Boston Public Schools follows the Massachusetts 2016 Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) Curriculum Framework. The 2016 Massachusetts STE standards are an adaptation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Adaptations include breaking up the grade bands assigning standards to specific grade levels, e.g. from 6-8 to 6, 7, and 8, and splitting the HS physical sciences into chemistry and physics. 

Guidance Documents Embedded within the Framework include: 

• Vision of STE Education (p.7)

• Guiding Principals for Effective STE Education (p.14-22)​

• Guiding Principal 8 specifically mentions the assumed time provided to students for adequate science development (p.20) 

• Science and Technology/Engineering Learning Standards (p.23-96)

• Appendix XI: Science Safety Practices and Legal Requirements (p.173)

Below, please find very brief descriptions of the K2-5 science instructional modules available to schools. To learn more about the modules, you may click the provided links.

• For K2-8 BPS STE teachers, the SY23-24 sequence and distribution of science instructional units document includes links to many additional supporting resources, including the most up-to-date pacing and scope and sequence documents. 

• Teachers looking for resources to support outdoor learning and make use of outdoor classrooms, click here to access BPS's Outdoor Education website.

• Teachers looking for BPS developed Climate Curriculum Lessons, click here.

K0/K1

Observing Nature (life science) 
The anchor phenomenon for this module is trees in an environment. The driving question is What is a tree? Systematic investigation of trees and their leaves, the animals that make their home in leaf litter, the soil and rocks around the roots, and the wood that comes from trees will bring students to a better understanding of the place of trees at school and in the community. (Nature Overview, P. 1)

Wee Engineering (engineering) 

The Wee Engineer curriculum includes four engineering challenges, Noisemakers, Fans, Wrecking Balls, and Rafts. These challenges "open up young learners’ minds to the world of engineering by encouraging them to use familiar materials to solve problems." (Wee Engineering Unit Overview)

K2

Materials & Motion (physical science)
In this module “students investigate the anchor phenomenon that objects are made of materials...and how material properties determine their use. … The driving questions for the module are what is made of wood, paper, and fabric, and how are the properties of those materials useful to us? Students come to understand that humans use natural resources for everything they do and that people impact the world around them. (Materials & Motion Overview, p. 1)

Animals 2x2 (life science)
This module provides “students with close and personal interaction with some common land and water animals. ...Students learn what animals need to survive and the relationship between their needs and where they live.” (Animals Two by Two Overview, p.1)

First grade

Air & Weather (earth science)
This module provides students with learning experiences that “will heighten their awareness, curiosity, and understanding of Earth’s dynamic atmosphere and the observable patterns of objects in the sky. … Students build on the science concepts of weather and how the Sun warms Earth’s surface, introduced in kindergarten.” (Air and Weather Overview, p.1)

Plants & Animals (life science)
“This module provides experiences that help students develop an understanding of how to observe and manipulate sound and light. They explore these dimensions of the natural world using simple tools and musical instruments.” (Plants and Animals Overview, p.1)

Sound & Light (physical science)
“This module provides experiences that help students develop an understanding of how to observe and manipulate sound and light. They explore these dimensions of the natural world using simple tools and musical instruments.” (Sound and Light Overview, p.1)

Second Grade

Pebbles, Sand & Silt (earth science)
“This module provides grade 2 students with earth science core ideas dealing with the observable structures and properties of earth materials (rocks, soil, and water), weathering and erosion of Earth’s surface, natural sources of water, and how to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water on Earth. ... Students learn about the important role that earth materials have as natural resources.” (Pebbles, Sand, and Silt Overview, p.1)

Solids & Liquids (physical science)
"This module provides grade 2 students with physical sciences core ideas dealing with matter and its interactions and engineering design. The experiences help students to develop an understanding about how materials are similar and different from one another and how the properties of materials relate to their use. ” (Solids & Liquids Overview, p. 1)

Insects & Plants (life science)
This module "provides [students] experiences with life science core ideas dealing with the structure and function of living things, growth and development of plants and animals, interactions of organisms with their environment, and biodiversity of organisms on land and in water." (Insects & Plants Module Overview)

Third Grade

Water and Climate (earth science)
Through the study of water and climate, “students explore the properties of water, the water cycle, and interactions between water and other earth materials. Students learn how humans use water as a natural resource.” (Water and Climate Overview, p. 1)

Motion & Design + Magnetism (physical science & engineering)
This module is a redesign of the STC Motion & Design module where “create vehicles using K'NEX® building pieces and use them to explore effects of force, friction, and wind resistance on distance and speed. Teams work as they use washers as weights to quantify the force applied through a string to pull their vehicles, wood blocks to quantify a vehicle's load, and more.” (STC Motion and Design, Smithsonian Science Education Center)  

The enhancement was created specifically for Boston’s 3rd graders and grounds them to an engineering design context specific to Boston. It is the result of a partnership with the BPS STE department, our teachers, Tufts Engineering (Dr. Kristen Wendell), UMASS Boston (Dr. Tejaswini Dalvi), and the MBTA with funding from the National Science Foundation ITEST program. The goal of the partnership “is to help school districts weave together science and engineering learning experiences for elementary students within the context of authentic community-connected design problems.” (Motion & Design+Magnetism Navigation Guide, p.iv )

​ Structures of Life (life science)
Through the study of Structures of Life, “students observe, compare, categorize, and care for a selection of organisms, and in so doing they learn to identify properties of plants and animals and to sort and group organisms on the basis of observable properties. Students investigate structures of the organisms and learn how some of the structures function in growth and survival.” (Structures of Life 

Overview, p.1)

Fourth Grade

Soils, Rocks, & Landforms (earth science)
In this module, students are given “firsthand experiences with soils and rocks and modeling experiences using tools such as topographic maps and stream tables to study changes to rocks and landforms at Earth’s surface.” (Soils, Rocks and Landforms Overview, p.1)

Make Way for Trains! Holding Back Earths Materials (A Community-Connected Elementary Geotechnical Engineering Unit)

This unit complements Soils, Rocks, and Landforms and builds upon many concepts taught in that module. In the unit, students integrate their understanding of earth science concepts and the engineering design process to generate multiple possible solutions to retain and support earth materials. The Geo-Tech unit connects to the SRL concepts that earth materials are natural resources that humans use to construct things and that their different properties, resulting from different earth processes, make them suitable for different uses. 

Energy (physical science)
“The Energy Module provides first-hand experiences in physical science dealing with energy and change. Students investigate electricity and magnetism as related effects and engage in engineering design while learning useful applications of electromagnetism in everyday life. They explore energy transfer through waves, repeating patterns of motion, that result in sound and motion.”  (Energy Overview, p.1)

How Can We Provide Energy to People’s Homes? (physical science)
This module provides students with opportunities to observe and explore how energy moves in systems. Students research different sources of energy, e.g., wind and solar, and develop explanations of the impact of those sources on the environment. Students complete the module by designing and testing their own models of solar-powered doorbell systems. 

Fifth Grade

Earth & Sun (earth science)
This module provides students “with experiences to explore the properties of the atmosphere, energy transfer from the Sun to Earth, and the dynamics of weather and water cycling in Earth’s atmosphere. Other experiences help students to develop and use models to understand Earth’s place in the solar system, and the interactions of Earth, the Sun, and the Moon to reveal predictable patterns... .” (Earth and Sun Overview, p. 1) 

Mixtures & Solutions (physical science)
This module introduces students “to fundamental ideas about matter and its interactions. Students come to know that matter is made of particles too small to be seen and develop the understanding that matter is conserved when it changes state...when it dissolves in another substance, and when it is part of a chemical reaction.” (Mixtures & Solutions Overview, p. 1)

Ecosystems (life science)
In this module, students first observe the interactions within two habitats, an aquarium and a terrarium. When the two habitats are connected together to form an “eco-column,” the observations of the now mini-ecosystem continue. Finally, students introduce pollutants to simulate the effect of pollution. Students develop an understanding of how energy, organisms, and matter interact in an ecosystem and how changes to any of the three impact the ecosystem.

Boston Public Schools participated in a three-year field test (SY18-19, SY19-20, and SY20-21) for newly designed instructional units and professional learning materials aligned with the 2016 MA STE standards. The OpenSciEd field test occurred in middle school (6-8) classrooms across the district. Based on the feedback from teachers, administrators, and strong evaluations using the EQuiP (Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products) rubric, we have adopted and will implement OpenSciEd(OSE) units in 6th, 7th, & 8th grades. We are very excited for our students (and teachers) to increase their science understanding with the OSE instructional approach and materials! 

• For general information on OpenSciEd, view our PPT (must use a BPS email address) or go directly to the source: OpenSciEd. Many questions may also be answered via our FAQs document.

• BPS will follow the national order of units. 

• To learn about OpenSciEd in Massachusetts, please refer to the state site.

• BPS teachers are invited to join the growing community implementing OSE and sharing resources in our Google Classroom. Any teacher who has attended or signed up for training will be invited to join. 

ACCESSING OPENSCIED RESOURCES

• To access the open sources free online resources, teachers must create a free account at https://www.openscied.org/. Click on (→) Instructional Materials → Access the Instructional Materials → once there click on the grade level.

• To find the unit materials/resources needed, refer to the numbers preceding each unit, e.g., 6.1 Light & Matter. The first number refers to the grade level where the unit is located on the OpenSciEd website. 

  1. Student video playlists - used as part of the lessons

  2. Teacher video playlists - support teachers as they prepare to teach the units

  3. Teacher Edition - teacher PPT slides, storyline, assessments, etc

  4. Student Edition - handouts and procedures in English and Spanish (not all units yet)

  1. 1-hr OpenSciEd Unit Specific Webinars

  2. Driving Question Board (DQB) supports

  3. Remote Learning Tool Organizer

1. Some of the resources you will find on the site include: 

2. Additional resources include: 

OpenSciEd YouTube Channel for teacher and student facing, as well as professional development videos.

An initiative that began several years ago brought BPS teachers from across the district together to create working draft guidance documents that group the 2016 STE standards into meaningful clusters by quarter. The purpose of this organization is to help reduce the redundancy/gaps that students may experience if they move from school to school across the city. Documents are shared as comment only and must be accessed with a BPS email address. 

• Physics
  MA 2016 Physics Standards guidance document (revised doc updated 9/10/19)

• Biology
  MA 2016 Biology Standards guidance document (revised doc updated 9/10/19)​

​HS Resource

BPS HS science teachers will have full access to JoVE, an experiential literacy platform where students can learn science concepts and pre-view lab techniques through high-quality videos, through June 30, 2023! With this resource, BPS science teachers can access, and embed into Google Classroom, thousands of peer-reviewed videos that will enhance teaching and learning for their students. The videos cover a range of concepts in-depth and can be aligned to MA 2016 STE standards. Closed-captioning is available in multiple languages to support English Language Learners and visual learners. BPS teachers simply use their BPS email address to log onto the platform. Google Single Sign-On is possible for students. Our access to this phenomenal resource is due to the generosity of Northeastern University's Snell Library.