial, eyewitness reports and newspaper stories. There are stories, essays, research reports and poems to write. There are documentaries to be produced and video games to design, paintings to paint and sketches to draw, songs to be composed and performed, costumes and sets to design! Hint: do team up with other teachers, parents (they are a gold mine), and local experts (universities, museums, clubs, and other organizations). Integrating History into Science Fiction? Gunfight at the OK Corral continues . . . Brave souls who are willing to take it a step further can segue history into science fiction by taking some lessons from Star Trek.
The point here is that there are many possibilities for ways to engage in learning about history - and everything else.
I invite you to explore, to venture out of the box of traditional curriculum and instruction, so that you and your students can not only enjoy, but benefit from escaping the paradigm of factory model education. Note: a word to the apprehensive - you can begin with baby steps! Please share your ideas for awesome Science Fiction curriculum in the comments below!
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