The Science Curriculum in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades
Science in Grades 1 to 4 is taught through the integrated course Knowledge of the World,11 which includes the following components:12
- Nature—Living and nonliving things and their attributes; natural phenomena and their properties, conditions, and interrelationships; and the animal and plant world, including common features, basic needs, reproduction, and habitats
- Humans—The concept of humans as a part of the natural world; significant features that differentiate humans from animals; and man’s role in the development of science, technology, the environment, and society
- Society—The homeland, family, school, and understanding oneself and one’s position in society
Subject content is studied continuously from the first through the fourth grades and becomes more complex from grade to grade.
In basic secondary (Grades 5 to 9) and general secondary (Grades 10 to 11 or 12) education, science is taught in the following modules: geography (Grades 6 to 11), biology (Grades 6 to 11), chemistry (Grades 8 to 11), and physics (Grades 7 to 11).13,14,15,16
- Geography—By the end of Grade 9, students should have acquired knowledge about Earth as one planet in the solar system; Earth’s size and form; Earth’s continents; natural features of Earth that reflect its structure, space, and differences from other planets; processes and phenomena on Earth; material and spiritual cultural values that reflect the human experiences of learning and existence; types, structures, and characteristics of territories; the modern world and concepts relating to sustainable development and the diversity of life; and global, regional, and local problems of modern geography and environmental and conservation issues.
- Biology—Across the grades, this topic area covers molecular, cellular, tissue, organism, population, biogenetic, and biosphere levels of life organization; the diversity of living organisms, their interaction, life cycles, evolutionary history, and evolution; systemic groups of organisms; the human being as a biosocial person; fundamental biological theories (cellular, evolutionary, and chromosomal), and concepts (e.g., ecology, and the origin of life). In Grades 6 to 9, students study living organisms, the diversity of organisms, evolution, and flora and fauna in the environment; ecology and the biosphere; humans and their health; the biology of cells; fundamentals of genetics and natural selection, including heredity and human genetics; and evolution.
- Physics—This topic area focuses on physical methods of studying nature, mechanics, molecular physics and thermodynamics, electrodynamics, atomic and nuclear physics, and astrophysics. By the end of Grade 9, students should have acquired knowledge of motion, the molecular structure of substances, thermal effects, direct current, the interactions of magnets, electromagnetic waves, the atomic nucleus, nuclear power, and the structure and composition of the solar system.
- Chemistry—This topic area covers different organizational levels of substances, including simple and complex substances, pure substances, and mixtures; broad classes of organic and inorganic substances, natural and chemical polymers, and the theory of the chemical structure of substances; chemical reactions and their classifications; the periodic system of chemical elements; and the theory of electrolytic dissociation. By the end of Grade 9, students study atomic-molecular theory and the law of conservation of mass; physical and chemical changes; chemical elements and formulas, including atomic and molecular masses; oxygen, hydrogen, water, and air; the main classes of inorganic compounds, the periodic table of chemical elements, covalent and ionic bonding, electrolytic dissociation of acids, bases, and salts; physical and chemical properties of metals and nonmetals; and foundational concepts of organic compounds.