Unit 1

In kindergarten, students build on early experiences observing the world around them as they continue to make observations that are more quantitative in nature and help them identify why some changes occur.

Students build their quantitative knowledge of temperature in relation to the weather and its effect on different kinds of materials. They observe that the amount of sunlight shining on a surface causes a temperature change and they design a structure to reduce the warming effects of sunlight.

Curriculum Map

Unit: Fairy tales, Knights at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, Pirates Past Noon

State Standards

K-ESS2-1. Use and share quantitative observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.

K-ESS3-2. Obtain and use information about weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, different types of local weather.

K-PS1-1(MA). Investigate and communicate the idea that different kinds of materials can be solid or liquid depending on temperature.

K-PS2-1. Compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object.

K-PS3-1. Make observations to determine that sunlight warms materials on Earth’s surface.

K-PS3-2. Use tools and materials to design and build a model of a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area.

Essential Questions

• What makes materials different from one another?

• What is force?

• How do we keep an object cool?

• How does water change phase?

• What is the weather?

Students will...

• Ask questions and defining problems

• Developing and use models

• Plan and carrying out investigations

• Analyze and interpret data

• Construct explanations and design solutions

• Engage in an argument from evidence

• Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information