Our Mission

Working together as a team, we will end the predictive value of race, class, gender, and special capacities for our children’s success through high quality teaching and learning for all. We seek to build relationships with families and communities to ensure that every student succeeds. We will know every student.

Our Mission

Science

In ACPS, students do science by making use of the three dimensions of scientific literacy to make sens of phenomena and develop solutions to design problems. The three dimensions of scientific knowledge include core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. (NGSS, 2021) These dimensions work together to support students in inquiry and building deep and usable knowledge that can be used to solve future challenging problems and make sense of new phenomena they experience in their lives.

Elementary Science

Curriculum

The overarching goal for teachers is to run a curriculum that fosters dynamic, child-centered instruction in the classroom. This requires the identification of discipline level concepts and enduring understandings that will drive the development of essential questions that in turn promotes a more inquiry-based approach to instruction.

Our curriculum covers a dynamic document that clearly indicates what students should know, understand, and be able to do. The most important concepts and skills will be covered in more depth and students will be exposed to more authentic forms of assessment. Students also learn to apply the knowledge and skills that they have learned in new and unique ways.

ACPS calls this approach to curriculum development the Framework for Quality Learning (FQL).

Elementary Pacing Guides

Mystery Science

Five Ponds Press

Grade 1 Planning Units

Grade 2 Planning Units

Grade 3 Planning Units

Grade 4 Planning Units

Grade 5 Planning Units

Inquiry In Science

Classroom Resources

Conferences/Webinars

Updates

Climate Generation’s 16th annual Summer Institute for Climate Change Education is a three-day, July 28-30, 2021, virtual conference for teachers to learn new tools, skills, and resources to teach climate change. To register or learn more, go here.

Summer 2021 Chesapeake Classrooms course registration is open! Join CBF Education as you gain new skills grounded in environmental literacy and earn professional development credit with colleagues from across the watershed!

Free Virtual STEM PD Camp by the ASM Materials Education Foundation has a variety of topics and dates for elementary (K-5) as well as secondary (6-12) teachers to attend. Kits will be supplied for teachers to learn about materials design.

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office’s Chesapeake Exploration hosts free online courses that share fresh ideas and tools for classroom and outdoor instruction to support your work in environmental literacy in our region. They have just added two new courses: MWEE 201 and Next Generation Science Standards and Environmental Literacy.

Middle School Science

Curriculum

Useful Links

Conferences/Webinars

Updates

Click image to download.

As employment opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) continue to expand in Virginia and throughout the United States, the selection of STEM courses in K-12 allow students to prepare for a variety of STEM careers. The Game of STEM was developed to provide a sampling of potential STEM careers and to support students, counselors, and teachers as students determine course pathways.

Professional Organizations

VAST
NSTA

Camp Albemarle Program Information & Calendar

Grant Opportunities

National Geographic COVID Grants

Helpful Links

Katina Dudley
Lead Instructional Coach - Science
434-296-5820 ext. 13523
kdudley@k12albemarle.org