Science
Elementary Science
We use Mystery Science to support our science instruction in both of our elementary schools. Our students are encouraged to STAY CURIOUS as they investigate the mysteries of our endlessly fascinating world!
The following is a list of our science units:
Grade K
Weather Watching: Weather & Seasons
Force Olympics: Forces, Machines, & Engineering
Plant & Animal Secrets: Plant & Animal Needs
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Grade 1
Lights & Sounds: Properties of Light & Sound
Plant & Animal Superpowers: Plant & Animal Structures and Survival
Spinning Sky: Sun, Moon, & Stars
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Grade 2
Material Magic: Properties & Phases of Matter
Work of Water: Erosion & Earth's Surface
Plant Adventures: Plant Adaptations
Animal Adventures: Animal Biodiversity
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Grade 3
Stormy Skies: Weather & Climate
Invisible Forces: Forces, Motion, & Magnets
Power of Flowers: Plant Life Cycle & Heredity
Animals Through Time: Animal Survival & Heredity
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Grade 4
The Birth of Rocks: Rock Cycle and Earth's Processes
Energizing Everything: Energy, Motion, & Electricity
Human Machine: Human Body, Senses, & the Brain
Waves of Sound: Sound, Waves, & Communication
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Grade 5
Spaceship Earth: Sun, Moon, Stars, & Planets
Watery Planet: Water Cycle & Earth's Systems
Web of Life: Ecosystems & the Food Web
Chemical Magic: Chemical Reactions & Properties of Matter
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Middle School Science
[Our students have Gizmos accounts providing online inquiry simulations: Gizmos Login]
The following is a list of our middle school course offerings in science:
Regents Earth Science
High School Science
[Our students have Gizmos accounts providing online inquiry simulations: Gizmos Login]
SWR Science Research Program
The following is a list of our high school course offerings in science:
Prerequisite or Co-requisite: Algebra I or Algebra II
Earth Science is a Regents level, lab-oriented course with a lab period every other day,
resulting in 7.5 periods per week. Topics to be covered include weather and climate, weathering,
erosion and deposition, rock formation, crustal change (earthquakes and plate tectonics),
interpreting geologic history, the Earth model and the Earth’s energy budget. Upon completion
students will be required to take the Earth Science Regents exam.
Prerequisite or Co-requisite: Regents Algebra I or Algebra II
Living Environment is a Regents level, lab-oriented course with a lab period every other
day, resulting in 7.5 periods per week. Topics to be covered include similarities and differences
among living organisms, homeostasis in organisms, genetic continuity, reproduction and
development, evolution (species), ecology (living things and their environment), human impact
on ecosystems, and scientific inquiry and skills. Upon completion students will be required to
take the Living Environment Regents exam.
Prerequisite: Algebra I and a score of 90 or above on the Physical Setting: Earth
Science Regents Examination, a final grade of at least a 90 in Regents Earth Science and teacher
recommendation.
It is the goal of this course to prepare students to continue their scientific
studies through Advanced Placement level course work. Honors Living Environment is a
rigorous and challenging approach to the structural and functional components of living systems
and their environment. This course will provide an in-depth study into such areas as
biochemistry, cellular respiration, genetics, human physiology, reproduction and development,
ecology, botany and evolution. This course will move at a faster pace and be much more
rigorous than the Regents Living Environment course. This course will meet 7.5 periods per
week and will involve an extensive laboratory component. Students will be required to take the
Living Environment Regents exam upon completion of the course.
Prerequisite: Algebra I or Principles of Geometry
Co-requisite: Algebra II or Geometry with administrative approval
Chemistry is a Regents level, lab-oriented course with a lab period every other day resulting in
7.5 periods per week. Topics to be covered include matter and energy, atomic structure and
bonding, kinetics and equilibrium, acid base theories, and organic chemistry. Upon completion
students will be required to take the Chemistry Regents exam.
Prerequisites: Algebra I and Geometry
Co-requisite: Algebra II
Additional Prerequisites: Score of 85 or above on the Physical Setting, Earth Science Regents
and the Living Environment Regents and a final grade of 90 in both courses. Students enrolled
in Living Environment Honors must have a final course grade of 85 and an 85 or above on the
Living Environment Regents to enroll in Chemistry Honors. Teacher recommendation is also
required.
Honors Chemistry is a rigorous and challenging approach to the Chemistry curriculum. It
is designed to enable students to develop higher-level thinking and problem solving skills. Each
topic will be discussed in greater depth and breadth than in the Regents level course. The goal of
the course is for students to continue their scientific explorations through Advanced Placement
level course work. This course will meet for 7.5 periods per week and will have an extensive
laboratory component. Topics to be discussed include: matter and energy, atomic structure and
bonding, kinetics and equilibrium, acid-base theories and organic chemistry.
Prerequisite: Algebra I and Geometry
Co-requisite: Algebra II
This Regents level course emphasizes student activities and lab experiments to explore a
wide range of topics: motion, forces, conservation, laws of energy and momentum, electricity,
magnetism, atomic and nuclear physics. Students will utilize higher level thinking and problem
solving skills. This is a lab-oriented course with a lab period every other day resulting in 7.5
periods per week. Upon completion students will be required to take a comprehensive final
exam and the Physics Regents exam.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Living Environment. 10th
– 12th grade status
The human body is extremely complex and unsurpassed in its ability to perform the
processes we call life. In this course the structures and functions of the human body will be
surveyed. Labs, videos, and actual bones and organs will provide the basis for study.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of both Regents Earth Science and Regents Living
Environment.
Eligible for Suffolk County Community College Dual-Enrollment College Credit
This is a comprehensive course in the science of oceanography. Topics studied during
the year will be geology, physics, chemistry, engineering, and biology of the ocean. This course
will include laboratory activities. Oceanography is the equivalent of Suffolk Community
Collage Introduction to Oceanography and students may be able to receive both high school and
college credits for the class with successful completion. This course will meet five periods per
week.
(CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK TO OUR TEXTBOOK RESOURCES)
Prerequisite: 11th through 12th grade status. Successful completion of Living Environment and
Earth Science.
This course provides students with the scientific principles, techniques and skills used in a
modern crime laboratory. It will also provide the opportunity to stimulate student’s interests in
science using the appealing questions of both mystery writers and forensic crime investigators.
Seeing science through the eyes of an investigator will allow students to apply the knowledge
gained through their study of biology, chemistry, physics and Earth Science. Through their
investigations, students will gain information about critical thinking, characteristics of cells and
tissues, fingerprints, DNA analysis, blood typing, genetic inheritance, entomology, and
mineralogy. The nature of physical evidence is emphasized along with practices relating to the
proper collection and preservation of evidence. This course will provide students with the
methodology, principles, and concepts necessary to identify and analyze the problems in all
aspects of the sciences currently being offered as courses at the high school level.
Prerequisite: Two years of Science
This course will introduce and acclimate students to the dynamic and rewarding science
of agronomy. By definition, agronomy is a branch of agricultural science dealing with field
crop production for food and fuel, and soil management. The main focus of the course is
agronomy, with consideration given to horticulture and sustainability as well. Students will be
exposed to the budget and planning process for production, crop selection, planting and
maintaining yields, maximizing crop yield, crop rotation and diversity, soil conservation, and
integrated pest management. In addition, students will learn the science behind conventional and
organic crop production, sustainability, and new trends in modern agriculture (agri-tourism,
farm-to-table dining, Community Supported Agriculture, etc.). Students will also explore the
rich farming heritage that exists throughout our community and surrounding areas.
The skills and experiences presented in this course will lay the groundwork for further
education and careers in the field of agronomy, horticulture, and sustainability. This course
satisfies the third year Science requirement for graduation.
Prerequisite: Long Island Sustainability
Upon successful completion of the curricular outcomes of Long Island Sustainability I,
students will have the option and opportunity to continue on to Long Island Sustainability II.
The course curriculum will be a continuation of Long Island Sustainability I, with focus on
longer, and more in-depth study of concepts presented in the previous course. Students will be
encouraged to be active participants in Shoreham Wading River’s chapter of the Future Farmers
of America (FFA) to further their understanding and scope of their particular interest(s) within
agricultural education. Enrichment will be achieved through involvement in supervised
agricultural experiences (SAE’s), career development experiences (CDE’s) and leadership
development experiences (LDE’s).
Prerequisite: Honors Chemistry
This course will provide an in-depth view of such areas as chemical stoichiometry, kinetics,
equilibria, organic chemistry, thermodynamics, etc. Laboratory work will be fundamental to all
the areas covered. This is a lab-oriented course with a lab period every other day resulting in 7.5
periods per week. All students will be required to take a final examination upon completion of
this course. Students who take the AP exam will earn the Advanced Placement designation
on their transcript. Students who do not take the exam will have the course title only
without Advanced Placement designation on their transcript. The cost of the AP exam will
be announced annually.
(Click HERE for the link to our Textbook Resources)
Prerequisite: Regents Biology and Regents Chemistry or Biology Honors
Eligible for Suffolk County Community College Dual-Enrollment College Credit
This course will examine topics such as cytology, genetics, plant and animal physiology,
ecology and evolution. Scientific journals and in-depth laboratory investigations will help to
connect work done in the classroom with actual research done in the field. This is a lab-oriented
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course with a lab period every other day resulting in 7.5 period per week. All students will be
required to take a final examination upon completion of this course.
Students who take the AP exam will earn the Advanced Placement designation on
their transcript. Students who do not take the exam will have the course title only without
Advanced Placement designation on their transcript. The cost of the AP exam will be
announced annually.
Prerequisite: Regents Living Environment and Regents Chemistry
Eligible for Suffolk County Community College Dual-Enrollment College Credit
The goal of the course is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and
methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world. Environmental
problems both natural and human-made will be identified and analyzed to evaluate the relative
risks associated with these problems and examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or
preventing them. There is a laboratory and field study component in this course that will allow
students to test concepts and principles that are introduced in the classroom and explore specific
problems with a depth not easily achieved otherwise. Students will gain awareness of the
importance of confounding variables that exist in the real world. This is a lab-oriented course
with a lab period every other day resulting in 7.5 periods per week. All students will be required
to take a final examination upon completion of this course.
Students who take the AP exam will earn the Advanced Placement designation on
their transcript. Students who do not take the exam will have the course title only without
Advanced Placement designation on their transcript. The cost of the AP exam will be
announced annually.
Prerequisite: Algebra II or Pre-Calculus
AP Physics (Algebra Based) provides the equivalent of a first-year college course in algebra-based
physics. The course covers Newtonian mechanics (including rotational dynamics and
angular momentum), work, energy, and power, mechanical waves, sound, thermodynamics, fluid
statics and dynamics, electrostatics, DC circuits, magnetism, electromagnetism, geometric and
physical optics, quantum, atomic and nuclear physics. This course is designed to cultivate a
deeper understanding of key foundational principles with more time for hands-on explorations of
physics content and inquiry labs.
The material in this course will be enhanced to meet all topics included in the NYS
Regents Physics syllabus as well as the SAT Subject Test for Physics. Ten periods per week are required to perform demonstrations
and laboratory experiments required by the New York State syllabus and to master
advanced level topics and problems. Upon completion students will be prepared to take the
AP Physics 1 and 2 Exams as well as the Physics Regents Exam and the SAT Subject Test for Physics. Students who take the AP
Exams will earn the Advanced Placement designation on their transcript. Students who do
not take the exams will have the course title only without Advanced Placement designation
on their transcript. The cost of the AP exam will be announced annually.
Independent Study: ADVANCED PLACEMENT PHYSICS C
Prerequisite: AP Physics I & II
Prerequisite: None
This full year course meets every day and provides a general overview of research in the
natural sciences. Students will be introduced to procedures and methodologies used by
researchers. Topics will include the scientific method, survey design and statistics. Students will
work in small groups to complete a mini-project in which they apply their new skills. This is the
first course in the series of 3 that students can enroll in.
Research in Science and Engineering Seminar
Prerequisite: Introduction to Science Research
This class meets formally every day for the full year and students are required to devote
time to working independently outside of the allotted classroom time. In this small-group class,
students will learn about how to conduct research in science and engineering while actually
designing and carrying out an independent research project suitable for entry into a science
symposium. Students will be guided through all aspects of the research process including the
literature review, design of the method, data collection and analysis and preparation for
symposiums. This is the second course in the series of 3 that students can enroll in.
Independent Research in Science and Engineering
Prerequisite: Research in Science and Engineering Seminar
This course offers motivated students an authentic opportunity to conceive of, design and
carry out research projects. Students meet formally every day for the full year and with their
teacher/mentor weekly at a mutually convenient time, and projects are prepared for entry into
science competitions and symposiums. This is the third course in the series of 3 that students can
enroll in.
(Students can take this course a second time after successful completion of Intro and Seminar).