Science
Science is a way of understanding the physical universe by using observation and experimentation to explain natural phenomena. The four Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) for the newly adopted South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Science Standards (2021) are Life Science, Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, and Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science, which provide a basis for students to study scientific concepts and to provide opportunities to practice their science skills and knowledge to help to obtain careers in science and engineering.
Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) are integrated in the South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Science Standards (2021) across all courses and grade levels. Teachers use the science and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts simultaneously with the lesson, not in isolation, but as a teaching tool to present the lesson. The SEPs students will encounter throughout the school years are asking questions and defining problems, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics and computational thinking, constructing explanations and designing solutions, engaging in an argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. The CCCs students will encounter throughout the school years are patterns, cause and effect, scale proportion and quantity, systems and system models, energy and matter, structure and function, and stability and change. These concepts are not taught in isolation but reinforced in the context of instruction within the Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) for each grade level or course.
In kindergarten through grade four, the standards and performance indicators for the science and engineering practices emphasize students making observations and constructing explanations about phenomena they can directly explore and investigate, while analyzing and interpreting data collected through experiments; for the crosscutting concepts, students explore how patterns, systems, and cause and effect influence the world around us. Student experiences are structured to allow the students to begin to learn the features of a scientific investigation and engage in the practices of science and engineering, preparing students to succeed in grade four.
In grades five and six, students experience the above standards and performance indicators for the science and engineering practices, adding the expectation that students will engage in arguments from evidence to construct explanations and design possible solutions to a problem; for the crosscutting concepts, students explore all CCCs above adding energy and matter, and structure and function. Student experiences are structured to allow the students to begin to learn the features of a scientific investigation and engage in the practices of science and engineering, preparing students to succeed in grade six.
In grades seven and eight, students continue to transition to create more explicit and detailed models and explanations using laboratory explorations, connecting learning in the classroom to the real world. Student experiences are structured to allow the students to expand their learning in science using scientific investigation and engage in the practices of science and engineering, preparing students to succeed in Biology 1.
In grades nine through twelve, the standards and performance indicators for the science and engineering practices and core science content for the high school courses transition students to use mathematics and computational thinking defining problems in the world in greater detail and sophistication; for the crosscutting concepts, students explore how scale, proportion and quantity influence systems’ stability and change. Students build their learning from experiences in kindergarten through grade eight.
These courses should not only serve as the foundation for advanced studies at the secondary level and in institutions of higher education but should also provide students with the science skills that are necessary for informed decision making regarding scientific societal questions and to lay the foundation for skills necessary for science related technical careers.
Assessment
The science standards and performance indicators for grades kindergarten through eight will be used as the basis for the development and/or refinement of questions on the South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY) in science. The SC READY exam will be given to Grade 4 and Grade 6. The SC READY is based on the broad standards that address the life, earth and space, and physical science core content at each grade level. Test questions will measure the practice and/or the core content each performance indicator. The science standards and performance indicators for grades seven, eight, and high school courses (Earth Science, Environmental Science, and Biology 1) will be used as the basis for the state-required End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) for Biology 1.
Science teacher, student and camp videos:
CREATEng Camp
Science Olympiad
Science Fair
STEM workshop video
Science Fair Promo
Solar Eclipse Video
iTEAMS Camp