Physical and Life Sciences Curriculum: Ages Nine to Twelve

Sciences Overview

Montessori environments prepared for children from six to twelve years have fully equipped science areas in which children undertake experiences and experiments relating to all areas of the physical and life sciences, including:

• astronomy

• physics and chemistry

• geography and geology

• biology and ecology

When children enter the environment prepared for 6-9 year-olds, the first science experiments they encounter reveal basic knowledge that helps them understand:

• the formation of the solar system

• the earth and its parts

• the development of life on earth

• the needs of plants and animals.

Subsequent science experiments enable children to explore in more detail topics in geography, history and biology. As children complete the experiments, then suggest and design some of their own, they take increasing control of the process including design, understanding of safety and risk, recording data and measurements and making decisions about the most appropriate ways of presenting information and findings. They learn about the struggle of life to survive and evolve, and the benefits of this vast work over millennia. Children come to see that they have a place in the universe, and in the web of life, as well as a responsibility to contribute to their world in productive ways. As a result, children begin to engage in problem-solving activities and observations relating to themselves and their role in the natural and social environment. Most importantly, they learn that their life is full of meaning. The social nature of the second sub-plane allows opportunities for children to share their investigations and discuss findings with others. This provides a springboard for exploring the way others have used science to learn about and develop their world.

Physical Sciences: astronomy, dynamic geography, chemistry and physics

The study of the physical sciences is presented as a series of discussions and stories, with the help of charts and experiments to illustrate key points. Each story or discussion opens up a new area of science, providing a key to further exploration. These keys enable children to understand the physical world in which they live.

When children have an understanding of how the universe was formed, and the laws that underpin the formation of the earth, they are able to follow their interests to explore any aspect of the physical sciences, including:

• stars, planets, comets and black holes

• landforms, weather phenomenon and changes to the earth

• atoms, molecules, states of matter and chemical changes

• light, sound, magnets and simple machines

Life Sciences: Biology and Ecology

In the Montessori cosmic education curriculum, biology highlights the interdependence of all living and non-living things within the environment and the ways in which these interdependent relationships are sustained. The aim of this area of the curriculum is to foster in children an ecological view of the web of life and a feeling of responsibility for the environment. To provide children with an intellectual tool for ordering and relating information about the biological world, taxonomic systems for classifying living things are introduced.

The study of biology includes both botany and zoology. Children engage in a range of activities through which they investigate and classify the plant and animal kingdoms. They examine:

• the internal and external parts of plants and animals

• the vital functions of plants and animals, including locomotion, sensitivity, respiration, nutrition, and reproduction, comparing these functions in different classes of plants and animals across the evolutionary time scale.

In summary, studying biology in this way offers children a means for classifying plants and animals, allowing them to order and relate biological facts. The study reveals how systems of classification follow evolution. Children discover that each life form on earth, while apparently selfishly fighting for its own survival, is in reality serving the good of the whole. Dr Montessori called this phenomenon the cosmic plan.

Inquiry and Research

The foundation of the Montessori interdisciplinary Cosmic Education curriculum is the study of history, the study of the unfolding of events over time. In the Montessori context this means a study of time from its beginning when the universe came into being, as well as the history of the Earth and its formation, the history of life on earth, the pre-history of humans and the recorded history of humans from ancient civilisations to the present. This approach provides a chronological framework from which flows the study of geography and of all the sciences: astronomy, physics and chemistry, geology and biology. In the same way, a topic from any of these curriculum areas can be related back to the study of history.

This interdisciplinary, cross-curricular approach, established in the telling of the Great Stories and elaborated in the Key Lessons, orients students as they formulate questions for further inquiry and as they design and undertake research projects. The pedagogy that integrates history, geography and science in the Montessori Cosmic Education curriculum is comparable with, but more explicitly structured than, project-based and inquiry-based approaches to the study of these subject areas. In the follow-up to the telling of the great stories and the presentation of the lessons, students repeat experiences with materials that embody the knowledge as many times and with as many variations as their interest dictates. This may include sorting, labelling and matching activities, and building arrays, with cards and charts, solving prepared puzzles and problems on command cards, or other exercises that reinforce the relevant knowledge, skill or understanding.

Through discussions with classmates, their teacher, and others in their community, and following their own interest, students come to identify one or more aspects of the area of knowledge they wish to research in more detail. This becomes the basis for a line of inquiry that leads to a Great Work, or extended research project. The work can be done in small groups, pairs or individually. The students choose who they will work with and request assistance from the teacher or another knowledgeable person as needed. Each project represents an opportunity for students to gain, extend, consolidate and enhance knowledge and skill across the curriculum. Initially, the teacher or a more experienced classmate might model how to complete a project, and collaborate on group projects, before students are ready to undertake a project on their own. The following steps of a great work project are an indication only. The structure, extent and duration of projects are adjusted and adapted to match the students’ interests and abilities (See also Harvey 1998).

The Steps of a Great Work Project

• Students identify the research topic and list what they already know about it.

• Students list what they still want to find out about the topic. This will involve some initial browsing through reference materials and perhaps discussion with others, as well as follow-up work with Montessori materials embodying the foundation concepts that structure the knowledge domain.

• Students identify the focus of the research and draft an inquiry question or purpose statement. This will often emerge from ideas and discussions based on a great lesson. Students may need support as they learn how to limit the field of their inquiry and to identify a focus for their research. At this point it will be important to establish a ‘finish by’ date and a schedule of study.

• Students plan their research by preparing an outline. This step will often involve the use of Montessori charts and/or card arrays presented in key lessons. For example, an outline to guide research into an aspect of history might be based on the fundamental needs of humans chart or the charts of history questions. An outline to guide research into an aspect of geography or science might, for example, be based on a series of experiments, for example, experiments that reveal properties of the three states of matter, card material classifying the geographical features of the earth, a botany chart representing the leaf as the plant’s food factory, the animal or plant classification charts, the Great River chart (which gives and impression of the human circulatory system), or one ‘age’ of the Timeline of Life as a basis of a study related to economic geography.

• In discussion with the teacher and classmates, students identify the knowledge and skill they will need in order to undertake the research and to present their findings. As they design their project, students are presented with one or more relevant lessons from any area of the curriculum. Lessons that provide students with knowledge and skills relevant to research projects might cover the following topics:

- literacy knowledge and skills, including etymology and word study to build vocabulary;

- relevant reading strategies for researching this topic;

- parts of the book lesson for understanding how to use books for reference;

- using the library and the Internet;

- note-taking, summarising, paraphrasing and record-keeping for collecting and collating information;

- referencing to record and acknowledge sources;

- writing specific types of texts for presenting findings, editing and proofreading (from the Language Curriculum);

- types of measurement needed for the project (from the Geometry and Measurement Curriculum);

- methods for collecting, representing and interpreting data required for the project (from the Mathematics Curriculum);

- elements, principles and use of instruments and/or variety of media for presenting findings (from Music, Visual Arts, Study of Style; and

- Visual Images in Language, Drama and/or Dance Curriculum tables.

• Students undertake their research, accessing resources as needed. The project might include organising a going out field trip, for example, to observe the subject of the area of inquiry first-hand, to visit a museum or library, or to meet an expert in the field.

• When students have gathered all the information and/or data they can, they begin sorting through everything they have. They will think about appropriate ways to organise the information they have collected, for example, in categories or along a timeline. If they have collected measurements, they will apply knowledge of data and statistics to select ways for displaying the data visually and for interpreting what the measurements reveal. This phase of the project might include eliminating material that is no longer relevant, or undertaking more research to fill in gaps. During this phase students will also record what they have not been able to find and questions they might like to pursue in the future.

• Students plan the way they will present their research findings. This will include a project report made up of factual writing and images with a bibliography, presented on paper or digitally. Students might also present what they have found using literary texts, persuasive texts and/or multimodal presentations involving model making, music, drama and visual arts.

• Students complete drafting, editing and proofreading and/or rehearsing.

• Finally, students present their project report and/or performance to an audience of their peers, other staff, and parents, who might ask questions and give feedback after the presentation.

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Inquiry and skills are developed through the studies of the Earth in the Physical and Life Sciences 9-12 by exploring:

• The Earth:

  • Map reading and making

  • Australia’s position on the Earth

  • Australian physical Geography

• Universe, Solar System and the Earth:

  • Solar Energy and the Earth 2nd level

  • Movement of the earth 2nd level

  • The Work of Air: Atmosphere and Wind

  • The Work of Water

• Biology and Ecology:

  • The Plant Kingdom

  • The Chemistry of the Plant

  • The Animal Kingdom: Zoology

  • Chinese Boxes and the Tree of Life

  • Human Physiology

Please refer to the Course Overview above for Physical and Life Sciences. Additional inquiries and skills can be found in the History and Social Sciences studies for Years 9-12:

• Time:

  • Time: extension

  • The great fable of evolution

  • The significance of the coming of humans

  • Society and civilization: 2nd level

  • Migration

• Study of Australia:

  • Australian political geography

  • Australian economic & cultural geography

• Study of Australian history and society:

  • Australian history

  • Australian citizenship

• Study of the World:

  • Study of countries other than Australia

  • Cultural and economic geography: the work of humans

  • Study of the United Nations

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Extend skills in compass and map reading

.02 Extend skills in map-making and drawing plans

.03 Construct a grid coordinate system that uses coordinates to locate positions within a space; use coordinates and directional language to describe position and movement

.04 Extend knowledge of longitude, latitude and degrees

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Extend knowledge of Australia’s position on the earth:

• hemisphere

• latitude and longitude

• climate zone

.02 Build knowledge of Australia as a land mass on the earth:

• largest island/smallest continent

• oceans and seas

.03 Build knowledge of Australia’s region: Oceania

.04 Build knowledge of Australia’s neighbours: New Zealand, New Guinea, East Timor, Indonesia, Antarctica, nations of the Pacific

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Extend knowledge of Australia’s physical geography:

• coastline: seas, coasts

• land and water forms: islands/lakes, peninsulas/gulfs, straits/isthmuses; capes/bays; archipelagos/chains of lakes

• high country: mountains, ranges, tablelands

• low country: valleys, plains

• inland water: rivers (origins and systems), lakes

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Extend knowledge of the formation of the universe and solar system, including:

• forces that shape the universe: attraction, centrifugal and centripetal, inertia, gravity, friction

• the structure of matter: atoms and molecules; elements and compounds; mixtures, suspensions and solutions; structure of crystals

• types of energy: solar, kinetic, mechanical, chemical, nuclear, and their production

• transfer of energy e.g. heat to mechanical energy

• magnetism and electricity

• properties of materials

.02 Extend knowledge of the Solar System, including:

• the sun and other stars

• the relative size of the earth in the Universe and Solar System

• the Sun’s family: planets, moons, asteroids, comets

.03 Extend knowledge of the formation of the earth, including:

• cooling of the earth

• formation of the oceans

• erosion

• three states of matter; density

• composition and layers of the earth

• tectonic plates; continental drift

• volcanoes and earthquakes

.04 Extend knowledge of the surface of the earth (lithosphere; the mineral kingdom), including:

• stratification of rocks

• mountain building: folding, faults, fractures

• classification of rocks, crystals and gems

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Extend knowledge of the effects of the sun on the earth, including:

• sunlight absorbed, stored and dispersed by the earth

• the rays of the sun falling on the earth at different angles (perpendicular and oblique)

• the effect of the atmosphere on the sun’s rays

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Extend knowledge of the effects of the movement of the earth, including:

• the revolution of the Earth around the sun

• the rotation of the Earth tilted on its axis

• night and day; hottest and coldest parts of the day

• time zones: longitude

• seasons

• latitude and the five parallels: Equator, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic circles

• temperature zones and climate

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Build knowledge and understanding of atmospheric phenomena, including:

• air pressure

• how wind is formed and wind systems

• sea and land breezes

• the effect of the atmosphere on the earth’s temperature

• planetary winds

.02 Build knowledge and understanding of the work of the wind, including:

• planetary winds and ocean currents

• how waves are formed

• wind erosion

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Build knowledge and understanding of the work of water, including:

• how rain is formed

• clouds

• snow and hail

• dew, frost and fog

• rivers: the origin of rivers, the life of a river, waterfalls, river mouth; rivers of the world; actions of a river

• caves: stalactites and stalagmites

• water erosion

• valleys and canyons

• plains

• formation of earth pillars

• lakes; underground water

• destruction of rocks

• the work of ice: freezing and thawing

• glaciers, glacial valleys, moraines

• the water cycle

• water and plants 

• advanced land and water forms: channel, strait, canal; cape, isthumus, peninsula; promontory, spit; bay, cove, fjord, gulf, lagoon; cliff, hill, mesa, mountain, plain, plateau

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Extend knowledge of classification, parts and functions of plants

.02 Explore and build understanding of the vital functions of plants:

• preserving life/building new cells: needs of plants, nutrition, transforming non-living to living, plants and water, roots and their growth, circulation of nutrients and water, transpiration, plants and the sun

• preserving life/relating to the outside: plant sensitivity to light, water, gravity and heat; ways plants ‘travel’, how plants attach themselves

• preserving the species: ways plants reproduce; ways seeds travel

.03 Extend knowledge of plant evolution and adaptation

.04 Understand the importance of plants in the web of life (ecology): providing food and oxygen, preventing erosion

.05 Respect and value the gifts plants give humans: converting the sun’s energy into food, restoring and protecting the atmosphere and soil, shade, material for building, clothing and heating, beauty, renewable resource

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Review the needs of plants

.02 Build first knowledge of chemistry:

• the formula and structure of a molecule

• the alphabet of the universe (periodic table)

.03 Apply knowledge of chemistry to plants and their functions:

• making food (from minerals to proteins)

• nitrogen cycle

• photosynthesis

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Extend knowledge of classification, parts and functions of animals:

• invertebrates: porifera, coelenterates, worms, molluscs, arthropods, echinoderms, cephalochordates and chordates

• vertebrates

.02 Extend knowledge of the vital functions of animals:

• review the vital functions of animals

• preserving life/building new cells: respiration, nutrition, circulation

• preserving life/relating to the outside: locomotion, sensation

• preserving the species: reproduction, protection of young

.03 Trace the evolution of each vital function, and the development of specialist organs, from protozoa to mammal

.04 Understand the importance of animals in the web of life (ecology): food chain, roles in different environments, biodiversity

.05 Respect and value the gifts animals give humans: fertilise the soil, food, companionship, beauty

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

.01 Expand knowledge of the plant and animal kingdoms to cover the five kingdoms of life:

• monera

• protista

• fungi

• plant

• animal

.02 Build knowledge of cells: types and parts

.03 Study a plant in detail

.04 Study an animal in detail

.05 Consolidate and extend knowledge of ecology and ecosystems, including:

• water, carbon and nitrogen cycles

• ecosystems: interrelations between light, heat, humidity, soil quality

• food chains and food webs

• environmental threats and opportunities: pollution, climate change, sustainability, biodiversity, human management and influences

 Knowledge, Skills and Understanding

Typically, children will:

01. Extend knowledge and understanding of the external parts of the human body and their functions

02. Build knowledge of the internal parts of the human body:

• organs

• systems

03. Use vital functions as a guide/scaffold for studying human physiology:

• preserving life/building new cells: respiration, nutrition, circulation

• preserving life/relating to the outside: locomotion, sensation

• preserving the species: reproduction, protection of young

04. Apply knowledge of human physiology to healthy living and personal development