Science at Huntington
Huntington’s Science Program is guided by the New York State core curriculum guides; elementary (K-4), intermediate (5-8), and the secondary biological and physical science courses. The content and skills addressed in the guides are all aligned to The Learning Standards for Mathematics, Science, and Technology. The core curricula are not syllabi but instead identify the key ideas, performance indicators and major understandings that guide our locally developed syllabi.
Kindergarten topics include body parts, characteristics of living things, exploring the senses, pushes and pulls, water play and looking at the sky. Grade one explores properties and magnetism, kinds of living things, Earth’s land and water, and weather and seasons. Second graders investigate interactions of living things, energy and motion, weather and the water cycle, and dinosaurs and change over time. Our third graders examine life cycles, role of living things, forms of energy, buoyancy, solar system, rocks and minerals, and the Earth’s water.
At the intermediate level the syllabi build upon the foundations established in grades K-3. Fourth grade topics include the Earth’s land, properties of matter, classifying living things, magnetism and electricity, and weather and climate. In April of the fourth grade all New York State students sit for a performance and written science assessment. The fifth graders explore living systems, the solar system and beyond, matter and energy, ecosystems, light and sound, and the solid Earth. Topics for the sixth graders include forces in motion, the changing Earth, cells and microbes, continuity of life, the nature of matter, and oceanography. All K-6 students use ESP kits and other hands-on experiments that supplement their Discovery Works textbooks.
In the seventh grade the syllabus focuses on the study of the biological science while the eighth graders concentrate on the physical sciences and prepare for the Intermediate-Level Science Assessment in May. Accelerated eighth grade students take Regents Earth Science and sit for the regents in June. The high school offers Living Environment, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics at the Regents and honors level. Many of our students are encouraged to take the more challenging Advanced Placement courses in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Our elective program includes Forensic Science, Marine Science, Animal Behavior, Astronomy and Advanced Forensics (college credit available). Highly motivated high school students are also encouraged to enroll in our research program for which college credit is also available.