Science at Hope

Hope Community Charter School’s science program makes learning personal, relevant and engaging while interweaving literacy skills. Teachers use four levels of inquiry (Activity-Before Content, Directed, Guided, and Open Ended) allowing for scaffolding and building critical thinking skills. Reading within the content area is supported and requires students to stop and think about what they read. This processing time is so critical for students to make meaning. Students interact with visuals such as diagrams and not just text. They learn how to read and interpret all visual information and explain its connection to text. Students create visual cues, charts, and concept maps for the classroom so there is a constant review and reminder before their eyes of science concepts and the language they need to think, speak, and write like a scientist. Teachers enhance the program by using digital and online virtual labs, simulations and animations. Technology is used to open up students’ inquiring minds and stimulate their inherent curiosity and questioning.

No matter the source of information (internet or text), the emphasis is always on helping students make meaning of the language of science.