Science

UNIT 1: LIFE CYCLES

The student knows:

• that organisms undergo similar life processes and have structures and behaviors that help them survive within their environment.

• We can illustrate and compare the life cycles of various plants and animals.

The students will:

• Have opportunities to examine different life cycles of both plants and animals.

• Understand that only certain organisms undergo metamorphosis.

UNIT 2: STRUCTURES & FUNCTIONS, INHERITED TRAITS & LEARNED BEHAVIORS

The student knows:

• Organisms undergo similar life processes and have structures and behaviors that help them survive within their environment.

• Structures and functions of plants and animals include both internal and external characteristics that allow them to survive in their environment.

• Bird beaks vary in size and shape to eating different foods. Plant leaves vary in size, shape, and covering to enable survival in different environments.

• Some organisms have external structures that enable them to blend in to their environments.

• Some characteristics are inherited from parent to offspring, while other characteristics are acquired.

• Inherited characteristics include eye- color and shapes of leaves in plants.

• Learned behaviors include having table manners, reading or speaking a language, and animals performing tricks on command.

The students will:

• Have opportunities to identify numerous structures and functions on a variety of organisms that enable survival.

• Understand that structures and functions can fit more than one function, such as a bird beak allowing capture of insects and nest building functions.

• Have opportunities to notice that not all likenesses are inherited (such as those learned or acquired during the course of life experience).

• Understand that some behaviors (such as nest building in a warbler) are inherited rather than learned.

UNIT 3: PRODUCERS, CONSUMERS & FOOD WEBS

The student knows:

• That living organisms within an ecosystem interact with one another and with their environment.

• Producers need sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce their own food. Consumers depend on plants or other organisms for food.

• The Sun provides energy that flows through food chains and webs. Energy that moves through a food web originally comes from the Sun.

• We can predict how changes in an ecosystem can affect the flow of energy in a food web. Changes to an ecosystem, such as a forest fire, can cause animals to leave and some animals and plants to perish, which can have an impact on the flow of energy in a food web.

The students will:

• Have opportunities to identify the Sun as the source of all energy in food webs.

• Will understand that if an organism is removed from an environment, more than just the immediate consumers will be affected.

UNIT 4: PROPERTIES OF SOIL & RESOURCES

The student will know:

• Earth consists of useful resources and its surface is constantly changing.

• Soils differ in their observable properties.

• Soils can be sorted based on, texture, color, and capacity to retain water.

• Soils differ in their ability to support the growth of plants.

• Renewable resources include air, plants, water, and animals, which are generally replaceable within a lifetime.

• Nonrenewable resources include coal, oil, and natural gas, which cannot be replaced within a lifetime.

• We should make responsible decisions to conserve both renewable and nonrenewable resources.

The students will:

• Have opportunities to examine and handle different types of soil to observe differences.

• Understand that soils hold different amounts of water depending on the type of soil.

• Students should be given opportunities to make connections between resources and their daily lives.

• Understand that not all resources can be replenished.

• Make informed choices in the use and conservation of natural resources and reusing and recycling of materials such as paper, aluminum, glass, cans, and plastic

UNIT 5: WEATHER & WATER CYCLES

The students will know:

• that there are recognizable patterns in the natural world and among the Sun, Earth, and Moon system.

• Water on the Earth is continuously moving through the water cycle..

• The Sun is the major source of energy in the water cycle process

The students will:

• Measure, record, and predict changes in the weather using tools, such as thermometers.

• Have opportunities to use tools to collect weather data.

• Understand that weather maps are useful for making predictions.

• Understand that the Sun provides the heat energy for evaporation but is also responsible for the heating of air to cause wind in the process of moving clouds or water vapor.

UNIT 6: CHANGES TO LAND

The students will know:

• Earth consists of useful resources and its surface is constantly changing.

• Wind, water, and ice can cause changes to Earth’s surface slowly over time.

• Earth’s materials can be changed by weathering, erosion, and deposition.

• We can observe the results of weathering, erosion, and deposition on Earth’s surface.

The students will:

• Have opportunities to see the effects of wind, water, or ice in hands-on experiments in order to realize what happens on the Earth’s surface.

• Understand that some of these processes take thousands or millions of years to happen.

• Have opportunities to represent the natural world using models such as rivers, stream tables, or fossils and identify their limitations, including accuracy and size

UNIT 7: PATTERNS ON EARTH

The student knows:

• that there are recognizable patterns in the natural world and among the Sun, Earth, and Moon system.

• We can collect and analyze data to predict patterns of change observable on Earth.

• Shadows and seasons depend on the position of the Earth in it's orbit around the Sun including direct or indirect sunlight. For example, at noon and warmer months we have direct sunlight with the sun right overhead and in the morning/cooler months we have indirect sunlight resulting in longer shadows and cooler temperatures.

• The Moon’s appearance changes in the same pattern each month and can be predicted. ​​

The students will:

• Have opportunities to collect real data and notice observable patterns.

• Understand that patterns such as the appearance of the moon can be predicted based on the position of Earth in it's orbit. Students should be analyzing their data collected in order to make predictions on moon phases, shadows, and seasons

• Observe and identify that Earth receives more direct light in Spring and Summer and less direct light in Fall and Winter

UNIT 8: CLASSIFYING MATTER AND MIXTURES

Students will know:

• Physical properties of matter, including size, mass, volume, temperature, magnetism, the ability to sink or float, and states of matter

• The properties of matter determine how it is classified, changes, and used

• Mixtures are a combination of two or more items

• A solution is a special kind of mixture, where two or more items are combined and evenly distributed throughout

Students will be able to:

• Measure, compare, and contrast physical properties of matter (solid, liquid, gas)

• Predict changes caused by heating and cooling, such as evaporation and condensation

• Collect, record, and analyze information using a variety of tools

• Compare and contrast a variety of mixtures and solutions

• Plan and conduct descriptive investigations

UNIT 9: FORMS OF ENERGY

Students will know:

• There are many different forms of energy, including mechanical, sound, electrical, light, and thermal

• We can observe and differentiate between forms of energy

• Light bulbs, toasters, fans, and television are common objects that produce or use light, heat, mechanical, sound, and light energy

Students will be able to:

• Explore differences between common forms of energy

• Understand that forms of energy can be used to produce other forms such as electrical energy to produce light energy in a lamp

• Observe objects that demonstrate more than one form of energy at a time. For example, a fan may produce sound and mechanical energy

UNIT 10: ELECTRICITY, CONDUCTORS, AND INSULATORS

Students will know:

• Conductors allow electrical or thermal energy to pass through easily, Insulators are materials that do not allow thermal energy to move through them easily. Insulators resist the flow of electricity.

Implications for Instruction

Students will:

• Have opportunities to explore differences between conductors and insulators in real world examples, such as coolers on the beach or metal spoons in hot tea.

• Test different materials, such as plastic, paper, styrofoam, and aluminum foil to test whether they are good conductors of thermal energy. Students should collect and analyze data to make comparisons.

• Should use the circuits they make to test a variety of materials, such as aluminum foil, steel, plastic, paper, and styrofoam to see which are conductors and which are insulators of electrical energy.

• Open and close circuits using switches.

UNIT 11: INVESTIGATING FORCES

Students will know:

• energy exists in many forms and can be observed in cycles, patterns, and systems.

Students will:

• Design a descriptive investigation to explore the effect of force on an object such as a push or a pull, gravity, friction, or magnetism

• Have opportunities to design tests in different ways and challenged to be creative with their choices.

• Understand that there are multiple ways of answering the same question.

• Plan and conduct investigations with one variable, as well as perform repeated investigations to increase reliability of results