BSCS Science Tracks:
Connecting Science & Literacy
Second edition, © 2006 by BSCS
Using Tools to Solve
Problems
Unit Overview
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Pre-Kindergarten/
Kindergarten
Overview
Children are curious by nature. They are
curious about themselves and the world around
them. They do not hesitate to investigate all
kinds of objects and events by using all of their
senses. The pre-kindergarten/kindergarten
program of BSCS Science Tracks capitalizes
on children’s natural curiosity by encouraging
them to wonder and to find out about
themselves and the world around them through
a variety of hands-on activities. As a result of
their experiences, children should have a sense
of empowerment about their interactions with
objects and events in the world, as suggested by
the following statements:
•
“I can ask questions about myself and my
world and can answer those questions for
myself.”
•
“I can communicate to others what I find out
about myself and my world.”
•
“I can care for myself and for other living and
nonliving things in my world.”
•
“I can change things around me and observe
what happens.”
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Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten Overview
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The pre-kindergarten/kindergarten program
also introduces students to the skills of science
that enable them to learn about the world
around them. Specifically, the activities help
students
•
observe their world systematically;
•
describe what they observe;
•
compare objects, organisms, and events;
•
classify or sort objects into two groups based
on each object’s properties or attributes;
•
make predictions based on their observations
and previous experiences;
•
use age-appropriate tools of science;
•
record their observations and data by
drawing and writing (when children are ready
developmentally);
•
communicate their observations to others;
and
•
in doing so, explain their developing ideas
and understanding of scientific concepts.
Not only will students learn to observe
objects and events, but they will improve their
ability to ask questions about what they observe
and to talk with others about their ideas.
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When children ask questions and listen to
the questions of others, they generate more
questions. When children talk about their ideas
and listen to the ideas of others, they develop
more ideas. In this cyclic manner, the activities
in the pre-kindergarten/kindergarten level of
BSCS Science Tracks help students sustain their
curiosity as they investigate their world.
As in all of BSCS Science Tracks, the prekindergarten/kindergarten program is based
on the teaching, assessment, and content
standards of the National Science Education
Standards (NRC, 1996) and the benchmarks
from Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS,
1993). For a list of the specific standards that
the pre-kindergarten/kindergarten program
addresses, see “Standards and Benchmarks
Related to the Module” within each “Module
Overview.”
Organization of the Pre-Kindergarten/
Kindergarten Program
The yearlong pre-kindergarten/kindergarten
science program is composed of four modules:
Investigating My Senses; Investigating Myself
and My Family; Investigating Here, There, and
Everywhere; and Using Tools to Solve Problems.
However, we recommend that you review your
state standards and select modules based
on what you are expected to teach. Review
lessons, learning centers, and stories within the
modules and select components that will help
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you achieve your goals based on the time you
have available.
To provide you with the greatest degree of
flexibility in implementing the program, the
lessons and activities at this level are not
sequential. For example, you can implement
lessons and activities from any of the four
modules in the order of your preference. After
students experience the whole-class activity
that introduces a lesson, you can introduce
the learning centers in any order. This flexible,
highly integrated approach gives you the
freedom to plan the sequence of activities to
meet the needs of the young learners in your
classroom and to integrate science into the total
pre-kindergarten/kindergarten program.
The following outlines the contents of the
Teacher Guides for the four modules included in
the pre-kindergarten/kindergarten program.
Module 1: Investigating My Senses
(Properties of Objects and Materials)
Module 1 has seven lessons with
accompanying learning centers, all related
to students’ use of their senses to observe,
describe, and compare the properties of
common objects (color, size, shape, texture,
and weight). The first three lessons raise
students’ awareness that objects have
properties and help students distinguish
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among the senses they use to observe those
properties. Each of lessons 4 through 7
focuses on one sense that students use
to observe and compare the properties of
objects. For details regarding module 1, see
the “Module at a Glance” section in that
module.
Module 2: Investigating Myself and My
Family (Health and Safety)
Module 2 has five lessons with
accompanying learning centers, all related
to students’ health and safety. In this
module, students explore the physical
characteristics that make humans unique
from other animal species and determine
that, although people share many common
characteristics, each person is unique
and special. Students explore the concept
that humans tend to live in families in
which individuals have different roles.
Students recognize that they can take care
of their health through good nutrition,
rest, exercise, and personal hygiene. They
discuss a range of emotions and share
ways to deal appropriately with emotional
reactions to various situations. For details
regarding module 2, see “Module at a
Glance” on page 51.
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Module 3: Investigating Here, There,
and Everywhere (Position and Motion)
Module 3 has five lessons with
accompanying learning centers, all related
to the movement of objects, people, and
other living things and to the position of
objects relative to one another and to the
observer. The first lesson engages students
in the movement of their bodies as they
explore different ways they can move about
the room. In the second lesson, students
observe animals and compare the animals’
movements with their own. The third lesson
introduces the ways people move objects by
turning, twisting, pulling, or pushing them.
In the fourth and fifth lessons, students
explore the concept of relative position by
using words such as “in front of,” “in back
of,” “beside,” “under,” “over,” “between,”
“left,” and “right.” These lessons help
students develop the concepts and skills of
spatial relationships in the world around
them. For details regarding module 3, see
the “Module at a Glance” section in that
module.
Module 4 : Using Tools to Solve Problems
(Science and Technology)
Module 4 has three lessons with
accompanying learning centers, all related
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to students’ use of technology. In this
program, the use of technology does not
mean the use of computers, but the use
of tools, machines, and objects that help
students design and make products or
structures. Because children are natural
inventors and like to make things, they
should be encouraged to explore and use
the technology that exists in the world
around them. The first lesson focuses on
the technology we use to fasten things
together. Lesson 2 emphasizes the use of
simple tools that extend the senses of sight
and hearing. Lesson 3 engages students in
the task of moving water from one place to
another using plastic PVC pipes. For details
regarding module 4, see the “Module at a
Glance” section in that module.
Module Structure
Within the modules are whole-class activities
that introduce age-appropriate science concepts
to the students; guided and exploratory
learning centers that provide flexible
individual and small-group activities; stories
that introduce or reinforce the concepts and
activities; assessment centers through which
teachers can work with students one-onone and determine what the student knows
and can do related to the main concepts; and
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copymasters that help students organize their
observations and activities. Refer to the table
of contents at the beginning of each module
for more information about what each module
contains.
Each module includes a number of lessons,
each of which relates to the major concepts of
the module. Each lesson begins with a brief,
whole-class activity that introduces a concept
to the students. For example, in module 1,
Investigating My Senses, the whole-class activity
in lesson 1 introduces students to the five
senses. Following the whole-class activity are
a series of learning centers that relate to the
senses and how we use our senses to determine
the properties of objects and materials.
The learning centers encourage independent
and small-group investigations. You may
use one, two, three, or all of the learning
centers provided; some of the centers require
adult supervision and direction while others
encourage independent exploration and
“messing around” with objects and materials.
Some lessons also include stories that introduce
a concept to the students. The copymasters
relate to the whole-class activity or to a specific
learning center, as indicated in the directions
for those activities. Each module ends with
one or more assessment centers; however, we
encourage continuous assessment throughout
the modules as students work on the specified
activities and tasks. (For more information, see
“Assessing Understanding and Skills” on page
32 of this overview.)
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Doing Science
Children are scientists by nature. When you
introduce the story “Doing Science,” in the
Doing Science Lap Book, the students should
recognize that they use the processes of
scientific inquiry all the time. Young children
constantly wonder and ask questions,
investigate, use tools, record their ideas, develop
their own explanations, share their ideas with
others, and wonder and ask new questions.
These are the same processes that scientists
use to find out and report about the world
around us. Just like children, scientists have
curious, inquiring minds; however, scientists are
systematic about their observations, records,
and investigations or experiments so that they
can answer their questions with some degree
of reliability. We want students to experience
some of the ways scientists go about their work
without stifling their curiosity and sense of
wonder.
Science relies on an existing body of
knowledge, but is primarily a process for
gaining new knowledge about the world that is
then added to the existing body of knowledge.
Consequently, scientific knowledge is not
static—a body of facts to be memorized—but is
dynamic as new information replaces or adds to
what is currently known. Engaging students in
the processes of doing science is different from
a traditional, factual approach to teaching and
learning science. To “do science,” students must
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become active learners, both with their minds
and with their hands. This approach reflects the
true nature of science; it requires students to
work with others as they manipulate materials,
ask questions, gather evidence, think, discuss,
make decisions, solve problems, and propose
explanations for how they think the world
works. When students know how to find out
about their world, they begin to realize that they
can make a difference. They become empowered
to take an active role in a society deeply rooted
in science and technology.
Periodically, as students complete various
tasks and activities, refer them to the story
“Doing Science.” Ask them to reflect on the
processes they used to find out about objects,
organisms, or events. What questions were they
trying to answer? Did they use their senses to
investigate? If so, how did using their senses
help them find out about something or solve
a problem? Did they use any tools of science?
How did those tools help them observe more
closely or hear more distinctly? What records
of their observations did they make? Did they
develop their own explanations? Did they share
their ideas with others? This will help students
develop an understanding of how scientists do
their work through inquiry. At the same time,
students develop the skills of scientific inquiry
by “doing science.”
As you select lessons and activities from the
program, keep the BSCS 5E instructional model
in mind. How will you engage the students in a
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concept or idea? Which activities will allow them
time to explore the idea in sufficient depth?
Through which experiences can students best
explain their understanding of the properties
of objects, how objects or animals move, and
the position of objects relative to one another?
When is it appropriate for you to explain
some concepts to the students and to provide
scientific terms and vocabulary the students
can then use in their own conversations?
If you take the time to review a module
carefully, you will realize that the whole-class
activities and the learning centers work together
to help young learners develop important
science concepts. Although the program has
built-in flexibility, it is not a collection of
separate activities that have no relationship to
one another. Rather, it uses a developmental
approach that allows young learners to explore
their world and to develop explanations that are
reasonable and based on the students’ evidence
and experiences. The program is constructivist
in nature, but it allows you some latitude in the
number of experiences the particular students
in your classroom need to develop the concepts
and skills.
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