The objectives of any Science Core or Optional Unit may be used together with objectives from other Required Areas of Study to produce an integrated thematic unit. Science activities can often form an excellent starting point for branching into English Language Arts, Arts Education, Health, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Physical Education. Suggested themes lists ideas for themes through which some of the objectives of the Science unit could be addressed, using an interdisciplinary approach.
The section in the Core and Optional Units entitled Factors of scientific literacy which should be emphasized lists the factors which should be emphasized in each unit. Although each teacher is free to emphasize whichever factors are thought to be most appropriate in a given unit, this section is intended to give a structure which can be used to ensure that all the factors relevant to each grade level have at least one unit where they are emphasized. The organizational table provided at the beginning of each grade (e.g., Factors of Scientific Literacy Developed in Grade 1 can be used to ensure that the factors of scientific literacy being developed at a grade level are given adequate coverage. The table can also be used for student assessment and curriculum assessment.
The Common Essential Learnings (CELs) foundational objectives which should be emphasized are provided as a reminder that one of the primary foci of the Science curriculum is the incorporation of the CELs into Science instruction. The foundational objectives, as the name suggests, are broad guiding objectives. The inclusion of particular CELs for emphasis within a unit does not preclude the development of other CELs.
The Science foundational and learning objectives define what will be taught in each unit. For each foundational objective, there are several, more specific learning objectives. The foundational objectives suggest what the students should be able to do at the end of the unit. The learning objectives lead to that outcome, and will be used to plan the lessons for each unit.
The Suggested Activities provide a wider choice of activities, permitting the Science program to be designed to suit the needs of students. In addition to the Suggested Activities in the Curriculum Guide, activities can be found in the resources referenced to each unit in Science: An Information Bulletin for Elementary Level --Key Resources, and in Science: A Bibliography for the Elementary Level. Fidelity to the new Science curriculum can be attained only if activities form the basis of science instruction at the Elementary Level. The Suggested Activities are matched to the factors within the Dimensions of Scientific Literacy, to the learning objective(s) for that unit, and to strategies for student assessment. In addition, a comment on the Common Essential Learnings is included with many of the Suggested Activities.
It is not intended that all of the activities listed in the Core Units of this Curriculum Guide be used in the program, but rather that teacher-selected activities from the Curriculum Guide and as many other sources as possible be integrated to produce a comprehensive unit. The sequence of the activities is at the teacher's discretion.
The time allocation for Science at the Elementary Level is 150 minutes per week, with a possible reduction by up to 20% for locally-determined options. This averages out at 30 minutes or less per day, but it is unlikely that any teacher would find this daily distribution to be of most value. Flexibility is encouraged in allocating the time distribution. The determining factors would include the nature of the activities proposed for the science lessons and the rate at which the children could be expected to work. A typical plan may result in three 50 minute sessions in one week, followed by one two hour session and three ten minute periods.
Another dimension comes into play, however. The teacher will not be considering Science in isolation from other Required Areas of Study. A teacher may integrate several Required Areas of Study by focusing on a central theme or topic. A web can be used to define the scope and interrelatedness of the work. Having constructed the web, it is quite feasible that, for example, a measuring activity may have both a Science and a Mathematics focus. Such integration should be pursued. In so doing, it is necessary to be flexible with timelines by combining the time allocations for Science and Mathematics.
The timelines are presented as a guide to ensure that no Required Area of Study is emphasized to the detriment or exclusion of others.
Saskatchewan Education recommends that no less that 3 weeks (at 150 minutes per week), and no more than 8 weeks, be spent on any Core Unit. The time allocated to a particular Core Unit must remain flexible, in both Saskatchewan Education's recommendation and in the individual teacher's planning. As many activities as possible should be open-ended, so the timelines must be flexible in order to allow for pursuit of student-initiated investigations and exploration of students' questions. One question may lead to another and this pursuit of knowledge should be encouraged and fostered.
Normally, from 70% to 80% of the year would be spent on Core Units, and the remainder of the time on Optional Units or on further development of the Core Units. The absence of a compulsory 100% time requirement on the Core Units does not imply that any portion of the time which should be allotted to Science can be used in any of the other Required Areas of Study. The curriculum has been so designed to give creative control of the Science course to the teacher, and to accommodate the Adaptive Dimension.
|
3-8 weeks per Core Unit (7.5 to 20 hours) the remainder of time on Optional Units or on further development of the Core Units
|
Sample format
Here is one example of how these timelines can be translated into practice. The situation will vary depending upon circumstances. Each teacher is encouraged to make an overall plan for the year.
Note that the Core Unit on Predicting Weather is being covered at different times of the year, to study seasonal variations. The Core Unit on Forms of Energy has been integrated with two Optional Units.
| Plant Diversity (Optional Unit) | -- 3 weeks (7.5 hours) |
| Predicting Weather (Core Unit) | -- 2 weeks in September plus 4 weeks in February-March (15 hours) |
| Forms of Energy (Core Unit) integrated with Optional Units on Light and Electricity and Magnetism | -- 11 weeks (27.5 hours, with roughly 18 hours on the Core Unit, and the remaining time integrating the Optional Units) |
| Cells and Systems (Core Unit) | -- 7 weeks (17.5 hours) |
| Fossils and Rocks (Core Unit) | -- 7 weeks (17.5 hours) |
| Vertebrates and Invertebrates (Optional Unit) | -- 4 weeks (10 hours) |
Total time spent on Science in this example:
| Core Units: | 15 + 18 + 17.5 + 17.5 | = 68 hours |
| Optional Units: | 7.5 + 9.5 + 10 | = 27 hours |
| Total: | = 95 hours |