Leadership in Elementary Science

How do you lead effective elementary-level science teaching and learning?

Wisconsin requires an elementary science scope and sequence along with sufficient instruction to meet the K-5 science standards. With so many competing priorities for school leaders, how do you make that happen? The one-page resources below and the associated case studies provide quick and specific guidance for administrators, instructional leaders, teachers, and families to support quality elementary science for every child. 

Thank you to the team who created these resources! It included Dave Bergerson (Wis Rapids), Sarah Blechacz (Wauwatosa), Meridith Falkavage (Beloit), Ryan King (Madison), and Erica Yoss (Waukesha). 

• Vision - What is your vision for your elementary students' learning in science? How can having a vision help with decision making and alignment to other content areas? There are case studies from Waukesha and Wisconsin Rapids. 
• Schedules - How do you fit enough science into an already full schedule? Why is it important to do so? There is a case study from Beloit and a sample schedule for the day from Elkhorn. 
• Materials Selection - What is an effective process for choosing elementary science materials? What some unique considerations and priorities in this process? There is a case study from Wauwatosa. 
• Literacy and Science Connections - How can you effectively integrate science and literacy learning to better engage all students and improve learning in both subjects? The case study from Wauwatosa also describes how they aligned literacy and science units. 
• Assessment - How do we decide what science learning to prioritize and assess? What do science assessments look like that align to the standards? How can they connect to math and literacy? There is a case study from a large Wisconsin district. 
• Grading and Reporting - Oftentimes elementary report cards have an overwhelming number of categories and items. What do we prioritize in science and what could that look like? There is a case study from a large Wisconsin district and Waukesha.