Twirling whirly birds, sphere
collisions, edible cells, mock
earthquakes and anole terrariums
are just a sampling of some of
the hands-on activities that can
be found in the Science Room.
All students from our preschool
to 8th graders have science. Our
Young Scholars through 2nd grade
are taught Science by their
classroom teachers. In 3rd
grade, it is considered a Special
and they come down to the Science
Room.

The third grade curriculum uses a
totally hands-on approach. The
students are always actively
engaged in experiments. The
concept is first sought out by
the students, and the information
and vocabulary is given after the
students gain an understanding.
The third graders participate in
a variety of activities dealing
with systems, variables,
controlled experiments, habitats,
and health and several human body
systems.

A text book is introduced in 4th
grade, but the majority of their
time is still spent on the lab
side of the room.All areas of
science are covered, with a focus
on relative position & motion,
health and the human body and the
environment. One of the
highlights of the year is the
hermit crab unit. The students
create a terrarium with an
optimum environment based on
research and observations. They
learn about the responsibility
that comes with taking care of
another organism.

In 5th and 6th grade the students
gather information from their
text, computers, observations,
demonstrations and
experimentation. They learn about
the steps of the scientific
method through guided experiments
and ones they plan and implement
with a group or on their own.
Some of the topics the 5th
graders enjoy learning about are
energy, ecosystems, and space.
They see first hand how all
organisms are dependent on other
organism during their unit on
anoles.

FRA�s Science program also
utilizes experts from the
community and parents when
learning about some topic. We
have a variety of quest speakers,
such as, veterinarians, doctors,
and naturalists who talk with the
students or put on small
programs. All levels participate
in a variety of science related
field trips. Several of the
classes take an overnight trip to
the Environmental Learning Center
at the Dunes.

Each year the Science Department
organizes an all school event
that focuses on a particular
science related theme. The
activities vary from year to
year. We have each class focus
on a month long, in depth study
on topics ranging from the human
body to plants and animals. Then
the science committee plans an
all-school themed day with
activities, games, and treats to
reinforce the topic being
covered. Another time they
learned about many science
related careers. At the
conclusion of this unit the
children met a variety of people
who had a career in science. The
students found out about their
job and participated in related
hands-on activities.

Some years the whole family is
involved. One year the students
learned about inventors and
inventions. The culminating
activity for this topic was an
Invention Convention Night.
Thefamilies were invited to come
view all of the student�s
inventions and participate in a
wide range of activities