Senses (5 sessions)
Students sharpen their observational skills by exploring their five senses: Touch, Smell, Taste, Hearing, and Sight. They become more aware of their receptor cells and how they gather information about their environment.

First Grade

Living and Non-living (3 1- hour sessions)
Children learn to differentiate between living organisms and non-living objects. They gain experience in observing and caring for living organisms. Students use magnifying glasses and keep a variety of records.

Tools of Science (3 1-hour sessions)
Students learn to correctly use a variety of science tools including fiberoptic microscopes. Given materials to manipulate, students compare masses, measure, observe, and record data. Each experience in working with tools begins with a stated question. Student scientists then find the answer to each question.

What's The Matter? (3 1- hour sessions)
Students demonstrate through hands-on activities that all matter has mass, takes up space, and can be described by its properties. They observe, measure, and record the physical properties of matter and conclude that most everything in the physical world is made of matter. Children categorize matter into solid, liquid, or gas.

Second Grade

Oceans (4 1-hour sessions)
Students conduct experiments to illustrate properties of fresh and salt water and recognize ways in which oceans affect landmasses. Students determine some of the special needs of salt-water organisms. They learn the characteristics, lifecycles and habitats of various ocean plants and animals. By experimenting with oil and water, students devise a plan for cleaning up an "oil spill."

Science Ideas (4 1-hour sessions)
This unit builds on the ideas of the first grade science unit, Tools of Science. Science questions are asked and students do experiments to find answers. They gain experience with the processes of science as they observe, estimate, predict, test, record, and report their findings. Each activity poses a question for the students to explore.

Exploring our Earth (3 1-hour sessions)
Students learn about the earth's crust through the study of rocks and their composition.

Energy and Machines (4 1-hour sessions)
Students will learn about the difference between potential and kinetic energy. Given the opportunity to experiment with several simple machines, students are able to describe their functions and how these machines are used.

Third Grade

Biology (5 1-hour sessions)
Students learn about variations in animals and that all living things vary in shape, color and strength. They learn that these variations affect whether a living organism can survive and reproduce. These useful features are called adaptations. Students learn how the adaptations may be passed to offspring and how, over the course of many generations, the better adapted animals flourish and those that are less well-adapted die out.

Optic Topics (3 1-hour sessions)
Students are introduced to light and lenses. Students experiment with light to learn how light is reflected, refracted, and diffracted. Finally, students examine how the human sees by dissecting a lamb's eye.

Chemistry (4 1-hour sessions)
Students experience the processes of science as they learn about the phases of matter and the ways in which matter can change.

Fourth Grade

Life in a Drop of Pond Water (3 1-hour sessions)
Students learn proper use of the compound microscope. They learn about a pond's ecosystem by observing the microscopic life that lives in a sample of pond water. They make careful observations and drawings of a variety of living organisms and non-living materials. Students record predictions regarding changes that might occur in the ecosystem of a pond. Their final observations allow them to test these predictions.

Magnetism and Electricity (4 1-hour sessions)
Given magnets and iron filings, students show that a magnetic field can act at a distance. They observe that "like" magnetic charges repel one another and that "unlike" charges attract each other. Students demonstrate that the transfer of electrons from one objet to another results in the generation of static electricity. They experiment with current electricity and demonstrate ways in which magnetism and electricity are related.

Geology (4 1-hour sessions)
Students learn the difference between igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. They study minerals, geological processes, and changes in the earth's surface.

Fifth Grade

Chemistry I (5 1-hour sessions)
Students determine the mass, weight, and density of a variety of materials. Given experiences with black boxes, they understand ways in which scientists gather indirect evidence. They name common elements and compounds, and use the periodic table. Students examine the physical and chemical properties of ocean water, as well as salt-water density, and explore the differences between physical and chemical changes. They use a variety of properties to identify unknown substances.

Highs and Lows (4 1-hour sessions)
Students learn about the causes of weather as they build terrariums and chart the temperature variations in their terrariums over four weeks. They see how different soils and land surfaces affect the temperature and weather of the Earth.

Physiology (7 1-hour sessions)
Students study human anatomy. By direct observation and the dissection of animal body parts, they explore and learn about the function and structure of the major systems in their bodies. Health and safety are incorporated into each class discussion.

 

Science Fair

We encourage all students to participate in their school's LASF Science Fair. The Science Fairs provide an exciting and educational experience for students to further explore their own individual interests in science. Dates vary at each school. Check the school calendars for further information.

 

Visit our Links: Science Fair Help page for a great list of suggestions and web links to help you get started. You will also find Science Fair Entry Forms, Experiment Forms, and Invention Form for general information or from your school site!