Science and
Technology/Engineering

Overview

The Newton Public Schools Science and Technology/Engineering program is designed to support all students as they develop into scientifically literate citizens. Through active engagement in science and engineering practices, students will explore the disciplinary core ideas across four domains: physical science; life science; earth and space science; and technology and engineering. A strong core K-5 curriculum - supported by teacher disciplinary knowledge and sufficient instructional time - will allow all students to explore their curiosities about the world, learn how scientists have investigated similar questions, carry out increasingly complex scientific investigations, and engage in engineering design projects.

Unit 1

Balancing Forces

Learning Targets

Describe evidence of a force pushing or pulling an object to cause it to move
Use the words attract and repel to describe the non-touching force of magnet on other magnets and other objects
Identify evidence of gravity, as a force that pulls objects down to Earth
Describe balanced forces as forces of equal strength acting in opposite directions that will not change the movement of an object
Describe the effect of unbalanced forces on an object - the motion changes

Essential Questions

Why do objects begin to move and how can they stop moving?
How could an object move, even if we can’t see it being pushed or pulled?

Instructional Snapshot

Students will:

Investigate how magnets work
Use a variety of materials to explore how balanced and unbalanced forces can change the motion of an object, like a ‘floating’ train
Use computer simulations to model the forces acting on an object

Unit 2

Evolving Minds

Learning Targets

Describe with evidence that traits of individuals within a population can change over time
Make observations that identify ‘trait variants’ within a population
Construct a claim for how variations among individuals within the same species may provide an advantage for survival and reproduction
Gather evidence from fossils to describe the types of organisms and environments that existed long ago

Essential Questions

What’s the story of how plants and animals change over time?
How can we show that it takes many generations for the population to change?
What can fossils tell us about the history of present-day organisms?

Instructional Snapshot

During this unit, student will:

Observe and describe one trait in a population of plants (radishes) and one in a population of animals (snails)
Grow radish plants in order to observe, measure, and graph the 'hairiness trait' and and to explain the distribution of this trait within the population
Anchor their understanding by learning about anoles and about a fictional animals called ‘piloses' (Text: How piloses evolved skinny noses?) both of which have traits that change over many generations

Unit 3

Life Cycles and Climate

Learning Targets

Connect weather patterns to wood frog survival and development, by analyzing graphs of local climate data
Describe how amphibians respond to spring weather, and how changes to climate and habitat may affect amphibian survival
Use simple graphical representations to show that different types of organisms have unique and diverse life cycles

Essential Questions

How do plants and animals develop, survive and reproduce?
How is the life cycle and survival of local plants and animals connected to the weather and climate of the region?

Instructional Snapshot

During this unit, student will:

Observe the wood frog life cycle, in tanks in their classrooms, from egg to adult development
Read about other local threatened amphibians and connect their life cycles to wood frogs
Analyze pictures and other data on local weather and climate, connecting the patterns to life cycles of local plants and animals

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