SCIENCE CURRICULUM

Evergreen’s science program emphasizes a hands-on and minds-on approach to learning. Students are actively engaged in the discovery process that allows them to practice problem-solving skills, develop the ability to ask scientific questions, develop positive science attitudes, learn new science content and increase their science literacy.

The goal for our scientifically literate students is to understand the science concepts and processes and be able apply them in real life situations. Students engaged in scientific inquiry become observers and active explorers, who pose questions, theorize, hypothesize, predict, conduct experiments, reach conclusions, and communicate their discoveries. In our science classrooms, students make interdisciplinary reading, writing, and math connections, students develop an understanding of the inter-dependency of living things as well as a respect for the Earth.

Grades K – 6

The Science 21 curriculum is aligned with the New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards, (NYSSLS) and connects to the NYS Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts and Math. The program is based on an inquiry approach with hands-on student-driven investigations. A 5E Model is used to increase the students’ role in learning.

Engage: Students are first engaged with an interesting prompt or phenomenon.

Explore: Students explore other examples and related materials to gain understanding.

Explain: The students’ developing understanding is expanded by sharing their ideas with the teacher and peers during the explain portion of the instruction.

Elaborate: Students elaborate on their knowledge by applying it to a new example or situation.

Evaluate: The lesson or unit culminates with evaluation through various forms of assessment.

The Science 21 Curriculum encourages students to identify real-world human problems, design solutions, evaluate solutions and communicate this information in a variety of ways including spoken, written, pictorial, graphical, and mathematical forms. Students experience engineering design, learn the vocabulary of technology and innovation, and apply their understanding of science concepts to solve problems.

Grade 7

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ― Dr. Seuss

This class is designed to help students understand the concepts of three principle areas of science including the structure and changing properties of matter, structure of life and geology. By the completion of this course students should be able to answer the following essential questions:

• How do properties such as density, help us to classify and identify matter?
• How do we know if a chemical reaction has occurred during cellular processes such as photosynthesis and cellular respiration?
• Why are cells considered the smallest unit of life?
• How does the surface of the Earth change over time?
• How can we prevent or minimize harm from a natural disaster?

Students will read scientific text, cite evidence for their thinking, and engage in discourse with other students. To help students learn the fundamental concepts of scientific inquiry and problem solving students will use hands on laboratory work, videos, virtual simulations and models.