Scheduling of Science Materials

A structured time for science is beneficial in making science an important and essential part of children’s weekly activity. Coordination of time is also important for sharing materials and equipment without a major problem. Scheduling can be used by administrative personnel for accountability and planning assistance of volunteers.

A school should have a yearly masTer plan to make sure there is a continuous flow of science. A "Yearly Plan of science" will help determine weekly goals for the entire school. We suggest that the cycles are adhered to at the school level, because it is easy to coordinate. However, this choice belongs to the teachers and administration of individual schools. It is important to get the input of the teachers because they are the ultimate end users of the I. Science MaTe program.

If you have a central location or room that will function as your science lab, the following grid "Science Lab Schedule," may help schedule your time. Each class will visit the science lab once a week for the Lab activity. Pre and post lab activities can be conducted in the classroom.

It is helpful if all grades attend lab on the same day. This saves valuable time in setting up and cleaning up. For example, all third grades will conduct their Lab activity in the science lab on Tuesdays at conveniently scheduled time. Ideally the Per Lab would be conducted on Monday and the Post lab on Wednesday. This insures that a child gets three quality days of science per week. Textbooks can be used for homework or class reading.

If a central location is not available, a Teacher Schedule grid may be useful. In order to share materials, teachers of a specific grade may wish to share a day (adhering to a scheduled hour during the day), or schedule a teacher for each day. For example, third grade teachers conduct their labs in their classroom on Tuesdays at a scheduled hour during the day. The second option is to assign each third grade teacher to a specific day, and they have all day to get to the lab activity.

The Student Workbook - Using Science Materials