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General science is different in that the moral maturity of the students is assumed to be less developed than that of an S3 or S4 course. These are also required courses in Manitoba, so the range of interest is initially much broader. Fortunately, my background covers content in five of the eight clusters in the Manitoba curriculum. I also have practice teaching the Dynamics of Ecosystems cluster from the S2 curriculum. In other words, the only content that I have yet to fully experience in these courses are the S1 Biology, and S2 Weather clusters. With that being said, I have still deconstructed each of those clusters in university to become better accustomed to the content, and I have observed teachings of the S1 biology cluster from two different teachers in practice.
With respect to the Manitoba curricula, I am comfortable teaching ALL clusters and the following is a method of teaching all clusters simultaneously:
Grade 9 (S1)
Grade 9 (S1)
S1 – Reproduction
S1 – Atoms and Elements
S1 – The Nature of Electricity
S1 – Exploring the Universe
Grade 10 (S2)
Grade 10 (S2)
S2 – Dynamics of Ecosystems
S2 – Chemistry in Action
S2 – In Motion
S2 – Weather Dynamics
Exploration of Space
Exploration of Space
The big idea is for students to explore the universe, with no limitations. At the start of the course, students plan to leave Earth, and have to identify essential needs to survive indefinitely. These essential needs will include food, water, shelter, and a few other pieces as suggested by the students.
Throughout the course, students will come across different environments, planets, etc. Initially, they will be the planetary bodies in our solar system. Later, they will become artificial exoplanets with varying resources (if any). The teacher has the advantage of preparing which planets the students come across, to initiate discussion and lesson about the other clusters in the unit.
For example, if they come across a planet with water and/or metals, this would be an opportunity to have a lesson from Atoms and Elements. Or, if the planet was home to asexually reproducing organisms, it would be an opportunity to learn from Reproduction.
At the conclusion of this course, the goal is that students will have experienced the astronomy unit, Exploring the Universe, which is often left out. In addition, they will have experienced each of the other three clusters in micro-doses, to develop an appreciation for science in general, as opposed to just biology, chemistry, or physics.
Assessment would be far more interesting than a formal test. Instead, students will have to use the knowledge from their journey so far, to explain the relevant instances they had experienced. For instance, using the examples above, a student could be asked whether they had come across any life, and how that organism (if they did) reproduced. This calls on experiential knowledge more than a call and response based classroom might stimulate.
Photo by Teddy Kelley on Unsplash
Sample Lesson Plan
Sample Lesson Plan
EDU Lesson Plan - Bioaccumulation.pdfGoogle Sites
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