Overview: Science

Science in the Lower School encourages and empowers students to pursue their innate curiosity while building a solid foundation of scientific skills, knowledge, and experience.

Highly engaging and rigorous, the program is developmentally appropriate and provides an enriching experience for all young scientists. The processes and skills of science are emphasized using labs, suitable technology, and hands-on materials. The curriculum is based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The FOSS (Full Option Science System) science program serves as the core resource. Articulated units of study in the physical, earth, and life sciences are addressed at each grade level.

The processes and skills of science are emphasized within the context of “doing” science in real life situations. The science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum has been recently enhanced with the introduction of new hands-on projects in engineering. The projects, which connect directly to existing science units, are called Engineering is Elementary and were developed by the Museum of Science in Boston.

Lower School Science Units of Study

Kindergarten	Trees, Wood, and Paper	Animals Two by Two
Grade1	Solids and Liquids	Air and Weather	Plants and Animals
Grade2	Insects	Balance and Motion	Pebbles, Sand, and Silt
Grade3	Structures of Life	Sun	Matter and Energy
Grade4	Solid Earth	Electricity and Magnetism	Environments
Grade5	Mixtures and Solutions	Living Systems	Water Planet