Pro’s & Con’s: Savaas elevateScience

About Savaas elevateScience

Do you want your middle school students to learn to love Science? The Savaas elevateScience curriculum has made it their mission to “awaken the scientist and engineer inside” of your middle grade science students. This is a comprehensive K-8 science program with a strong emphasis on hands-on investigations and three-dimensional learning. The company aims to help students in grades K-8 with science literacy development. They do this through the use of printed texts, digital resources, and a variety of labs and other lesson activities. 

How Does It Work?

The elevateScience program organizes key information and lesson plans around real-world storylines called “Quests.” (Basically, these are Savaas’ version of the thematic unit.) Each “Quest” pairs instruction about different scientific concepts with phenomena-based inquiry examples. These examples help students to see and understand the real-world application of each science unit. 

When you choose to use Savaas elevateScience for your general science class, you’ll be given access to the following resources and instructional materials: 

• Print component: Yes…you actually will receive a physical textbook for your students to use. 
• Access to Savaas’ digital science curriculum. 
• Digital components, such as videos, virtual labs, and online games to support student learning. 
• Assessments tailor-made for each step of the learning process. 

Curriculum Review: What Real Classroom Teachers Have to Say about Savaas elevateScience

In my Facebook group of over 13,000 middle school science teachers — I asked this AMAZING group of educators to weigh in about different science curriculums. I truly never cease to be amazed by how actively this group participates! These teachers are so ready and willing they are to over their thoughts and support for other teachers.  Of course, they had plenty to say about the elevateScience digital platform and blended print resources. 

Pro’s of elevateScience

• Physical Printed Textbook: 
  ​Over and over again, the classroom teachers in my group shared that they loved the physical textbook provided by elevateScience. (And I have to say…I agree!!) It’s so nice to be able to reference a physical textbook and give our middle schoolers a break from screens. Plus, let’s be honest…technical difficulties happen, and relying solely on digital component technology just isn’t a practical option. 
  
  
• High-Quality Test Questions: 
  ​Teachers found that the assessment questions created by elevateScience aligned well with Next Generation Science Standards and state assessments. This makes this a good option for preparing students for these important tests. 
  
  
• Integrates well with Google Classroom & Canvas:
  Having a curriculum program that plays nicely with the other tech platforms your district uses is essential. elevateScience integrates easily with Google Classroom, Canvas, and other digital platforms, making it easy for you to share information with your students.  
  

Con’s of elevateScience

• Technical Problems: 
  ​Many of the teachers surveyed in my Facebook group expressed frustration over the digital textbook and online resources offered by Savaas elevateScience. They indicated that the textbook can be glitchy and difficult to navigate.
  
  
• No Audio Version: 
  elevateScience does not currently provide an audio version of their textbook. Unfortunately, this can make this program difficult to use for struggling readers or ELL students. If you have a class with a large population of students in either of these two groups, elevateScience might not be the best choice for your science curriculum. 
  
  
• Requires Supplemental Work: 
  ​Although Savaas claims that elevateScience is a complete science program for K-8, many of the teachers surveyed felt that this program just wasn’t enough on it’s own. Consequently, they found themselves supplementing with different resources, labs, and activities to provide a more complete science instruction. 

​This graphic contains additional feedback and information gathered from real teachers who’ve used Savaas elevateScience curriculum.

Additionally, you can see practical ways teachers have implemented the elevateScience materials (and other instructional resources) in the group Middle School Science Teachers.

If you find this information helpful, you’ll also find several posts about different middle school curriculum options, so you can get input on everything available for middle school science teachers today.

Interested in learning about OTHER middle school science curriculum options?! This article is part of a complete series in which we are digging into several of the most common curriculum programs for middle school science. Check out my recent review of Kesler Science here!

If you enjoyed this curriculum review and would like more information, ideas, and feedback about all things “middle school science” — I HIGHLY encourage you to join my Facebook group for middle school science teachers! In this active online community, we regularly share tips, ideas, and encouragement to support you in your science teaching journey! Oh, and I should mention… joining this community is totally free. Truly, you’ve got nothing to lose.