Interdisciplinary Unit Prompts Nokomis Students to Create Small Businesses to Raise Money for Class Activities

On an abnormally warm December day at Nokomis Middle School in Newport, the 8th-grade class is having a fundraiser called “The Maine Sampler.” This fundraiser is more than students asking for money; it is an interdisciplinary unit that spans multiple disciplines and allows students to practice their communication skills, perseverance, creativity, and reflection.

Every year before the winter holidays, students work with their Social Studies and ELA teachers to develop a creative Maine-made product they will mass produce and sell to the public. Social Studies teachers Dan Decker and Lucas Jewett work with students for five weeks to apply their knowledge of economics to an authentic entrepreneurship experience. They start by picking partners and developing ideas. Dan explained, “Students tend to focus on baked goods, but we encourage them to reach out to family and friends with unique skills.” Lucas added, “We encourage them to be mindful of their partners, too. Going into business as an adult requires you to be mindful of who you pick as a business partner.” Students take this advice to heart because all the money they make will be used for field trips, their 8th-grade trip, and the 8th-grade recognition event. Once the teams decide on an idea, they calculate the cost of materials and set their prices. Parents provide all the supplies, but there is also financial assistance for any family that needs it. Students’ “homework” is to mass produce their products.

As they develop their business plans in social studies, they are working on advertising and marketing in ELA. Their teachers, Sarah Murray and Mariah McGuire support advertising through student-created web pages that describe their products and create aesthetically pleasing and informative posters for their tables. Each website includes images and descriptions of the product, a mission statement, and important background information.

On the day of the event, students gather in the gym to set up their tables, decorate them with handmade posters and accessories, and lay out their products. Members of the public and students in the 5th, 6th, and 7th grades will wander around purchasing the student-made products with tickets that they purchase at the ticket table. With the support of math teachers Makenzie Wheeler and Sue Orcutt, students at the ticket table convert every dollar into a ticket that can be used to purchase items or enter raffles. During the two and a half hours, students will communicate with adults and peers to explain and sell their products.

“This is a way to promote a business I already have,” Bentley Lane explained. “When my grandfather and I go hunting, we find deer antlers. He taught me how to process and mount them, and I have built a business selling them.”

Naomi Millet expressed similar feelings about learning about business and economics work. “Learning the economics of selling things is interesting.” Naomi also added she liked being creative, seeing her ideas become products, and working with her friends.

After the event, students will focus on reflection and application. Dan and Lucas will work with students to reflect on the event through the social and financial lens. They will also create opportunities for students to look at applications of their learning beyond the Maine Sampler event. Bentley has already started applying what he has learned. “I like this type of learning because I am applying what I learn to my current business.”

To view the students’ products, follow this link to the “The Maine Sampler.”

Subscribe to the Maine DOE Interdisciplinary Instruction Newsletter

Are you looking for ways to enhance your instructional practices and transfer your students’ learning to the next level? Look no further. The Interdisciplinary Instruction team has created a monthly newsletter that you can subscribe to. This newsletter will highlight innovative interdisciplinary classroom resources and upcoming professional learning opportunities.

To subscribe, click the link below, fill in your contact information, and click “Interdisciplinary Instruction” in the “subscribe me to” section. When we publish a new newsletter, it will automatically arrive in your inbox.

Subscribe here (If you are already subscribed to Maine DOE publications like the Maine DOE Update or other newsletters we publish when you submit your information, you will be redirected to update your preferences.)

For further questions or help, reach out to Interdisciplinary Instruction Team Coordinator Kathy Bertini at kathy.bertini@maine.gov.

Book Study: Asynchronous Cognitive Science

Cognitive science can offer educators an understanding of how students learn so they can apply it to their practice. Interacting with cognitive science can be challenging though. If you are interested in learning more about cognitive science in a simple yet informative way, this book study is for you.

The book, “Why Don’t Students Like School,” by Daniel T Willingham is an education-focused dive into the cognitive science of how students learn. This 11-week asynchronous book study will allow participants to reflect on their current practice while discovering and applying new knowledge. A free copy of the book will be mailed to your school, and each participant can receive up to 17 contact hours. The book study starts on January 22, 2024.

To join, click this Book Study link and fill out the form. Please email any questions to erik.wade@maine.gov.

Students Practice Real-world Science Through Salmon Spawning with State Biologists

The fishery on Mill Street in Raymond was swimming with hands-on science in late November as ecology and recently arrived immigrant students from Windham High School (WHS) helped Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) scientists weigh, measure, and spawn Sebago Lake land-locked salmon from Panther Run.

The students assisted IFW field biologists express eggs from female salmon that were immediately fertilized by the male salmon. They helped to weigh, measure, and return the fish into the Sebago Lake watershed.

The aim of salmon spawning along the shores of Sebago Lake is to support Maine ecology and replenish healthy salmon numbers for fishing purposes. The late chilly November morning provided the students with an essential hands-on adventure, giving them a chance to see ecological purposes and science at work.

“When students graduate from WHS, we hope they are leaving with skills and practices of science that they can carry into any field they enter,” WHS science and ecology teacher, Lindsay Hanson said. “The experience highlighted the importance of asking good scientific questions, analyzing and interpreting data, and constructing explanations in science.”

Hanson continued, stating that students observed these skills being used in a real way. “We were able to listen to the IFW biologists discussing new trends they were seeing in this salmon population and posing new questions they would later investigate using the data they were gathering. Scientific curiosity at work.”

It was also a special treat for the new Maine students from Angola, The Democratic Republic of Congo, and France who all had a chance to connect their learning [of Maine] outside of the classroom setting.

“It provided the opportunity to see how academic language and the content and skills they learn in school are used professionally,” Elizabeth Moran, RSU14’s Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) said.

Moran also said that her students were excited to hold the fish, strip the salmon for fertilization, and help collect data.

“They enjoyed being a part of the actual process of helping to produce the next generation of salmon in Maine,” she said. “This kind of work is authentic and contagious, and it inspires students to learn in a creative and fun way.”

The spawning of salmon from Sebago Lake has been happening for many years and occurs every fall in conjunction with the fish’s natural cycle to swim upstream. In this case Panther Pond from Sebago Lake.

“During the second week of November, we open up the dam on Panther Pond to draw the fish up the river from Sebago Lake,” Stephen Twemblay, IFW Fish Culturalist supervisor said. “Since they can’t get through the dam, the salmon swim up a fish ladder into the fish hatchery. We then separate the male and female fish. Both are differentiated by fin clip class [fins clipped in different areas depending upon the year, denoting the age of salmon]. We do this so we always know how old that fish is to provide the best genetic variable.”

After the eggs are spawned and counted, they are transported to the fish hatchery in Casco where they are incubated through the winter. In the spring, most of the salmon are returned to Sebago Lake to keep up with the demand for fishing. The rest of the eggs are sent to other hatcheries around the State and to other State agencies in the U.S.and Canada as needed.

This real-world experience showed students the various ways science plays a role in our lives.

“I always tell my students that loving science doesn’t mean you need to be a scientist,” Hanson said. “There are environmental lawyers, policymakers, and computer engineers working in science-based companies, etc. Pairing an interest in science with a focus on another sector can be an avenue to explore. It is difficult for students to see how science incorporates into real-life situations or see what careers related to science might look like. Most scientists don’t wear lab coats and it was great to see that scientists also wear Muck boots and go fish.”

This story was provided by Lorraine Glowczak, Director of Community Connections & Storytelling Ambassador for RSU 14. To submit a story or an idea, email Rachel Paling at rachel.paling@maine.gov.

Wabanaki Studies Website Revamped to Include Curriculum, Units, Lessons, Activities, and More!

After months of collaboration between Wabanaki advisors and educators from across the state, under the direction of the Wabanaki Studies Specialist, Brianne Lolar (Panawahpskek), the website has been revamped to include a plethora of new resources.

Some of the many features include:

Links to 7 Wabanaki Studies MOOSE (Maine Online Open-Source Education platform) modules with accompanying resources
Additional Wabanaki Studies curriculum, units, lessons, and resources
Traditional Knowledge Keepers Directory
Wabanaki Studies Specialist office hours sign up
Resource database
Monthly spotlight with new resources

This work is deliberately designed to be taught year-round. As with all great, meaningful teaching, it is interdisciplinary, connecting with topics that are already being taught, and strengthens learning. Spend some time with all of the resources and find ways to teach this in a deliberate way throughout the entire year. Reach out to the Wabanaki Studies Specialist, Brianne Lolar to share the great things you are already doing, things you have learned along the way, and ways you and your students have grown!

https://www.maine.gov/doe/innovation/wabanakistudies

Mt. View High School Educators are Leveraging Maine DOE’s ConCEPT Pilot Program to Help Meet their Academic Needs

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) Interdisciplinary Instruction Team is offering a pilot program developed by listening to educators’ needs and creating the opportunity for them to choose their professional learning adventure. In an effort to make this program available to more schools and educators across Maine, we are sharing some examples of the ways that Mt. View High School educators are using ConCEPT to meet their unique needs:

Using Executive Functioning for the SAT – SAT prep courses tend to focus on filling in gaps in learning and practicing how to take the test, but educators at Mt. View High School are taking a different approach. Along with filling in conceptual gaps in math and English, students will be working to understand how to take a test from an executive functioning perspective. By teaching students how to utilize working memory, plan and prioritize the test, organize their time, and reflect, educators can prepare students academically and cognitively for the test.
Developing Student Disposition – Another team will be working to support student engagement and social development through student dispositions. All students can use practice with dispositions like responsibility, communication, or self-reflection, but this program aims to create groups of students that can focus on dispositions that need improvement.
Ownership and Place-based Learning – A group of educators is looking to help students see a connection between taking ownership of their classroom space and the environment. By focusing on empathy, a sense of place, student voice, and reflection, these educators want to support students to see how the skills they use to take care of the small space they use every day can be transferred to the outside world, specifically Maine’s environment.
Applying Academic Concepts to Real-world Problems – A group of math, science, and English teachers are working to create an interdisciplinary, dual-credit engineering class. Through student-focused inquiry in the form of genius hours, students will apply academic concepts to real-world problems. This interdisciplinary class will be designed to cover high school credit requirements in multiple subject areas and as a college credit through the University of Maine.

These programs are supported through the ConCEPT pilot program through the Maine Department of Education. Mt. View educators are excited about this program because it allows them to meet with educators they rarely work with, the professional learning “caters to the needs of educators and students,” and they “feel the support of the DOE.”

If you are interested in learning more about ConCEPT, please visit the ConCEPT web page or e-mail Maine DOE Interdisciplinary Instruction Team Coordinator Kathy Bertini at Kathy.bertini@maine.org

Maine Student Writing Contest: Share About a Teacher

Maine’s County and State Teacher of the Year Association (MCSTOYA) in partnership with the Maine Council for English Language Arts (MCELA) Association have announced their second annual student writing contest. The prompt is “share about a teacher who made a positive difference in your day, week, year, or life.”

To learn more about the writing prompts and rules for this contest, visit https://www.mainecela.org/student-writing-contest.html at MCELA’s website. The contest closes on December 22, 2023.

Download a flyer that you can print out.

For more information or questions, reach out to Maine County and State Teachers of the Year Association Board Member Heather Webster, heather_webster@msad40.org and/or Maine Council for English Language Arts President
Patti Forster, patti.forster@fivetowns.net.

The Telling Room’s Statewide Writing Context is Now Open

The Telling Room’s annual creative Writing Contest invites youth from all over Maine, ages 6 – 18, to show off their writing. This statewide contest runs from mid-October through November each year. A panel of professional writers and youth selects one grand prize winner, a winner from each of Maine’s 16 counties, and submissions are considered for publication in The Telling Room’s annual anthology. Click on the link below for more information about how to submit.

PRIZES

The Grand Prize Winner will receive a $250 award, will be published in our spring anthology, and may be published in other publications and media.
One County Winner will be selected from each of Maine’s 16 counties. Each County Winner will receive a $50 award, will be published in our spring anthology, and may be published in other publications and media.

Submissions close on November 30, 2022.

For more information and to make a submission visit The Telling Room website.

DOE Podcast Features Yarmouth High School Students Engaged in Hands-On, Real-World Extended Learning Opportunities

Commissioner Makin Talks with Sarah Hinson About Her Veterinary ELO and Liam Hannah About His Summer ELO Building a Robot that Serves Drinks. The Maine DOE Has Invested $5.6 Million to Expand ELOs Across Maine

On the latest episode of her What Holds Us Together podcast, Maine Department of Education (DOE) Commissioner Pender Makin spoke with two Yarmouth High School students about their experiences pursuing what they are passionate about through their school’s Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) program. Yarmouth senior Sarah Hinson gets school credit and paid work experience through her ELO at Portland Veterinary Hospital and junior Liam Hannah engaged in a summer ELO to program and build a drink serving robot which also earned him school credit.

Listen here.

Extended Learning Opportunities offer students creative and flexible opportunities to explore what they are passionate about and develop skills and knowledge that will set them up for success in school and life, all while gaining school credit and the option of paid work experience. The Maine DOE has awarded $5.6 million in Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan (MJRP) funding to 26 school administrative units and community-based organizations to create or expand ELOs across the state.

“We’re going to be discussing an exciting, innovative approach to interdisciplinary, hands-on, real-world learning called Extended Learning Opportunities,” said Makin in the podcast’s opening. “I met Sarah, Liam, and several of their classmates when I visited their school to hear more about these ELOs. What I heard was so impressive and inspirational that I wanted to have them on this podcast to share what they’ve been doing with everyone.”

Dozens of students participate in ELOs at Yarmouth High School. On her recent visit, Makin talked with students who were studying cognitive neuroscience and the science of wellbeing, civics, interning for non-profits, working on policy issues, building skills to have constructive conversations and debates about issues, promoting work opportunities for New Mainers, and so much more through their ELOs. Students meet with the school’s coordinator Brittany Brockelbank to design their ELO and meet regularly to discuss their progress and showcase what they’ve learned. Makin invited two students on the podcast to share more about their experiences.

“I’m doing a work study. I’m now on my fifth semester and I get credit for what I learn in the ER. It’s a very unique opportunity to learn about what I’m passionate about and what I’ll do after high school while getting school credit,” said Sarah Hinson describing her ELO on the podcast.

“It’s an incredibly flexible program. There are endless opportunities for what you can do and it’s very individualized with the learning that you do,” said Liam Hannah about what he liked about his ELO. He said he got his idea for his drink serving robot after seeing a similar one at a sushi restaurant. He had taken coding and machining classes at school and also had a student mentor to provide support for his ELO. Hannah also utilized ChatGPT to help him troubleshoot when we ran into coding or other obstacles.

Both students highlighted connections between what they’ve learned through their ELOs and how they’ve applied it to their other classes and in life. They also discussed how ELOs offer opportunities to engage students who may not find that same kind of engagement in traditional class settings.

“I remember sophomore year we were doing something in my biology class with sodium chloride bonding and I work with sodium chloride all the time. I use it every shift and I know a lot about it…so my job in certain situations has connected back to school but in many ways it’s very different. School does provide me with the knowledge that I need to get into the field—I can’t go into the field if I’m not good at math,” said Hinson. “In my job I’m learning something that I really am going to apply in my work on a farm with over 50 animals. It gives students that don’t fit the square box of what school and a student should look like [the opportunity to learn something we like].”

“This ELO, it really helped me develop a schedule and think really far out with my plans which I was never really great at and definitely helped me develop that,” said Hannah on how his ELO helped him build stronger time management skills.

The students were enthusiastic in what they would tell other students or school leaders about ELOs.

“It’s super fun—it’s the most fun I’ve ever had in a learning environment. I think every school should have the option for an ELO,” said Hannah.

“Do it! Find what works for you. There are so many ELOs available—group, individual, summer, learning ones, and working ones,” said Hinson.

Makin closed the podcast by highlighting the Maine DOE’s efforts to expand ELOs across the state.

“Our Department of Education is promoting ELOs across the state and anything that is hands-on, interdisciplinary, and applied learning. We’re really hopeful that Maine is going to lead the way nationally,” said Makin.

The Maine DOE website features highlights and stories from ELO programs across Maine.

What Holds Us Together is a monthly podcast hosted by Commissioner Makin that highlights the great things happening in public schools across Maine and how public education connects us through conversations with educators, school staff, and students. The podcast launched last month with a conversation between Makin, 2023 Maine Teacher of the Year Matt Bernstein, and the newly named 2024 Maine Teacher of the Year Joshua Chard.

What Holds Us Together can be listened to and subscribed to on all major podcast platforms, including Apple and Spotify. New episodes are released on the third Thursday of every month.

Book Study: Increasing Student Engagement

Starting in December, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) is hosting an asynchronous book study on student engagement based on two books: Reimagining Student Engagement and Teaching Students to Drive Their Learning. Educators will receive a free copy of each book. In this 8-week online book study, educators will:

Examine what research says about student engagement
Reflect on their students’ engagement and classroom management
Design strategies to increase engagement that works for them and their students
Collect data on how the changes have impacted their students’ engagement
Opportunity to collaborate with teachers statewide

During this book study, educators will be assigned weekly readings, post a response, and comment on other teachers’ responses. Teachers will also need to implement one or more engagement strategies and share their resources and/or reflections. Educators completing the book study will receive 10 contact hours. The book study is perfect for individual teachers, as well as teams of teachers, who want to examine research-based practices that can increase and improve student engagement.

Books: Teachers participating in the book study will receive copies of:

Reimagining Student Engagement by Amy Berry
Teaching Students to Drive Their Learning: A Playbook on Engagement & Self-Regulation, K-12 by Fisher, Frey, Ortega & Hattie

Intended Audience: PK-12 Teachers & Administrators
When: December 1-February 2
Where: Maine DOE EnGiNE Platform (There will be optional Zoom sessions to further our discussions and collaboration.)
Contact Hours: 10 contact hours available upon completion
How: Register here

This book study can be done in conjunction with the Maine DoE ConCEPT pilot.  Click here to learn more about ConCEPT.

For more information on this book study, please contact Jaime Beal, Interdisciplinary Instruction Specialist at jaime.beal@maine.gov

The Maine DOE encourages all schools and districts across the State of Maine to learn more about interdisciplinary instruction on our website or by contacting the Interdisciplinary Instruction Team Coordinator at Kathy.bertini@maine.gov