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Use scientific methods to observe, collect, record, analyze, predict, interpret, and determine reasonableness of data.
Kindergarten
1. Use observation and questioning skills in science inquiry (e.g., What happens
when something is pushed or pulled?).
2. Ask and answer questions about surroundings and share findings with classmates.
3. Record observations and data with pictures, numbers, and/or symbols.
1st Grade
1. Make observations, develop simple questions, and make comparisons of familiar
situations (e.g., What does the seed look like when it starts to grow?).
2. Describe relationships between objects (e.g., above, next to, below) and
predict the results of changing the relationships (e.g., When that block moves,
what will happen to the one next to it?).
2nd Grade
1. Conduct simple investigations (e.g., measure the sizes of plants of the
same kind that are grown in sunlight and in shade).
2. Use tools to provide information not directly available through only the
senses (e.g., magnifiers, rulers, thermometers).
3. Make predictions based on observed patterns as opposed to random guessing.
4. Follow simple instructions for a scientific investigation.
3rd Grade
1. Make new observations when discrepancies exist between two descriptions
of the same object or phenomenon to improve accuracy.
2. Recognize the difference between data and opinion.
3. Use numerical data in describing and comparing objects, events, and measurements.
4. Collect data in an investigation and analyze those data.
5. Know that the same scientific laws govern investigations in different times
and places (e.g., gravity, growing plants).
4th Grade
1. Use instruments to perform investigations (e.g., timers, balances) and
communicate findings.
2. Differentiate observation from interpretation and understand that a scientific
explanation comes in part from what is observed and in part from how the observation
is interpreted.
3. Conduct multiple trials to test a prediction, draw logical conclusions,
and construct and interpret graphs from measurements.
4. Collect data in an investigation using multiple techniques, including control
groups, and analyze those data to determine what other investigations could
be conducted to validate findings.
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Use scientific thinking and knowledge and communicate findings.
Kindergarten
1. Communicate observations and answer questions about surroundings.
1st Grade
1. Know that simple investigations do not always turn out as planned.
2nd Grade
1. Understand that in doing science it is often helpful to work with a team
and share findings.
2. Make accurate observations and communicate findings about investigations.
3rd Grade
1. Use a variety of methods to display data and present findings.
2. Understand that predictions are based on observations, measurements, and
cause-and-effect relationships.
4th Grade
1. Communicate ideas and present findings about scientific investigations
that are open to critique from others.
2. Describe how scientific investigations may differ from one another (e.g.,
observations of nature, measurements of things changing over time).
3. Understand how data are used to explain how a simple system functions (e.g.,
a thermometer to measure heat loss as water cools).
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Use mathematical skills and vocabulary to analyze data, understand patterns and relationships, and communicate findings.
Kindergarten
1. Observe and describe the relative sizes and characteristics of objects
(e.g., bigger, brighter, louder, smellier).
1st Grade
1. Use numbers and mathematical language (e.g., "addition" instead
of "add to," "subtraction" instead of "take away")
to describe phenomena.
2nd Grade
1. Record observations on simple charts or diagrams.
2. Measure length, weight, and temperature with appropriate tools and express
those measurements in accurate mathematical language.
3rd Grade
1. Use numerical data in describing and comparing objects, events, and measurements.
2. Pose a question of interest and present observations and measurements with
accuracy.
3. Use various methods to display data and present findings and communicate
results in accurate mathematical language.
4th Grade
1. Conduct multiple trials using simple mathematical techniques to make and
test predictions.
2. Use mathematical equations to formulate and justify predictions based on
cause-and-effect relationships.
3. Identify simple mathematical relationships in a scientific investigation
(e.g., the relationship of the density of materials that will or will not float
in water to the density of water).
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Use scientific methods to develop questions, design and conduct experiments using appropriate technologies, analyze and evaluate results, make predictions, and communicate findings.
5th Grade
1. Plan and conduct investigations, including formulating testable questions,
making systematic observations, developing logical conclusions, and communicating
findings.
2. Use appropriate technologies (e.g., calculators, computers, balances, spring
scales, microscopes) to perform scientific tests and to collect and display
data.
3. Use graphic representations (e.g., charts, graphs, tables, labeled diagrams)
to present data and produce explanations for investigations.
4. Describe how credible scientific investigations use reproducible elements
including single variables, controls, and appropriate sample sizes to produce
valid scientific results.
5. Communicate the steps and results of a scientific investigation.
6th Grade
1. Construct appropriate graphs from data and develop qualitative and quantitative
statements about the relationships between variables being investigated.
2. Examine the reasonableness of data supporting a proposed scientific explanation.
3. Justify predictions and conclusions based on data.
7th Grade
1. Use a variety of print and web resources to collect information, inform
investigations, and answer a scientific question or hypothesis.
2. Use models to explain the relationships between variables being investigated.
8th Grade
1. Evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of data and observations.
2. Use a variety of technologies to gather, analyze and interpret scientific
data.
3. Know how to recognize and explain anomalous data.
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Understand the processes of scientific investigation and how scientific inquiry results in scientific knowledge.
5th Grade
1. Understand that different kinds of investigations are used to answer different
kinds of questions (e.g., observations, data collection, controlled experiments).
2. Understand that scientific conclusions are subject to peer and public review.
6th Grade
1. Understand that scientific knowledge is continually reviewed, critiqued,
and revised as new data become available.
2. Understand that scientific investigations use common processes that include
the collection of relevant data and observations, accurate measurements, the
identification and control of variables, and logical reasoning to formulate
hypotheses and explanations.
3. Understand that not all investigations result in defensible scientific
explanations.
7th Grade
1. Describe how bias can affect scientific investigation and conclusions.
2. Critique procedures used to investigate a hypothesis.
3. Analyze and evaluate scientific explanations.
8th Grade
1. Examine alternative explanations for observations.
2. Describe ways in which science differs from other ways of knowing and from
other bodies of knowledge (e.g., experimentation, logical arguments, skepticism).
3. Know that scientific knowledge is built on questions posed as testable
hypotheses, which are tested until the results are accepted by peers.
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Use mathematical ideas, tools, and techniques to understand scientific knowledge.
5th Grade
1. Use appropriate units to make precise and varied measurements.
2. Use mathematical skills to analyze data.
3. Make predictions based on analyses of data, observations, and explanations.
4. Understand the attributes to be measured in a scientific investigation
and describe the units, systems, and processes for making the measurement.
6th Grade
1. Evaluate the usefulness and relevance of data to an investigation.
2. Use probabilities, patterns, and relationships to explain data and observations.
7th Grade
1. Understand that the number of data (sample size) influences the reliability
of a prediction.
2. Use mathematical expressions to represent data and observations collected
in scientific investigations.
3. Select and use an appropriate model to examine a phenomenon.
8th Grade
1. Use mathematical expressions and techniques to explain data and observations
and to communicate findings (e.g., formulas and equations, significant figures,
graphing, sampling, estimation, mean).
2. Create models to describe phenomena.
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Use accepted scientific methods to collect, analyze, and interpret data and observations and to design and conduct scientific investigations and communicate results.
1. Describe the essential components of an investigation,
including appropriate methodologies, proper equipment, and safety precautions.
2. Design and conduct scientific investigations that include:
- testable hypotheses
- controls and variables
- methods to collect, analyze, and interpret data
- results that address hypotheses
being investigated
- predictions based on results
- re-evaluation of hypotheses and additional experimentation
as necessary
- error
analysis.
3. Use appropriate technologies to collect, analyze, and communicate
scientific data (e.g., computers, calculators, balances, microscopes).
4. Convey results of investigations using scientific concepts, methodologies,
and expressions, including:
- scientific language and symbols
- diagrams, charts, and other data displays
- mathematical expressions and processes
(e.g., mean, median, slope, proportionality)
- clear, logical, and concise communication
- reasoned arguments
5. Understand how scientific theories are used to explain
and predict natural phenomena (e.g., plate tectonics, ocean currents, structure
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Understand that scientific processes produce scientific knowledge that is continually evaluated, validated, revised, or rejected.
1. Understand how scientific processes produce valid, reliable results, including:
- consistency
of explanations with data and observations
- openness to peer review
- full disclosure and examination of assumptions
- testability of hypotheses
- repeatability of experiments and reproducibility
of results.
2. Use scientific
reasoning and valid logic to recognize:
- faulty logic
- cause and effect
- the difference between observation and unsubstantiated inferences
and conclusions
- potential bias
3. Understand how new data and observations can result in new
scientific knowledge.
4. Critically analyze an accepted explanation by reviewing current scientific
knowledge.
5. Examine investigations of current interest in science (e.g., superconductivity,
molecular machines, age of the universe).
6. Examine the scientific processes and logic used in investigations of past
events (e.g., using data from crime scenes, fossils), investigations that can
be planned in advance but are only done once (e.g., expensive or time-consuming
experiments such as medical clinical trials), and investigations of phenomena
that can be repeated easily and frequently.
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Use mathematical concepts, principles, and expressions to analyze data, develop models, understand patterns and relationships, evaluate findings, and draw conclusions.
1. Create multiple displays of data to analyze and explain the relationships
in scientific investigations.
2. Use mathematical models to describe, explain, and predict natural phenomena.
3. Use technologies to quantify relationships in scientific hypotheses (e.g.,
calculators, computer spreadsheets and databases, graphing software, simulations,
modeling).
4. Identify and apply measurement techniques and consider possible effects
of measurement errors.
5. Use mathematics to express and establish scientific relationships (e.g.,
scientific notation, vectors, dimensional analysis).
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