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The overarching goal of the Science department is for all students to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering by the time they graduate high school to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice. The major goals of the Science curriculum are to:
Implement a guaranteed and viable district science curriculum that is aligned with learning expectations set forth in the Connecticut Core Science Curriculum Framework and the Next Generation Science Standards that helps children continually build on and revise their knowledge and abilities, starting from their curiosity about what they see around them and their initial conceptions about how the world works.
Achieve scientific literacy preparing students to be confident and capable lifelong learners who are equipped with the skills needed to access, understand, evaluate and apply information and present coherent ideas about science, integrating common core science literacy skills into the curriculum.
Develop a thorough understanding of scientific explanations of the world through experimentation of the disciplinary core ideas and applying these understandings to solve environmental and societal challenges.
Foster each student's understanding and use of technology and engineering, including the ability to assess the relevance and credibility of scientific information found in various print and electronic media.
The Science curriculum is aligned with learning expectations set forth in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Information regarding these standards can be found on the Connecticut State Department of Education website.
Science Units and Skills/Student Outcomes
What students should know and be expected to do by the end of the unit
Plant and Animal Structures
Plant and Animal Structures
Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen
Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior and reproduction
Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways
Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat and electric currents
Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information
Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans
Processes that Shape Earth
Processes that Shape Earth
Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to explain changes in a landscape over time
Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind or vegetation
Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem
Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features
Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment
Energy Collisions and Waves
Energy Collisions and Waves
Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object
Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide
Apply scientific ideas to design, test and refine a device that converts energy from one for to another
Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength and that waves can cause objects to move
Additional Resources
Where to go for additional information and support
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