Methuen Public Schools 
Science Curriculum Map
Grades 3-8

Welcome to Methuen's Science Curriculum Site.

During the 2007-2008 school year Methuen teachers began using a new science series, Houghton-Mifflin Science, for grades 3-8.  Teams of teachers from each grade level met in late June to revise Methuen's Science curriculum.  Two important goals of the revision teams were to make sure that......

• Classroom instruction reflects the Massachusetts Frameworks Standards. (For example, since the Human Body is not in the Grades 3-5 standards, it will not be taught in grades 3, 4, or 5.)
  
  

• Each grade level across the district covers the same science topics during the same quarter. (For example during the second quarter, all 4th grades at the CGS, Marsh, Tenney, and Timony teach Weather and the Water Cycle.)
  

In June 2009, curriculum teams assembled again to revise the science curricula by using input from teachers after a full year of implementation.

The following table gives you an overview of the topics covered by each grade level.  Click on a grade to view detailed information about that grade's science curriculum.

Grade	Curriculum Overview
	Third grade curriculum focuses on Life Science, but does touch on Earth and Space Science in the fourth quarter.  The topics taught in third grade include: Plants (Q1), Animals (Q2), Adaptations (Q3), and  Rocks/Soil (Q4).
	Fourth grade curriculum focuses on Earth and Space Science, but does review some Life Science topics covered in third grade.  The last quarter of fourth grade introduces Physical Science topics that will be fully explored in fifth grade.  The topics taught in fourth grade include:  Adaptations and Life Cycles (Q1), Weather and the Water Cycle (Q2), Earth and the Solar System (Q3), and Matter (Q4).
	Fifth grade curriculum focuses on the Physical Sciences.  Built into the curriculum is time for reviewing topics taught in third and fourth grades, in preparation for the MCAS Science test.  The topics taught in fifth grade include: Matter and Properties of Elements (Q1), Forms of Energy- Light, Sound, Electrical, and Thermal (Q2), Energy - Electrical and Magnetic - and Simple Machines (Q3), and MCAS Review (Q4)
	Students will study the Dynamic Earth while describing rock formations and the natural processes that the planet experiences.  Moreover, students will be able to describe the earth’s layers how the planet changes.  Students will study Life Sciences while exploring the structure and functions of living organisms and their environment.
	The seventh grade science curriculum focuses on the Scientific Method and prepares students for the MCAS science test.  Units covered in the seventh grade include Science/Technology, Earth Science/Astronomy, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and the Nature of Science and Technology.
	The eighth grade science curriculum continues to prepare students for the MCAS science test.  Units covered in the eighth grade include Life Science topics of Heredity, Evolution, and Diversity; the Physical Science topics of Motion, Forces, and Energy; and the Earth Science topics of Heat Transfer, Wind, and Water.
Grade 6-8 Experimentation	Laboratory activities and hands-on scientific investigation; Goals and objectives.