STEM Skills and Connections
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills and connections are integrated into all units in the course. Through scientific research, experimentation, and engineering design processes, students will conduct investigations, design solutions to problems, and communicate findings while discovering practical applications that pertain to science and technology. Students will make practical connections between the knowledge students gain and real-world issues in science and technology. Students will also analyse the contributions made by First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities as their knowledge has led to the creation of Indigenous scientific and technical systems.
Human Health and Body Systems
In the Human Health and Body Systems Unit, students will learn how organ systems are components of a larger system (the body) and, as such, work together and affect one another. Students will learn that organ structures are linked to their functions and that systems in the human body work together to meet our basic needs. Students will also start to understand that the choices we make affect our organ systems and, in turn, our overall health.
Properties of and Changes in Matter
In the Properties of and Changes in Matter Unit, students will learn that there are three states of matter and how matter that changes state is still the same matter. Students will learn that physical change refers to the fact that a substance can be changed from one form to another and that chemical change implies the formation of a new substance. Students will also start to understand that the properties of materials determine their use and may affect society and the environment.
Forces Acting on Structures
In the Forces Acting on Structures Unit, students will learn how structures throughout our environment have forces that act on and within them. Students will design, build, and text a frame structure that will withstand external force. Students will also start to understand that forces that result from natural phenomena affect natural and built environments.
Conservation of Energy and Resources
In the Conservation of Energy and Resources Unit, students will learn that energy sources are either renewable or non-renewable and that although energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can be transformed. Students will learn that choices about using energy and resources have both immediate and long-term impacts. Students will design, build, and test a device that transforms one form of energy to another. Students will also evaluate the effects of technologies on energy consumption.
Coding
In the Coding unit, students will identify and describe the impacts of data used in coding on everyday life. Students will also write and execute code that involves variables.