Greenhills School Course Guide
Middle School Science
Department Philosophy
The 6th grade science program is designed to engage students in scientific practices through "hands on" learning experiences that foster active involvement through beginning laboratory experiments and demonstrations. The primary goal of science instruction in the 6th grade is to cultivate and build on students' curiosity and sense of wonder of the world around them.
Students develop the ability to answer questions through investigation, analysis, and evaluation, while also acquiring a base of scientific knowledge that is relevant to their daily lives and a stepping stone to future coursework in the middle school science program. Students recognize the essential nature of mathematics within the process of scientific inquiry, and incorporate computer technology for scientific research and experimentation.
The 7th grade science program engages students in developing an understanding of key scientific ideas and principles through investigating phenomena in order to experience, first hand, the richness and excitement of developing a deep understanding of the natural world in which they live. Three projects comprise the curriculum whose goal is to address the learning outcomes envisioned by the National Science Education Standards and which systematically builds to help students develop understanding. Our pedagogical approach focuses on using scientific practices, also called upon by the National Science Education Standards.
Throughout the 8th grade, students collaborate and routinely use scientific practices in order to explain phenomena as they find solutions to authentic questions. Students engage in the following scientific practices: asking and refining questions; finding, incorporating and using information; designing experiments; collecting and organizing data; creating graphs and protocols for data interpretation; and applying the results to create scientific arguments and explanations to defend conclusions.
New learning technology tools are embedded throughout the curriculum and serve as essential components of the work. These include tools for gathering and synthesizing information, collecting and interpreting data, modeling, and multimedia and presentation software.
