We believe that children are scientists, curious about the world around them and fascinated by both natural surroundings and the processes that underlie their daily lives. Our instructional program in science strives to harness this natural curiosity to give students tools for investigation and a roadmap for inquiry. At our school children are encouraged to pursue answers to their own questions, with teachers providing the organized language, materials, and environments for exploration.

Science is a part of the ongoing process of how children live every day. As natural observers of their world, children investigate, ask questions, compare, sort, analyze, discover and are excited about their surroundings. Scientific inquiry can be applied to many learning moments throughout the day when children access materials for investigation and construction—observe, ask questions, predict/guess, experiment, and reflect.  Teachers and other adults respect and enhance children’s innate sense of wonder by sharing their enthusiasm and providing the organized experience, language, materials, and environments for exploration.  Children are encouraged to pursue answers to their own questions and develop their own ideas in a combination of teacher and child directed investigations.

The learning environment plays a key role in this process where each classroom has tools and natural objects to support experimentation and study: microscopes, magnifying glasses, scales, journals, live plants, supplies for measuring, and weighing; and supplies for construction and building inventions. Other areas, such as the backyard garden and green space, and the surrounding community, are resources used to explore and teach science and ecology concepts.

RESOURCES WE USE

Formative Assessments: Classroom activities & projects are part of the assessment portfolio.

Work Sampling System: Observing & Investigating; Questioning & Predicting; Explaining & Forming Conclusions. (Pre-K–Grade 5)

BENCHMARKS

Assessments: NWEAs are taken in Grades 2–8, 3 times per year, in the subject areas of Mathematics, Reading, and Language. Maine Science testing is taken in Grades 5 and 8, once per year.