Science

The Allegany County Public School System science curriculum provides the organization and structure for what a student is to know and be able to do by the end of a course. The basis for each middle school curricula is identified in the Voluntary State Curriculum (VSC)

The middle school science program reflects the following beliefs:

• Science is for all students.
• All students must have the opportunity to attain high levels of scientific literacy.

Scientific literacy means being able to use scientific knowledge and ways of thinking in daily life. Scientific literacy ensures the ability of our students to participate fully as informed citizens and decision-makers in a scientific and technological world.

• Learning science is an active process.
• Students learn science by describing objects and events and asking questions.
• Students learn science by acquiring knowledge and construction explanations of natural phenomena.
• Students learn science by testing those explanations many different ways, and communicating their ideas to others. This allows students to actively develop understanding of science by combining scientific knowledge with reasoning and thinking skills.
• The goal of science is for students to recognize that science is more than a body of knowledge. It is a way of investigating.
• Students have the opportunity to examine the impact science has and will continue to have on society.

In the middle school program students are introduced to the use of computers, probes, scanners, digitized cameras, and other forms of technology when completing laboratory investigations and projects.