Welcome to the map

Welcome to the SWLSB Science & Technology Curriculum Map. It is designed to be a support to all SWLSB elementary teachers who teach this exciting subject.

Teachers in the elementary sector have an enormously diverse and demanding role, charged with delivering many different curricular disciplines.

Being a generalist is challenging and has many pressures. Consequently, it is often difficult to ensure that the entire Progression of Learning is being covered and indeed, to find approaches, strategies and resources which will bring the subject to life. This map has been designed to help you meet these challenges!

The purpose of the Curriculum Map

1. to help each teacher / school ensure that all students are exposed to the ENTIRE Science & Technology Progression of Learning for cycles 2 & 3

2. to promote an inquiry based, ‘hands-on’ experimental/practical approach to teaching the subject

3. to provide scaffolding and support for the teaching of the subject by using a modular approach which is supported by resources and strategies

Foundation of the Curriculum Map

Naturally, the MELS Progressions of Learning are the absolute basis for this map but, in addition, there are two approaches that are foundational to this map in terms of approach. These are;

1. 'Engineering is Elementary' (’EiE’) – this is a set of 20 units that use engineering and technology as the vehicle through which all the other scientific areas (e.g. Material World, Earth in Space, Living World) can be learned. It is hands on and inquiry based and the 20 units have been distributed through the 4 grades in our SWLSB Curriculum Map. The EiE units are tremendously engaging for students and everything is already planned for the teacher.

2. ‘Smarter Science’ – this is a great framework than can be used for any experiment or investigation. It’s a great way to scaffold the experimental method (e.g. identifying and isolating variables, hypotheses generation etc.)

the curriculum map explained

The map itself is modular with 6 modules per grade and thus 12 modules per cycle. The entire 24 modules can be categorised into 3 different types of modules

• Material World

• Earth & Space

• Living Things

These are colour coded:

The table below shows how the Curriculum Map is organised between grades and between cycles. As can be seen, there are two Material World modules, two Earth & Space modules and two Living Things modules per grade.

some practical points

There are a couple points that should be kept in mind when looking at the map.

Firstly, it should be noted that there is an asymmetry between the modules in terms of time required. Some modules may only take a couple of lessons whereas others may take slightly longer. This may need to be taken into account when planning your time.

Secondly, the order of the modules within a grade or even within a cycle does not need to be strictly adhered to. Do feel free to teach the modules of any particular grade in the order that you see fit.

The moving of modules between the cycles, however, is discouraged.

the curriculum map is not a pacing guide

The Curriculum Map doesn’t contain details of suggested timing for each module. The main reason for this is that the time allocation can vary between schools.

The map, therefore, is most emphatically not a pacing guide.

The ESD department recommends an allocation of 120 mins per 5 day cycle (equivalent to 24 minutes per day) and such an allocation would be preferable in order to provide the Science & Technology curriculum the time it requires to foster a sufficient depth of understanding in our students.

digital resources

You will note that at the bottom of each module there is a section which details the resources and opportunities for EdTech integration, i.e. apps, videos etc. Many of these fall into the following categories

• Discovery Education videos – collection of online educational videos and other tools

• ‘Gizmos’ Digital Simulations – allows students to visualise scientific processes (and

• assess them!)

• Onboard Academics – a suit of prepared SMARTboard lessons which complement each module

• Videoconferences – hand-picked programs from approved providers that allow you to transcend the limitations of your physical classroom

In order to access ‘Discovery’ and ‘Gizmos’ you will need to register for an account. Details on how to do this can be found in the appendices at the end of this document.

The Onboard Academics SMARTboard lessons have been compiled for you and are available online in the ‘Resources’ folder (see next section).

Videoconferences are a fantastic way to enrich a module and a number of them are suggested as possibilities in the Curriculum Map. Details on how to set up a videoconference (book the mobile VC unit etc.) are included in the appendices.

All of the digital resources mentioned in the map have been collated into an online clickable database.

Click here to access this database

Thanks and Acknowledgements

The Elementary Map project (Cycles 2 and 3) would not have been possible without the hard work and contributions of the following colleagues:

• Anne Isabelle Cuvillier (SWLSB),

• Kelly Fahey (SWLSB),

• Teresa Oppedisano (SWLSB),

• Rob Shields (SWLSB),

• Heather Titley (SWLSB)

Their dedication and selfless industry and support is much appreciated.

The high school cycle 1 map (prior to 2020) was created by Michael Quinn (SWLSB) and Katherine Davey (LBPSB) in association with the following teachers without whom this would not have been possible;

• Angela Lionetti (LBPSB)

• Ian Ritchie (SWLSB)

• Melanie Sleep (LBPSB)

• Gordon Truesdale (SWLSB)

The new high school cycle 1 map has been largely reimagined by Sam Altarac (SWLSB) but has also borrowed from the old map.