Science

Science taught at the British Schools of America is based on the National Curriculum (England).

At Key Stages One and Two there are 3 main areas of scientific study:

• Life processes and living things
• Materials and their properties
• Physical processes

Scientific enquiry forms the basis of much of the teaching of these 3 strands.

At Key Stage One pupils observe, explore and ask questions about living things, materials and phenomena; they begin to work together to collect evidence to help them answer questions and to link this to simple scientific ideas; they evaluate evidence and consider whether tests or comparisons are fair and appropriate; they use reference materials to find out more about scientific ideas; they share their ideas and communicate them using scientific language, drawings, charts and tables.

At Key Stage Two pupils learn about a wider range of living things, materials and phenomena; they begin to make links between ideas and to explain things using simple models and theories; they apply their knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas to familiar phenomena, everyday things and their personal health; they begin to think about the positive and negative effects of scientific and technological developments on the environment; and in other contexts; they carry out more scientific investigations, working on their own and with others; they use a range of reference sources in their work; they talk about their work and its significance, and communicate ideas using a wider range of scientific language, conventional diagrams, charts and graphs.

During Key Stage Three pupils build on their scientific knowledge and understanding and make connections  between different areas of science; they use scientific ideas and models to explain phenomena and events, and to understand a range of familiar applications of science; t hey think about the positive and negative effects of scientific and technological developments on the environment and in other contexts; they take account of others' views and understand why opinions may differ; they do more quantitative work, carrying out investigations on their own and with others, they evaluate their work, in particular the strength of the evidence they and others have collected and they select and use a wide range of reference sources; they communicate clearly what they did and its significance; they learn how scientists work together on present-day scientific developments and about the importance of experimental evidence in supporting scientific ideas.

During Key Stage Four pupils learn about a wider range of scientific ideas and consider them in greater depth, laying the foundations for further study; they explore how technological advances relate to the scientific ideas underpinning them; they consider the power and limitations of science in addressing industrial, ethical and environmental issues, and how different groups have different views about the role of science; when they carry out investigations they use a range of approaches and select appropriate reference sources, working on their own and with others; they do more quantitative work and evaluate critically the evidence collected and conclusions drawn; they communicate their ideas clearly and precisely in a variety of ways; they see how scientists work together to develop new ideas, how new theories may, at first, give rise to controversy and how social and cultural contexts may affect the extent to which theories are accepted.