The Whole Child Curriculum: Science K-8

 
1st Grade
Students learn to see nature as a complete whole comprised of any interlocking parts. The children are encouraged to reflect on things through stories, through looking at nature, following the seasonal changes and through descriptions of experiences which emphasize what is special about what they see.

2nd Grade
Nature study continues in connection with poetry, legends and imaginative descriptions of natural processes. Students now experience how human beings are linked to nature. The "outdoor classroom" will be experienced in all seasons through regular walks and field trips.

3rd Grade
Environmental Studies20 Third Graders study the ways that indigenous peoples and cultures lived in harmony with their environments--how their shelters were built, how they clothed themselves, what foods they ate and how it was acquired. It can be shown, using the Native American people, how the Woodland Indians of the Northeast were dependent on the plants and trees, which predominated in their environment. They provided them with their food, shelter, clothing, and means of transportation. The Plains Indians were indebted to the buffalo, which were revered and looked upon with deepest gratitude. The Pueblo Indians of the Southwest, living in the barren and dry deserts, depended on the earth, which they used for their shelters and ceramics. Finally, the Inuit, or Eskimos to the far North, relied on water, in all its forms, for their shelter and transportation, and for the animals that lived in it for their clothing and food. The study of shelters and housing can progresses through pioneer days and the building of log cabins in the forests, and sod houses on the prairies, right up through the present day into the building of contemporary dwellings. Visits to building sites are important, and the class learns about the many stages and the specialties involved in the planning and building of a modem house. Practical experience is important for the third grader and the class undertakes its own building project, perhaps as a gift to the school or wider community.

Farming and gardening are also very important elements of the third grade science/environmental curriculum. The class starts and maintains its own organic garden. This active gardening curriculum continues all through the following grades.

4th Grade
Stories about: (a) different animals describing their physiology, morphology, and habitat; (b) people with a special relationship to an animal; (c) animals and other living things that cause beneficial or detrimental change to the environment (i.e. beaver).

• Observation of wild and classroom animals
• Animal reports, including drawing, writing, and painting
• Animal verse and songs
• Animal charades, improvisation, role-playing
• Animal modeling
• Collages, murals, models and displays of food webs and cycles and of different environmental ecosystems. o Dramatization and games depicting food webs, chains and cycles, and various animal movement.

5th Grade
American regional and physical geography related to vegetation, animals and agriculture are studied. The children should develop a greater consciousness of the interrelatedness of life and environment - particularly through the study of botany and zoology. Practical work with plant and animal life includes lab work and field work to bring a direct environmental and ecological emphasis to the life science curriculum. As an example of the integration of all the subjects, when fifth graders learn about the oak tree of Southern California, with its unique characteristics and gestures, they learn through lively description of its historical use, live interaction (climbing), painting and poetry. This leads the students to an understanding that does not just place it in the category of "deciduous" and then go on to the next type of tree, but teaches them the place of the oak tree in the environment and the world. 20 By Patrick McMahon (edited by Joan Jaeckel)

6th Grade
Earth Science, Geology and Astronomy.

Through the presentation of lively pictures, students consider how the earth was created years ago and how various forces have caused the formation of mountains, oceans, lakes and other geographical features. Emphasis is placed on how the earth is changing constantly and what is causing this change. Comparisons are made between granite and limestone and between various types of rocksžmetamorphic, sedimentary and igneous.

The study of geology is connected to geography (actual earth forms), and particularly local geography, whenever possible. The study moves from the "whole" to the "part." For example, only when a lively image of a granite mountain range as contrasted to a limestone landscape has been given are actual samples of the respective rocks presented.

Astronomy includes the study of the movements of the sun, moon, planets and constellations, and emphasis is placed on observations with the naked eye. In the Physical Sciences, the Sixth graders are given a picture of what we can experience when observing the inanimate world and the opportunity to observe phenomena with all their senses. Sound, light, heat, magnetism and static electricity are introduced. Similarities and differences are elucidated. (For example, the ways that sound, light and heat travel are compared. These forces can also be obstructed, deflected, reflected or absorbed.)

The teaching is based mostly on observation so that true and sound conclusions can be drawn. Students are engaged in exploring the "mysteries" of nature rather than being given instant conclusions. In this process they experience and realize that the path to knowledge is at times difficult and different from the stores of information with which we are inundated. Experiments start with what is familiar and known. Students carefully write up their observations and artistically illustrate their notebook pages.

The geology/mineralogy main lesson block includes study of limestone, silica, chalk, and coal, etc.

PHSYICS
Acoustics, optics, the relationship and colors of light and shadow, heat, magnetism and static electricity are studied.

7th Grade
In the 7th Grade, the physical science curriculum continues with the study of Light/Optics, Acousitics/Sound, Heat, Magnetism and Electricity. The 7th Grader, in addition to experiencing phenomena and then reflecting on the experience, also asks "how." "How has the phenomena arisen and how does it work?" The demonstrations, activities and investigations now refine the student's capacities for observation, for drawing conclusions and forming judgments. They call upon the student to compare what they are experiencing with what they know. Students learn to understand the gramophone, the pin-hole camera, the camera obscura, thermometers, electrical appliances, and so on.

Through the process of quantifying and measuring, students begin to objectify their experience. They begin to delineate specific forces and explore their interactions. For instance, students experienced the pitches of different sounds in 7th Grade; now they discover how the relationships between pitches correspond to mathematical formulas.

Students study Mechanics and again the children observe, experiment and discover the laws themselves. Student study levers, digital balance, the inclined plane, the winch, pulleys-block and tackle, wedge, screw, and gear.

Work with Inorganic Chemistry begins at this grade. Moving out from the familiar process of Combustion, students learn elementary ideas and concepts of Chemistry. Acids are introduced as another form of fire and how, together with bases, salts are formed. Water and various gases (hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon diox- ide) can be studied along with the principal metals. Students are approached with the scientific, cultural, artistic and practical sides of chemistry and how it relates to industrial and economic life. They are asked to respond through observations, reports and illustrations.

The Life Science curriculum includes Physiology. The main systems of the body are studied: respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and reproductive. These are presented to the students in an artistic and positive way. Health, Nutrition and Hygiene are brought so that these systems have meaning and relevance to the students. Discussions include responsibility for oneself and respect for others, the responsibilities involved in sexual relationships and parenthood, contraception and love, the media and teen magazines, and larger issues of freedom, instinct, and human nature.

Throughout the science blocks accurately written descriptions and drawings are integral. Reports on the applied aspects of these subjects are done as well. The 7th Grade Science curriculum includes a block on Astronomy and one on Computer Science.

Students learn the biographies of great scientists to show how science is set in a historical context and how determined individuals pursued their fascination with phenomena.

The technical applications (welding, smelting, and fire extinguishers) are taught inside of a wider social and environmental context. 8th Grade: If the key question in 7th Grade was "How," the questions in 8th Grade are "Why" "Where" and "Who." Why does this process occur? Where in the world does it happen? Who found a way to apply it?

In Physics, Acoustics, Optics, Heat and Electromagnetism are pursued further and are taken up through their practical application as founded in the industrial and technological revolutions. Studies in Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Meteorology and Aeromechanics are introduced. Work in the Life Sciences, or Physiology, continues with a study of the skeletal and muscular systems (particularly the form and function of the spinal column and its relationship to uprightness), as well as the inner working of the eye and ear. The nervous and reproductive systems are also taught.

Finally, using simple chemical concepts extended from the 7th Grade curriculum, a link is developed with substances which build up the human organism, such as starch, sugar, protein and fat. This block deepens the understanding of health and nutrition studied in 7th Grade. The general theme is how metabolism and the food chain relate to the natural world and the seasons. Pickling, storage, cheese making and food production and cooking are examined along with issues of health and diet. 8th Grade students learn to build a simple computer and continue their understanding of the basic science of computing. (See also "Yuba River Charter School" - Twin Ridges Elementary School District APPENDIX H )

ECOLOGY
In Southern California our close proximity to wetlands, dunes, ocean, mountains and deserts, affords our students the opportunity to explore dramatically diverse environments almost daily. Rather than taught as separate subjects, environmental studies and eco-literacy are thoroughly integrated into all aspects of the curriculum.

Kindergarten
Celebrating seasonal festivals makes the pupils aware of the yearly rhythms of nature and the interconnectedness of nature and people, even in an urban environment. Time spent in creative play - working with wood, wool, water, sand - gives pupils sensory experiences that evolve into a keen sense of the world around them. Orderliness and an attractive classroom environment mirrors the orderliness and beauty of nature. Stories, poetry, songs and artistic activities develop the imaginative faculties (a sense of wonder and the search for answers) which are the foundation of the scientific method of inquiry.

1st & 2nd Grade
Stories with themes of transformation teach the concept of evolution in an imaginative way setting the stage for a more rigorous analysis in the later grades. Stories and fables lay a metaphorical foundation for the forces of nature that will be studied scientifically later.

3rd Grade
Creation myths from different cultures about the origins of the earth and human beings prime the mind of the children to think of the whole world as a single holistic environment. Stories of individuals, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Henry David Thoreau, St. Francis of Assisi, or Jane Goodall teach students about their unique place in the ecosystem and their personal ability to affect change. The 3rd grade gardening and farming curriculum reinforces lessons about nature and the seasons. In the early years, the OCS curriculum emphasizes through story and activity, that ecology begins with a sense of personal responsibility. (see also APPENDIX I "Grades One to Three Environmental Curriculum")

4th Grade
Local geography is an important aspect of environmental studies. Students will learn and describe the many unique aspects of their local environment. A special emphasis of the 4th Grade year is the human interaction with the animal kingdom. Observation of wild and classroom animals. Animal reports, including drawing, writing, and painting. Animal verse and songs. Animal charades, improvisation, role-playing. Animal modeling. Collages, murals, models and displays of food webs and cycles and of different environmental ecosystems. Dramatization and games depicting food webs, chains and cycles, and various animal movement.

5th Grade
American regional and physical geography related to vegetation, animals and agriculture are studied. The children will develop a greater consciousness of the interrelatedness of life and environment - particularly through the study of botany and zoology. Practical work with plant and animal life includes lab work and field work to bring a direct environmental and ecological emphasis to the life science curriculum. As an example of the integration of all the subjects, when fifth graders learn about the oak tree of Southern California, with its unique characteristics and gestures, they learn through lively description of its historical use and cultural importance, painting and poetry. This leads the students to an understanding that does not just place it in the category of 'deciduous' and then go on to the next type of tree, but teaches them the place of the oak tree in the culture, the environment and the world.

6th Grade
Students continue their communal work in the school garden. Emphasis is on the care of the soil and the tending and harvesting of flowers and vegetables. Students study the importance of biological diversity, composting, natural pest management. They may assess the schools current landscaping and then evaluate its present health and environmental impact. Sort and analyze school garbage to identify recyclable and compost-able materials. Form a plan to reduce consumption and waste at school and at home.

Grade 6 possible activities from the Environmental Action series, published by Dale Seymour publications.

Interview grandparents/older neighbors about how the landscape of the area has changed over the years. Students ask how the town or city developed, where roads were built, what was once forest or farmland. In class discussion, the look of the land today with what it once was is compared. Students do research about public parks and gardens in their community .Students gather information by writing letters to local parks dept., environmental groups or state dept. of natural resources or local garden clubs. Students create a pie graph showing the % of space in the city limits devoted to parks and public gardens. Ways in which the amount of space devoted to parks and public gardens can be increased are discussed.

7th Grade
Focus is on food choices and nutrition. Students investigate the effects of food production, diet, and nutrition on human health and the environment. The link between agriculture and the manufacturing industry is explored. The link between agriculture and the manufacturing industry is explored as well as the impact of manufacturing on air quality, soil, and water. Continue with organic gardening and composting.

8th Grade
Students explore the sources, production, uses, and environmental effects of energy. They may examine how energy is used, how it is measured and how it can be conserved. Create charts to show how energy is used in the school and at home and apply their learning by examining ways to improve the energy efficiency of their school and homes. Field trips and field study will be a large part of the learning. Continue with organic gardening and composting.

For more information about the curriculum, please email: curriculum@oceancharterschool.org