Science

The Bartlett School offers a wonderfully enriching science program to children from Kindergarten through sixth grade. We have a science teacher and a comprehensive science lab.

In Kindergarten, the class focus is on nature with lots of opportunity for observation. Beginning in the first grade and continuing through the sixth grade, the curriculum is divided into four sections. Each grade builds upon the other. Grade appropriate units are taught in Life Science, Physical Science, Earth Science and The Human Body.

The Bartlett School also has a wonderful collaborative program with the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Habitat Sanctuary located in Belmont, Massachusetts. Bartlett students from Kindergarten through the sixth grade attend three programs each year at the reserve. Each class is assigned a trained guide who teaches the children about a particular age-appropriate topic. A wonderful relationship is formed between the guides and the children, encompassing the beauty of nature. Topics for the fall season may include the changes of autumn, the meadow, the forest and orienteering. In winter and early spring, the students may explore winter wildlife, animal tracks, winter hikes and maple sugaring. Our last program in the spring allows for the exploration of flowers and insects, birds, micro habitats and the vernal pool and pond. It is the goal of The Bartlett School, to have each student gain an appreciation for the science and beauty that surrounds their own habitats.

Pre-Kindergarten I • Animals • Weather and seasons • Birds and nests • Water, snow and ice • Five senses Pre-Kindergarten II • Increase power of observation • Weather and seasons • Our bodies, food and nutrition • Seeds and plants, birds and nests • Farm animals Kindergarten • Observation skills • Use of senses • Body Parts • Plants, seeds, flowers, trees • Animals • Physical science - shadows, weather, sky, stars, rocks • Water forms, sea, river • All seasonal changes Grade One • Plants, animals, senses • Matter, simple machines • Shape, composition, seasons • Caring for yourself

Grade Two • Plants, animals, dinosaurs • Magnets, heat and light • Air, water, Sun and weather • Keeping safe Grade Three • Life cycles • Force, work and energy • Earth's resources • Good health habits Grade Four • Food chains • Energy, heat and electricity • Rocks and minerals • Digestive system Grade Five • Vertebrates, invertebrates • Electricity, physical changes • Stars • The systems of the Body Grade Six • Life process, cells • Matter, atoms, energy • Earth's resources • Life cycles and the body