From the first day of school, students should be actively engaged in learning to view the world scientifically. That means encouraging them to ask questions about nature and to seek answers, collect things, count and measure things, make qualitative observations, and discuss findings. A systematic approach to exploration of science, one that combines experience with book learning, can help provide essential building blocks for deeper understanding at a later time.
- Plants and plant growth:
What plants need to grow, light, warmth, water.
Basic parts of plants, seed, root, stem, branch; Plants make their own food; Flower and seeds, seeds as food for plants and animals (rice, nuts, wheat, corn); Two kinds of plants, deciduous, evergreen; Farming, some food from farms as crops, how farmers care for crops(weeds and pests), how crops are harvested, kept fresh, packaged, and transported for people to buy and consume
- Animals and their needs: Animals, like plants, need food, water, and space to live and grow; Plants make their own food, animals get food from eating plants and other living things; Offspring are very much (but not exactly) like their parents; Most animal babies need to be cared for by parents when young; Pets have special needs and must be cared for by their owners.
- The human body: The five senses and associated body parts, sight-eyes, hearing-ears, smell-nose, taste-tongue, touch-skin; taking care of body, exercise, cleanliness, healthy foods, rest
- Introduction to magnetism; identify familiar everyday use of magnets; classify materials according to whether they are or are not attracted by a magnet
- Seasons and Weather: The four seasons; characteristic local weather patterns during the different seasons; the sun, source of light and warmth, Daily weather changes, temperature, thermometers to measure temperature, clouds, rainfall, how condition of ground varies during rainfall, rainbows, thunderstorms, lightening and thunder, hail, safety during storms, snow and snowflakes, blizzard
- Taking care of the earth: conservation, resources limited, people must care for resources; practical measures for conserving energy; some materials recycled; pollution can be harmful, help reduce pollution
- Scientific Biographies: George Washington Carver; Jane Goodall; Wilbur and Orville Wright
Materials Used
Web based teaching units, class experimentation, Science Lab time, thematic units in Science, iMac Computers |
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