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

Water Transformations

Learning Targets

Describe that matter, even very small particles, have mass and take up space
Construct models of phase changes, including gas-liquid and liquid-solid, that shows how relative position and speed of those particles
Use a model to describe the cycling of water in a watershed
Design, test, and revise a system to filter water

Essential Questions

How does water cycle in a watershed?
What do particles of water look like as they change phases?

Instructional Snapshot

During this unit, students will:

Make observations and generate questions about the ships that are on land where the Aral Sea once was
Make a ‘mini-lake’ and graph its mass over time, before and after a lid is removed
Observe a ‘two-bottle system’ as a model of a watershed in a closed system
Conduct a series of investigations to gather evidence on how water changes as heat is added
Design, test, and revise a water filtration system

Unit 2

How can we predict change in ecosystems?

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 plants get what they need to live and grow?
How can animals get what they need to live and grow?
How do matter and energy flow through ecosystems?
What affects the stability of ecosystems?

Instructional Snapshot

During this unit, students will:

Analyze data from an investigation to develop a model that explains how matter can enter or leave the air
Carry out an investigation to collect evidence that air is matter and develop a model to represent transfers of matter and energy
Develop and use a model to show that matter cycles and energy flows through living and nonliving parts of ecosystems
Analyze and interpret data to develop and compare food web models of matter and energy flow in two coastal ecosystems

Unit 3

Spaceship Earth - Sun, Moon, Stars

Learning Targets

Use evidence to build a model that explains how the Earth’s rotation around its own axis causes the Sun to appear to rise and set
Make a claim based on observations that the Sun’s path changes with the seasons, as does the time of sunrise and sunset
Use observations and a physical model to describe that Moon’s phases repeat in a predictable pattern
Analyze and interpret this data to construct an explanation for the direction of the force of gravity, and why the amount of gravity is different on other planets
Use observations to argue that the Sun is a star that appears brighter than other stars because it is closer to Earth

Essential Questions

What are the cyclical patterns of the sun, moon, and stars?
How can we explain these cyclical patterns?
What effect does gravity have on earth, and on other planets?

Instructional Snapshot

During this unit, students will:

Make observations of sky patterns, including the position of the sun and shadows, and the phases of the moon
Use models of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon to help explain the sky patterns
Measure their jump height and then calculate how it would change on different planets

Unit 4

Chemical Magic

Instructional Snapshot

Provide evidence to describe that total weight (mass) is conserved even when when heating, cooling, or combining substances
Describe that matter, even very small particles, have mass and take up space
Describe characteristic properties of materials through investigation and observation
Gather evidence to describe whether or not a chemical reaction occurs when mixing two or more substances

Essential Questions

Are magic potions real?
What do fireworks, rubber, and Silly Putty have in common?

Instructional Snapshot

During this unit students will:

Using a salt and vinegar solution will turn a dull penny shiny
Coating a steel nail in copper by placing it into the solution that dissolved bits of the penny
Combining substances in a chemical reaction to make ‘goo’

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