Curriculum Expectations

Science Curriculum

UNDERSTANDING LIFE SYSTEMS

HABITATS AND COMMUNITIES

2. Developing Investigation and Communication Skills

2.3 use scientific inquiry/research skills (see page 15) to investigate ways in which plants and animals in a community depend on features of their habitat to meet important needs (e.g., beavers use water for shelter [they build their lodges so the entrance is under water], food [cattails, water lilies, and other aquatic plants], and protection [they slap their tails on the water to warn of danger])

2.5 use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including habitat, population, community, adaptation, and food chain, in oral and written communication  

3. Understanding Basic Concepts

3.1 demonstrate an understanding of habitats as areas that provide plants and animals with the necessities of life (e.g., food, water, air, space, and light)

3.6 identify animals that are carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores

3.7 describe structural adaptations that allow plants and animals to survive in specific habitats (e.g., the thick stem of a cactus stores water for the plant; a duck's webbed feet allow it to move quickly and efficiently in water)

Language Curriculum

Reading

Demonstrating Understanding

1.4 demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts by summarizing important ideas and citing supporting details (e.g., make an outline of a section from a textbook in another subject to prepare for a test)

Writing

Research

1.3 gather information to support ideas for writing using a variety of strategies and oral, print, and electronic sources (e.g., identify key words to help narrow their searches; cluster ideas; develop a plan for locating information; scan texts for specific information, including teacher readalouds, mentor texts, reference texts, shared-, guided-, and independent-reading texts, and media texts)

Classifying Ideas

1.4 sort and classify ideas and information for their writing in a variety of ways (e.g., by underlining key words and phrases; by using graphic and print organizers such as mind maps, concept maps, timelines, jot notes, bulleted lists)

Organizing Ideas

1.5 identify and order main ideas and supporting details and group them into units that could be used to develop a summary, using a variety of graphic organizers (e.g., a Venn diagram, a paragraph frame) and organizational patterns (e.g., generalization with supporting information, cause and effect)

Creating Media Texts

Conventions and Techniques

3.3 identify conventions and techniques appropriate to the form chosen for a media text they plan to create

Producing Media Texts

3.4 produce media texts for specific purposes and audiences, using a few simple media forms and appropriate conventions and techniques