Science
Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a method of discovering how the universe works. We, therefore, feel strongly that Mounds Park Academy students should learn science by doing science.
Reflecting this commitment, our courses are infused with student activity. The many benefits of learning science this way include:
- Students understand the material more deeply because they have observed and interacted with phenomena firsthand, rather than just being told about them as passive listeners.
- Students retain knowledge longer because they are active participants in discovering scientific principles and answering their own unique questions about them.
- Students become comfortable with essential scientific skills such as manipulating equipment, making measurements, analyzing and presenting data, and designing experiments.
- Students find the subject more interesting because they are engaged in and use the processes of science.
- It is fun! Our classes embody the “joy of learning” that is expressed in the MPA Mission Statement.
While some students study science to prepare for careers in science, engineering, medicine, or other STEM fields, we believe that all students need to study science so they can understand how scientists acquire knowledge and be informed citizens. We offer courses to challenge students at all levels, and the success of our alumni in college and STEM careers testifies to the effectiveness of this approach. Most Honors and Advanced courses cover a large portion of the material in a college-level or AP science course. We have chosen to limit our AP offerings to focus our courses on the experimental process, rather than mandate an overwhelming breadth of coverage.
Courses Offered
Course offerings are contingent on MPA policies regarding student enrollment numbers for each class.
| 5th Grade |
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Science & Design Design thinking and conducting experiments are critical to fifth-grade science. Although content is important, science is more of a verb where students learn process skills to do science and apply those skills to new situations. Teams of young scientists work together in a variety of settings to do tree identification, structural design challenges, and investigations of electricity and biomes. In addition to research and looking at sources, we also learn coding with Scratch and Lego Robotics. Each quarter students are assigned a long-term project to provide meaningful homework, examples include independent research and a science fair. Throughout the year we have field trips including environmental education, and we culminate the year with an inventions unit using the creative design thinking process. |
| 6th Grade |
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Science & Design Science in sixth grade is very active with experiments and data collection. Environmental education and insects are how we start the year. Our overnight trip reinforces our students and lays the foundation for future collaboration. Students view physics through the lens of the scientific method, creating hypotheses, gathering data, and reflecting on the results as they study simple machines, forces and energy, and light and color. Some additional skills students learn are graphing with Xcel, coding with Microbits and Scratch, and creating an escape room with PowerPoint. We use the design thinking process to have our coding result in an action or product, such as creating a flashing led lights lamp using Microbits. Throughout the year with read and write about current events in science to help students become informed scientific citizens. |
| 7th Grade |
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Science & Design Welcome to the world of Science & Design. Students will learn science concepts and then apply these concepts to real-world engineering problems. This course provides students with a fascinating look at the world around us. We begin the year with Biomimicry–looking towards nature to solve human problems. This unit includes a field trip to the MN Zoo to become expert observers of nature and animal behavior. Once an expert, students invent solutions to real-world problems of their choice. This requires a lot of time in the Makerspace building prototypes of their inventions. The next unit examines genetics and the role of genetic engineering in their current and future lives. This is an exciting adventure into the use of CIRSPR for positive science achievements while investigating the potential harm of these powerful technologies. Force and Motion concepts are applied to student designs and building of their own CO2 dragster. These dragsters race at about 50mph so the more students understand physics and aerodynamics, the faster the dragster. The final unit is on Human Body Systems. Students become experts of how their bodies work from the inside out. The seventh-grade curriculum prepares students for a rigorous year in eighth grade and Upper School. |
| 8th Grade |
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Science & Design Future Cities is an international program that all MPA eighth graders participate in. Students design and build a city 100 years from now. In addition to all the components of a vibrant city, students also solve a different problem each year. For example, a waste-free city, a city on the Moon, or a city with adaptations and mitigations for climate change. Student teams are required to write a 1500-word essay, build a large model with working parts, and present to expert judges. This is an intense collaborative project that incorporates other courses like English, Social Studies, and use of the Makerspace. Students compete at the local, state, and national level. After the Future City unit, this class explores the physical features of our world. Beginning with Earth’s history, we will examine the record that is preserved in the rock layers. We will explore how the physical landscape has changed, and is constantly changing, through history. The fury of mother nature, including volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other forces will be explored as it continues to change the surface of the Earth. Leaving our planet, we broaden our study to the ever-expanding universe, focusing on our moon and the planets and stars in our solar system. Throughout our journey, students will utilize the scientific method–questioning and hypothesizing, designing and testing, and reflecting on results through the lens of our physical Earth and universe. |
