Kindergarten – Grade 2
Senses and observation, weather and seasons, plants and animals, materials and their properties, day and night, and caring for living things.
Core Academics
Science
Grade bands served: Kindergarten through Grade 12
Science begins with structured observation of the natural world and ends with disciplined laboratory practice in Biology, Chemistry and Physics or Environmental Science. Learners are taught the practices of science — asking testable questions, designing fair tests, collecting and analysing data, and constructing explanations from evidence — alongside the core content of life, physical and earth sciences. Where laboratory equipment is limited, low-cost and locally sourced apparatus, simulations and carefully designed field investigations are used so that every learner still does science rather than only reading about it.
Why this subject matters
Scientific literacy underpins public health, agriculture, energy, sanitation and climate resilience in Liberia, and it is the gateway to medicine, engineering and technology careers.
Overall learning goals
- • Investigate questions using the practices of science.
- • Understand core ideas in life, physical, earth and space science.
- • Collect, record and analyse data accurately.
- • Explain phenomena with evidence and models.
- • Apply science to health, environment and technology decisions.
Core competencies & skills
- • Observation and measurement
- • Experimental design and fair testing
- • Data recording, graphing and analysis
- • Scientific explanation and argument
- • Laboratory safety and technique
Scope by grade band
Grades 3–5
Life cycles and ecosystems, matter and energy, forces and motion, the water cycle, earth materials, and structured investigations with recorded data.
Grades 6–8
Integrated science: cells and body systems, genetics basics, chemical reactions, energy transfer, waves, earth systems and climate, with formal lab reports.
Grades 9–12
Biology, Chemistry, and Physics or Environmental Science with laboratory practicals, quantitative analysis and independent investigation.
Typical learning activities
- • Hands-on investigations with locally sourced materials
- • Field observation of local ecosystems and water sources
- • Laboratory practicals and lab-report writing
- • Simulations and virtual laboratories
- • Scientific reading and claim-evidence-reasoning discussion
Project examples
- • School garden growth experiment with controlled variables
- • Water-quality investigation of a local source
- • Renewable-energy model (solar dryer, simple turbine)
- • Independent senior science investigation with a written report
Assessment methods
- • Practical laboratory assessment
- • Lab reports and data analysis tasks
- • Unit examinations
- • Investigation projects with written conclusions
Real-world & career connections
- • Medicine and nursing
- • Agriculture and food science
- • Environmental and water engineering
- • Laboratory and research science
FutureTech & AI integration
Data logging in spreadsheets, simulation tools, and from Grade 9 the use of AI for literature review and hypothesis refinement — always with source verification and a clear statement of what the learner did themselves.
Expected learner outcomes
- • Graduates design, run and report a controlled investigation.
- • Graduates complete laboratory courses in at least two sciences.
- • Graduates evaluate scientific claims in public debate.
Prerequisites
Chemistry is normally taken after Biology; Physics requires Algebra I.
Where it appears by grade
Related subjects
English Language Arts & Literacy
Reading, writing, speaking and listening from phonics to college-level analysis.
Mathematics
Number sense to algebra, geometry, statistics and pre-calculus pathways.
Social Studies & Geography
Communities, geography, world history and economics in context.
Communication, Public Speaking & Media Literacy
Speaking well, presenting clearly and evaluating media critically.