Science

The intermediate grades’ focus expands upon the foundation laid in the primary grades. Students continue to learn about the world around them through hands-on exploration and STREAM projects. Students explore earth and space sciences, specifically the earth’s place in the universe, the earth's systems, and how our human activities affect our earth. In addition, intermediate students delve into life science with a study of molecules and organisms, how organisms utilize energy, and how ecosystems interact. During physical science lessons, students investigate matter and its interactions, motion, forces, stability, chemical and physical reactions, and energy. Labs, such as the owl pellet dissection, where our students explore food webs by examining what organisms an owl has eaten, are introduced. 

Textbooks used:

• Third grade: Science:  Grade 3
• Fourth grade: Science:  Grade 4
• Fifth grade: Science:  Grade 5

• Develop and support an argument using scientific evidence
• Represent data in different graphical displays
• Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and or atmosphere interact
• Illustrate and explain water as a natural resource: where it comes from, where freshwater is located, and the water cycle
• Research, identify, and report on environmental problems affecting our lives today
• Form an understanding of plant/animal cells and single-cell/multi-cell organisms
• Determine and discuss the classification of animals
• Identify and describe the steps of photosynthesis
• Compare and contrast producers, consumers, and decomposers
• Build a model of a food web that illustrates how matter moves through plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment; predict problems that can occur when the food web is out of balance
• Discuss the stages of human growth and development
• Begin to develop a basic understanding of the periodic table
• Explore the cause and effect relationship of chemical reaction and chemical change
• Design a diagram or flowchart to demonstrate the flow of energy through an animal and where the energy is transferred in the surrounding environment