Digital Textbooks & Education Resources Discovery Education

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8Overview of Techbook for VirginiaWhat Is the Advantage of Using DigitalMedia for Instruction and Assessment?1) It’s how today’s students learn. Today’s students aredigital natives who find answers to their questions throughdigital media. They readily locate content as they need it.Discovery Education Science Techbook for Virginia providesaccess to thousands of science digital resources withina safe, guided environment. Acquisition of twenty-firstcentury skills includes self-directed learning and individualand collaborative problem solving. The Virginia Techbookprovides student access to a variety of appropriate resourcesdetermined by the teacher so that students learn to makechoices and take responsibility for their learning.2) Differentiated Instruction. A major advantage of digitalmedia is the variety of formats in which content can bedelivered. Discovery Education Science Techbook for Virginiais designed to address different learning styles of students.Text, auditory, and visual support, as well as interactiveexperiences, provide similar content through a varietyof media. Digital video is available for the visual learnerwho responds to sound, color, and action. Leveled readingpassages are available for students who grasp conceptsbest through the written word. Explorations allow studentsto participate, make choices, and then answer EssentialQuestions. eBook versions of reading passages and ondemand audio support for all on-screen text in interactivesopen the content to struggling readers and English LanguageLearners and reinforce the content for auditory learners.An Interactive Glossary supports systematic vocabularyinstruction.3) Inquiry Learning. Our knowledge of science is acquired in twoways: first by learning and synthesizing what other scientistshave discovered and second by investigating phenomenaand synthesizing the new information into what is alreadyknown. Discovery Education Science Techbook for Virginiamirrors how scientists acquire their knowledge by posingEssential Questions, and encouraging students to pose theirown additional questions, then providing content in a varietyof formats to answer those questions. An understandingof investigative design is acquired as students practicedesigning investigations first using Virtual Labs, then parallelHands-On Labs and, at the highest level of understanding,reviewing and critiquing other’s investigations, data andconclusions. Ultimately students should be independentlycapable of asking their own testable questions and seekingthe answers through a designed investigation.4) Ongoing Formative Assessment. Monitoring student learningand providing remediation is an integral part of good digitalmedia. Online student assessments in the Techbook forVirginia provide a quick snapshot of learning and reportsshow trends in the data that can be used to plan instruction.Furthermore specific items are linked to resources thataddress the content, so that the teacher can directly assignremedial materials to individual students. Students whowould otherwise “fall through the cracks” can catch up onmissed content inside or outside of class time, allowinginstruction to move on.Virginia TEACHER GUIDE 6–89

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8Overview of Techbook for Virginia5) Customization and Flexibility. Discovery Education ScienceTechbook for Virginia allows teachers to choose whichresources to use, in which order to use them, and whichway to use them. Assignment Builder directs resources tostudents in ways that range from open-ended access to moredirected use of resources. Assessment Builder is a tool thatallows teachers to design formative assessments customizedto their own class learning objectives as well as to individualstudent learning objectives rather than rely on pre-builtassessments that may or may not provide useful feedbackregarding their students’ progress.6) Efficiency. Quick access to model lessons and digitalresources allows teachers to locate resources easily, quickly,and effectively via multiple paths. Teachers go directly to amodel lesson or they can seek out resources on the conceptpage. Video, reading passages, eBooks, Interactive Glossaryterms, and interactive experiences are also searchablethrough keyword or Virginia Science Standards of Learningsearches. The organization of Techbook for each grade levelis aligned to the Virginia Science Standards of Learning.7) Accessibility. Digital resources can be accessed at any time orplace where the Internet is available. This can allow studentsto access resources from home for homework, projects, or insituations that do not allow them to get to school. In addition,resources can be downloaded in advance or printed out forsituations in which Internet access is limited.8) Currency. The nature of science is change. Scienceconstantly looks for new evidence and our knowledge growsand changes with it. Tsunamis occur, planets are discovered,and planets are re-assigned to dwarf planet status. Whereasprint media can quickly become outdated when new eventsand discoveries occur, as a digital program DiscoveryEducation Science Techbook for Virginia is constantly beingreviewed and updated so that it is as current. Innovations intechnology or any revision of state learning objectives duringthe adoption period can also be addressed.9) Digital Networking. The Discovery Educator Network (DEN)consists of over 100,000 teachers across the nation whoshare ideas and support each other. All Discovery Educationusers have access to the DEN. This online community alsoprovides weekly web-based seminars on specific topicssuch as teaching students to use video and images in theirscience reports, how to use Virtual Labs and Hands-OnLabs to prepare students for science fair projects, and basicinformation on instructional strategies for using Techbookfor Virginia. DEN members regularly participate in eventswith well-known scientists, such as Michio Kaku and whenscience news events take place, special guest scientists.10) Cost. Because digital media requires no printing or storageof print materials and no replacement costs, DiscoveryEducation Science Techbook for Virginia can be offered ata fraction of the typical cost of a textbook. For this samereason, the price for Techbook includes in person and webbased professional development at no additional charge.Virginia TEACHER GUIDE 6–810

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8Overview of Techbook for VirginiaWhere Is It Being Used?Discovery Education Science Techbook has been adopted inevery state in which it has been reviewed and considered. InOctober 2009, Discovery Education Science was adopted inOregon for Grades K–8 use as a primary basal resource. Duringthe 2010 state textbook adoption cycle Discovery EducationScience Techbook was presented to and adopted by the statesof Louisiana, Florida, and Indiana as a digital alternative totraditional textbooks for use in Grades K–5 and 6–8. Mostrecently, Texas joined the states adopting this new type of digitalresource for science in Grades 5-8.School systems across the country have been using DiscoveryEducation Science resources successfully. In CharlotteMecklenburg, North Carolina, for example, Title 1 schools utilizedthe digital resources to enhance science instruction over a twoyear period and as a result saw composite retest scores on theNorth Carolina End-of-Grade test for Grades 5 and 8 increase by26 points.Virginia TEACHER GUIDE 6–811

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8Getting Started with Techbook for VirginiaFrom any browser, go to discoveryeducation.com and use thelogin and password provided to you. If you already have anaccount for Discovery Education and Techbook has become partof your suite of services you will be able to use your regularDiscovery Education (DE) login and password. If not, you will begiven information to create an account. Discovery Educationonline services use single-sign-in technology. That means you canuse the same username and password for all Discovery Educationservices including DE Streaming, DE Health, DE Assessment, theDEN and more.What Are the Main Featuresof the Service?Grade Level PageTechbook opens to the grade that you teach. Should you need toswitch grade levels, click on Switch Grade/Course right below thestate name: Virginia.On the course page the units for the year are organized intothree areas of science. Rolling your mouse over a unit displays aquick list of the concepts addressed in that unit in a suggestedsequence.Each student will also have his or her own login and use the samelogin page. Upon login, students see their individual StudentCenter with assigned resources. They may move to the gradelevel page to see the same content organization as the teachersees. Students can also use a keyword search to search forcontent.Virginia TEACHER GUIDE 6–812

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8Getting Started with Techbook for VirginiaAbove the lists of units, an orange bar includes several handyresources. The Virginia Science Standards of Learning for thatgrade can be opened to search for resources for each standard.Model Lessons are provided for each concept. You may accessa model lesson from each concept page or from the unit pageusing Quick Links.Unit PagesClicking on one of the units on the course page will open the UnitOverview page.This is a more detailed listing of the concepts in the unit. Eachconcept shows the Virginia Science Standards of Learningaddressed in that concept as well as QUICK LINKS that allow youto jump directly to the priority resources you need. The orangebar at the top right gives quick access to the Unit Assessmentand the Unit Review documents. The Unit Review can be senthome with students to prepare for a test or just share withparents. The text size can be adjusted for this page by clicking onthe text-size icon in the upper right hand corner.Scroll down to see details about each concept in the unit.Note that the specific Virginia Science Standards of Learningaddressed by each concept are displayed.Virginia TEACHER GUIDE 6–813

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8Getting Started with Techbook for VirginiaQUICK LINKS in the right-hand navigationModel Lesson: A complete model lesson plan is provided for eachconcept. The model lessons contain links to all resources andprovide an instructional pathway to use the resources in a 5EInquiry Instructional Model approach. Both directed and guidedinquiry methods are presented in each lesson.Concept Review: A review sheet is provided for the concept. Thissheet can be printed and sent home with the student to sharewith parents or to study for a test.Hands-On Activities: Each concept includes at least one HandsOn Activity designed to allow students to explore the conceptand practice science process.Materials List: A quick look at the materials that are needed forthe model lesson in this concept is provided.5-Minute Prep: For teachers who are new to teaching a conceptor who need a review of the content, each concept has a5-Minute Prep in two formats: a Flash presentation of less thanfive minutes and a PowerPoint version of that presentationwith hyperlinks. 5-Minute Preps outline the critical elements ofthe concept and cite common student misconceptions. SampleTechbook resources are recommended for teacher review.The Concept Pages(Pathways for Instruction in the Concept Pages)At this point, you will want to access one of the concept pagesdepending on how you would like to use Discovery EducationScience Techbook for Virginia.Student Assignments containing links to DE resources areprovided for each lesson. These can be reviewed and assignedto the class or individuals. Assignments may also be copied toyour My Content folder and modified using the AssignmentBuilder Tool.Virginia TEACHER GUIDE 6–814

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8How Do Teachers Use Techbook for Virginia?Discovery Education Science Techbook forVirginia Instructional PathwaysCourse/Grade PageExperiencedDigital UserUnitConcept Pagewith 5E TabsSelect ResourcesAdd Resources toMy ContentNew to UsingDigital ResourcesConcept QUICK LINKS:Model LessonReview5-Minute Prep(Optional)Prepare Print andHands-On ResourcesReview ModelPrepare Print andHands-On MaterialsAssign Pre-MadeAssignments(Editable)Assign Resources inAssignment BuilderAssign Pre-MadeAssessmentsAssign Assessmentsin AssessmentManagerInstruct UsingDigital ResourcesConcept Reviewand AssessmentRepeat for OtherConcepts in UnitUnit Review andAssessmentVirginia TEACHER GUIDE 6–815

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8How Do Teachers Use Techbook for Virginia?From the Unit Overview page there are two basic choices forteachers:If you are experienced usingdigital resources withstudents and are familiar withthe science concept, click ona concept title and go straightto the Concept Page tochoose the resources youwant to use.If you would prefer to usethe model lesson for theconcept, find that concept’sQUICK LINKS and clickon that concept’s ModelLesson.Experienced User: I Know What to Do.Where Are the Resources?Concept PageThis page contains Discovery Education Science Techbook resourcesspecifically chosen for this concept. The resources are placed in theparticular 5E tab where they would most likely be used.Using the Concept PagesFor the teacher who is experienced with using the 5EInstructional Model and digital media with students, the conceptpage is set up with recommended resources for each of the 5Etabs: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. You canaccess the resources from the concept page or choose resourcesyou want and save them in your My Content folder and usethat folder as a place to get started. You can assign individualresources to the class, groups of students or individual students.Students will see the resources appear in their Student Centerwhen they log in. Use Assignment Builder (My Builder Tools)to build assignments for students. The assignments containdirections as well as the resources you want students to accessfor themselves. Assignments can also include assessments suchas Brief Constructed Responses or online assessments. See thesections on Assignment Builder for details.Keep in mind that many of the resources, such as readingpassages, can be printed out for use away from a computer.Virginia TEACHER GUIDE 6–816

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8How Do Teachers Use Techbook for Virginia?5-Minute Preps5-Minute Preps are resources that allow teachers to refreshcontent knowledge while offering a focus for instruction.Educators can quickly review information about intendedobjectives, necessary prior knowledge, and misconceptions andthe reality behind them. Also included are suggested DiscoveryEducation Science resources and instructional ideas.Lessons and AssignmentsThe model lesson for the concept can be accessed from this pageas can the assignments that were created for that model lesson.Assignments can be immediately assigned to students or copiedto your My Content folder and edited before being assigned usingAssignment Manager.Review SheetA concept review sheet is provided for students and can be senthome for study. This sheet contains Essential Questions for theconcept with brief answers.Virginia TEACHER GUIDE 6–817

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8How Do Teachers Use Techbook for Virginia?Interactive GlossaryThe specific vocabulary for this concept is provided in the righthand navigation area. Any of these glossary terms can be openedfrom this point.Evaluate Tab: AssessmentsFor each concept, Discovery Education Science Techbook forVirginia provides online student self-check selected responseconcept assessments and concept level Brief ConstructedResponse written items. Any of these can be assigned to studentsand are included in the pre-created assignments as part of theEvaluate phase. You can also access these in the AssessmentManager to modify them for your needs. Assessment Managerallows you to create your own online assessment for any pointduring a unit of instruction. Assessments can be developed froman item bank and chosen by concept or state standard. Customassessments can also be developed using teacher-created items.For pre-made items assessment reports recommend remediationresources for specific items that were missed on an assessment.Virginia TEACHER GUIDE 6–818

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8How Do Teachers Use Techbook for Virginia?In addition, assessment in the 5E Instructional Model can comein other forms. Teachers can elicit written feedback throughScientific Explanations in science notebooks including drawings,have students answer questions as they work on an activity, orhave students conduct a Hands-On Activity and observe howthey handle the concept and skills.Getting to KnowThe Getting to Knows (GTKs) are written for each concept. GTKsare designed to help students relate their prior knowledge andexperiences to a specific science concept before delving deeperinto it. The GTKs also provide students with a brief overview ofthe key content that they will be working with in a given concept.In addition, at the K–2 level, the GTKs are designed to evokeconversation about a concept prior to formal teaching.Virginia TEACHER GUIDE 6–819

Virginia Teacher Guide: Grades 6–8How Do Teachers Use Techbook for Virginia?New User: I’m New to UsingDigital Resources in Science orThis Is a New Topic for MeThe prepared model lesson for each concept is the easiest wayto get started if you’re new to the 5E Instructional Model and/orthe use of digital media. Any model lesson can be accessed withthree mouse clicks from the start of the service:Course/Grade Page Unit Page QUICK LINK: Model LessonYou may also access the model lesson from the concept page. Goto the orange bar and hover the cursor over Lesson. Select theDE Model Lesson.Model LessonsEach model lesson is a multi-day instructional pathway throughthe content using digital resources specifically chosen for theconcept. Lesson objectives and lesson Essential Questionsare the focus of the lesson and address the Virginia ScienceStandards of Learning for this concept. A printer-friendly versionof the lesson is available. K ey Vocabulary is provided and any terms that areavailable in the Interactive Glossary are hyperlinked. State Standards contains a listing of the Virginia ScienceStandards of Learning addressed by this concept’s modellesson, including scientific investigation and reasoningskills. Lesson Outline: A lesson outline provides arecommended time frame for the lesson completion andan overview that allows the teacher to jump to any pointin the lesson with a mouse click. Teacher Preparation: Background information for theteacher, common student misconceptions about theconcept, and the prerequisite skills and knowledge thatstudents need are listed in this section. Materials to Prepare contains a complete list of materialsthat need to be prepared in advance for the lesson and anapproximate time frame for the preparation.Click on Session 1 to begin reviewing how the 5E InstructionalModel can be imp

About Discovery Education As part of Discovery Communications (Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and many more), Discovery Education provides engaging digital resources