Science
Science is very student centered and project based. I encourage students to learn how to work together successfully. This is such an important life skill, and we often spend time talking about what to do when your group is having trouble. Over the year, we will cover the units Earth Materials, Force and Motion, Human Body and Sound. With each unit, the students will always start out with a Big Idea. This big idea is given by me, and this begins our investigation. The kids are challenged to find out more about this big idea and come up with questions they have. We choose important questions to begin our investigations, and the kids lead the projects from there! Every group decides how to set up tests in order to learn the answers to these questions. As scientists, the kids put their findings from the tests, along with background knowledge, into evidence to back up their claim, or answer, to the question. Each group is responsible for teaching the rest of the class what they have found. The kids not only set up and lead their projects, but they also become the teachers to each other. Science encourages critical thinking and cooperative working skills to be successful as a group.
Some students like to continue researching at home. Here is a link to some kid-safe search engines. We use this link while researching at school to make sure all information your child is finding is kid-friendly.
Some students like to continue researching at home. Here is a link to some kid-safe search engines. We use this link while researching at school to make sure all information your child is finding is kid-friendly.