Students will be participating in the FOSS Science program. The best way for students to appreciate the scientific enterprise, learn important scientific and engineering concepts, and develop the ability to think well is to actively participate in scientific practices through their own investigations and analyses. The FOSS Program was created specifically to engage students in these processes as they explore the natural world.

 

 

Unit 1: How to be a Scientist or Engineer

Students will investigate what engineers and scientists are and discover how they are alike and different. Students will learn how to use the engineering design process (ask, imagine, plan, create, analyze) and utilize that process throughout the year during our STEAM activities. 

 

Unit 2: Learning to Code; Coding to Learn

Students will complete various coding projects using the coding platform SCRATCH. Some of the projects include animating their name, animating characters and creating virtual pets.

 

Unit 3: Soils, Rocks, and Landforms 

Geology is the study of our planet's earth materials and natural resources. The Soils, Rocks, and Landforms Module provides students with firsthand experiences with soils, rocks, and minerals, and modeling experiences to study changes to rocks and landforms at Earth's surface.

 

Unit 4: Energy

Students explore the concepts of energy and change, waves, and energy transfer in the Energy Module. They experience electricity and magnetism as related effects and learn useful applications of electromagnetism in everyday life. They also consider energy transfer, force, and motion in different systems.

 

Unit 5: Environments

Through the study of different ecosystems, students build an understanding of the relationships between organisms and their environments. The Environments Module focuses on the concepts that organisms need energy and matter to live and grow, and that living organisms depend on one another and on their environment for their survival and the survival of populations.