Young kids are curious about the world, which makes them naturally great scientists. At this age, they’re always ready to explore and get hands-on with science. It’s the perfect time to introduce concepts and start building a strong science foundation.
The importance of early science education
Why is learning science important? Exposing students to science and engineering practices in the early years can foster curiosity and build the foundation for a progression of science learning from kindergarten to graduation. NSTA (National Science Teaching Association) shines a light on the importance of science education for young learners. When students learn to think critically and creatively at a young age, they develop skills that can lead to academic success.
Early STEM education matters
Science for toddlers? You bet! STEM education in early childhood sets the stage for the development of skills students will use throughout their lives. Academic skills like critical thinking and problem-solving translate into future career confidence. It just makes sense to start a science foundation for students early because a high demand for STEM careers is expected in the years ahead. Exposing learners to science in early childhood will pay off during their academic years and beyond.
Science4Us k-2 science curriculum overview
Science4Us is a research-based K-2 science curriculum specially designed for young students and includes 1000s of online and offline activities that incorporate literacy skills. It’s the perfect way to engage students and get them excited about science.
Science4Us covers Inquiry, Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth and Space Science with lessons specifically designed for K-2 students. Within the subjects, there are eight units and 28 modules spread across the units. Each module contains eight sessions that teach science using the 5E Model (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate).
The sessions have activities that can be completed in as little as ten minutes and teach students using videos, interaction, poems, songs, and digital notebooks. The literacy development embedded in the lessons works to strengthen students reading and writing skills as well as building science vocabulary.
Benefits of inquiry-based learning
Inquiry-based learning strategies boost skills that improve learning across all content areas and classroom settings. While fostering understanding of complex topics through critical thinking and problem-solving skills, inquiry-based activities in Science4Us also strengthen motivation, engagement, and communication skills. This approach also brings real-world relevance to students because it encourages them to question and take on learning with self-direction.
Interactive learning methods for young kids
Young learners crave interaction and want to be involved in their learning. Science4Us delivers strategies and science resources that draw students into the learning process through various methods that are both online and hands-on science activities. With videos, songs, graphic organizers, charts, and digital notebooks, students broaden their understanding of science while simultaneously developing critical literacy and math skills.
These activities give students opportunities to practice:
- Inferencing
- Making predictions
- Comparing and contrasting
- Speaking
- Listening
- Sequencing
- Summarizing
Teacher support and professional development
Science4Us provides everything teachers need to set up the program and move forward with engaging and challenging activities, making it easy to implement. The program provides comprehensive lesson plans and embedded professional development—live and on-demand—so teachers can confidently and effectively teach science in their classrooms. With flexible delivery methods, Science4Us has hundreds of short lessons for use with whole group, small group, or 1:1.
Teacher Lessons include best practices for extending the knowledge into students’ daily lives, common misconceptions to help students avoid, ideas for integrating literacy strategies, background knowledge teachers will need to lead a lesson with confidence, and cross-content connection awareness. Science4Us aligns with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for k-2, so finding the best way to achieve success in grades K-2 just got a whole lot easier.
Research and evidence behind Science4Us
Science4Us has research and evidence to back up its effectiveness. In the McREL study, teachers from Denver, CO, participated in a two-week study using the States of Matter module with their 156 students, while another group of teachers and 116 students served as the control group and taught science as they usually did. Both the control and experimental students were given a pre- and post-assessment to measure their content knowledge. Students who had used Science4Us showed greater gains on the posttest than the control group.
Evidence shows that students demonstrate mastery of the learning objectives and grade-level science standards for the specific Science4Us module used. Through science processes, including hypothesis generation, experimental design, quantitative analysis, and data interpretation, students synthesize and apply knowledge to other classroom activities and assessments.
Give young learners a head start in STEM education today
It’s never too early to learn science! Take a free 30-day trial and find out how Science4Us can help your students build a strong science foundation.
