Structured Learning Program Guide

Junior Science Bee (JSC)

Study Plan for NSF Junior Science Bee (Grades 1, 2 And 3)

Resource:
http://www.northsouth.org/public/USContests/Regionals/science/sciencePrep.as
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16 WEEKS
(Adapted from SCIENCE – A CLOSER LOOK (Grades 1, 2 and 3)

The syllabus is divided into four sections

 LIFE SCIENCES
 EARTH SCIENCES
 PHYSICAL SCIENCES
 SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY

The Chapters mentioned below are from the book Science – A Closer Look (Grade 3)

LIFE SCIENCES

WEEK 1

I. Plants

 What are the different parts of a plant?

 How many kinds (deciduous, evergreen etc.) of plants do you know?
 How are plants alike and different?
 What do plants need to survive?
 Terms to understand: Photosynthesis
 Terms to understand: Plant Life Cycle, Germination and Pollination
 Inquiry Based:
How do you determine that a plant is growing?
How can you test what plant needs to survive?

(STUDY: Chapter 1 LESSON 2 Plants and their parts

Chapter 2 LESSON 1 Plant Life Cycles)

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WEEK 2

II. Animals

 How are animals and animal groups identified?

 How are animals classified (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds, insects etc.)?
 How do animals grow and change?
 What tactics do animals use to stay alive and survive?
 Terms to understand: Herbivore, Omnivore, Carnivore, and Scavenger; Endangered
species; Extinct Animals – dinosaurs, ammonites, Trilobites

 Inquiry Based:
Why is classification important?
Why should animals be different?
Why do animals become extinct?
Can a human become endangered species? Why? Why not?

(STUDY: Chapter 1 LESSON 3 Animals and their parts

Chapter 1 LESSON 4 Classifying Animals
Chapter 2 LESSON 2 Animal Life Cycles
Chapter 4 LESSON 3 Living Things of the Past)

WEEK 3

III. Ecosystems and Habitats

 What are different types of Ecosystems, Food Chains and Food Webs?
 How does weather impact plants and animals?
 How do plants and animals adapt (beak, wing etc.)?
 Terms to understand: Interaction with Environment, Predators, Prey, Camouflage and
Mimicry, Energy Pyramid, Hibernation.
Habitats

 What are the various plant and animal habitats (Desert, Arctic, Pond, Woodland
Forest, Wetlands, Coral Reef etc.)?
 How and why do habitats change?
 Inquiry Based:
Compare how humans adapt to environment with any animal in the wild?
Can a desert plant grow well in lots of water? Why? Why not?
(STUDY: Chapter 3 Lesson1 Food Chain and Food Webs
Chapter 3 Lesson2 Types of Ecosystem
Chapter 3 Lesson3 Adaptations)

WEEK 4

IV. Human Body and Health 


Terms to understand: Permanent Teeth, Skeleton, Bones, Muscles, Heart, Lungs,

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 Heart Rate, Digestion, Saliva, Stomach, Intestine, Brain, Nerves, Sensory
 Inquiry Based:
Save your fallen tooth. Observe over time.
Do all animals with teeth have temporary teeth? Why? Why not?
How do you measure heart rate?
Can you measure your heart rate before/after activity and talk about why
there is a different of any? (Before/after: 1 hour of study; 15 min of walking, 15 min
of just standing…)
Drink a glass of cold water, can you “feel” your food pipe, stomach…?

(STUDY: HUMAN BODY SYSTEM (R14 – R26) HEALTH HANDBOOK

FROM THE REFERENCE SECTION)

EARTH SCIENCES

WEEK 5

I. Geology
 Rotation and Revolution: What are the concepts underlying Day, Night, Sunrise,
Sunset, Seasons, Year? Terms to understand: Latitudes, Longitudes, Tilt
 Landforms: Terms to understand: Plains, Islands, Barrier islands, Peninsula,
Mountains, Valleys, Plateaus, Cliff, Bay, Canyon, Glaciers, Mesa, Bank, Coast, Delta,
Estuary, Lake, Pond, River, Hill, Loess, Archipelago
 Topography: Terms to understand: Core, Mantle, Crust, Volcanoes, Magma, Lava,
Geysers, Earthquakes, Erosion and weathering, Types of rocks-Metamorphic, Igneous,
Sedimentary;
 Inquiry Based:
How can you tell Earth is going around the sun?
How can you know which direction Earth is rotating?
How can you demonstrate weathering by temperature?

(STUDY: Chapter 8 Lesson1 The Sun and the Earth

Chapter 7 Lesson 3 Climate and Seasons
Chapter 5 Lesson1 Earth’s Features
Chapter 5 Lesson 2 Sudden Change to Earth
Chapter 5 Lesson 3 Weathering and Erosion
Chapter 6 Lesson1 Minerals and Rocks)

WEEK 6

II. SOIL, AIR AND WATER

 Types of soil – Sandy, Clay, Topsoil, Humus, Loam, Boulder, Bedrock; Role of
earthworms;
 Resources: What are Renewable and non- renewable resources?
 How do we conserve: Air, Water, and Minerals?
 Terms to understand: The 3 Rs of Conservation – reuse, reduce and recycle

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  Fuels and fossils, Paleontologist
 Inquiry Based:
List how many ways you help in conservation? Turn off light…etc.
Why should we conserve and what should we conserve?

(STUDY: Chapter 6 Lesson2 Soil

Chapter 6 Lesson2 Fossils and Fuels
Chapter 6 Lesson4 Air and Water Resources)

WEEK 7

III. Weather

 Terms to understand: The Water Cycle, Changes in Weather, Atmosphere,

Evaporation,
 Terms to understand: Condensation, Precipitation, Water Vapor, Temperature,
 Terms to understand: Clouds – stratus, cirrus, cumulus, cumulonimbus; Drought,
Storms, Tsunamis, Wind, Meteorologist,
 Weather Instruments – thermometer, wind vane, anemometer
 Inquiry Based:
How can you show there is water vapor in air?
What is the difference between heat and temperature?
Why do we feel hot after exercise?

(STUDY: Chapter 7 Lesson1 Weather

Chapter 7 Lesson2 The Water Cycle)

WEEK 8

IV. Space

 
Terms to understand: Planets, Moons, Stars, Natural Satellites, Asteroids, Comets,


Constellations, Lunar eclipse, Solar eclipse, Phases of moon, Telescope
 Inquiry Based:
Why do we see only one side of the moon?
Can you build a mechanism to so an eclipse? Lunar? Solar?

(STUDY:
Chapter 8 Lesson 2 The Moon and Earth
Chapter 8 Lesson 3 The Planets
Chapter 8 Lesson 4 The Stars)

2016 © North South Foundation

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

WEEK 9

I. Matter

 Physical properties: Mass, Solid, Liquid, Gas, Hardness, Mixtures, Reversible,


Irreversible, Combustion, Physical change, Chemical Change
 Composition: atoms, elements, molecules, compounds
 Measurements: How are solids and liquids measured? Terms to understand: Ruler,

Balance, Distance, Units (gram, kilogram, inches, centimeters, feet, meters, pounds,
ounces, gallon, quarts), temperature (thermometer), Volume.

 Inquiry Based:
How was an atom discovered? Is atom the smallest?
What are the atoms that you use everyday..? write with pencil..

(STUDY: Chapter 9 Lesson 1 Properties of Matter

Chapter 9 Lesson 2 Measuring Matter
Chapter 9 Lesson 3 Solids, Liquids and Gases
Chapter 10 Lesson 1 Changes of State
Chapter 10 Lesson 2 Physical Changes
Chapter 10 Lesson 3 Chemical Changes)

WEEK 10

II. Force and Motion

 Position, motion, gravity. How are motion, speed and work measured?
 Simple Machines – Inclined Plane, Wheel and Axle, Lever, Screw, Wedge, Pulley
 Inquiry Based:
What types of simple machines can you build?
How do some insects walk on water?
Can you think of ways by which a human can walk on water?

(STUDY: Chapter 11 Lesson 1 Position and Motion

Chapter 11 Lesson 2 Forces
Chapter 11 Lesson 4 Using Simple Machines)

WEEK 11

III. Energy

 What are Potential and Kinetic Energy?

 What are different forms of Energy (Sound, Light, Thermal, Magnetic, Electrical)?

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 Inquiry Based:
What type of energy can be seen?
How do you know there is energy?

(Study: Chapter 11 Lesson 3 Work and Energy)

WEEK 12

IV. Electricity and Magnetism

 What are magnets?

 Terms to understand: concept of North and South poles, Attraction and Repulsion;
 Terms to understand: Compass, Circuit, Current, Battery, Switch, Light Bulb, Conductors,
 Terms to understand: Insulators, Electrons, Electromagnet, Static Electricity – Wool,
Balloon, Comb;
 Inquiry Based:
Can you build a simple device to detect someone entered your room?
How do you know there is energy?

(Study: Chapter 12 Lesson 4 Electricity)

WEEK 13

V. Sound

 How does sound travel?

 How are sounds made and heard?
 Terms to understand: Vibration, Loudness, Pitch, Sonar, and Music.
 Inquiry Based:
What is stereo sound? Can you hear stereo with one ear?
Is sound a form of energy? How? How not?

(Study: Chapter 12 Lesson 2 Sound)

WEEK 14

VI. Light

 What is a mirror?
 Terms to understand: Reflection, Refraction, Absorption,
 Terms to understand: Shadow, Transparent, Translucent, Opaque, Spectrum, and Prism.

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 Inquiry Based:
Why does light “bend”?
Is light a form of energy? How? How not?
Does it feel hot in sunlight and how about same amount of light from lash
light? Explain

(Study: Chapter 12 Lesson 3 Light)

WEEK 15

VII. Heat

 What is Heat?
 How is it transferred through Conduction, Condensation, Convection, and Radiation
 Heat: Terms to understand: Evaporation, Condensation.
 Inquiry Based:
Why does your hands feel hot when rubbing together?
Can we store “heat”? Why? Why not?

(Study: Chapter 12 Lesson 1 Heat)

WEEK 16

SCIENTIFIC ENQUIRY

 Terms to understand: Scientific Methods, Hypothesis, Experiment, Observation,

 Bar Graph, Line Graph, Data Table,
 Conclusion, Fact Vs. Opinion, Evidence,
 Measuring, Organize Data, Mass, Length, Temperature, Weight, Bar Graph, Pictograph;
 Personalities - Thomas Edison, Louis Pasteur, Rachel Carson, Edward Jenner, Isaac
Newton, Galileo Galilei
(Study: The Scientific Method Page 3 – 14)
(Learn about more scientists the above names are just examples, learn more about
other scientists too.)

2016 © North South Foundation