Aspen Challenge Comes to Boston for Students to Tackle Community Concerns

The Aspen Challenge will kick off in Boston in February. students from 20 BPS high schools will participate over ten-weeks to build sustainable solutions to issues they identify in their communities.

Pictured Above: Students from the San Diego Unified School District gathered for the “Challenge” to learn about local issues their teams tackled over ten weeks during the 2024 Aspen Challenge: San Diego. (Photo credit: Daniel Bayer)

Boston, MA, January 13, 2024 – The Aspen Challenge, a program of the Aspen Institute, founded in partnership with the Bezos Family Foundation, will kick off in Boston next month. Presented in partnership with Boston Public Schools, teams of students from 20 local high schools will participate over ten-weeks to build sustainable solutions to issues they identify in their communities. The Aspen Challenge provides young Bostonians the opportunity and resources to create tangible change around their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

The Aspen Challenge: Boston will take place on Thursday, February 13, at Artists for Humanity, located at 100 W 2nd Street. At the “Challenge,” teams of eight students and two teachers will hear from local leaders who will present a series of issue-specific goals to the students on topics including the role of social media in glamorizing substance abuse, affordable housing, community violence, access to green spaces, and post secondary education pathways. Challenge issue areas are chosen ahead of time by participating students.

Expert challengers include: David Bickham, Research Director, Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital; Brandy Brooks, Executive Director, Higher Ground Boston; Manuel Oliver, Co-Founder, Change the Ref; Gretchen Rabinkin, Executive Director, Boston Society of Landscape Architects; and James Antwine, Annyah Cush, and Carlotta Pope, winners of the 2023 Aspen Challenge: Brooklyn.

“We are incredibly honored to be selected to host, for the first time, the Aspen Challenge here in the Boston Public Schools,” said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper. “We are proud to partner with the Aspen Institute to empower our students with the tools and resources to help create sustainable solutions that will benefit our schools, their communities, and the city-at-large. This initiative is a testament to the incredible potential of Boston’s young people to drive positive change.”

Following the Challenge, student teams will select one challenge area and begin their ten-week project developing, implementing, and reporting on their issue area. At the end of that ten weeks, teams will reconvene on Thursday, April 29 for the “Solution Showcase” at which point they will present their work and impact to a panel of judges made up of community leaders, educators, experts, and activists. Three teams will be chosen as the Grand Prize winners of Aspen Challenge: Boston and fly to Aspen, Colorado to present their community solution at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June.

“The lesson I learned over and over, as a teacher, a district leader, and an advocate for youth, is that the very best ideas always come from young people. That’s why I welcomed Aspen Challenge to come to DCPS while I was leading the district and why I am thrilled that Boston now gets to learn from their high school students,” said Kaya Hendrson, Executive Vice President and Executive Director at the Aspen Institute’s Center for Rising Generations and former Chancellor of DC Public Schools.

Participating Schools:

Another Course to College
Boston Adult Technical Academy
Boston Arts Academy
Boston Green Academy
Boston International Newcomers Academy
Boston Latin Academy
Boston Latin School
Brighton High School
Charlestown High School
Dr. Albert D. Holland High School of Technology
Dr. William W. Henderson Inclusion School
Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers
Excel High School
Fenway High School
Madison Park Technical Vocational High School
Margarita Muñiz Academy
Mary Lyon Pilot High School
Snowden International School at Copley
TechBoston Academy
The English High School

The inaugural Aspen Challenge launched in collaboration with Los Angeles Unified School District in 2013. Since its inception, the Challenge has expanded to include partnerships with school districts in Denver, Washington D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Louisville, Miami, New Orleans, San Diego, and Brooklyn.

For more information on Aspen Challenge: Boston or to attend as a covering member of the media, please contact Eric Baker: eric.baker@aspeninstitute.org.

The Aspen Challenge provides inspiration, tools, and a platform for young people to design solutions to some of the most critical problems humanity faces. For more information on Aspen Challenge, please visit www.aspenchallenge.org.

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.

Boston Public Schools, the birthplace of American public education, is dedicated to providing a world-class learning experience for every student. BPS educates 54,000 students in 125 schools, 74 percent of the school-age children who live in Boston. BPS is proud to be one of the most diverse school districts in the nation. Nearly one in every two students speaks a language other than English at home, and BPS students come from 139 different countries. One in five BPS students has a disability, and half are economically disadvantaged. Under the leadership of Superintendent Mary Skipper, the district collaborates with families, community members, and students to foster a supportive and innovative environment with a strong commitment to educational equity and excellence. For more information, visit www.bostonpublicschools.org.

The Bezos Family Foundation envisions a world in which all young people reach their full potential and meaningfully contribute to society. The Foundation pursues that vision by making grants and by operating their own programs, with the aim of fueling the science of learning and enabling its application in a variety of settings. The Foundation’s mission is to invest in the science of learning and the experiences that youth need from birth to high school to pursue their own path for success. For more information, visit www.bezosfamilyfoundation.org.

Science & Literacy

Rationale for Implementation of Literacy Strategies in Science Teaching and Learning

As science teachers, we understand that learning how to read and write in science is an important part of scientific literacy, and can help students understand and retain key science content (NSTA, 2008; NRC 1996; Saul 2004; Shanahan 2004). For students to come to understand science, they must be able to explain their thinking and develop arguments for their findings. In order to become lifelong learners who are capable of reading and writing about scientific issues, making educated decisions and participating in a democratic society, students must be able to read and understand the writing of others, evaluate its worth, and share the results of their own research and experience through writing (NSTA, 2008).

The literacy work in science is based on the MA DESE ELA Framework which incorporates the Common Core for ELA. The emphasis for middle and high school content area literacy has specific targets for science and technical subjects. Our students need to be prepared to read and understand informational text. Argumentation and Explanation are at the core of science; they are two important areas of the literacy writing standards, as well as two Science and Engineering Practices.

Close Reading in Science: Literacy Resources, Readings, Text-Dependent Questions, and How-to Guides

The following Close Reading/Text Dependent Questions sets were developed by a team of K-12 science teachers and the Science Department staff with guidance and support from David Pook, one of the collaborators of the CCSS. This team identified complex non-fiction text passages and developed text-dependent questions to support close reading assignments for each grade level.

Many thanks to the teachers who worked with us to create these assignments; we never could have done it without you!

David Pook and members of the BPS Science Department Team -- Dean Martin, Erin Hashimoto-Martell, Bev Nadeau, Suzanne Gill, Jonathan McLaughlin, and Pam Pelletier -- worked with these teachers to develop Close Reading materials for classroom use.

Teachers who curated and helped to develop the Close Reading materials: Luis Arroyo, Hale Elementary; Rob Cho, Timilty Middle; Erin French-MacGilvray, PJ Kennedy Elementary; Scott Hubeny, East Boston High; Vikki Irvin-Kent, Hennigan Elementary; Nick Kapura, Winship Elementary; Jennifer Lambertz, Lyon K-8; Theresa Lee, Sumner Elementary; Mary Fran McAuliffe, Jackson/Mann K-8; Ashley McKenzie, Adams Elementary; Eric Meuse, Gardner Pilot Academy; Christine Morales, Tobin K-8; Jessica Neville, Charlestown High; Angela Palo, Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; Juanita Shaffer, Madison Park Technical Vocational School; Josephine Tavares, Eliot K-8; Johanna Waldman, Another Course to College; Debra Watson, Mildred Ave K-8

Resources, Readings, Text-Dependent Questions, and How-to Guides

We would like to thank our curriculum partners -- FOSS at the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC-Berkeley and their partner, Delta Education and STC from Smithsonian Science Education and their partner, Carolina Biological --who generously given us permission to include the text selection with the TDQs that we developed. We thank them both! For any other text selections, we included either page references or web links.

Have you developed a science close Reading/TDQ assignment? Share them. We will review and potentially post for all to benefit from.

Click on the links below to access Literacy Resources (how-to guides for complex text, close reading, and creating TDQs) and the science department selection of complex text (or citations for the text) with the BPS developed text-dependent questions.

Literacy Resources from David Pook and from Achieve the Core
Text Complexity, Text Complexity Qualitative Measures Rubric
Close Reading defined
Text-Dependent Questions defined
A Close Reading Exemplar: Feynman - The Making of a Scientist
Close Reading Exemplar Checklist
Long Guide for Creating Questions for Close Analytic Reading
Brief Guide to Creating Text-Dependent Questions
Text-Dependent Question Types -- Science
Text-Dependent Question Types -- Blank

Complex Text Selections and BPS-Developed Text-Dependent Questions for Close Reading

Kindergarten

FOSS K Animals Two by Two Isopods
FOSS K Wood and Paper The Story of a Chair

Grade 1
SIRS Article 1 Solids and Liquids Changing Solids pp. 16-21 and TDQs
STC 1 Organisms Four Amazing Plants
FOSS 1 Air and Weather Understanding the Weather

Grade 2
FOSS 2 New Plants Animal Teeth
FOSS 2 Insects Environment
FOSS 2 Pebbles, Sand, and Silt What Is in Soil?

Grade 3
FOSS 3 Physics of Sound Highs and Lows
FOSS 3 Structures of Life Traveling Seeds
FOSS 3 Water Why Pipes Burst

Grade 5
STC 5 Ecosystems Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring: A Quiet Book Makes Noise

Grade 6
FOSS 6 Weather and Water Heating the Atmosphere
STC 6 Human Body Systems Nutrients: You Just Can’t Live Without ‘Em

Grade 7
FOSS 7 Earth History Destroying and Reconstructing Earth
FOSS 7 Force and Motion How To Get and Hold Onto A Moon
FOSS 7 Diversity of Life The Insect Empire

Grade 8
FOSS 8 Populations and Ecosystems Biosphere 2: An Experiment In Isolation
FOSS 8 Populations and Ecosystems Limiting Factors
FOSS 8 Chemical Interactions Particles in Motion
FOSS 8 Planetary Science The Crater That Ended The Reign Of the Dinosaurs

HS Physics
Website 9 Physics What Happens When An Aircraft Breaks The Sound Barrier and TDQs

HS Biology
Website 10 Biology Found in South Africa: Key Link in Human Evolution and TDQs
BSCS10 Biology What Happens To the Food You Eat, BSCS text, pp. 338-340 and TDQs
Website 10 Biology Why Cheaper Genetic Testing Could Cost Us a Fortune and TDQs
BSCS 10 Biology Molecular Movement, BSCS text, pp. 226-227 and TDQs

HS Chemistry
Website 11 Chemistry Sugar an Unusual Explosive and TDQs
Website 11 Chemistry The Chemistry Of Popcorn-It's All About 'Pop-Ability' and TDQs
Website 11 Chemistry The Surprisingly Scientific Flash Behind the Fireworks and TDQs

Argumentation and Explanation: Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning

The Science Department implemented the Common Writing Assignment (CWA) for many years as part of a disciplinary literacy support plan. We worked with teachers and Dr. Kate McNeill to revise our grades 4-8 prompts. Additionally, working with other departments and David Pook, we now have a common rubric to be used across all disciplines.

Please note: The resources and resulting prompts were developed a good number of years ago, in 2016. They originally aligned to science units available then. In some cases, the units have changed and/or the associated standard may have shifted. That said, the resources may still be of value to you, our BPS teachers, and used by students to write CER responses.

CER and CWA Resources

Our Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) work with Kate McNeill has yielded many resources. Check out these websites that resulted from past workshops with Kate. Be sure to look at the Examples page on the first site and the Questions page on the Advanced site for BPS teacher-generated prompts.

CWA Overview Presentation: basic information about CWA implementation and the district initiative (SY12)

CWA Common Scoring Rubrics: general rubric for use in all content areas!

Science CWA Rubric: provided here in case you need to review CER/R details when scoring using the generic rubric (SY12)
CER Rubric highlighting vocabulary...developed by staff from the Edwards Middle School (SY15)
Various Graphic Organizers to structure CER responses as well as a Student Rubric...developed by Kris Grymonpré

Prompts for Grades 3-8 and High School Courses

Grade 3: Sound, Structures of Life, Water

Grade 4: Animal Studies, Magnetism & Electricity, Motion & Design

Grade 5: Ecosystems, Landforms, Lever & Pulleys, Measuring Time

Grade 6: Human Body Systems, Weather & Water

Grade 7: Diversity of Life, Earth History, Force & Motion

Grade 8: Chemical Interactions, Planetary Science, Populations & Ecosystems

Below are five argumentation prompts developed by Kris Grymonpré of the McCormack Middle School. Kris teaches grades 7 and 8. This work resulted from his time as a Summer Teacher in Residence at the Boston Museum of Science.

Grade 7:
Aligned with Diversity of Life Unit: BEE_haviors and Flower Structures
Aligned with Force and Motion Unit: Greenhouse Effect

For grade 8:
Aligned with Populations and Ecosystems: Environmental vs.Genetics Factors and Recycling

Prompts for High School Physics, Biology, and Chemistry

Developed by Michael Couture (Physics), Johanna Waldman (Biology), and Juanita Shaffer-Ratzlaff (Chemistry). These teachers worked with Kate McNeill and Science Department members to develop high school writing prompts that encourage students' development in the practices of scientific explanation and argumentation.

There is an overview for each content area that includes information about the set of prompts that follow in that discipline. Included on the table is the main science idea being addressed, the 2016 MA STE draft and 2001/6 standard(s) targeted, the type of prompt (specific to a particular lesson, to be used as part of a unit assessment, or one that encourages open argumentation), the writing prompt and the resources that are available to support the use of each prompt in your classroom.

Physics: Overview Table of Prompts - Acceleration of Falling Objects, Conversation of Momentum, Ohm's Law, Wave Properties

Biology: Overview Table of Prompts - Nutrients, Evolution, Ecosystems, Genetics

Chemistry: Overview Table of Prompts - Properties of Substances, Calorimetry, Charles Law, Hydrogen

Science Notebook Supports: Taking and Making Notes in Science

There are some wonderful sites that we recommend as supports for your work with science notebooks in your classroom.

Setting Up Your Science Notebooks:
Check out these great notebook resources from the California Academy of Sciences!!

Science Notebooks in K-12 Classrooms:

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership (NCOSP), a National Science Foundation funded Math and Science Partnership project, convened a group of education leaders from across Washington State. This group discussed the current state of science notebook use and reviewed hundreds of actual student notebooks.

Vocabulary Strategies for Science Notebooks:
A great collection of samples that will help you find new ideas to teach and reinforce vocabulary from your lessons.

Science Notebook Rubrics

Science notebooks are an integral part of the science curriculum for all K-12 students. The form of the notebook itself may vary from teacher to teacher and from grade level to grade level but the overall intent of the notebook is the same – to help students document their work, make sense of it and use the notebook as a resource to revisit and apply their knowledge and insights in new learning situations.

Notebooks should be used nearly every day and be essential to the student’s work. The notebook provides a record of classroom activities, laboratory experiences, and student reflections. The Science Department recommends that teachers assess science notebooks based on the quality of student work, its organization, and its completeness.

No matter what form the notebook takes – whether it is a permanently-bound, chronologically-sequenced notebook with handouts taped in, a 3-ring binder organized by type of assignment, or something or your own design – there are some essential features that we recommend that all science notebooks include.

Essential Notebook Features:

The science notebook is a daily record of the student’s experiences, ideas, questions, and developing understandings about science.
The materials and entries are organized appropriately (as determined by the teacher).
There is a Table of Contents to help the student and other readers effectively use the notebook.
All entries are dated and titled/labeled.

There are four main assessment criteria for science notebooks:

The two Quality Criteria involve classroom artifacts and student-generated entries for making sense of each lesson. (Explained further in the charts.)
The two Structural Criteria involve the notebook’s organization and completeness.

Please make writing in science a part of every students' learning every day.

Download the Science Notebook Rubric for teachers for the grade bands: K2-2, 3-5, 6-12