word of God Catholic SCHOOL

   Science and Health Grades 4-8                  

    The science and health program is designed to emphasize the development of thinking skills. The students use process skills, such as observing, classifying, estimating and measuring, inferring, predicting, and making and using models. The students practice thinking like a scientist; They learn to develop a problem statement and form a hypothesis. They either follow a predetermined experiment or design their own experiment (in the form of a science fair project). After collecting data and analyzing it (graphing), the student forms a conclusion based on the results. Students then have to communicate their results in a lab report or a science fair display. The science program includes a wide variety of topics (health, plants, animals, cells, human body, weather, earth, physics and chemistry, etc). The science program is supported using a variety of text books, videos, diagrams and interactive media from the internet. Use of the Smart Board on a daily basis reinforces learning by actively engaging the student in the learning process. Students are responsible for maintaining an organized notebook, participating in class discussion, completing lab activities and homework assignments. The most important responsibility is to be curious. Science explains the world around us. When questions arise, (preferably ones related to the subject matter) it is important to recognize that most of the time an explanation is available. Research tools, such as internet or resource book, are utilized as needed. Science is also an excellent time to initiate discussion on the relationship between God and the study of science. For example, science alone can not fully explain how life and all its complexities came into being. At times like these, the students can begin to form ideas based on faith as well as scientific evidence