Setting Up My Curriculum Based on BVSD Science Standards
It turns out that homeschooling science this year for my son is going to be pretty fun. I’ve spend the last few weeks developing my curriculum and I now have a rough outline of what I’m going to do.
I began by looking at the science standards set forth by the Boulder Valley School District to get some idea of what my kid needed to know by the time we finished this year.
In reading the standards, I was particularly encouraged by these words:
Science is a systematic inquiry directed toward an understanding of natural systems, which in turn creates new knowledge. The essence of “science” is not so much in what the subject of the inquiry is, but in how the inquiry is carried out. The way in which science is conducted has come to be called the scientific method. This method cannot be defined in a rigid series of steps, but it is heavily grounded in the collecting of information (data), doing experiments, and constructing models. Scientific inquiry requires skepticism and the willingness to have others scrutinize and attempt to reproduce results. Practicing scientists create new knowledge by building on and expanding the established knowledge base.
Of course, it’s easy to say these things and quite another to carry them out. If my son’s science teacher from seventh grade had read and understood the above, I wouldn’t be doing this.
I would add to the above that science is also heavily grounded in critical and creative thinking required for data analysis and interpretation. Collecting data is easy, understanding what it means is a skill that is hard to develop. It requires one to know what questions are worth asking, what ideas are worth considering (e.g., creationism does not warrant the same importance or consideration as evolution. That’s an idea that is not on the same level as evolution, in fact, it’s not even science), and when the idea has played itself out and may even be wrong.
I’m going to do a unit on evolution in the form of studying fossil records of different species, it is at that time we’re going to discuss why creationism and other religious topics have no business being taught alongside actual science.
As for my curriculum, the good news is that my son seems to already meet or exceed many of the standards set forth by the district. This means I’ll have more leeway in what I do with him and the other students, although I will revisit many of the concepts throughout the year.
I plan to emphasize problem solving and critical thinking and during our lectures I hope to instigate some interesting discussions. The supporting activities are also designed to not only ‘figure it out’ but to ask new questions about whatever it is we happen to be studying.
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