Los Altos School District

Science

Grounded in the California Science Framework and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), our approach supports all students to think and work like scientists and engineers. Through hands-on investigation, collaboration, and real-world problem-solving, students build deep understanding of scientific concepts while developing the skills and mindsets that empower them to explore, innovate, and make a difference.

Learning Through Inquiry and Investigation
Science learning in LASD begins with curiosity. Students investigate real-world events and puzzling phenomena to figure out how things work and why they happen. They observe, ask questions, predict, test, and explain. They grow ideas over time through experimentation, reflection, and discussion. Teachers design experiences that spark interest and guide students through cycles of investigation and explanation, showing them that science is not about memorizing facts but about actively figuring things out.

Connected Learning That Builds Thinking Skills
Students engage in scientific thinking by using evidence to support ideas, building models to explain their thinking, and developing arguments grounded in data. They analyze patterns, make sense of cause and effect, and apply their learning to new situations. Science connects naturally with math, reading, writing, engineering, and real-life experiences, helping students build a connected and meaningful understanding of the world.

Practicing the Work of Scientists and Engineers

Students learn to think and work like engineers as well as scientists. They begin by asking questions, imagining solutions, and trying out ideas through hands-on investigation. As they grow, they take on design challenges that require them to identify problems, develop and test models, analyze results, and refine their thinking. Students build systems, create prototypes, and evaluate how well their solutions work. They learn to persist, iterate, and collaborate. These experiences develop not only scientific understanding, but also the creativity, problem-solving, and design skills that engineers use to make a real impact in the world.

Literacy, Research, and Communication

Science learning in LASD includes reading, writing, and research as essential tools for building understanding. Students read a range of texts, from data tables and diagrams to articles and primary sources, to gather information, compare ideas, and deepen their thinking. They learn to ask researchable questions, seek reliable sources, and synthesize what they find. Writing in science helps students organize their thinking, explain their reasoning, and communicate their discoveries clearly to others. Through this work, students build both scientific knowledge and literacy skills, learning how to engage with information critically and contribute to meaningful conversations about the world around them.

Science in LASD connects students to the real world and to one another. As they investigate relevant problems and explore scientific phenomena with their peers, they build knowledge together and learn to value multiple perspectives. Through collaboration, reflection, and communication, students develop a strong sense of purpose and responsibility as members of both their learning communities and the larger world. They grow as curious, capable problem-solvers, ready to ask hard questions, test ideas, and contribute to a better future.

Development Across the Grades Science
PK - 2nd Grade	Children begin to explore the world around them by observing, wondering, and experimenting. They study how plants and animals grow and survive, how the weather changes, how light and sound work, and how objects move and interact. Through hands-on experiences, they learn to ask questions, try things out, notice patterns, and talk about what they observe. These early investigations lay the groundwork for understanding how scientists work—by observing, predicting, testing, and explaining.
3rd - 5th Grades	Students explore the natural and physical world in greater depth. They investigate topics like the water cycle, animal adaptations, energy and motion, and how Earth’s surface changes over time. They gather and analyze data, build simple models, and write explanations based on evidence. Students learn how different science ideas connect across systems, like how energy moves, how matter changes, and how humans impact the environment. They also start to apply their learning to real-world challenges through projects and design tasks.
6th - 8th Grades	Students deepen their understanding of science concepts and develop more sophisticated ways of thinking. They explore how invisible particles form everything around us, how cells work together in living organisms, how forces shape the universe, and how human activity affects climate and ecosystems. They engage in extended investigations, construct and test models, and use evidence to build and critique scientific arguments. Science becomes a way of thinking. Students ask complex questions, identify patterns across systems, and apply what they know to new and meaningful problems in their communities and the world.

Helpful Resources

California Science Framework

Next Generation Science Standards

Curriculum and Instruction

Resources

Compliance and Complaint Procedures

District Committees

Science