Do you teach 4th Grade Amplify Science?  

Have you been wondering how you could make Amplify Science more relevant, meaningful, and culturally responsive for YOUR students?  

“I used to think science teaching was mostly about following the curriculum and helping students learn the required concepts through lessons and activities. Now I think science teaching is most effective when it is localized and connected to students’ real-world experiences. By using examples from our own community, like Washington State’s energy sources, students can better understand why science matters and how it shows up in their daily lives. I also now see that adapting lessons to fit local contexts helps make learning more meaningful, engaging, and easier for students to connect with, rather than just memorizing information from a textbook.". -Sarah Charles, Elger Bay Elementary 

This asynchronous course provides an opportunity to explore opportunities in a unit-specific Western Washington “localizing guide” that supports teachers in making meaningful and authentic connections between the science students are doing in their classroom and their region, community, and personal funds of knowledge.  The guide was created and piloted by classroom teachers in collaboration with the developers of Amplify Science, school district leads, local ESDs, and IslandWood staff.  

The localizing guide has a wide variety of ready-to-use activities to choose from. You’ll find interviews designed to bring in related experiences from family members, school investigations to identify different forms of energy, photographs that swap in local examples, and many other possibilities. You will also be provided ways to connect the fictional Ergstown blackouts in the unit to student and family experiences with blackouts and an opportunity to explore the sources and systems for energy in your community.  

Clock Hours: 2.5 STEM clock hours for watching videos, reading the unit’s localizing guide, and reflecting on your first impressions. Optional topics provide an opportunity to earn up to 5 additional STEM clock hours (half of which can be claimed as equity clock hours if desired). 

Timing: Progress through the course at your own pace.  Most topics can be done before you teach the unit. Clock hours  will be turned in for those who complete a final survey by the closing date of the course (May 30th, 2027). You will then need to claim them through pdEnroller (with payment of a pdEnroller administrative fee).  

Important Note: This course is intended for Western Washington teachers who are teaching the 4th Grade Amplify Science Energy Conversions unit. One of the optional topics requires access to the unit, and another includes reflecting on your localizing efforts while teaching the unit.  If you are not teaching the unit, please consider taking our “Localize your Science Classroom Asynchronously” course or one of our “Introduction to Localizing” Workshops. They provide localizing strategies, examples, and scaffolding that can be used with ANY science unit at any grade level.