Elementary School Science

The curricula at each grade level develops students’ expertise with disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), science and engineering practices (SEPs) and crosscutting concepts (CCCs) while simultaneously considering the dimensions of students’ language, social-emotional, and physical development across the school year. In each unit, students work to explain phenomena related to core scientific ideas by employing science and engineering practices. Students begin to develop an understanding of 

• Patterns
• Scale, Proportion and Quantity
• Cause & Effect
• Systems and System Models
• Energy & Matter
• Structure & Function
• Stability and Change

These cross-cutting concepts provide students with thinking frames to analyze the world around them throughout their educational journeys and beyond. Each grade level integrates core ideas from life, physical and Earth science.  

STEAM Lab

STEAM Lab educators support classroom teachers in making sure that students engage in rich learning throughout the year. Elementary STEAM lab is an opportunity for students to engage in scientific inquiry through hands-on investigations of natural phenomena connected to grade-specific science concepts taught during classroom instruction. Students utilize the engineering design process to identify and solve problems in their worlds and to apply computational thinking to solve problems, using code to express ideas. The STEAM course develops critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills for future success of the students using creative processes to observe, interpret, and analyze their world.