Do wind and water change the land? Students learn about erosion (Unit Two).
Early Science Curriculum
Research-based inquiry process teaches basic science content
Early Science Curriculum uses the research-based inquiry process to teach basic science content to elementary students with significant developmental disabilities, including autism. The content is aligned to general education standards and taught systematically by incorporating scripted lessons, least intrusive prompt strategies, teachable objectives, and ongoing assessments.
The 28 lessons follow a standard sequence. Students engage by discussing Wonder Stories; investigate through hands-on experiments; describe and explain concept statements using vocabulary cards, posters, and games; and report findings in their My Science Logs.
- Four units (Five Senses, Rock Cycle, Earth and Sky, and Life Cycle) focusing on the most frequently occurring science standards
- A list of skill-building plus general education alignment objectives
- Embedded instructions for assistive technology
- A chain of responses to guide students
- Scripted lessons to increase teacher fidelity
- and reduce prep time
- Progress reports using My Science Logs and end-of-unit assessments
|The Five Senses||The Rock Cycle||Earth and Sky||
The Life Cycle
|A scientist asks questions about the natural world.||Rocks are different.||We live on the Earth.||
Plants and animals live
on the Earth.
|We can see colors and sizes.||
Rocks are made
|The sun and moon are in the sky.||Animals and plants grow and change.|
We can feel textures
|Rocks change to make new rocks.||We can see the moon in the night sky.||Animals and plants grow and change.|
We can smell odors and
Soil is made of
|The sun gives the Earth sunlight during the day.||
Plants and animals
|We can hear sounds.||
All land has rocks
|The sun gives the Earth sunlight during the day.||Animals need plants.|
|We can observe properties with our five senses.||Wind and water change the land.||The sun’s heat is a form of energy.||When animals and plants are dead, they decay.|
The Early Science Curriculum includes:
|4 Teacher’s Guides||Vocabulary Cards (120)|
|Implementation Guide||Photo Cards (53)|
|Wonder Wally Storybook||Safety Rule Cards (7)|
|4 My Science Logs||Concept Statement Cards (24)|
|Safety and KWHL Posters (22x28)||Wonder Question Cards (24)|
|Wonder Wally Game (17x20)||PDFs on Win/Mac CD|
The Student Experiment Materials include: 4 goggles, prism, bag of 6 geodes, 3 minerals, 4 rocks, butterfly stages objects, butterfly garden, clay, and styrofoam ball. A storage bin plus cases for the cards and rocks keep the materials organized.
By Bree Jimenez, PhD, Victoria Knight, PhD, and Diane Browder, PhD.
Early Science: Implementation Guide, 66 pages; Teacher's Guide: The Five Senses, 108 pages; Teacher's Guide: The Rock Cycle, 104 pages; Teacher's Guide: Earth and Sky, 108 pages; Teacher's Guide: The Life Cycle, 106 pages; Wonder Wally Storybook, 110 pages; My Science Log, 120 pages. All books are 8½ x 11 inches, full color, spiralbound, 2012.
Smith, Spooner, Browder, and Jimenez (2011) demonstrated the effectiveness of the Early Science Curriculum with elementary students who have moderate-to-severe developmental disabilities. Students learned science vocabulary and concepts linked to grade-level standards.
Downloadable research material excerpted from Early Science Instructor's Guide available above.