Science @ 280Q
Kindergarten
Weather and Sky
Observe, record, and communicate many things, big and small, far away or nearby, that are seen in the sky, such as rainbows, birds, airplanes, clouds, sun, moon.
Discuss and differentiate objects seen in the daytime and/or nighttime sky.
Observe and record daily weather changes.
Identify weather changes from day to day using charts
Identify weather features and graph data.
Discuss activities that take place during specific weather conditions.
Discuss the effects of weather on human activities
Discuss weather safety and analyze ways to stay safe during a variety of weather conditions.
Discuss tornadoes and the procedure for a tornado drill in the classroom or school.
Use models to help understand how a flood occurs.
Observe thermometers as tools that provide consistent measurements of temperature.
Discuss the idea that the sun is the earth’s source of light and heat.
Determine the effects of the sun on an object.
Explore ways to cool objects down.
Push, Pull, Go
Begin building an age-appropriate understanding of force and motion.
Observe measure, and record the change in the position of an object over time.
Explore the movement of a rolling ball and begin to build an understanding that motion is predictable; the ball travels in a straight line until a force stops it or changes its direction.
Explore changes in position and motion by pushing and pulling.
Demonstrate the greater the force (push or pull) the greater the change in motion.
Begin to collect evidence about the invisible force of gravity
Investigate and demonstrate that force causes an object to start moving, stop moving, and or change direction.
Build an understanding that objects move in different patterns (straight line, zigzag curved line)
Build on the concept that the greater the force applied to an object, the greater the change in the objects motion.
Living Things and Their Needs
Identify living and non-living things.
Make observations and describe the patterns of living things.
Begin observations of a plant and its needs.
Begin observation of an animal and its needs.
Observe and identify the needs of living things.
Monitor and record growth of plants.
Observe different environments and identify the relationships among plants, animals, and their surroundings.
Draw a model of how a plant or an animal interacts with its surroundings to meet its needs.
Discuss different ways humans impact their local environment.
First Grade
Exploring Organisms
Distinguish between living and nonliving things in the environment.
Identify the needs of living things.
Observe body structures that help living things meet their needs.
Set up an environment and begin growing a bean plant.
Understand that many offspring cannot survive without assistance from parents.
Use text and media to determine patterns that exist in the animal kingdom between parents and their offspring that enable the offspring a better chance at survival.
Use oral and written communication skills to explain how animal parents care for their offspring.
Compare similarities and differences between themselves and their parents.
Identify similarities and differences between animal offspring and their parents.
Observe a bean plant to collect evidence on the similarities and differences between plant parents and plant offspring.
Construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are similar but not identical to their parents.
Light and Sound Waves
Begin an understanding that light has a source and travels in a direction.
Understand that light sources can be naturally occurring sources such as the sun, or sources that are designed by humans.
Distinguish between natural sources of light and light created or designed by humans.
Make observations to explain that objects can be seen only when illuminated.
Observe with opaque, transparent, and translucent materials to understand that these materials let light pass.
Begin to develop and understanding that objects reflect light.
Sky Watchers
Record observations of objects in the day and night skies through writing illustrations in science notebooks.
Compare and contrast objects see in the day and night sky
Use models to directly observe the repeating pattern of day and night.
Discuss and model how Earth rotates on its axis around the Sun, causing repeating pattern of day and night.
Observer how Earth is spherical in shape.
Explore the concept of rotation and how Earth spins, or rotates, once per 24 hours.
Recognize that the repeating pattern of day and night continues daily due to the rotation of Earth.
Observe that Earth revolves around the Sun once a year in a cyclical fashion.
Observe that Earth rotates once every 24 hours on its axis, causing the repeating pattern of day and night.
Second Grade
Earth Materials
Identify the uses for water and that water is a necessity.
Recognize the various forms of water on Earth.
Understand that water and ice can change shape of land through erosion.
Use a map to identify different types of water sources.
Use a model to develop an understanding of the water cycle.
Identify behaviors of insects in Make close observations using a hand lens.
Sort rocks by student-generated rules and a variety of attributes.
Recognize that some objects are made of more than one material.
Understand that changes to earth materials can sometimes occur very slowly, over long periods of time.
Observe the properties of sand and other earth materials.
Understand sand as a natural earth material that is broken down from rock over time.
Make the connection that water and wind can change the shape of the land.
Explore and design solutions to wind erosion on sand dunes.
Matter
Recognize that everything is made of many smaller things.
Understand that the pieces of one thing can sometimes be arranged differently to make something else.
Know that parts must be ordered to work together.
Identify the properties of different states of matter.
Classify three states of matter by their properties.
Compare and Contrast the properties of solids and liquids.
Recognize that matter can go through physical changes without changing the material it is made.
Investigate solids and liquids to determine that each state of matter can have varying characteristics.
Manipulate substances to determine that different types of matter can be combined to create a mixture.
Recognize the physical properties of certain materials.
Distinguish between materials that float in water and those that sink.
Construct an argument detailing why some materials are better for completing certain projects than other materials.
Investigate physical changes by freezing and warming coconut oil.
Investigate chemical changes by adding heat to a bag of un-popped popcorn.
Ecosystem Diversity
Distinguish between living and nonliving things.
Evaluate the needs of living things and the significance of living in distinct habitats.
Distinguish characteristics of various habitats.
Identify habitats based on specific characteristics.
Interpret the unique needs of plants through scientific discovery.
Relate that photosynthesis contributes to the green color of plants.
Observe characteristics of plants that allow them to survive in different habitats.
Observe and identify various seed dispersal methods using models.
Stimulate bees pollinating flowers.
Explain the interdependence between plants and animals.
Formulate an understanding of the interdependence between plants and animals in a habitat.
Apply concepts of the diversity of living things in each of a variety of different habitats.
Compare the diversity of life in different habitats, on land and in water.
Evaluate the effect of human actions on habitats.
Identify which human action has the greatest effect on specific habitats.
Determine ways that changes in behavior can have a positive effect on habitats.
