Welcome to Transitional Kindergarten

—

BACK TO MAIN TK–5 PAGE

Amplify Science California jump-starts a lifelong love of science with developmentally and pedagogically appropriate instruction featuring:

Real-world problems and scientific phenomena.
An experiential approach with lots of hands-on.
Explicit support for building oral language and early literacy skills.

What students learn

—

Our program is comprised of three units: one life science, one physical science, one Earth science.

As students take on the role of a scientist or engineer to figure out real-world phenomenon, each unit:

Sparks curiosity and engagement.
Encourages students to wonder, think, and talk.
Builds a solid foundation for future success with science.

Look below for a summary of each unit.

Unit 1

—

Unit: Wondering About Noises in Trees

Student role: Life scientists

Phenomenon: Strange noises appear to be coming from the trees outside.

Unit 2

—

Unit: Wondering About Buildings

Student role: Building engineers

Phenomenon: One class made a play city. Some of the buildings stayed up, while others fell down.

Unit 3

—

Unit: Wondering About Puddles

Student role: Weather scientists

Phenomenon: Puddles exist in some places but not in other places along a girl’s walk to school

Program structure

—

To meet the unique needs of little learners, our program follows a unique structure.

Each unit:

Begins with an Introductory Activity that
introduces the phenomenon.
Includes a series of three Explorations that are comprised of a Kickoff Discussion, four activities, and a Shared Drawing and Discussion.
Ends with a Culminating Activity that consolidates students’ understanding.

Each activity is designed to span 15 minutes. Depending on how the program is implemented, an entire unit generally takes 4–6 weeks.

How teachers teach

—

Tom Teacher feels confident delivering 3-D instruction with our resources by his side. Watch this video to learn more. >

When you’re ready, scroll down to take a closer look at sample resources.

Classroom resources for instruction
Printed Teacher's Guide

Our unit-specific Teacher's Guides are chock full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, differentiation strategies, additional classroom resources, and copymasters.

Teacher's Guide

Big Books

Big Books contain vivid photographs and are used to introduce topics, facilitate group discussions, and support students’ firsthand investigations. Each Big Book is an integral part of instruction and is used multiple times for multiple purposes across a unit.

Big Book

Science Questions

Each unit includes three printed Science Question cards, one for each Exploration of the unit. The cards can be posted on classroom walls and support the class as they are introduced to and revisit the focus of their investigations over the course of an Exploration and, ultimately, the unit.

Vocabulary and Picture Cards

Each unit includes six or seven printed Vocabulary Cards and a set of colorful Picture Cards that can be posted on classroom word walls and concept walls. Cards are used for a variety of purposes, including gathering evidence, building background knowledge, and introducing the focal phenomenon.

Resources

—

Sample

Preview a TG and Big Book

Preview an Amplify Science TK Teacher’s Guide and a Big Book.

Overview

Program guide for TK

Learn more about this level of the program by exploring our detailed program gui...

Overview

FAQs for TK

Learn more about how our program works by exploring these frequently asked quest...

Overview

Program components for TK

Take a closer look at the unit-specific resources that support learning.

Standards

Standards Alignment for TK

See how our program fully prepares students for meeting NGSS standards in kinder...