Teaching & Learning: Curriculum - Science
Science Kits - Grades 1-5
All of these are Science and Technology for Children kits from Carolina Biological Supply Company (www.carolina.com/STC). They have been selected to support the state frameworks. The activities are inquiry-based and provide rich opportunities for classroom discussion and hands-on science. We restock the kits annually with supplies from the Regional Science Resource Center.
Weather (Grade 1)
Students are introduced to the concept of weather and how it affects their everyday world. They construct and use a variety of tools that help them to learn to read thermometers, estimate wind strength, gauge rainfall, and recognize cloud formations.
 Learn more about the WEATHER kit.
Organisms (Grade 1)
Students create and observe a woodland habitat containing pine seedlings, moss, pill bugs, and bess beetles or millipedes. They also construct a freshwater habitat containing elodea and cabomba plants, ramshorn snails, and guppies.
Learn more about the ORGANISMS kit.
Life Cycle of the Butterfly (Grade 2)
This unit builds on children's natural curiosity about animals through an investigation of the painted lady butterfly life cycle. For eight weeks, classes observe and record the behavior and characteristics of this insect. Students compare the life cycle of the butterfly to the life cycle of other animals.
Learn more about the LIFE CYCLE OF THE BUTTERFLY kit.
Soils (Grade 2)
Students investigate many of the properties of soils and the importance of soil to plant growth. They use sieves and settling tubes to separate the various parts of soil samples. They investigate how water moves through soils, how soils dry out, and how soils change when water is added to them. Students also investigate composting.
Learn more about the SOILS kit.
Balancing and Weighing (Grade 2)
This unit introduces students to the relationship between balance and weight. Students investigate a variety of ways to balance objects. Activities include making mobiles and balancing objects on a beam. Students learn to use an equal-arm balance, compare and measure the weight of objects, and then order the objects according to weight. Students apply what they have learned about balance and weight to problem-solving situations that utilize dried foods.
Learn more about the BALANCING AND WEIGHING kit.
Plant Growth and Development (Grade 3)
Students observe the growth and development of Wisconsin Fast Plants (specially bred small European wildflowers) to understand plant life cycles and the interdependence of living organisms in the pollination process. Classes observe, draw, measure, record, graph, construct models, and communicate their results.
Learn more about the PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT kit.
Sounds (Grade 3)
Activities in this unit include the most noticeable characteristics of sound: vibrations, pitch, and loudness. Each activity reinforces the concept that sound is produced by vibrations. Using a magnet and a coil of wire, students create a simple speaker and then investigate to ways to make it louder. They make model vocal cords and eardrums and construct hearing aids.
Learn more about the SOUNDS kit.
Electric Circuits (Grade 4)
This unit introduces students to the properties and uses of electricity. Students construct circuit testers, investigate conductivity, make glowing filaments, build switches, make their own flashlights, and discover the properties of diodes. Lessons build on each other and culminate in the wiring of a cardboard-box house.
Learn more about the ELECTRIC CIRCUITS kit.
Ecosystems (Grade 5)
By building, observing, and experimenting with ecosystems, students understand the interdependence of living and nonliving elements in the environment. They observe an ecocolumn, noting any changes that may indicate an imbalance. Students simulate the effects of some common pollutants, including road salt, excess fertilizer, and acid rain.
Learn more about the ECOSYSTEMS kit.
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