Science+Curriculum


 * THE GOALS OF THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM**

During the twentieth century, science and technology played an increasingly important role in the lives of all Canadians. Science and technology underpin much of what we take for granted, including clean water, the places in which we live and work, and the ways in which we communicate with others. The impact of science and technology on our lives will continue to grow. Consequently, scientific and technological literacy for all has become the overarching objective of science and technology education throughout the world.

Achievement of both excellence and equity underlies the three major goals of the science and technology program at the elementary level. Accordingly, //The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1–8: Science and Technology//, 2007 outlines the skills and knowledge that students will develop, as well as the attitudes that they need to develop in order to use their knowledge and skills responsibly. The three goals are the following:

1. to relate science and technology to society and the environment 2. to develop the skills, strategies, and habits of mind required for scientific inquiry and technological problem solving 3. to understand the basic concepts of science and technology.


 * THE NATURE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY**

Science is a way of knowing that seeks to describe and explain the natural and physical world. An important part of scientific and technological literacy is an understanding of the nature of science, which includes an understanding of the following:
 * what scientists, engineers, and technologists do as individuals and as a community
 * how scientific knowledge is generated and validated, and what benefits, costs, and risks are involved in using this knowledge
 * how science interacts with technology, society, and the environment.

Occasionally, theories and concepts undergo change but, for the most part, the basic ideas of science – ideas such as the cellular basis of life, the laws of energy, and the particle theory of matter – have proven to be stable.

Technology is also a way of knowing, and is also a process of exploration and experimentation. Technology is both a form of knowledge that uses concepts and skills from other disciplines (including science) and the application of this knowledge to meet an identified need or to solve a specific problem using materials, energy, and tools (including computers). Technological methods consist of inventing or modifying devices, structures, systems, and/or processes. An understanding of the nature of technology includes knowing the following:
 * what technology is, in its broadest terms (much more than the knowledge and skills related to computers and their applications)
 * how technology and science are interrelated
 * how thinking about technology’s benefits, costs, and risks can contribute to using it wisely.

Science and technology are closely linked, especially through the skills of scientific inquiry, technological problem solving, and communication. The world as we know it today has been affected in many important ways by science and technology. For example, science has radically altered and expanded our understanding of Earth and space, of the workings of the human mind and body, and of the ways in which living organisms interact; and technology has revolutionized the way we communicate and has made vast changes in our lives through the discovery of new drugs and materials. It is important, therefore, that students see science and technology in this wider context – as endeavours with important consequences for people and other living things – and that they learn to connect their knowledge of science and technology to the world beyond the school.

(Taken from //The Ontario Curriculum, Science and Technology, Grades 1 to 8//, pp. 5-6.)

Below are the Grade 5 Science strands as related to the Science continuum in our curriculum. Highlights of student learning in Grade 5 follow.



The following are highlights of student learning in Grade 5. They provide a quick overview of the big ideas of the knowledge and skills students are expected to acquire in each Science strand in Grade 5. For more details, please refer to the Ontario curriculum documents online.