Watch the 1-minute video below for a quick guide to reviewing your science materials, then explore how our approach shapes Cincinnati students into scientists and engineers.
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Our approach
To investigate these phenomena, students collect evidence from multiple sources and through a variety of modalities. They move back and forth from firsthand investigation to secondhand analysis and synthesis, formulating an increasingly complex explanation of the target phenomenon. Each unit also provides students with opportunities to apply what they have learned to solve new problems in different contexts. This enables students to demonstrate a deep understanding of phenomena and practices.
And it works.
Amplify Science is backed by gold-standard research.
UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, the authors behind Amplify Science, developed the Do-Talk-Read-Write-Visualize approach, and gold standard research shows that it works. Our own efficacy research is pretty exciting, too.
Learning progressions
Students using the Do-Talk-Read-Write approach saw clear growth along learning progressions from pre-unit assessments to end-of-unit assessments.
Science vocabulary
Students using the Do-Talk-Read-Write method achieved higher mastery of science vocabulary terms than their peers.
Science content knowledge
Students using the Do-Talk-Read-Write approach saw their science content knowledge grow more than their peers using the business-as-usual approach.
Hands-on investigations
Hands-on learning is an essential part of Amplify Science.
Hands-on learning is integrated into every unit through hands-on investigations that are critical to achieving the unit’s learning goals and deepening Cincinnati students’ understanding of the unit phenomena.
See Amplify Science hands-on investigation videos in action for these grade 2 students.
As part of Amplify Science’s grade 2 Animal and Plant Relationships unit, students take on the role of plant scientists to figure out why there are no new chalta trees growing in the Bengal Tiger Reserve in India. In this video featuring Lesson 3.2, second-grade students from Chicago Public Schools are engaging with a hands-on model in which they simulate animal dispersal of seeds, measure how many seeds were dispersed to places where the seeds are likely to grow, and analyze their results.
Literacy-rich science instruction
Let's immerse Cincinnati students in reading, writing, and arguing like real scientists and engineers.
We love Cincinnati’s core belief that building background knowledge is integral to literacy instruction—we believe it, too. Our young scientists actively investigate the natural world, and large parts of their investigations involve reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
Student Books
Each unit of Amplify Science K–5 includes five or six unique Student Books written by the Lawrence Hall of Science specifically for the program. The books in each unit include one book for approximately every five days of instruction and one reference book that students draw upon throughout the unit.
Student Investigation Notebooks
In the Student Investigation Notebooks, students record data and observations, make drawings, and complete writing tasks. Each notebook also includes scaffolding supports for reading and writing activities.
Powerful digital tools
We help teach science that's too small, large, slow, distant, dangerous, or difficult to see or manipulate directly.
Developed exclusively for Amplify Science, our digital simulations are interactive, virtual worlds that allow students to discover and construct understanding of science concepts and phenomena. Sims provide opportunities to explore scientific phenomena that might otherwise be challenging to investigate.
Elementary Sims
Powerful digital simulations for every unit beginning in grade 4.
Key differentiators
What sets Amplify Science apart for CPS?
- 1. Built from the ground up for three-dimensional learning
- 2. Students take on the role of scientists and engineers to investigate real-world phenomena
- 3. Literacy-rich science instruction builds the background knowledge that is key to literacy success
- 4. Powerful digital modeling tools and simulations