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Program Components

Introduction

This guide discusses the program components of the Interactive Science program for Grades K–5. Interactive Science is a standards-based, next-generation science program that features three learning pathways:

• A reading path• An inquiry path• A digital path

This guide provides information on the available components for each of these learning pathways.

Reading Path

The Interactive Science program was designed to build connections between science content and essential reading skills. The reading path includes a write-in student edition, an interactive kindergarten journal, leveled readers, and additional reading resources.

Write-in Student Editions and Kindergarten Interactive Journal

The reading path begins with Interactive Science’s write-in student editions for Grades 1–5, and an Interactive Journal for kindergarten. These editions include comprehension building interactivities that allow students to read, write, draw, graph, and self-assess all in one place. Interactivities assure that students are developing reading skills that they can use before, during, and after reading a text passage.

Before students begin reading a lesson, the program gives them the opportunity to activate their prior knowledge through the Envision It! It is located at the top of the first page of each lesson. By engaging students with this image and question, teachers are able to make content more relevant and personal.

Each chapter features a specific reading strategy. A bull’s-eye icon on a page alerts students to this reading strategy. Located in the first few pages of the chapter, The Let’s Read Science! page defines and provides examples for the chapter’s main reading strategy.

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In the example below, the program introduces fifth graders to Main Idea and Details. During the chapter, students revisit this reading strategy in each lesson. Here, teachers can ask students to use a graphic organizer to identify the main idea and two supporting details.

After reading a lesson, students have the opportunity to think about what they read and to self-assess their comprehension. The Got It? feature allows them to determine if they need additional help. Students that are struggling with the material benefit from My Reading Coach.

My Reading Coach

My Reading Coach leveled readers are available to provide additional reading opportunities for students with varied reading abilities. These booklets are available for below-level, on-level, and advanced readers. These readers not only provide additional text but also provide additional activities and support in the flaps.

Flap activities encourage students to access and organize what they know before they read the text, build vocabulary and self-monitor during the text, and assess their understanding after reading the text.

Primary Science Resources

There are additional materials available for Grades K–2 that are designed to engage emergent readers. Reader’s Theater, Science Songs, and Science Songs Coloring Book help to reinforce key reading skills and strategies.

English Language Support

An ELL Handbook version is available for Grades K–2 and 3–5. This handbook uses Pearson’s English language learners (ELL) Curriculum Framework to explore the range of strategies

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that are available to assist students in understanding science concepts while helping students improve their English proficiency.

Additional information about the reading path components and tools is available in the Reading Comprehension tutorial, which is available on this Web site.

Inquiry-Based Path

Inquiry occurs when students think like scientists. With Interactive Science, minds-on and hands-on inquiry work together to help students build a deep understanding of science concepts.

Interactive Science features four levels of inquiry that include Activity Before Concept (ABC), directed inquiry, guided inquiry, and open inquiry. ABC and guided inquiry are supported in the write-in student edition. Whereas, student directed and open inquiry

are both supported via the Teacher’s Edition and laminated lab Activity Cards. A yellow triangle denotes each inquiry activity.

Activity Before Concept

One way to lay the foundation for learning is through an Activity Before Concept (ABC). These inquiry activities engage and motivate students while they help them access prior knowledge. Each chapter features an ABC before the first lesson to help to set the stage for learning the concepts of the chapter. In the example below, the Try It! ABC activity instructs students to build a model helicopter. By thinking about what they already know about forces, students problem solve to make the helicopter drop more slowly. This activity is the first inquiry activity for this chapter.

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In-Text Inquiry Features

Explore It!, Try It!, and At Home Labs are examples of in-text inquiry activities. In these activities, students are given a specific set of questions and instructions that they use to guide their activity. In this first grade Explore It! activity, students use a rubber band to make a toy car move.

Activity Cards

Each chapter features at least one in-depth lab investigation. This lab investigation is introduced in the write-in student edition and Teacher’s Edition. Students use an Activity Card as a placemat. By viewing the 30 Second Lab Setup! side of the card and placing it on a tray, they can easily see the items that they need for the lab activity. The Activity Cards contain three scaffolded sets of instructions for the lab: directed inquiry, guided inquiry, and open inquiry.

Directed Inquiry

Directed inquiry provides students with a specific set of questions and directions. These activities tend to be more teacher- and text-directed, and they help to walk students through the different processes of inquiry.

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Guided Inquiry

With guided inquiry activities, teachers gradually shift responsibility to the students and act as an inquiry facilitator. Guided inquiry focuses on the development of science concepts, while it makes the activity personal, relevant, and engaging.

Open Inquiry

With open inquiry, students create an investigation plan, construct a hypothesis, test their plan, observe the experiment, and record their results.

Throughout the year, teachers should focus on moving students toward more open inquiry activities and less teacher- and text-directed inquiry.

STEM Activity Handbook

Today’s students are future scientists and engineers. The STEM Activity Handbook provides students with the experiences and skills they need to be successful in science, technology, engineering, and math. While students focus on the design process, they learn to find solutions to solve real-world problems with these activities.

Digital Path

myScienceOnline.com directs students to the digital path for Interactive Science. With the digital path, teachers can plan, assign, assess, evaluate, and differentiate their instruction. The digital path is not only an e-book but it is also an entire multimedia Interactive Science curriculum. Each lesson is an interactive journey through the 5E Learning Cycle: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate.

Chapter Kickoff

Each digital chapter begins with a Chapter Kickoff. It uses engaging images and questions to introduce students to the science concepts that they are studying in the chapter. The Chapter Kickoff also includes Untamed Science chapter videos. These videos feature the Untamed Science Crew—a group of young scientists that help students explore the world of science.

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Vocabulary Smart Cards

Students use Vocabulary Smart Cards to hear chapter vocabulary words in English and in Spanish. They use these cards to hear the definition, and identify the word.

EnVision It!

Envision It! is available for each lesson via the Engage tab. It provides students the opportunity to access their prior knowledge or to set a context for a lesson through engaging visuals, questions, and graphic organizers. Envision It! is great to use for whole-class instruction in conjunction with whiteboard technology.

Explore It!

The lesson Explore tab features Explore It! These virtual animations provide online inquiry opportunities. Students are asked to show what they know, make predictions on what they think will happen, and describe what they observed in the activity.

I Will Know . . .

The lesson Explain tab features I Will Know . . . These animations and interactive art components illustrate a key lesson concept.

Got It? 60-Second Video

The Got It? 60-Second Video, also located in the Explain tab, provides a way to introduce, review, and reinforce the lesson content. After viewing the videos, students answer questions about each key chapter question.

Active Art

Active Art activities are located in the lesson’s Elaborate tab. These activities help students take what they have learned and apply it to new situations. These engaging activities help students relate the science concepts to their own lives.

Got It? Quiz

When students finish a lesson, they visit the Evaluate tab to take the Got It? Quiz. When the student takes this quiz, it provides them and the teacher with immediate feedback on what they know and what they need to work on.

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My Science Coach

If a student struggles on the Got It? Quiz, they can go to the Chapter Wrap-Up section to visit My Science Coach. My Science Coach helps students with additional practice activities and reading support.

Virtual Labs

Virtual Labs are also available in the Chapter Wrap-Up section. These activities mirror the Investigate It! labs that are available at the end of each chapter in the write-in student edition. Students conduct experiments, do multiple trials, and record data and observations in their digital notebook.

Teacher Tools

myScienceOnline.com offers teachers many tools for planning lessons and assessing student progress, remediation, and enrichment. View the myScienceOnline.com and Pearson SuccessNet tutorials on this Web site for more information on these tools.

ExamView CD-ROM

An ExamView CD-ROM is also available for Interactive Science. Teachers can use this resource to build customized assessments for their students.

Review

Interactive Science features three learning pathways:

• A reading path• An inquiry path• A digital path

The reading path focuses on students learning the science concepts, while it emphasizes comprehension building strategies. Activities assure that students develop content area reading skills.

As students learn to think like scientists, they benefit from the activities in the inquiry path. This path allows students to experience various level of inquiry through minds-on and hands-on activities.

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Finally, the inquiry path offers a rich array of multimedia to support a variety of learning styles. Lessons are structured according to the 5E Learning Cycle, and they offer a series of activities to guide students through the lesson.

For more information on the Interactive Science program for Grades K–5, watch the other tutorials on this Web site.