Grade 5 Space Enhanced Science Education

The current project was a 2 year effort to develop a lunar base themed group of activities for the class room to go with the chapters on the solar system, matter, energy, electricity, light and sound, and forces and motion. The first team last year got about half way to that goal but did not have good documentation. A problem is that the curriculum is, for better or worse, defined by the Harcourt School Publishers science text. Our team not only enhanced the previous team’s activities to be better, but we created our own. We tested an essay contest and worked toward creating a service club of WPI students to help teachers institute hands on education in 5th grade classrooms and make learning science fun. The process of planning a 5th grade field trip was also started

ELM PARK SCHOOL SPACE ENRICHED SCIENCE EDUCATION 5th GRADE

The Lunar Enhanced Science curriculum is designed to improve the current science curriculum for fifth grade students attending Elm Park School in order to better prepare them for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). The MCAS is the statewide assessment given to students from the third to tenth grades to measure their academic progress. Elm Park has struggled in recent years to improve its below average MCAS scores. The Enhanced Science curriculum leads the students through a lunar base design to reinforce the concepts that the students will be tested on during the MCAS. Students were given the opportunity to visit Worcester Polytechnic Institute and participate in hands-on lunar themed demonstrations in order to provide a capstone experience for the curriculum

SPACE ENRICHED SCIENCE EDUCATION – 5th GRADE CURRICULUM PROJECT

The Lunar Enhanced Science curriculum is designed to improve the current science curriculum for fifth grade students attending Elm Park School in order to better prepare them for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). Elm Park has struggled in recent years to improve its below average MCAS scores. The Enhanced Science curriculum leads the students through a lunar base design to reinforce the concepts that the students will be tested on during the MCAS. Students were given the opportunity to visit Worcester Polytechnic Institute and participate in hands-on lunar themed demonstrations in order to provide a capstone experience for the curriculum. The New England chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics provided funding

Elm Park School Space Enriched Science Education

The Lunar Enhanced Science curriculum is designed to improve the current science curriculum for fifth grade students attending Elm Park School in order to better prepare them for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). Elm Park has struggled in recent years to improve its below average MCAS scores. The Enhanced Science curriculum leads the students through a lunar base design to reinforce the concepts that the students will be tested on during the MCAS. Students were given the opportunity to visit Worcester Polytechnic Institute and participate in hands on lunar themed demonstrations in order to provide a capstone experience for the curriculum

Grade 5 Space Enhanced Science Exploration

The goal of the overall project was to elaborate moon based themes to augment the required 5th grade science curriculum as defined by the Harcourt School Publishers science text. Our team enhanced previous team’s projects with better activities and piloted an essay contest conceived of by the prior team, but which they could not get approved and executed. We also worked toward creating a service club of WPI students to help teachers institute hands on education in 5th grade classrooms and started the process of planning a 5th grade field trip to WPI