Accelerated High School

Standardized Curriculum of General Science-I

Scientific and technological advances have proliferated and now permeate most aspects of life in the 21st century. It is increasingly important that all members of our society develop an understanding of scientific and engineering concepts and processes. Learning how to construct scientific explanations and how to design evidence-based solutions provides students with tools to think critically about personal and societal issues and needs. Students can then contribute meaningfully to decision-making processes, such as discussions about climate change, new approaches to health care, and innovative solutions to local and global problems.

Mission:

All students will understand the scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision-making, participation in civic life, and preparation for careers in STEM fields (for those who choose). 

Vision:

 Prepare students to become scientifically literate individuals who can effectively:

• Apply scientific thinking, skills, and understanding to real-world phenomena and problems;
• Engage in systems thinking and modeling to explain phenomena and give a context for the ideas to be learned. 
• Conduct investigations, solve problems, and engage in discussions;
• Discuss open-ended questions that focus on the strength of the evidence used to generate claims.
• Read and evaluate multiple sources, including science-related magazine and journal articles and web-based resources,, to gain knowledge about current and past science problems and solutions and develop well-reasoned claims. 
• Communicate ideas through journal articles, reports, posters, and media presentations that explain and argue.

Spirit and Intent:

The AHS science curriculum has been prepared and standardized following The New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Science (NJSLS-S), which describe the expectations for what students should know and be able to do as well as promote three-dimensional science instruction across the three science domains (i.e., physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences). From the earliest grades, the expectation is that students will engage in learning experiences that enable them to investigate phenomena, design solutions to problems, make sense of evidence to construct arguments, and critique and discuss those arguments (in appropriate ways relative to their grade level). 

The foundation of the NJSLS-S reflects three dimensions: science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and cross-cutting concepts. The performance expectations are derived from the interplay of these three dimensions. These three components must be integrated into all learning experiences. The three dimensions within each standard document are intentionally presented as integrated components to foster sense-making and design solutions to problems. Because the NJSLS-S is built on the notions of coherence and contextuality, each of the science and engineering practices and cross-cutting concepts appears multiple times across topics and at every grade level. Additionally, the three dimensions should be an integral part of every curriculum unit and should not be taught in isolation.

Three Dimensions of AHS Science Curriculum:

The performance expectations reflect the three dimensions and describe what students should know and be able to do. In layman’s terms, they are “the standards.” They are written as statements that can be used to guide assessment and allow for flexibility in the way that students can demonstrate proficiency. The example below is provided to illustrate the interconnected nature of the NJSLS-S components.

Becoming familiar with science practices and cross-cutting concepts is a critically important first step in designing learning experiences reflective of the three dimensions. A description of each of the science and engineering practices and the cross-cutting concepts can be found in the next sections. Further, for students to develop proficiency in the NJSLS-S, they will need to engage in learning experiences that are meaningful, cumulative, and progressive. Learning experiences are designed to be meaningful, go beyond reading about science concepts, and provide opportunities for students to be active learners and make sense of ideas. Cumulative learning experiences provide opportunities for students to use and build on ideas that they have learned in previous units. Progressive learning experiences provide multiple occasions for students to engage in ways that enable them to improve their construction of explanations and solutions over time by iteratively assessing them, elaborating on them, and holding them up to critique and evidence.

Curriculum for Grade-I General Science:

Standard 1: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer.

Learning Objectives:

• Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate. 
• Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that objects can be seen only when illuminated
• Plan and investigate to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light 
• Use tools and materials to design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance.

Topics of AHS-GS:

Light and Sound

• More Light or less light
• Investigate shadows
• Which lets light through?
• How do we use light and sound to communicate? 

Standard 2: From Molecules to Organisms: Structure and Processes

Learning Objectives:

• Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs. 
• Read texts and use media to determine patterns in the behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive.

Topics of AHS-GS:

Living and Non-Living Things

• Identify living and non-living things
• Needs of living things
• What do living things eat?
• Identify plants and animals
• Compare plants and animals
• Differences between living and non-living things

Plants

• Identify parts of plants
• Functions of plant parts
• Needs of plants
• Identify parents of plants
• Where do water lilies and saguaros live?
• Where do bearberries and powdery strap air plants live?
• Where do turtle grass and giant sequoias live?

Animals

• Identify basic parts of animals
• Needs of animals
• Identify parents of animals
• Identify wild and domestic animals
• Where do dromedary camels and polar bears live?
• Where do giraffes and beavers live?
• Where do whale sharks and tree frogs live?
• The five senses
• Read animal life cycle diagrams

Standard 3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Learning Objectives:

• Make observations to construct an evidence-based account of how young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.  

Topics of AHS-GS:

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

• What makes you? You.
• Family Traits
• Variety in nature.
• How do traits mix?
• Genetic Disorders

Standard 4: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions 

Learning Objectives:

• Plan and investigate to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object. 
• Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull. 

Topics of AHS-GS:

 Forces: Push and Pull

• Introduction to forces: push and pull
• Differentiate between pushing and pulling actions
• Everyday examples of push and pull
• The way things move

Standard 5: Energy 

Learning Objectives:

• Make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth’s surface. 
• Use tools and materials to design and build a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area.

Topics of AHS-GS: 

 Astronomy

• The daytime sky
• The night sky

Standard 6: Earth Systems 

Learning Objectives:

• Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time. 
• Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs.

Topics of AHS-GS:

 Seasons and Weather

• Identify the four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall.
• Learn the basic weather conditions: sunny, rainy, windy, and snowy.
• Learn the concept of temperature (hot and cold)
• Learn basic weather symbols
• Types of precipitation
• Weather patterns
• Severe weather: blizzards
• Severe weather: tornadoes
• Severe weather: hurricanes

Earth’s Resources

• Earth materials: water, rocks, and soil
• Bodies of water
• Classify rocks and minerals
• Natural resources

Standard 7: Matter and its Interactions

Topics of AHS-GS

Matter: solid, Liquid, or gas

• Identify three main states of matter
• Classify solids, liquids, and gases
• Use of solids, liquids, and gases in our daily lives
• Freezing and Melting
• Heating and Cooling
• Changes caused by heating and cooling

Standard 8: Earth and Human Activity

Learning Objectives:

• Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live. 
• Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting: to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather. 
• Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of climate change and humans on the land, water, air, and/or other living things in the local environment.

Topics of AHS-GS

 Ecosystems:

• How do living things change their environments to meet their needs?
• How do gray squirrels change the forest to meet their needs?

Human Impacts:

• Reduce, reuse, and recycle

Standard 9: Engineering Design

Learning Objectives:

• Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change (e.g., climate change) to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. 
• Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.
• Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.

Topics of AHS-GS:

Shapes and Color

• Classify objects by two-dimensional shape
• Sort objects by two-dimensional shapes
• Classify objects by three-dimensional shape
• Sort objects by three-dimensional shape
• Classify objects by color
• Sort objects by color

Materials

• Classify objects by texture
• Sort objects by texture
• Classify objects by material
• Sort objects by material
• Classify objects by shape, color, material, and texture
• Describe objects

Comparing

• Long and short
• Light and Heavy
• Hot and cold