Forums

I have noticed in my student teaching how rigorous some of the content is. Science can sometimes have difficult content for the student to interpret at times and I'm wondering if all school district are like this? Is there a purpose for students to be learning content at such a fast pace? Students in my third classroom are already completing content that I don't remember completing until fourth or fifth grade! 

I agree, I'm also doing student observation and see the same thing! Seems to me that the students are being pressured with more material to know and more tests/exams to complete. Although i love science and learning can be fun, students need time to digest these concepts that can be very extensive.

I believe that districts do vary in the content that they teach. I do not think it is something to be alarmed about. As long as the students are given all the necessary instruction they need to understand the content, I think its great they are learning the "hard" stuff. Think about the students who go to school up north, they are way more advanced then students here, especially in Miami. There isn't a right or wrong way to teach a certain level of content, at least I don't think, but its all in how its done. An intentional teacher will always find away to facilitate the needs of their students.

I am in my student teaching now and my school district only does science once a week, which was very different from what I had in elementary school! Although, I agree that science can be difficult for students to understand and interpret and I think that they may just need a little more time to comprehend the material rather than being rushed through it. Have you discussed with your cooperating teacher? See if there is a way to slow it down and make the learning content relate able and easier to interpret. Ultimately every school is going to be different and as the teacher you want to make sure that your students are learning the content and are comfortable with the content before moving on.

Science is so important in elementary school. The Next Generation Science Standards begin in kindergarten and build through Grade 12. if students do not have learning opportunities in science in the younger grades , they will be behind their peers in middle school and beyond. Science can be offered in very creative, integrated ways. Did you know you can teach reading and writing while teaching science? Students are working on their writing when they are making observations and recording them in science notebooks. They are also learning mathematics when they are collecting , recording and analyzing data. After students do some investigations they can some reading and see if scientists came up with ideas similar to their ideas. Lots of possibilities Kathy

I've noticed the same thing with my sister's school. She was learning about concepts like mitosis and meiosis in 6th grade which I believe I didn't start learning until high school. I think its great that students are learning science topics at an earlier age but I also agree that students need time to digest the new material.

I agree with you all as well. I am observing a science and math class and the amount of information given to the students is quite overwhelming. My cooperating teacher is really great at making the science lessons fun by incorporating art and reading. I think that science has a lot of material to cover just because it is such a vast subject. While I think the amount of information can be overwhelming, the students in my class seem to enjoy it and they are really retaining the information.

I am very interested in the integration of science with with other subjects and would love to hear more about the science you are observing. It is also important for the science to be engaging for students so I would like to know what types of things are happening in science that students consider fun? Kathy

Hey teachers! My name is George Mehler and I am a professor at Temple University. My team and I have created a free online youtube channel that has all of the science material that young learners should know before they reach high school.https://www.youtube.com/user/funsciencedemos Check us out!