For Teachers
Caring for the Kenai is a unique environmental contest and a wonderful educational opportunity for your students; and it's a cinch to incorporate into your curriculum. Teachers who use CFK as an aspect for their lesson plans have said, "the great thing about Caring for the Kenai is that it's not just another thing to cram into your overflowing curriculum, but something that can be substituted for other projects as a real-life, hands-on, community-oriented opportunity."
CFK Science Teacher In-Service
Monday, September 19 • Donald Gillman Kenai River Center • 8:30am to 3pm
We have budget for at least 12 participants. Included will be snacks, Lunch, and networking with fellow KPBSD science teachers. This in-service is sponsored by CFK and CFK will pay for your sub!
Mileage is not covered by the CFK grant, however, on some years there are gas cards from Tesoro to help cover transportation costs.
This is one of the few opportunities we get to see other high school science teachers from different schools, so it can be an exciting day just visiting with individuals who teach similar content areas. The networking is well worth the time and effort for subs. So please consider attending once again this year. We try to build in a short teacher share regarding cool activities, links, things you would like to share.
Please invite other 9-12 science teachers in your school to attend by sending them this email if they are not on this list. I did not mean to leave anyone out if I did. My teacher list this year came from the science teacher meeting at KPBSD In-service during our first day back this year.
Contact Rick Frederic with questions or to RSVP.
Photos and notes from last year's in-service...
Caring for the Kenai curriculum unites science and language arts with the real world…
Many thanks to Arby's for providing lunch for our teachers!
Josselyn O'Connor from Kenai Watershed Forum talks to the teachers about KWF's involvement and new student ideas.
Resources
- Rick Frederic - KCHS Science Teacher, Science Specialist, and Teacher Mentor
2012 Timeline - Important dates to remember
- March 7, 2012- Contest Deadline
All entries must be delivered to the Kenai River Center by 5 p.m. - March 14, 2012- Select 12 Finalists
- April 7, 2012- Public Presentation of Semi-Finalists
- April 19, 2012- Oral Presentation competition for finalists
- April 28, 2012- 22nd Anniversary Awards Banquet
Student Proposal Requirements
This document can be used by teachers, students, and parents to help show what makes a winning proposal.
Judges Scoring Rubric - This document gives an idea of how the judging is conducted at the semi-finalist scoring.
Oral Presentation Judging Rubric - This document provides snapshot of how students are judged during the Oral Presentation of the finalists.
Oral Presentation Long Rubric - This give a detailed look at the specific critera of the oral judging process.
Final Scoring at the Oral Presentation - The FINAL scores for the twelve contest finalists will be calculated accordingly: 1/3 semi-finalist round score and 2/3 oral presentation score. The total final score determines the winners and placing.
Idea List - This document is a list of ideas developed to get your students thinking about our area and issues we may be facing in the near future. CFK projects are in no way limited by this list.
Past Oral Presentations
We also encourage teachers to view the past two year's oral presentations. You can find them at the following addresses. Please note you will need Windows Media Player to view the presentations.
Click here to view 2005's Oral Presentation.
Click here to view 2006's Oral Presentation.
Click here to view 2007's Oral Presentation.
Click here to view 2008's Oral Presentation.
Caring for the Kenai and national standards
Caring for the Kenai is an important local program, but how does it connect to national standards and lifelong environmental education? The answer to this question has been addressed by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) who have developed four strands of contest standards that detail the cross-curricular relationship between environmental education and the major disciplines of language arts, math, geography, economics, and history.
These strands are summarized below with direct links to the national standards of each subject area. In addition, examples have been showcased from the Caring for the Kenai contest that model and illustrate specifically how these students connected their projects to the major NAAEE strands as well as national standards in other subject areas.
Content Standards Correlation to CFK Project
Example Student Project
Caring for the Kenai meets all Alaska standards for science and english.
For Science: Caring for the Kenai meets all Alaska Content Standards, (A-D). A- A student should understand scientific facts, concepts, principles, and theories. B- A student should possess and understand the skills of scientific inquiry. C- A student should understand the nature and history of science. D- A student should be able to apply scientific knowledge and skills to make reasoned decisions about the use of science and scientific innovations.
To view AK Content Standards for Science, visit http://www.eed.state.ak.us/contentstandards/Science.html
For English: Caring for the Kenai meets all Alaska Content Standards, (A-E). A- A student should be able to speak and write well for a variety of purposes and audiences. B- A student should be a competent and thoughtful reader, listener, and viewer of literature, technical materials, and a variety of other information. C- A student should be able to identify and select from multiple strategies in order to complete projects independently and cooperatively. D- A student should be able to think logically and reflectively in order to present and explain positions based on relevant and reliable information. E- A student should understand and respect the perspectives of others in order to communicate effectively.
To view AK Content Standards for English, visit http://www.eed.state.ak.us/contentstandards/English.html