Michele Copeland

Copeland’s innovative teaching idea, “Science Club,” was newly formed in 2023 in response to the poor test performance of the fifth-grade students for the academic year in 2022-2023. Potowmack Elementary is a Title 1 school serving students from more than 20 countries. More than 40% of students speak a language other than English at home. As a result, students often struggle with learning academic vocabulary, especially in the area of science. As part of Science Club, fifth graders will meet for two hours after school Monday through Wednesday during the months of October through May. Students will work in small groups for six rotations with six different teachers. At each station, students will participate in a different activity. Students will play science vocabulary games, read science passages, learn test taking strategies, do experiments, and work on homework. Copeland hopes that by studying for the end of grade science test all year, students will pass the test and succeed in future STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) classes.