PRESCHOOL:

Students are introduced to the Scientific Method using storybooks. The Preschool program uses the Frog Street Press Quirkles curriculum. Students are able to participate in exciting, hands-on experiments that correspond to the literacy curriculum. They learn to explore their surroundings using all their senses. Students will learn to ask questions and make predictions.

 

JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN:

Students explore the attributes of living and nonliving things while discovering what living things need for survival.  Students also investigate the characteristics of plants and animals.  A study of matter reveals the existence of solids, liquids, and gases, while students also learn the components of a mixture.  During the school wide Human Body Fair, students in junior kindergarten explore ways to use their five senses to discover the world around them.  Questions regarding day and night, the weather, and the four seasons are answered through an investigation of the Earth and sky.  A final study of objects reveals what they are made of, how we can use them, and how we sort them based upon contrast and comparison.

 

KINDERGARTEN:

Kindergarten focuses on science with an experimental and research approach. Studying units on living and non-living things, earth and sky, weather, and matter, students are able to formulate questions, conduct experiments, and learn through a variety of technology and books. During the school-wide Human Body Fair, kindergarten discusses the parts and importance of the central nervous system. Throughout the year, students will build their scientific curiosity, grow their ability to observe and ask questions, and gain skills to design and test their theories.

 

FIRST GRADE:

In first grade, the students are introduced to a variety of rocks and minerals on Earth. They students begin to classify plants and animals according to different attributes. As the classify, the students understand how plants and animals continue to grow and change over time. During the Human Body Fair, this level explores the digestive system. Various weather patterns are discovered. Students begin to understand that there are other planets besides Earth as they explore the solar system. Finally, they are introduced to the topics of matter, energy, and force.

 

SECOND GRADE:

Second grade studies the units of Ecology (ecosystems and living things), Earth and Water, Matter, Energy and its Forms, Forces and Motion. The Immune System is also studied during the Human Body Fair.

 

THIRD GRADE:

Third grade science units include the solar system, the human body, and the Earth’s natural resources. The third grade participates in The Human Body Fair; conducting research on the Circulatory and Respiratory Systems. Third graders also study Life Sciences including Plants and Animals. Third grade also explores the concepts of heat, electricity, and  magnetism.

 

FOURTH GRADE:

Fourth grade science units include ecology and biomes, Earth's surfaces, weather, water cycle, and properties of matter. During the Human Body Fair, fourth grade explores the skeletal and muscular systems.  The students will also examine various plants and animals. Finally, they will have a brief introduction to the Periodic Table.

 

FIFTH GRADE:

Teachers use the Interactive Science textbook as a guide to Science instruction. Project based and interactive learning groups are central to student understanding as we explore the science curriculum. Units covered are: the scientific method and lab safety, cells, classification of living things, matter and the periodic table, forces and motion, energy, earth’s place in the universe, and protecting earth’s systems. All students also participate in the STEAM Fair and the Science Fair.

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL:

EARTH SCIENCE: Equal time is given to classroom and lab work. Topics include the nature of Earth Science, Earth systems, mapping Earth, rocks and minerals, plate tectonics, forces that shape Earth’s surface, weathering and erosion, weather and climate, astronomy, and space. Students also participate in the STEAM Fair and the Science Fair.

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LIFE SCIENCE: Equal time is given to classroom learning and lab work. Topics include the nature of Life Science, principal of ecology, cells, genetics, classification and changes over time, the microbial world, plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, population dynamics, and human body systems. Students also participate in the STEAM Fair, Science Fair, and Human Body Fair.

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PHYSICAL SCIENCE: This is a lab-based course with supportive classroom learning. Topics include the nature of Physical Science, matter, atoms and bonding, elements and the periodic table, chemical reactions, acids, bases and solutions, forces and motion, work and energy, waves, and electricity and magnetism. Students also participate in the STEAM Fair and the Science Fair.