Janney is entering its third year of developing an exciting lab based science program. All students K-5th participate in science instruction in a new science lab. The lab is an awesome space for exploring and experimenting. Another exciting part of science at Janney is the Janney Garden Project. Each grade level has the opportunity to work in and contribute to the extensive gardens which include edibles, trees, native plants, pollinator plants, and a rain garden. The student’s work in the gardens develops from the curriculum, and extends and enriches the science and/or social studies unit that the grade level is exploring. Science instruction is taught in five-week blocks, alternating with social studies instruction. This format allows for an intensive, integrated, and in-depth focus on the science topic. When students are participating in a science unit, they will be reading and writing about science as well as experiencing inquiry activities.

Each grade level has 4 units of science study.

  • Kindergarteners will start by using the five senses to learn about how things around us change as the seasons change. They will also study the Material World, How Things Move, and Animals Two by Two.
  • First graders learn about land, water, air, and sun in their first unit, and then the go on to study about Balance and Motion, Pebbles, Sand and Silt, and Living Things All around Us.
  • Second graders will start the year with the “New Plants” unit and they will have the opportunity to start “new plants” in the Janney Garden. They then study Air and Weather, Solids and Liquids, and finish the year with studying Insects.
  • Third graders will start with “The Structures of Life” unit exploring and comparing the structures of different types of plants and animals including anoles and crayfish. They then move on to study Astronomy, Food Chemistry, and the Physics of Sound.
  • Fourth Graders will use models as a learning tool throughout the year to study rocks and landforms, ecosystems, the human body, and magnetism and electricity.
  • Fifth graders will start the year with “The Water Planet” unit that begins with a tour of the solar system and then zooms in for a study of weather on the Earth. They then work on units in chemistry and force and motion, and finally, they develop an independent project to complete their study of science at Janney.

Janney Science Instruction is a dynamic, inquiry program that focuses on developing scientific process skills, providing a wide variety of experiences aimed at expanding background knowledge, and providing a solid science content knowledge base.