Program overview

Content of the curriculum

Amplify Science TK is comprised of three units, one for each domain of science: life science, physical science, and Earth science. The physical science unit also includes an engineering design challenge.

Life Science: Wondering About Noises in Trees

In the Life Science: Wondering About Noises in Trees unit, students investigate the phenomenon of noises coming from a tree. Students are challenged to solve the mystery of what’s causing these noises and why. They discover that many animals spend time in trees and that the noises from the tree are likely coming from animals. What are those animals doing in the tree to make so much noise? Students learn that animals can make noises in trees when they get food and make shelter for themselves or for their babies. Students investigate why the tree is a good place for the animals to get food and make shelter and then discover that trees have things that animals need, including food (fruit and nuts, seeds, leaves, and bugs), building materials, and places for shelter. In the course of solving the mystery of the noises from the tree, students are introduced to core ideas in life science, including needs of living things and dependence of animals on plants.

Physical Science: Wondering About Buildings

In the Physical Science: Wondering About Buildings unit, students investigate an exciting phenomenon: in a play city made by a class at another school, some buildings stayed up, while other buildings fell down. Students are challenged to create their own play city with stable buildings. In order to create this city, students must figure out what makes a building stable. First, students discover that the shape of a building affects its stability (e.g., many stable buildings have flat bottoms and are bigger at the bottom). Next, students investigate what stable buildings are made of. They figure out that buildings are made of pieces and that the kinds of pieces a building is made of can affect its stability. Students synthesize ideas about how a building’s shape and the kinds of pieces used to make a building affect its stability. Students use these ideas to make stable buildings for their play city. In the course of figuring out how to create a play city with stable buildings, students are introduced to core ideas in physical science and engineering—including the observable properties of materials and the idea that objects are made of pieces.

Earth Science: Wondering About Puddles

In the Earth Science: Wondering About Puddles unit, students investigate the phenomenon of puddles existing in some places but not in other places along a girl’s walk to school. Students are challenged to solve the mystery of where and why puddles do and do not form. First, students figure out that water flows down as far as it can go, so puddles are likely to form at the bottom of slopes. Next, students investigate how certain types of ground can have puddles, while other types of ground do not have puddles. They figure out that some types of ground (e.g., gravel) have spaces for water to flow down into, which initially keeps puddles from forming. Meanwhile, other types of ground (e.g., pavement) do not have spaces for water to flow down into, so puddles form. Later in the unit, students figure out that more rain can cause water to fill the spaces in types of ground such as gravel, causing puddles to form in places in which they initially had not formed. In the course of solving these puddle mysteries, students are introduced to core ideas in Earth science and physical science, including types of earth materials and properties of materials, as well as the interaction of water and earth materials.