Elementary Science Curriculum

The constant progression of science, perhaps, has more influence on our daily lives than almost anything else. Cell phones buzz in our pockets. Weather, GPS, and communications satellites whiz over us, placed in orbit by rockets that land themselves. Many new cars can drive on their own, and they’re getting better at it all the time. Jobs are becoming more dependent on computers, and an increasing number of people are able to work from home. 

While not every child will end up with a career in a science-related field, having a strong education in science gives them a broad understanding of how the world works. More importantly, it gives them the ability to solve problems, knowing they can apply scientific methods to an unfamiliar situation and find solutions. As the world moves into the future, it will need innovators who know how to do just that.

Students need solid science lessons early in their schooling to develop these problem-solving skills. An elementary science curriculum should include:

  • Practice with observation – learning how to notice the details all around them, using animals, plants, and their own senses
  • Developing safety habits – practicing safety and awareness around the house, around pools, and around nature
  • Earth sciences – observing the water cycle, the rock cycle, the weather, and our natural biomes
  • The solar system – understanding our moon, the planets, and our sun
  • Materials – exploring metals, plastics, papers, concretes, and other substances created from our natural environment
  • Anatomy – discovering muscles, bones, and organs, as well as healthy eating, mouth hygiene, and germ avoidance 

Elementary science lessons are best taught using a combination of classroom learning, hands-on experimentation, and outdoor experiences. Students need written concepts and vocabulary as much as they need to explore those concepts in the world around them. For example, children learning about plant reproduction at home can take a walk in the park to look for acorns. This helps them make connections between the vocabulary and the plan reproduction process. 

The goal of Miacademy’s curriculum is to support your homeschooling with the strongest science lessons possible, while providing you with the flexibility to adapt our lessons to your needs. 

Integrating Literacy into Science

Another aspect of science that homeschooling parents appreciate is how science lessons can be paired with literacy in other subjects. For example, science often requires reading skills, so parents can help their children through a challenging science text by leaning on the exercises they did in language arts. When students are working on observations, they can also practice math literacy as they add and subtract measurements.

Early Elementary Science

In early elementary science lessons, students learn fundamental skills that they can apply throughout their education and lives. Children learn to observe the natural world and discover how we’ve used the earth’s resources to build our homes and cities. Young students build on their curiosity by comparing farm animals to wild animals, or a living thing with a nonliving thing. Encouraging your child’s interests in animals and nature is a good way to develop confidence as they progress toward the upper elementary grades.

One of the fun aspects about learning science is that it can pop up in any situation. Parents might use a trip to the zoo to talk about how animals interact with each other. Students can identify weather and learn about the water cycle while looking outside of their car window on a drive. A trip to the supermarket gives parents the opportunity to talk about how some fruits grow in hot climates while others grow in colder areas, or how some grow on trees while others grow on vines or bushes. Science discussions can happen anywhere, which shows children that science is everywhere.

Early elementary students want to learn about how the world works, and our science education is designed to stimulate their natural curiosity. Getting them excited and confident about science is another way that parents can encourage a healthy relationship with all learning. 

First Grade Science Curriculum

First graders, as much as any children, learn best when they get excited and interested about what they are learning. This is equally true for science, where they will learn some fun skills and facts before progressing to second grade. 

All science begins with strong observation skills – the ability for people to recognize details, see how those details interact with each other, and ask questions about them. These basics are just as true for your early elementary science student as they are for the world’s leading scientists. Because it is so important in science courses to notice aspects of the world, early elementary science curriculum focuses on observation. At Miacademy, for example, students learn about:

  • Observing something very closely, such as a carrot that they can feel, smell, see, touch, and taste
  • Observing something safely from far away, such as a campfire
  • Noticing the differences and similarities between living and nonliving things
  • Noticing the differences and similarities between farm animals and zoo animals
  • Comparing animals with fur, feathers, scales, and skin

Second Grade Science Curriculum

Students in second grade take these observational skills and develop them even further. As second graders, students should be challenged to come up with their own guesses about their questions, which can develop their hypothesis skills and their interest in experimentation. Second graders using Miacademy lessons take the “Tell Me About” series, where students observe all sorts of details about the interesting features of plants and animals. Lessons include:

  • Tell Me About Plants
  • Tell Me About Forests
  • Tell Me About Things with Wings
  • Tell Me About Things with Scales
  • Tell Me About Turtles
  • Tell Me About Things with Fur

Third Grade Science Curriculum

Children in third grade science courses are becoming more and more skilled in science, and they are ready to get into increasingly challenging work. In third grade, students will continue developing as they try to describe aspects of nature that are slightly more difficult to perceive – for example, observing the solar system or the anatomy of the human body. However, their basic activities in first and second grade will contribute to their success with these more difficult observations. The topics in Miacademy’s lessons for third graders include:

  • The seasons
  • The sun
  • Weather
  • Clouds
  • Insects
  • Climates and biomes

Upper Elementary Science

Upper elementary science curriculum is designed to be a bridge between early elementary grades and middle school grades. Students at this level need a host of lessons that support their growing interests, curiosity, and understanding of the world.

Fourth and fifth graders can benefit from a strong science curriculum in their future education, their careers, and their lives in general. One of the goals of science education is to foster a positive relationship with encountering something unfamiliar and confidently knowing how to figure out a solution. These problem-solving skills are foundational to a productive adult life.

Fourth Grade Science

Fourth graders often continue their exploration of the natural world, and begin to combine it with understanding how humans use the resources from it and how nature influences our daily lives. Additionally, students begin applying the scientific method, which shows them how to process a new situation step by step. Some of the topics fourth graders learn about are:

  • Deserts, the Arctic, ocean, and freshwater biomes
  • Different materials and their properties
  • Layers of the Earth
  • Minerals, crystals, and gems
  • The water cycle

Fifth Grade Science

Fifth graders, about to move on to their middle school years, typically get into increasingly advanced science lessons to help them prepare for their later years of education and beyond. These lessons contribute to the development of the whole student, as they gradually incorporate solving real-world problems with their knowledge of scientific principles. Students in Miacademy learn about:

  • The rock cycle and identifying rocks
  • Earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis
  • The solar system, including the sun, the planets, and our moon
  • Cells and body systems
  • Animal classification

Miacademy’s Elementary Science Curriculum

Miacademy offers dozens of elementary science lessons that span 1st through 5th grade, giving parents and students dozens of opportunities to learn about science in effective ways. These lessons provide science simulations, hands-on activities, and experiments that students love. Our elementary science curriculum offers fun and interesting videos that explain the concepts clearly, along with interactive PDFs and activities that support and strengthen comprehension. 

One of Miacademy’s most valuable attributes is its flexibility. We pride ourselves on creating curricula that are research-based, engaging, and most importantly, adaptable to your needs. Students can learn about the rock cycle in our lessons and then go outside to find examples of rocks in your area. Children can retake quizzes as many times as needed to help them with vocabulary or concepts. 

Furthermore, our homeschool elementary science curriculum is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Schools – Western Association for Schools and Colleges (ACS WASC). Our accredited K-5 courses are designated as a Supplementary Education Program, indicating that they meet the high standards for educational quality in a homeschool or distance-learning program. Our science lessons use the 5e instructional model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) to create the most effective lessons possible.

Supplementing your current homeschool curriculum with ours enables you to apply concepts in new and exciting ways, move ahead when students are ready for a challenge, or pace your lessons as your child is learning new concepts. Our community features are a fun way to apply learning as well, through video and written pieces in the students newspaper. You are able to add and delete courses any time, and decide whether or not your child needs to test on any  content as well. 

Elementary Science Resources

These fun resources could also be great additions to your science instruction!

  • NASA STEM Engagement – NASA’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) website provides a huge resource of videos and live seminar opportunities for K-12 students and educators

If you have any questions about what Miacademy’s elementary science curriculum, please contact one of our friendly customer service representatives at [email protected]!