Kindergarten

Unit 1

(coming soon)

Unit 2

(coming soon)

Unit 3

(coming soon)

Unit 4

(coming soon)

Science Pacing Rationale

120 total days, 30-minute days

The USBE recommends “daily science instruction” in grades K–6, though the exact structure looks different at each grade level. According to the Elementary and Secondary School General Core Rule (R277-700): “The Superintendent shall place a greater emphasis on a student’s mastery of course material rather than completion of predetermined time allotments for courses.”

To ensure students achieve mastery of the SEEd Standards at their described proficiency levels (outlined in the SEEd Core Guides), we have allotted the following time for 2nd-grade science:

Kindergarten 120 Total Days - 30-minute days

Curriculum Days ( days): Core OpenSciEd lessons.
Other Days/Flexible ( days): Reserved for assessment, reteach, enrichment, digital tools, and other district-supported resources.

We intentionally paced for 120 instructional days instead of the full 180 to reflect the realities of elementary classrooms. This structure:

Provides time at the beginning of the year for building classroom routines.
Accommodates end-of-year testing.
Preserves space for holidays, school breaks, and traditional school events that are central to the elementary experience.

Kindergarten Unit Order Rationale

The Utah SEEd Kindergarten standards are organized into three strands: K.1 Weather Patterns, K.2 Living Things and Their Surroundings, and K.3 Forces, Motion, and Interactions. These “strands” outline big areas of learning but are not meant to be taught in the order they appear or used as instructional units. Instead, they describe the key ideas and skills students should develop over time.

The OpenSciEd Kindergarten curriculum has been intentionally adapted for SEEd to include four connected units. This design ensures that all SEEd standards are taught in a logical, meaningful order that reflects how young learners make sense of the world, through observing real phenomena, asking questions, and figuring things out together. Each unit builds on what came before and intentionally integrates the Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs), Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) outlined in the SEEd standards.

Unit 1 – Energy: Sunlight

We begin with this unit because it establishes the foundation for both science content and classroom routines used throughout Kindergarten. Energy from the Sun is a phenomenon that students can easily observe and investigate. They explore why some surfaces get hot and how they can design solutions to make them less hot. These experiences introduce energy transfer, engineering design, and the investigative sensemaking practices that continue across all remaining units. Addresses SEEd standards K.1.3 and K.1.4

Unit 2 – Weather

This unit follows naturally as students build on their understanding of sunlight to explore weather patterns and how they affect people’s daily lives. Students collect and analyze data about local weather conditions and consider how humans prepare for and respond to different types of weather. Unit 2 addresses the SEEd standards K.1.1 and K.1.2. Together, Units 1 and 2 address the full set of SEEd standards in Strand K.1: Weather Patterns.

Unit 3 – Forces and Motion

This unit engages students in exploring how objects move and what causes those movements. Through playful investigations, students plan and carry out tests of pushes and pulls to see how strength and direction affect motion. They then design simple solutions to control or change an object’s movement, applying early engineering practices and strengthening their understanding of cause and effect. Addresses SEEd standards K.3.1 and K.3.2

Unit 4 – Ecosystems: Plants, Animals, and Their Environment

Placed last in the sequence, this unit brings together ideas about sunlight and weather to help students explain how living things depend on their surroundings to meet their needs. Students learn about patterns in how plants and animals survive, how they affect their environment, and how humans can help care for the Earth. Addresses SEEd standards K.2.1, K.2.2, K.2.3, and K.2.4

SEEd standard alignment

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