Science

Observe, Classify, Compare, Use Numbers, Predict, Measure, Sequence, Collect Evidence, Experiment, Control/Test Situations. Across grade and ability levels, GreenMount students learn fundamental science skills through an inquiry-based program.

The following grade-appropriate entries are drawn from text materials provided by McGraw-Hill Science for grades 1-4 and Science Plus by Holt, Rinehart and Winston for grades 5-8. Supplemental materials, texts, and resources are also used to enhance student learning. The topics and skills correlate to National Science Education Standards from the National Research Council, with content areas divided into three subcategories: Life Sciences, Earth Sciences, and Physical Sciences. When possible, units are chosen to match with the GreenMount Theme Studies program.

In grades K-3, students study these topics:

• Life Sciences – classifying living and non-living things, life cycle of plants, ecosystems, animal characteristics, food chains, body systems, the human body
• Earth Sciences – rocks and minerals, landforms, fossils, water cycle, weather and climate, solar system
• Physical Sciences – electricity, properties and states of matter, light, magnets and magnetism, simple machines, sound

In grades 4-8, students study these topics:

• Life Sciences – structure and function in living systems, reproduction and heredity, regulation and behavior, populations and ecosystems, diversity and adaptations of organisms
• Earth Sciences – structure of the earth system, earth’s history, earth in the solar system
• Physical Sciences – properties and changes of properties of matter, motions and forces, transfer of energy

By grade 8, students will have experience in biology, zoology, botany, anatomy, oceanography, genetics, chemistry, physics, astronomy, ecology, geology, meteorology, archaeology, and petrology.