Science

The science department at Speyer is guided by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which were crafted to inspire scientifically literate students. In addition, we have crafted our science curriculum to support the exploration specific phenomena through a hands-on, project-based lens that includes lab-based experimentation. Students become very comfortable with asking the how and why questions (as opposed to just the whos and whens) and recognize that some questions may not concrete have answers.

On the journey toward innovation, we celebrate the many ways of thinking, including ways of thought that challenge our norms and re-enforce the concept that we learn by doing and celebrate mistakes and failures alongside successes. Differentiation guides our scientific inquiries as we recognize students' varying learning styles, areas of interest, pacing, content-knowledge, methods of recording data, and approaches to presenting one’s ideas, understandings, and questions.  We nurture inquisitive and critical students who look at all aspects of a scientific problem and challenge them to work together as a team to create solutions.

Speyer Science does not take place only in the lab — it uses the world outside of Speyer as a source of inquiry. Students partake in field-based excursions in Manhattan and outside of the city in addition to visiting museums and cultural institutions in the area. What the students are learning in science always ties back to the Humanities curriculum and may involve collaboration with other subjects such as physical education, music, art, and math. Though traditional curricular content is covered, our faculty do not focus on breaking apart the discipline into rigid archetypal categories such as biology, chemistry, and physics, but rather, they support the students as they explore and connect the areas using creative projects, theater, lab-based experiments, building explorations, discussions, and debates.

At the end of their science journey from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade, we are confident that Speyer students will have access and familiarity with a wide variety of concepts and skills that will benefit them for years to come. Our true hope is that our students will continue to understand the value of scientific thinking and make evidence and data informed decisions in their higher education.

  • The Kindergarten science curriculum begins by asking the question “What is a scientist?” and introduces the students to the names of science tools and the concept of sorting and classifying. They also explore the human body (the structure and function of the skeletal, muscular, digestive, respiratory, circulatory, and nervous systems) and the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and groundwater). They end the year with a study of various life cycles, such as insect metamorphosis and the life cycles of specific plants, frogs, butterflies, and chicks.

  • In First Grade, students begin with the study of the parts of plants (the structure and function of roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruit, and seeds). They then move onto the exploration of light and sound waves (how light and sound travel and defining and exploring concepts such as to refract, reflect, and absorb, and the differences of transparent, translucent, and opaque). In addition, first graders study the patterns of the sun, moon, and earth and end the year exploring water filters with experiments on how they work and connecting their observations to naturally occurring water filters.

  • The science curriculum for our second graders begin with the introduction of the Scientific Method — studying the steps, learning vocabulary such as control, variable, and hypothesis, and putting it into practice. They also are challenged with an in-depth unit on bridges and engineering, focusing on different kinds of bridges, steps of the engineering design process, and how to solve simple engineering problems. The second graders then dive into the study of biomes, answering questions such as “How do we define a biome?”, “How do biomes vary around the world?”, and “How do plants and animals adapt to their environment?”. Finally, they explore the world of circuits with hands-on projects making closed circuits with batteries and lightbulbs and then advancing their circuit building to include multiple bulbs (in series and parallel), multiple switches, motors, different kinds of switches, and so on.

  • Speyer’s Third Grade science curriculum begins with a study of measurement and understanding metric units. They learn the tools and metric units used for measuring length and distance, mass, weight, volume, and temperature. They explore the concept of food chains and food webs through the lens of owl pellets (dissecting the pellets, identify the bones, and constructing a possible food chain for the owl pellet given). As they study simple machines, the third graders explore the relationship between work, mass, and distance and use that knowledge to build and experiment with ramps, levers, screws, wheels and axles, wedges, and pulleys. Students utilize their measurement and observation skills as they build and tend to a plant tower, learning about the growing needs of various herbs and vegetables and comparing herbs and vegetables grown vertically and horizontally.

  • The Fourth Grade science curriculum builds on concepts from previous years while preparing the students to transition into Middle School Science. Beginning with the study of the powers of 10 and relative sizes in science (from the very small to the very big), they then focus on the periodic table of elements and an introduction to Chemistry. They explore the basics of atomic structure (protons and electrons) and conduct simple chemical reactions and learn how to represent them on paper. The year wraps up with an in-depth unit on space when students conduct independent research on a space topic of their choosing, followed by their study of electric circuits and robotics.

  • In Fifth Grade, students explore Earth Science, evaluating the human connection to Earth’s hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere and discuss the use of nature’s resources in a responsible, effective manner. Students begin to conceptualize the practices of developing meaningful hypotheses and analyzing data in a comprehensive manner in which they can then draw conclusions, connect with their background knowledge, and discuss their findings. Through the use of measurement tools and qualitative observation, students foster their curiosity through experimentation and communicate their findings through modeling.  Students use Central Park in their field studies and experience tactile examples of concepts learned in the classroom.

  • Sixth Grade students explore the concept of perspective and the connection between physical and chemical properties of matter and explore many branches of science in a unique way. Throughout their Chemistry unit, students are challenged through a series of molecular, atomic, and subatomic approaches and begin to view the world around them in a new exciting way. Students then zoom out from their microanalysis of matter and study Astronomy in a multifaceted manner through a space colonization project in which they design all aspects of a colony on an exoplanet. Both fifth and sixth graders engage in a science research project that enhances their scientific literacy, which has is an opportunity for differentiation and individual growth.

  • In Seventh Grade, students work on the Hudson Data Jam, a competition that challenges students to creatively tell science stories of the Hudson River watershed. This extensive research unit uses all of the foundational skills they have cultivated in previous grades and rests on fieldwork and data literacy work. Students have the opportunity to explore their own interest in this differentiated, creative effort while getting to know more about where they live. Past student research topics from this competition include studying air pollution in New York City, the sea level rise in Manhattan, Hudson River invasive species including zebra mussels and water chestnuts, the poaching of glass eels in the Hudson and around the world, and many more. In addition, the Seventh Grade science curriculum delves deeper into Chemistry and Physics, exploring concepts such as the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures, matter and its interactions, and force and its interactions.

  • The Eighth Grade science curriculum explores the fundamentals of Biology including taxonomy, evolution, and genetics. As the story of the revolution in Biology unfolds, students connect this science to their studies in Humanities, learning how the ideas of Biology influenced the world in the prelude to the Civil War in the polygeny/monogeny debate that shaped Darwin’s “Origin of Species”. As they study the complexity of genetics, they learn how Mendelian genetics was simplified and distorted into eugenics in the United States and, in turn, Nazi Germany. They explore the life and work of Nicolai Vavilov, who created the world’s first international seed bank and exemplified Mendelian genetics and international science as a force for good in the midst of the darkness of WWII. In addition, students study key case studies in Biology, analyzing the actual data generated by scientists and the impact of their findings.