Scale measurement and ratio and proportion are topics that fall clearly in the middle-grades mathematics curriculum in our state, Texas. So does the solar system. In addi-ion, the National Science Education Standards nclude the solar system in Earth and space science in the 5-8 grade band and promote the coor-lination of the science and mathematics curricula n Program Standard ? (NRC 1996). In its chapter on Earth and space sciences, the new Frametwork forK-12 Science Education (NRC 2011) references Earth's place in the solar system and notes that hese scierfces "involve phenomena that range in scale from the unimaginably large to the invisibly small" (p. 121). But, as middle school mathemat-cs teachers, we had never considered the con-lection until we participated in a weeklong academy offered by NASA this past summer in our school district. The academy encouraged middle and high school math and science teachers to consider how using models and simulations, or ModSim, could expand their repertofre.oficlassj. room strategies and engage studerfts morefully n their own context-rich learning.
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