Science and
Technology/Engineering

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

How can animals use their senses to communicate?

Learning Targets

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
Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen
Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information

Essential Questions

How can animals sense the world around them?
How can animals process and respond to information?
How can animals send and receive information to communicate?

Instructional Snapshot

During this unit, students will:

Investigate what allows us to see objects by manipulating components in a system
Analyze data from an investigation to develop a model that explains how songbirds can use their structures to learn to avoid distasteful insects
Plan and carry out an investigation into the components of the fiddler crab communication system
Design and test a solution to represent a picture with patterns of 1s and 0s and short and long flashes of light

Unit 2

Earth's Changing Landscape

Learning Targets

Describe physical properties of materials, including luster, hardness and color
Provide evidence that rocks are made up of minerals, and that soil contains rocks and minerals
Identify various forms of mechanical weathering, including frost wedging, abrasion, or tree-root wedging
Provide evidence from investigation that mechanical evidence breaks down rocks into smaller pieces, but the physical properties of the materials remain the same
Gather evidence through observation that earth materials are transported by erosion - by wind, water and moving ice
Make a claim about how erosion and deposition have shaped a given landscape over time

Essential Question

What causes landscapes to change over time?

Instructional Snapshot

During this unit, students will:

Observe a variety of earth materials, including rock and mineral samples
Go on nature walks outside to explore local examples of weathering and erosion
Use videos and photographs to explore landforms and landscapes across the United States
Explain the formation of Coyote Buttes National Parks - the anchor phenomena

Unit 3

Focus on Energy

Learning Targets

Gather evidence about how much motion energy an object has by observing its speed
Determine through investigations of collisions that energy can be transferred from one object to another
Describe an object as having elastic energy when it is deformed
Gather evidence through investigation that elastic energy can be transformed into motion energy and vice versa
Record data showing thermal energy transfer from one object to another
Determine, through investigation, that electrical energy can be transformed into motion energy and vice versa
Create a model of energy transfer and transformation

Essential Question

How can we use models to show energy transfer and transformation between objects?

Instructional Snapshot

During this unit, students will:

Use a track and rubber balls to investigate collisions and energy transfer
Investigate how a hand-crank generator works in order to determine how motion energy can be transformed into electrical energy and vice versa
Explore thermal energy transfer using an insulated box and measuring the temperature change of the water and rocks submerged inside
Use solar panels and a motor-generator system to transform light energy into electrical and motion energy

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