| Science
School District of Washington
Science Curriculum 2000
RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY OF SCIENCE
The School District of Washington believes all students, regardless of gender, cultural or ethnic background, physical or learning disabilities, or future aspirations should have the opportunity to attain scientific literacy. Students will develop the modes of inquiry, rules of evidence, and ways of formulating questions that characterize the practice of contemporary science. Students will ask questions, construct explanations of natural phenomena, test those explanations in many different ways, practice laboratory safety, and communicate their ideas to others.
Science is a hands-on experiential program of study which stresses inductive learning and the scientific process of discovery and verification. Real life issues are an integral aspect of the curriculum. In particular, ecosystems and ecological realities are a prime area of focus for student learning because earth-stewardship is necessary for the survival of the planet. It is especially important that students understand scientific concepts and are unable to relate and/or apply those concepts to the world around them. Students will ask questions, construct possible answers, test those answers in many different ways, and communicate their findings and understanding to others using standard English and appropriate cultural arts skills.
The science that all students are expected to learn is defined so that students have sufficient time to develop an understanding of essential scientific ideas rather than superficial acquaintance with many isolated facts. The Science Department believes that all students can attain knowledge with understanding.
The Missouri Curriculum Frameworks have included assessment annotations in the area of Science providing supplemental assessment information to Missouri's Framework for Curriculum Development in Science K-12.
The Missouri Framework for Curriculum Development in Science has established benchmarks for grades 4, 8, and 12.
The Terra Nova Complete Battery for Science "measures knowledge of key concepts and facility with science process skills. By applying scientific concepts to objects and situations that are familiar to them, students draw connections between what they learn in the classroom and what they find in their own lives. Engaging graphics, photographs, and page designs typify science instructional materials and invite students to participate fully in the test.
The test covers the traditional core areas of science - inquiry, physical science, life science, Earth and space sciences - and adds science and technology, science in personal and social perspectives, and the history and nature of science, as suggested in the National Science Education Standards. Implicit in many questions is the measurement of higher-order thinking skills - the student's ability to analyze, infer, synthesize, and evaluate.
Grade 6
School District of Washington
Science Curriculum
Course Description: Grade Six
Sixth grade science will include studies in the areas of cells and microbes, plate tectonics, nature of matter, and forces and motion.
The Terra Nova Complete Battery assess students in sixth grade (Level 16)
*Darkened box indicates an objective. An objective is a measurable, specific skill students are expected to learn.
*Darkened oval indicates a competency. A competency is the application of objectives and processes.
|
