Cascade Canyon

In Kindergarten science, we will explore five large units of study, described below. The course will also naturally venture into other areas as students' interests and passions emerge. Wherever possible, learning will occur through doing and exploring!

Unit I: Observation, Inquiry and the Scientific Method

Scientists ask important questions about the world and conduct careful investigations to try and find understanding. We will study important scientists of the past, the questions that they asked about the world, and the experimentation and data collection they did to try and find understanding.

We will take scientific inquiry walks- asking "what, when, why, who, where, and how" about everything we notice using our senses.

We will perform a series of experiments and practice using the scientific method from beginning to end, including the following steps: 

            -ask a pregunta (question) Some questions will be posed by the teacher and some    by the students.

            -adivina (take a guess)

            -design and perform un experimento to test your hypothesis

            -analyze los resultos and draw conclusiones

Students will be given sets of materials to evoke questioning.  Students will then use those materials to design experiments to answer their questions.


Unit II: Animal Studies and Lifecycles

We will study frog and butterfly lifecycles and observe class worm and ant farms.

We will research the animals presented in Peggy's zoophonics curriculum.

Students will study birds; their nesting, flight, migration, beak types, and other adaptations. 

We will study insect morphology, ecological importance, biomass, and adaptations such as camouflage and mimicry.

Students will investigate marine biology as a venue for studies of adaptation, symbiotic relationships and how those relationships support health and survival.


Unit III: Weather

Students will take part in daily weather mapping and discussion of how that relates to the seasons.

We will design and create a weather station complete with wind vanes and anemometers.

Unit IV: Local Flora

Experimentation and discovery of plant functions, importance (as habitat, oxygen provision, food for humans and other animals, spiritual importance, etc), life-cycles, morphology, and types of seed distribution.

Students will discover the different parts of a plant and how they support plant health. They will question what makes survival difficult? What characteristics do plants and animals have that allow them to survive in different habitats?

We will look specifically at marine flora and planktonic flora.


Unit V: Water and Earth

Students will work extensively with water; experimenting with floatation, evaporation, and the different physical forms of water.

Students will recognize resources from the Earth that are used every day and how they can be conserved.