Elementary Science scope and sequence

[dramacentral]

Hey everyone,

Starting next year I am going to be designing and teaching the science curriculum to our school's 2nd and 3rd graders. While we have units of study that have been well-planned and implemented in the past, there is no master scope and sequence for me to use as a blueprint in making decisions. Nor does it seem to connect with what the upper grades are doing (a second teacher is teaching those classes)

I downloaded our state's science standards but found them rather vague. They specified necessary skill areas, but not content. So after I study them more and figure out what the state is really asking of us, I have to make some decisions about what our scope and sequence is going to be.

So I would like to ask all of you --
-What units of study are taught to your 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders?
-Is there a specific order or do the units correspond to different times of the school year? (for example, hatching chicks in the spring)
-How specific are your state science standards? How closely does your school follow them?

Thanks in advance! Answers to any/all of the questions would really help me out.

 

[Carolynne]

science 3rd

I'm in NY. We have state standards that you could find on the web. Our district has broken those down but to be honest in the classroom we more or less look at the vocabulary our district gives us for our grade level for each unit. In third these are the units: weather, human body/nutrition, magnets, electrical circuits, ecology, life cycles, butterflies & plants, and we also do safety as part of science not health although I'm not sure why.