Cheng Library Receives Grant from the Albert Payson Terhune Foundation

As grant recipient, The Curriculum Materials Center selects a science textbook series for purchase.

Several books from the series were displayed in the Curriculum Materials Center.

For the second time in as many years, the Cheng Library has been the recipient of a grant from the Albert Payson Terhune Foundation located in Wayne, NJ.  This year, the Library was awarded a grant to purchase an elementary, science textbook set for the Curriculum Materials Center (CMC) of the David and Lorraine Cheng Library.

The textbook series, Interactive Science, was recently published and provides a much-needed update to the elementary science textbooks currently in the collection. Interactive Science includes books for kindergarten through grade 5, and each grade level includes teachers’ guides, a Write-in student text, and “leveled readers.”  The teachers’ guides are divided into lightweight individual chapters enabling teachers to focus on one chapter at a time.  The Write-in student editions are a combination of a textbook and a workbook that encourages students to interact with the content, take notes, make observations and practice critical thinking and inquiry learning. “Leveled readers” support students who are reading below, at, and above grade level. 

In addition, this new series assists teachers in addressing the requirements for the Common Core State Standards which have been adopted in New Jersey.  The Common Core focuses on developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills of students.

With the funds provided, the Library also replaced a middle school science text with Interactive Science for grades 6 through 8.  These middle school texts include a Write-in student edition, more traditional teacher editions, as well as a program guide and lab resources. The texts for each grade are designed around a particular area of science: earth science is the focus for sixth grade, life science for seventh grade and physical science for eighth grade.

Throughout the early fall these books were displayed prominently in the CMC. Each book in the series has a bookplate that acknowledges the Terhune Foundation’s gift. This grant supplements an effort of the Library to provide current resources to assist pre-service teachers in learning to meet the Common Core standards. The CMC is a resource collection that supports undergraduate and graduate teacher education. The collection is available for use by William Paterson University students, staff and community users.

Yvonne Roux, Curriculum Materials Librarian, commented, “We are extremely grateful for this grant and the addition of Interactive Science to our collection.  This set enables elementary and middle-school teacher to address the new curriculum standards in the sciences.”  The Cheng Library and the staff of the Curriculum Materials Center extend their deep appreciation to the Terhune Foundation for this noteworthy grant.

October 22, 2014