Science Curriculum
Course Purpose and Outcomes
Kindergarten
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Course Purpose: |
Kindergarten students will ask and answer questions to determine cause and effect relationships. |
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Outcome # |
Outcome |
| SC.K.1 | Students will make observations to describe how different objects move and evaluate the effects of different strengths and directions of pushes and pulls. Students will design a solution to change the effects of pushes and pulls. |
| SC.K.2 | Students will use observations about sunlight to explain the effect of sunlight on Earth’s surface and verify the relationship of sunlight, temperature, and the needs of plants and animals. Students will construct and evaluate structures that directly impact the effect of sunlight on an area. |
| SC.K.3 | Students will characterize patterns and variations in weather. Students will relate the purpose of predicting the weather to different types of weather, including severe weather and communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of outside influences on the environment. |
1st Grade
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Course Purpose: |
First grade students will characterize and describe the relationship between structure and function. |
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Outcome # |
Outcome |
| SC.1.1 | Students will observe, describe, and predict the patterns of movement of objects in the sky. |
| SC.1.2 | Students will illustrate the relationship between sounds and vibrations in order to evaluate the design and use of communication devices. |
| SC.1.3 | Students will verify that light travels from place to place and a beam of light can be obstructed by placing items in its path in order to design and build a device that uses light to solve problems. Students will make predictions for results of obstructions and evaluate the effects. |
| SC.1.4 | Students will relate the structure and behavior of plants and animals to their survival and growth. Students will compare and contrast the behaviors of parents and offspring to describe their similarities and differences. |
2nd Grade
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Course Purpose: |
Second grade students will develop and use models to explain similarities and differences among processes and objects. |
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Outcome # |
Outcome |
| SC.2.1 | Students will analyze various materials for their observable properties to evaluate the purposes for which they are best suited. Students will construct evidence-based arguments that some chemical reactions can be reversed while others cannot. |
| SC.2.2 | Students will use the characteristics of the various types of land and bodies of water to explain the slow and fast changes that have shaped the Earth. Students will compare design solutions to prevent or slow such changes. |
| SC.2.3 | Students will determine what plants need to grow and survive and characterize how animals aid in plant reproduction (seed dispersal and pollination) and develop a model that mimics this process. Students will compare living things to diversity in habitats. |
3rd Grade
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Course Purpose: |
Third grade students will verify the relationship between cause and effect. |
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Outcome # |
Outcome |
| SC.3.1 | Students will characterize ecosystems, the dynamics between the parts of an environment, and how organisms respond to changes. |
| SC.3.2 | Students will evaluate organisms in an area and describe environmental changes that may cause adaptations and affect the traits of those organisms. |
| SC.3.3 | Students will organize and use data to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season and devise plans to reduce the effects of hazardous weather events. |
4th Grade
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Course Purpose: |
Fourth grade students will generate and compare explanations in order to describe patterns. |
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Outcome # |
Outcome |
| SC.4.1 | Students will examine the effects of weather and Earth’s features to determine their effects on Earth’s systems and to determine changes in landscapes over time. Students will investigate and describe the ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere interact. |
| SC.4.2 | Students will characterize forms of energy, describe wave structure to carry energy, and explain how energy is conserved when it is transformed from one form to another. |
| SC.4.3 | Students will investigate and verify the effects of force on the motion of objects. |
5th Grade
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Course Purpose: |
Fifth grade students will evaluate the effects of patterns on processes or objects. |
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Outcome # |
Outcome |
| SC.5.1 | Students will evaluate and identify patterns of recurring change by examining the movement of Earth. |
| SC.5.2 | Students will investigate and graph the different types of water found on Earth and characterize water’s multiple roles in survival of organisms. |
| SC.5.3 | Students will investigate and describe the flow of energy through an ecosystem and verify the cause and effect relationship among interdependent organisms within food chains and food webs. |
| SC.5.4 | Students will examine forms of matter, identify materials based on their properties, and provide evidence for the law of conservation of matter. |
6th Grade
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Course Purpose: |
Sixth grade students will use earth/space science, life science, and physical science principles to identify and describe interactions between them. |
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Outcome # |
Outcome |
| SC.6.1 | Students will develop models of simple atoms and their extended structures and model how energy and matter changes phases. |
| SC.6.2 | Students will investigate and analyze the properties of substances to identify and differentiate between pure substances and mixtures. |
| SC.6.3 | Students will characterize various types of cells and illustrate the anatomy of basic parts of the cell. Students will collect evidence to develop and support a claim for Cell Theory. |
| SC.6.4 | Students will develop a model for Earth’s surface processes with the sun and gravity being the driving force through Earth’s system. |
| SC.6.5 | Students will investigate and develop a model for how wind and air mass interactions result in changes in weather. |
| SC.6.6 | Students will design a model to verify the relationship among weather, climate and oceanic currents |
| SC.6.7 | Students will model how energy moves through an organism and its ecosystem and design a food web for an ecosystem in order to describe its relationships to biotic and abiotic factors and the impacts on the environment. |
7th Grade
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Course Purpose: |
Seventh grade students will apply earth/space science, life science, and physical science principles to precisely define the world they see. |
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Outcome # |
Outcome |
| SC.7.1 | Students will use evidence from fossil history and Earth’s structures to explain the accepted geologic time scale. |
| SC.7.2 | Students will use the principles of continental drift and plate tectonics to explain current and historical land formations and to characterize ongoing changes in Earth’s structure. |
| SC.7.3 | Students will evaluate the role of weathering and erosion to describe the various cycles of building and destroying Earth structures. |
| SC.7.4 | Students will compare the creation, availability, use, and impact of renewable and nonrenewable energy resources. |
| SC.7.5 | Students will apply Newton’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Laws of Motion to describe everyday observations of objects in motion. |
| SC.7.6 | Students will characterize the relationship between potential and kinetic energy and describe how it is expressed in observed motion, speed, and acceleration. |
| SC.7.7 | Students will show relationships between electrical and magnetic energy. |
| SC.7.8 | Students will model the properties of various waves, absorption, reflection, transmission, refraction of waves, and determine how light is produced, through various media. |
8th Grade
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Course Purpose: |
Eighth grade students will use scientific principles to quantify interactions among the components of the world they see. |
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Outcome # |
Outcome |
| SC.8.1 | Students will develop models that describe gravity's effect on the galaxy, solar system, Sun, Earth, and Moon systems. |
| SC.8.2 | Students will analyze the structure of the periodic table to model atomic structure, their extended structures, and combined substances. |
| SC.8.3 | Students will determine signs of a chemical reaction and develop a model to support the law of conservation of matter. |
| SC.8.4 | Students will design a model of an organism which describes its reproductive parts, how it has adapted to its environment, and determine its ability to successfully reproduce. |
| SC.8.5 | Students will use Punnett Squares and other tools to identify and predict how traits are or have been transferred from parent to offspring. |
| SC.8.6 | Students will evaluate mutations of genes to determine probability of passing on a disorder. |
| SC.8.7 | Students will investigate and compare and contrast the traits and the change of an organism over time to determine its likelihood of survival in an environment. |
| SC.8.8 | Students will relate photosynthesis to respiration in plants and verify the role of water in survival of plants. |