Open House 2014 Science and Math

Science Overview  Science is primarily group work, hands on activities. Students have roles within their groups to ensure each student participates.  Each individual student is responsible for their own notes and written work.  Approximately ¼ of the science curriculum is reading and writing.  There will be science homework approximately once a week. It will be a short reading assignment, work on a project or to study for a test.  Students are expected to keep a notebook with notes and their thinking. Notebooks will be checked every 2-3 weeks

Science Standards  Similar to the Common Core in Math and Language Arts, there has been a national effort to create new standards for science.  Massachusetts had adopted and modified its own version of these standards.  Our curriculum is based on these new standards  We also weave in Science Common Core Literacy Standards and Math Common Core Standards into the curriculum 

Science Curriculum  Who are Scientists & What do they do? We will learn about many different scientists and the different kinds of science. As scientists, we will practice observing, measuring and questioning. Through hands on inquiries we will practice and understand the scientific process and what makes a valid experiment.  Looking Up … What do we see? This unit focuses on observable patterns in the sky over time. We will observe the moon, sun, and stars and how they change over a day, a week, and a year. We will be conducting a study on shadows and how they change throughout the year.

Science Curriculum (continued)  What is Matter? Using our senses to observe the world around us, we will learn to describe and identify everything we see by its properties. We will also be looking at physical and chemical changes in matter.  Water Planet What is so important about water? This unit is all about the importance of water to our planet. We will track water as it moves through the air and ground. We will also discuss the importance of fresh water and conduct an engineering project to make water filters.

Science Curriculum (continued)  Energy Web After tracking water and how it moves around the planet, we will investigate the path of energy through our world. Focusing on the sun as the source of the earth’s energy, we will trace how it moves through plants, animals and decomposers. We will also be involved in an engineering composting investigation, in which we will compare and contrast different designs for composting.

Math What Does it Look Like? This year, students are using the McGraw Hill My Math program In math, students will do a mixture of whole class work, partner/group work and independent work Students will be journaling in math The lessons follow a certain sequence: instruction, guided practice and independent practice Students are encouraged to use hands on manipulatives and resources to assist them in problem-solving and conceptual understanding Students have a math workbook and reference binder that they bring back and forth from home to school

Math Content Students will be covering several topics that fall under larger headings including numbers and operations in base ten, geometry, measurement and data, operations and algebraic thinking and fractions Numbers and Operation in base ten: Multiplication and division of whole numbers and decimals Addition and subtraction of decimals Geometry Triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, prism and composites

Math Cont. Measurement and Data Weight, capacity, length Ruler and Metric work Fractions Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing Relationship with decimals and percents Like and unlike denominators Multiples and factors Operations and Algebraic Thinking Expressions Graphing Patterns Order of operations

Resources McGraw Hill student book McGraw Hill online Reference binder Edmodo After-school IXL At home: Practice, practice, practice math facts. This will increase efficiency Talk to your child about relationships among numbers. Ex. 6 and 60 This will help to strengthen problem solving strategies and build number sense

My Math Website hill.com/connected/login.do