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Enduring Understandings
- important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the
instruction received this year.
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Constancy and Change: Although most things are in the process of changing, some
properties remain constant (i.e. the speed of light). (Earth/Space
Science)
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An ecosystem is a community of organisms that interact with
each other and the environment. Humans may affect ecosystems in many
ways. (Earth/Space Science)
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Change takes place over time. Patterns of interaction and
change are useful in explaining landforms. (Earth/Space Science)
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Interdependence: Living things interact with one another and their
environment for existence and balance. (Life Science)
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An ecosystem is a community of organisms that interact with each other and
the environment. Humans may affect ecosystems in many ways. (Life
Science)
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Order and Organization of Systems: A system consists of components/parts that
interact. (Physical Science)
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Levers and Pulleys are simple machine systems that can provide a mechanical
advantage. (Physical Science)
Essential Questions
- most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer
after completing learning activities.
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What common vocabulary should be used when
conducting an investigation? Why are predictions an important part of the
scientific process? How can we make better predictions? Why should we follow a plan when conducting an
investigation? What tools are available and how can they be used
to gather data when conducting an investigation? How does data help us explain our investigation?
What are some of the ways we can collect data? How can we communicate the results of our
investigation to others? How can a plan be written to allow someone else
to follow the directions? How can we make sure our data is accurate? How
can we visually represent data? How can errors in data be discovered? What are
the components of a graph? How does data help us make better predictions?
How can models be used to help explain/study science? What tools are available to help gather data?
When are these tools used?
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What is an ecosystem? What are the
living/nonliving parts of an ecosystem? How do terrarium organisms differ from aquarium
organisms? How do specific characteristics help an organism
survive? What is necessary for organisms to survive within
a system? What adaptations do specific organisms have to
allow it to live in their environment? What is the ecosystem represented by the
eco-column? How are the plants needs met in an ecosystem? What kinds of organisms are in an ecosystem? Who
consumes whom? How is the energy transferred within an
ecosystem? What is the relationship between consumers and
producers in an ecosystem? What are the stages in the life cycle of a
mosquito fish and seed and how are they affected by non-living
factors?
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What are some of the major features of the
Earth's surface? How is water essential to living things and in
what ways does water affect the shape of land? How would a flood affect a human developed area?
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What are some different simple machines? How can a lever and pulley make work easier and
how much effort is needed to lift the load? Which lever/pulley system gives the greatest
advantage? What are the parts of a lever system? How can a
lever system be changed? What is effort and how does it apply to simple
machines? How many ways can lever and pulley systems be assembled?
How might you utilize a simple machine to create a device to solve a
problem?
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How has technology changed our lives? What are
some careers that involve science and technology?
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Why are safety procedures important?
 Highest
Frequency Standards
 High
Frequency Standards
 Other
Standards & E-skills
Standard 1:
Students
apply the process of scientific investigation and design, conduct,
communicate about, and evaluate such investigations.
Standard 1 Benchmarks: Grades 3-5
1. design, plan and conduct a variety of simple investigations (for example:
formulate a testable question, state a hypothesis, make systematic
observations, develop and communicate logical conclusions based on evidence
2. select and use appropriate tools and technology to gather and display (
for example: graphs, charts, diagrams ) quantitative and qualitative data
related to an investigation (for example: length, volume, and mass measuring
instruments, thermometers, watches, magnifiers, microscopes, calculators,
and computers)
Standard 2: Physical Science: Student know and understand common
properties, forms, and changes in matter and energy. (Focus: Physics and
Chemistry)
Standard 2 Benchmarks: Grades 3-5
1. objects have physical properties that can be measured (for example:
length, mass, volume and temperature)
2. measurable physical properties can be compared before and after
effecting a change to verify a change has occurred and used to predict its
outcome in similar circumstances
3. matter is made up of parts that are too small to be seen
4. matter exists in physical states (solid, liquid, gas) and can change
from one state to another
5. there are different types and sources of energy ( for example: light,
heat, motion)
6. electricity in circuits can produce light, heat, sound and magnetic
effects
7. there are different types of forces (for example: gravity and magnetism)
8. changes in speed or direction of motion are caused by forces
Standard 3:
Life Science: Students know and understand the characteristics and structure
of living things, the processes of life, and how living things interact with
each other and their environment. (Focus: Biology – anatomy, Physiology,
Botany, Zoology, Ecology)
Standard 3 Benchmarks: Grades 3-5
1. each plant or animal has different structures and behaviors that serve
different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction
2. green plants need energy from sunlight and various raw materials to
live, and animals consume plants and other organisms to live
3. human body systems have basic structures, functions and needs (for
example: digestive, respiratory, circulatory, skeletal, muscular)
4. there is interaction and interdependence between and among nonliving and
living components of ecosystems ( for example: food webs, symbiotic and
parasitic relationships, dependence on rainfall, pollination)
5. life cycles vary from organism to organism (for example: frog, chicken,
butterfly, radish, bean plant)
6. fossils can be compared to one another and to living organisms according
to their similarities and differences
7. there are similarities and differences in appearance among individual
organisms ( for example: plants vs. animals, vertebrate vs. invertebrate )
Standard 4:
Earth
and Space Science: Students know and understand the processes and
interactions of Earth’s systems and the structure and dynamics of Earth and
other objects in space. (Focus: Geology, Meteorology, Astronomy,
Oceanography)
Standard 4 Benchmarks: Grades 3-5
1. fossils are evidence of past life
2. natural processes change Earth's surface (for example: weathering,
erosion, mountain building, volcanic activity, earthquakes and floods)
3. many of the Earth’s resources can be conserved, recycled and depleted
4. weather is different from climate
5. most of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, that most of the water
is salt water in the oceans, and that fresh water is found in rivers, lakes,
underground sources and glaciers
6. water exists on Earth in different states (solid, liquid, gas) and
changes from one state to another (for example: evaporation, condensation
and precipitation)
7. there are basic components of the solar system (for example: Sun,
planets, moons)
8. the Earth and Sun provide a diversity of resources (for example: soils,
fuels, minerals, medicines and food)
9. the rotation of the Earth on its axis, in relation to the Sun, produces
the day-and-night cycle and the orbit of the Earth around the Sun completes
one year
Standard 5:
Students
understand that the nature of science involves a particular way of building
knowledge and making meaning of the natural world.
Standard 5 Benchmarks: Grades 3-5
1. when a science experiment is repeated with the same conditions, the
experiment generally works the same
2. models are used to represent events and objects (for example: comparing
a map of the school to the actual school; a model of the Earth to the Earth
itself )
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