WhatSUP in Our Waters? Cultivating Relationships, Relevance, and Responsibility in Elementary Science Through Community Collaborations

Place-based curricula can provide the foundation for relevant and engaging science instruction, but it is teachers’ enactment of curriculum – the instructional decisions they make while implementing and adapting curriculum – that shape students’ experiences with science learning. In a community-responsive approach to curriculum adaptation, teachers draw on student and community funds of knowledge to strengthen connections between students, community, and place, as well as learn about and address authentic local, science-based issues. This article describes how 5th grade teachers leveraged a place and project-based curriculum called Explore the Salish Sea along with collaborations with local scientists, engineers, and a community boating center toward creating relevance, fostering relationships, and supporting responsibility with their students.