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| Teachers emphasize the importance of an attitude of
inquiry. Our program is designed to help students understand and use scientific methods
and develop fundamental science processing skills. No take-home textbook is used: learning
takes place through discovery experiences that teach students to observe, analyze,
predict, experiment and to think for themselves. Students use the classroom, laboratory,
campus and field trips to expand the learning process and master scientific principles. A
science laboratory provides sixth graders with daily opportunities to perform
investigations and to receive instruction in the safe use and care of equipment. |
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| Students are invited to discover, explore, and create in a
fully equipped science room. Working in small groups helps them to develop curiosity
– the most important ingredient in scientific inquiry about our natural world. They
begin to collect data, interpret and understand as they apply this information to solving
problems and making decisions. Students plant a garden, study and care for animals in the
science room, use lab equipment such as microscopes, scales and batteries, and they
participate in individual science projects throughout the year. Environmental studies
about our ocean, fresh and salt water areas, and the rain forest are special units of
interest which students showcase for the rest of the student body during the year. For the
1994 Earth Day, students transformed their science room into an underwater environment,
and on Earth Day ’96 it became a rainforest. The children enjoy many outside speakers
and special programs that coordinate with their studies. |
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| Students learn to formulate, test and revise hypotheses in
daily science classes. In scientific investigations they construct and use operational
definitions, manipulate variables, and interpret data in several ways. Fourth graders
create their own circuit boards in an electricity unit, study the behavior of crayfish,
investigate pond life on our campus, and experiment with everything from pendulums to
jello. Fifth grade students participate in an extensive study of fresh and salt water
environments. The development of a science project is another unit of classroom study, and
after detailed information and instruction is given, students select and complete a
project and display. These are shared with their parents and with the other students in
Lower School on Display Day! In grade 6, students study life science and continue their
investigation of the scientific method and scientific experimentation. Students begin the
year designing their own bacteria culture lab. Most experiments begin and end in the
computer lab constructing quantitative and qualitative data charts and graphs. The
computer lab is also used extensively for internet research, word processing,
spreadsheets. In April of 1999, the 6th grade class will present a Florida Habitat Expo in
the form of a teaching fair for their parents and the lower school students. Student will
design brochures and a web site for this project. |
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