The STANDARDS CORRELATION chart suggests which Kansas Curricular Standards for Science Education you can cover using PASSPORT TO ANTARCTICA in your classroom. We hope you will discover additional standards you can use. These are the ones our Instructional Materials Development team felt most directly related to the activities contained in PASSPORT TO ANTARCTICA.
For additional Kansas Curricular Standards for Science Education you can cover see the STANDARDS CORRELATION chart for the following PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE projects:
PASSPORT TO WEATHER AND CLIMATE
End of Second Grade, End of Fourth Grade, End of Eighth Grade, End of Twelfth Grade
As a result of the activities in grades K-2, all students will experience science as full inquiry.
In the elementary grades, students begin to develop the physical and intellectual abilities of
scientific inquiry.
Benchmark 1: All students will be involved in activities that develop skills necessary to conduct
scientific inquiries. These activities involve asking a simple question, completing an investigation,
answering the question, and presenting the results to others. Not every activity will involve all of these
stages nor must any particular sequence of these stages be followed.
The students will:
4 1. Identify characteristics of objects.
Example: State characteristics of leaves, shells, water, and air.
video 4 2. Classify and arrange groups of objects by a variety of characteristics.
Example: Group seeds by color, texture, size; group objects by whether they float
or sink; group rocks by texture, color, and hardness.
video 4 3. Use appropriate materials and tools to collect information.
Example: Use magnifiers, balances, scales, thermometers, measuring cups, and
spoons when engaged in investigations.
video 4.4. Ask and answer questions about objects, organisms, and events in their environment.
Example: Observe and ask questions about a variety of objects and discuss how
they are alike and different.
video 4 5. Describe an observation orally or pictorially.
Example: Draw pictures of plant growth on a daily basis; note color, number of
leaves.
video As a result of the activities for grades K-2, all students will begin to develop an
understanding of biological concepts.
Benchmark 1: All students will develop an understanding of the characteristics of living things.
Through direct experiences, students will observe living things, their life cycles, and their habitats.
The students will:
4 1. Discuss that living things need air, water, and food.
Example: What children need...what plants need...what animals need.
video 4.2. Observe life cycles of different living things.
Example: Observe butterflies, mealworms, plants, and humans.
video 4.3. Observe living things in various environments.
Example: Observe classroom plants; take nature walks and field trips in their own
area; observe terrariums and aquariums.
video 4 4. Examine the structures of living things.
Example: Butterflies have wings. Plants have leaves and roots. People have skin
and hair.
video As a result of the activities for grades K-2, all students will have a variety of educational
experiences that involve science and technology.
Benchmark 1: All students will use technology to learn about the world around them.
Students will use software and other technological resources to discover the world around them.
The students will:
4.1. Explore the way things work.
Example: Observe the inner workings of non-working toys, clocks, telephones,
toasters, music boxes.
video 4 2. Experience science through technology.
Example: Use science software programs, balances, thermometers, hand lenses,
and bug viewers.
video As a result of the activities for grades K-2, all students will have a variety of experiences
that provide understandings for various science-related personal and environmental
challenges.
This standard should be integrated with physical science, life science, and earth and space science
Benchmark 1: All students will demonstrate responsibility for their own health.
Health encompasses safety, personal hygiene, exercise, and nutrition.
The students will:
4 1. Be involved in explorations that make them wonder and know that they are practicing
science.
Examples: Observe what happens when you place a banana or an orange (with and
without the skin), or a crayon in water. Observe what happens when you
hold an M&M, a chocolate chip, or a raisin in your hand. Note the
changes. Observe what happens when you rub your hands together very
fast.
video 4.2. Use technology to learn about people in science.
Examples: Read short stories, and view films or videos. Invite parents who are
involved in science as guest speakers.
video 4.3. Discuss that safety and security are basic human needs.
Examples: Discuss the need to obey traffic signals, the use of crosswalks, and the
danger of talking to strangers.
video As a result of the activities for grades K-2, all students will experience scientific inquiry and
learn about people from history.
This standard should be integrated with physical science, life science, and earth and space science
standards.
Benchmark 1: All students will know they practice science.
The students will:
4 1. Be involved in explorations that make them wonder and know that they are practicing science.
video 4 2. Use technology to learn about people in science.
video As a result of the activities in grades 3-4, all students will experience science as inquiry.
Benchmark 1: All students will develop the skills necessary to do full inquiry. Full inquiry involves
asking a simple question, completing an investigation, answering the question, and sharing the
results with others. Not every activity will involve all of these stages nor must any particular sequences
of these stages be followed.
The students will:
4.1. Ask questions that they can answer by investigating.
Example: Will the size of the opening on a container change the rate of evaporation
of liquids? How much water will a sponge hold?
video 4.2. Plan and conduct a simple investigation.
Example: Design a test of the wet strength of paper towels; experiment with plant
growth; experiment to find ways to prevent soil erosion.
video 4 3. Employ appropriate equipment and tools to gather data.
Example: Use a balance to find the mass of the wet paper towel; use meter sticks to
measure the flight distance of a paper air plane; use the same size
containers to compare evaporation rates of different liquids.
video 4.4. Begin developing the abilities to communicate, critique, analyze their own investigations,
and interpret the work of other students.
Example: Describe investigations with pictures, written language, oral
presentations.
video As a result of the activities in grades 3-4, students will increase their understanding of the
properties of objects and materials that they encounter on a daily basis. Students will
compare, describe, and sort these materials by observable properties.
Benchmark 1: All students will develop skills to describe objects.
Through observation, manipulation, and classification of common objects, children reflect on the
similarities and differences of the objects.
The students will:
4.1. Observe properties and measure those properties using appropriate tools.
Example: Observe and record the size, weight, shape, color, and temperature of
objects using balances, thermometers, and other measurement tools.
video 4.2. Classify objects by the materials from which they are made.
Example: Group a set of objects by the materials from which they are made.
video 4.4. Observe and record how one object reacts with another object.
Example: Mix baking soda and vinegar and record observations.
video As a result of the activities for grades 3-4, all students will develop an understanding of
biological concepts through direct experience with living things, their life cycles, and their
habitats.
Benchmark 1: All students will develop a knowledge of organisms in their environment.
The study of organisms should include observations and interactions within the natural world of the child.
The students will:
4.1. Compare and contrast structural characteristics and functions of different organisms.
Example: Compare the structures for movement of a meal worm to the structures
for movement of a guppy. Compare the leaf structures of a sprouted
bean seed to the leaf structures of a corn seed.
video 4.2. Compare basic needs of different organisms in their environment.
Example: Compare the basic needs of an animal to the basic needs of a plant.
video 4.3. Discuss ways humans and other organisms use their senses in their environments.
Example: Compare how people and other living organisms get food, seek shelter,
and defend themselves.
video Benchmark 2: All students will observe and illustrate the life cycles of various organisms.
Plants and animals have life cycles that include being born, developing into adults, reproducing, and
eventually dying. Young organisms develop into adults that are similar to their parents.
The students will:
4.1. Compare, contrast, and ask questions about life cycles of various organisms.
Example: Plant a seed; observe and record its growth. Observe and record the
changes of an insect as it develops from birth to adult.
video As a result of the activities for grades 3-4, all students will have a variety of educational
experiences which involve science and technology. They will begin to understand the
design process, which includes this general sequence: state the problem, the design, and the
solution.
Benchmark 1: All students will work with a technology design.
The students will:
4.1. Identify a simple design problem; design a plan, implement the plan, evaluate the results,
and communicate the results.
Examples: Challenge the students to develop a better bubble-making solution using
detergent, glycerin, and water; try different kinds of tools for making the
biggest bubbles or the longest lasting bubbles.
video Benchmark 2: All students will apply their understanding about science and technology.
Children’s abilities in technological problem-solving can be developed by firsthand experiences in
tackling tasks with a technological purpose. They can study technological products and systems in their
world: zippers, coat hooks, can openers, bridges, paper clips.
The students will:
4 1. Discuss that science is a way of investigating questions about their world.
Examples: Why was a zipper designed? What problem did the zipper solve? How
has the zipper improved our lives? How is velcro like a zipper? What
problem does velcro solve? How has velcro improved our lives?
video 4.2. Invent a product to solve problems.
Examples: Invent a new use for old products: potato masher; strainer; carrot peeler;
or 2 liter pop bottle. Use a juice can, 2 liter pop bottle or one-half gallon
milk jug to invent something useful. Invent something to solve a
problem.
video 4.3. Work together to solve problems.
Examples: Solve a problem by working together, sharing ideas, and testing the
solutions.
video 4.4. Develop an awareness that women and men of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnic groups
engage in a variety of scientific and technological work.
Example: Interview parents and other community and school workers.
video 4.5. Investigate how scientists use tools to observe.
Examples: Engage in research on the Internet; interview the weatherman; conduct
research in the library; call or visit a laboratory.
video Benchmark 3: All students will distinguish between natural and human-made objects.
Some objects occur in nature; others have been designed and made by people to solve human problems
and enhance the quality of life.
The students will:
4.1. Compare, contrast, and sort human-made versus natural objects.
Example: Compare and contrast silk flowers to real flowers.
video 4 2. Use appropriate tools when observing natural and human-made objects.
Example: Use a magnifier when observing objects.
video 4.3. Ask questions about natural or human-made objects and discuss the reasoning behind
their answers.
Example: The teacher will ask, "Is this a human-made object? Why do you think
so?" When observing a natural or human-made object, the child will be
asked the reasoning behind his/her answer.
video As a result of the activities for grades 3-4, all students will demonstrate personal health and
environmental practices.
Benchmark 1: All students will develop an understanding of personal health.
Personal health involves physical and mental well being, including hygienic practices, and self-respect.
The students will:
4.1. Discuss that safety involves freedom from danger, risk, or injury.
Examples: Classroom discussions could include bike safety, water safety, weather
safety, sun protection.
video 4.2. Assume some responsibility for their own health.
Examples: Practice good dental hygiene and cleanliness. Discuss healthy exercise
and sleep habits.
video 4.3. Discuss that various foods contribute to health.
Examples: Read and compare nutrition information found on labels; discuss healthy
foods; make a healthy snack.
video Benchmark 2: All students will demonstrate an awareness of changes in the environment.
The students will:
4 1. Define pollution.
Example: Take a pollution walk, gathering examples of litter and trash.
video 4.2. Develop personal actions to solve pollution problems in and around the neighborhood.
Example: After the pollution walk, children could work in groups to solve pollution
problems they observed.
video 4.3. Practice reducing, reusing, and recycling.
Examples: Present the problem that paper is being wasted in the classroom. video As a result of the activities for grades 3-4, all students will experience some things about
scientific inquiry and learn about people from history.
Benchmark 1: All students will develop an awareness that people practice science.
The students will:
4 1. Recognize that students participate in science inquiry by asking questions.
Examples: Design an investigation to determine how plants are affected by various
amounts of light; to determine the "best" paper towel (define best); to
determine which liquid causes substances such as a jawbreaker,
chocolate candy, and Jell-O to dissolve quickest.
video 4.2. Observe, using various media, historical samples of people in science who have made
contributions.
Examples: Read short stories; view films or videos; discuss contributions made by
people in science.
video As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students will develop the abilities to do scientific
inquiry, be able to demonstrate how scientific inquiry is applied, and develop
understandings about scientific inquiry.
Benchmark 1: The students will demonstrate abilities necessary to do the processes of scientific
inquiry.
Teachers can facilitate success by providing guidelines or boundaries for studying inquiry. Teachers
assist students in choosing interesting questions, monitoring design plans, providing relevant examples of
effective observation and organization strategies, and checking and improving skills in the use of
instruments, technology, and techniques. Students at the middle level need special guidance in using
evidence to build explanations, inferences, and models, guidance to think critically and logically, and to
see the relationships between evidence and explanations.
The students will:
7.1. Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
Example : Explore properties and phenomena of materials, such as a balloon, string,
straw, and tape. Students explore properties and phenomena and generate
questions to investigate.
video 7.2. Design and conduct a scientific investigation.
Example: Students design and conduct an investigation on the question, 'Which
paper towel absorbs the most water?" Materials include different kinds of
paper towels, water, and a measuring cup. Components of the
investigation should include background and hypothesis, identification of
independent variable, dependent variable, constants, list of materials,
procedures, collection and analysis of data, and conclusions.
video 7.3. Use appropriate tools, mathematics, technology, and techniques to gather, analyze and
interpret data.
Example: Given an investigative question, students determine what to measure and
how to measure. Students should display their results in a graph or other
appropriate graphic format.
video 7.4. Think critically to identify the relationship between evidence and logical conclusions.
Example: Students check data to determine: Was the question answered? Was the
hypothesis supported/not supported? Did this design work? How could
this experiment be improved? What other questions could be
investigated?
video 7 5. Apply mathematical reasoning to scientific inquiry.
Examples: Look for patterns from the mean of multiple trials, such as the rate of
dissolving relative to different temperatures. Use observations for
inductive and deductive reasoning, such as explaining a person’s energy
level after a change in eating habits (e.g., use Likert-type scale). State
relationships in data, such as variables, which vary directly or inversely.
video 7 6. Communicate scientific procedures and explanations.
Example: Present a report of your investigation so that others understand it and can
replicate the design.
video Benchmark 2: The students will apply different kinds of investigations to different kinds of
questions.
To help focus, students need to frame questions such as "What do we want to find out?" "How can we
make the most accurate observations?" "If we do this, then what do we expect to happen?" Students
need instruction to develop the ability to refine and refocus broad and ill-defined questions.
The students will:
7 1. Differentiate between a qualitative and a quantitative investigation.
Example: While observing a decomposing compost pile, how could you collect
quantitative (numerical, measurable) data? How could you collect
qualitative (descriptive) data? What is a quantitative question? (e.g., is
the temperature constant throughout the compost pile?) What is a
qualitative question? (e.g., does the color of the compost pile change
over time?)
Examples: Each student designs a question to investigate. Class analyzes all
questions to classify as qualitative or quantitative.
After reading a science news article, identify variables and write a
qualitative and/or quantitative investigative question related to the topic
of the article.
video 10 2. Develop questions and adapt the inquiry process to guide an investigation.
Example: Adapt an existing lab or activity to: write a different question, identify
another variable, and/or adapt the procedure to guide a new investigation.
video Benchmark 3: The students will analyze how science advances through new ideas, scientific
investigations, skepticism, and examining evidence of varied explanations.
Scientific investigations often result in new ideas and phenomena for study. These generate new
investigations in the scientific community. Science advances through legitimate skepticism. Asking
questions and querying other scientists’ explanations is part of scientific inquiry. Scientists evaluate the
proposed explanations by examining and comparing evidence, identifying faulty reasoning, and
suggesting other alternatives.
Much time can be spent asking students to scrutinize evidence and explanations, but to develop critical
thinking skills students must be allowed this time. Data that are carefully recorded and communicated
can be reviewed and revisited frequently providing insights beyond the original investigative period. This
teaching and learning strategy allows students to discuss, debate, question, explain, clarify, compare, and
propose new thinking through social discourse. Students will apply this strategy to their own
investigations and to scientific theories.
The students will:
7 1. After doing an investigation, generate alternative methods of investigation and/or further
questions for inquiry.
Example: Ask "What would happen if...?" questions to generate new ideas for
investigation.
video 10 2. Determine evidence which supports or contradicts a scientific breakthrough.
Example: Examine and analyze a scientific breakthrough [such as a Hubble
discovery] using multiple, scientific sources. Explain how a reasonable
conclusion is supported.
video 10 3. Identify faulty reasoning or conclusions that go beyond evidence and/or are not supported
by data.
Example: Analyze evidence and data which support the theory of continental drift.
video As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students will apply process skills to explore and
understand structure and function in living systems, reproduction and heredity, regulation
and behavior, populations and ecosystems, and diversity and adaptations of organisms.
Benchmark 3: The students will describe the effects of a changing external environment on the
regulation/balance of internal conditions and processes of organisms.
This is an appropriate time to study the human nervous and endocrine systems. Students can compare and
contrast how messages are sent through the body and how the body responds. An example is how fright
causes changes within the body, preparing it for fighting or fleeing.
The students will:
7.1. Understand the effects of a change in environmental conditions on behavior of an
organism by carrying out a full investigation.
Examples: Select a variable to alter the environment (e.g., temperature, light,
moisture, gravity) and observe the effects on an organism (e.g., pillbug
or earthworm). Students could also think of their own behaviors and
determine environmental conditions that affect behavior.
video 7.2. Identify behaviors of an organism that are responses made to internal or environmental
stimuli.
Example: Observe the response of the body when competing in a running event. In
order to maintain body temperature, various systems begin cooling
through such processes as sweating and cooling the blood at the surface
of the skin.
video 10 3. Explain that all organisms must be able to maintain and regulate stable internal
conditions to survive in a constantly changing external environment.
Example: Investigate the effects of various stimuli on plants and how they adapt
their growth: phototropism, geotropism, and thermotropism are
examples.
video Benchmark 4: The students will identify and relate interactions of populations of organisms within
an ecosystem.
Middle level students understand populations and ecosystems best when they have an opportunity to
explore them actively. Taking students to a pond or a field, or even having them observe life under a
rotting log, allows them to identify and observe interactions between populations and identify the physical
conditions needed for their survival. A classroom terrarium, aquarium or river tank can serve as an
excellent model for observing ecosystems and changes and interactions that occur over time between
populations of organisms and changes in physical conditions. Constructing their own food webs, given a
set of organisms, helps students to see multiple relationships more clearly.
The students will:
7 1. Recognize that all populations living together and the physical factors with which they
interact compose an ecosystem.
Examples: Create a classroom terrarium and identify the interactions between the
populations and physical conditions needed for survival. Participate in a
field study examining the living and non-living parts of a community.
video 7.2. Classify organisms in a system by the function they serve (producers, consumers,
decomposers).
Example: Explore populations at a pond, field, forest floor, and/or rotting log. Have
students identify the various food webs and observe that organisms in a
system are classified by their function.
video 7.3. Trace the energy flow from the sun (source) to producers (chemical energy) to other
organisms in food webs.
Example: Role-play the interactions and energy flow of organisms in a food web.
Pass a ball of string among a circle of students who represent parts of a
food web (green plants, the sun, insects, etc.). The string connecting
students represents the relationships among food web components,
resulting in a web-like model.
video 7 4. Relate the limiting factors of biotic and abiotic resources with a species’ population
growth, decline, and survival.
Examples: Change variables such as a wheat crop yield, mice, or a predator, and
chart the possible outcomes. For example, how would a low population
of mice affect the population of the predator over time? Participate in a
simulation such as "Oh Deer" from Project Wild.
video Benchmark 5: The students will observe the diversity of living things and relate their adaptations
to their survival or extinction.
As they investigate different types of organisms, teachers guide students toward thinking about
similarities and differences. Students can compare similarities between organisms in different parts of the
world, such as tigers in Asia and mountain lions in North America to explore the concept of common
ancestry. Instruction needs to be designed to uncover and correct misconceptions about natural selection.
Students tend to think of all individuals in a population responding to change quickly rather than over a
long period of time. Using examples such as Darwin’s finches helps develop understanding of natural
selection over time. (Resource: The Beak of the Finch by Jonathon Weiner). Providing students with
fossil evidence and allowing them time to construct their own explanations is important in developing
middle level students’ understanding of extinction as a natural process that has affected earth’s species
over time.
The students will:
7 1. Conclude that millions of species of animals, plants, and microorganisms
may look dissimilar on the outside but have similarities in internal structures,
developmental characteristics, and chemical processes.
Examples: Research numerous organisms and create a classification system based
on observations of similarities and differences. Compare this system
with a dichotomous key used by scientists. Explore various ways
animals take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide.
video 7.2. Understand that adaptations of organisms - changes in structure, function, or behavior -contribute
to biological diversity.
Example: Compare characteristics of birds such as beaks, wings, and feet, with
how a bird behaves in its environment. Then students work in
cooperative groups to design different parts of an imaginary bird. Relate
characteristics and behaviors of that bird with its structures.
video 7.3. Associate extinction of a species with environmental changes and insufficient adaptive
characteristics.
Example: Students use various objects to model bird beaks, such as spoons,
toothpicks, clothespins. Students use "beaks" to "eat" several types of
food, such as cereal, raisins, noodles. When "food" sources change,
those species that have not adapted die.
video As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students will demonstrate abilities of technological
design and understandings about science and technology.
Benchmark 1: The students will demonstrate abilities of technological design.
Technological design focuses on creating new products for meeting human needs. Students need to
develop abilities to identify specific needs and design solutions for those needs. The tasks of
technological design include addressing a range of needs, materials, and aspects of science. Suitable
experiences could include designing inventions that meet a need in the student’s life.
Building a tower of straws is a good start for collaboration and work in design preparation and
construction. Students need to develop criteria for evaluating their inventions/products. These questions
could help develop criteria: Who will be the users of the product? How will we know
if the product meets their needs? Are there any risks to the design? What is the cost? How much time
will it take to build? Using their own criteria, students can design several ways of solving a problem and
evaluate the best approach. Students could keep a log of their designs and evaluations to communicate
the process of technological design. The log might address these questions: What is the function of the
device? How does the device work? How did students come up with the idea? What were the sequential
steps taken in constructing the design? What problems were encountered?
The students will:
7 1. Identify appropriate problems for technological design.
Examples: Design a measurement instrument (e.g., weather instruments) for a
science question that students are investigating. video 7.2. Design a solution or product, implement the proposed design, evaluate the product.
Example: Design, create and evaluate a product that meets a need or solves a
problem in a student’s life.
video 7.3. Communicate the process of technological design.
Example: Keep a log of designing (and building) a technology, then use the log to
explain the process.
video Benchmark 2: The students will develop understandings of the similarities, differences, and
relationships in science and technology.
Students may compare and contrast scientific discoveries with advances in technological design. Students
may select a device they use, such as a radio, microwave, or television, and compare it to one their
grandparents used.
The students will:
7 1. Compare the work of scientists with that of applied scientists and technologists.
Example: A scientist studies air pressure. A technologist designs an airplane wing. video 7.2. Evaluate limitations and trade-offs of technological solutions.
Example: Select a technology to evaluate using a graphic organizer. List uses,
limitations, possible consequences.
video 7.3. Identify contributions to science and technology by many people and many cultures.
Example: Using a map of the world, mark the locations for people and events that
have contributed to science.
video As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students will apply process skills to explore and
develop an understanding of issues of personal health, population, resources and
environment, and natural hazards.
Benchmark 2: The students will understand the impact of human activity on resources and
environment.
Teachers can help their students understand these global issues by starting locally. "What changes in the
atmosphere are caused by all the cars we use in our community?" Ground-level ozone indicators provide
an opportunity to quantify the effect. "After a heavy rain, where does the water go that runs off your
lawn?" "What happens to that water source if your lawn was fertilized just before the rain?" The role of
the teacher is to help students apply scientific understanding, gained through their own investigations, of
environmental issues. Teachers should help students base environmental decisions on understanding, not
emotion.
The students will:
7 1. Investigate the effects of human activities on the environment.
Examples: Count the number of cars that pass the school during a period of time.
Investigate the effects of traffic volume on environmental quality (e.g.,
water and air quality, plant health). video 7.2. Base decisions on perceptions of benefits and risks.
Example: Evaluate the benefits of burning fossil fuels to meet energy needs against
the risks of global warming.
video As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students will examine and develop an
understanding of science as a historical human endeavor.
Benchmark 1: The students will develop scientific habits of mind.
Teachers can support the development of scientific habits of mind by providing students with on-going
instruction using inquiry as a framework. Students can apply science concepts in investigations. They can
work individually and on teams while conducting inquiry. They can share their work through varied
mediums, and they can self-evaluate their learning. High expectations for accuracy, reliability, and
openness to differing opinions should be exercised. The indicators listed below can be embedded within
the other standards.
The students will:
4.1. Practice intellectual honesty.
Examples: Analyze news articles to evaluate if the articles apply statistics/data to
bring clarity, or if the articles use data to mislead. video 4.2. Demonstrate skepticism appropriately.
Example: Students will attempt to replicate an investigation to support or refute a
conclusion.
video 4.3. Display open-mindedness to new ideas.
Example: Share interpretations that differ from currently held explanations on
topics such as global warming and dietary claims. Evaluate the validity
of results and accuracy of stated conclusions.
video 4.4. Base decisions on evidence.
Example: Review results of individual, group, or peer investigations to assess the
accuracy of conclusions based upon data collection and analysis and use
of evidence to reach a conclusion.
video Benchmark 2: The students will research contributions to science throughout history.
Students should engage in research realizing that the process may be a small portion of a larger process or
of an event that takes place over a broad historical context. Teachers should focus on the contributions of
scientists and how the culture of the time influenced their work. Reading biographies, interviews with
scientists, and analyzing vignettes are strategies for understanding the role of scientists and the
contributions of science throughout history.
The students will:
4.1. Recognize that new knowledge leads to new questions and new discoveries.
Examples: Discuss discoveries that replaced previously held knowledge, such as
safety of freon or saccharine use, knowledge concerning the transmission
of AIDS, cloning, Pluto’s status as a planet.
video 4.2. Replicate historic experiments to understand principles of science.
Example: Rediscover principles of electromagnetism by replicating Oersted’s
compass needle experiment. (Compass needle deflects perpendicular to
current carrying wire.)
video 4.3. Relates contributions of men and women to the fields of science.
Example: Research the contributions of men and women of science, create a
timeline to demonstrate the ongoing contributions of dedicated scientists
from across ethnic, religious, and gender lines.
video As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students will develop the abilities necessary
to do scientific inquiry and understandings about scientific inquiry.
Benchmark 1: Students will demonstrate the fundamental abilities necessary to do scientific
inquiry.
Indicators: The students will:
10.1. Develop a rich understanding and curiosity of the natural (material) world through
experience.
Example: Students must have a rich set of experiences to draw on in order to ask
and evaluate research questions.
video 10.2. Develop questions and identify concepts that guide scientific investigations.
Examples: Formulate a testable hypothesis, where appropriate, and demonstrate the
logical connections between the scientific concepts guiding a hypothesis
and the design of an experiment. Demonstrate a knowledge base,
appropriate procedures, and conceptual understanding of scientific
investigations.
video 10.3. Design and conduct scientific investigations.
Examples: Requires introduction to the major concepts in the area being
investigated, proper equipment, safety precautions, assistance with
methodological problems, recommendations for use of technologies,
clarification of ideas that guide the inquiry, and scientific knowledge
obtained from sources other than the actual investigation. May also
require student clarification of the question, method (including
replication), controls, variables, display of data, revision of methods and
replication of explanations, followed by a public presentation of the
results with a critical response from peers. Always, students must use
evidence, apply logic, and construct an argument for their proposed
explanations.
video 10.4. Use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and communications.
Examples: A variety of technologies, such as hand tools, measuring instruments,
and calculators, should be an integral component of scientific
investigations. The use of computers for the collection, organization,
analysis, and display of data is also a part of this standard. Mathematics
plays an essential role in all aspects of an inquiry. Mathematical tools
and models guide and improve the posing of questions, gathering data,
constructing explanations, and communicating results.
Technology is used to gather and manipulate data. New techniques and
tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather
data, thereby contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and
precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration,
depends on the technology used.
video 10.5. Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic and evidence.
Example: Student inquiries should culminate in formulating an explanation or
model. Models can be physical, conceptual, or mathematical. In the
process of answering the questions, the students should engage in
discussions that result in the revision of their explanations.
Discussions should be based on scientific knowledge, the use of logic,
and evidence from their investigations.
video 10.6. Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models.
Example: Emphasize the critical abilities of analyzing an argument by reviewing
current scientific understanding, weighing the evidence, and examining
the logic so as to decide which explanations and models are best. In
other words, although there may be several plausible explanations,
students should be able to use scientific criteria to determine the
supported explanation(s).
video 10.7. Communicate and defend a scientific argument.
Example: These abilities include writing procedures, expressing concepts,
reviewing information, summarizing data, using language appropriately,
developing diagrams and charts, explaining statistical analysis, speaking
clearly and logically, constructing a reasoned argument, and responding
appropriately to critical comments.
video As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students will develop an understanding of
the cell, molecular basis of heredity, biological evolution, interdependence of organisms,
matter, energy, and organization in living systems, and the behavior of organisms.
Benchmark 3: Students will understand the major concepts of the theory of biological evolution.*
Indicators: The students will:
10.1. That the theory of evolution is both the history of descent, with modification of different
lineages of organisms from common ancestors, and the ongoing adaptation of organisms
to environmental challenges and changes (modified from Futuyma, et al., 1999).
video 10.2. That biologists use evolution theory to explain the earth’s present day
biodiversity-the number, variety and variability of organisms.
Example: Patterns of diversification and extinction of organisms are documented in
the fossil record. The fossil record provides evidence of simple,
bacteria-like life as far back as 3.8+ billion years ago.
Natural selection, and other processes, can cause populations to change
from one generation to the next.
A single population can separate into two or more independent
populations. Over time, these populations can also become very
different from each other. If the isolation continues, the genetic
separation may become irreversible. This process is called speciation.
Populations, and entire lineages, can go extinct. One effect of extinction
is to increase the apparent differences between populations. As
intermediate populations go extinct, the surviving lineages can become
more distinct from one another.
video 10.3. That biologists recognize that the primary mechanisms of evolution are natural selection
and genetic drift.
Example: Natural selection includes the following concepts: video 10.4. The sources and value of variation.
Examples: Variation of organisms within and among species increases the
likelihood that some members will survive under changed environmental
conditions.
New heritable traits primarily result from new combinations of genes and
secondarily from mutations or changes in the reproductive cells; changes
in other cells of a sexual organism are not passed to the next generation.
video 10 5. That evolution is a broad, unifying theoretical framework in biology.
Examples: Evolution provides the context in which to ask research questions and
yields valuable insights, especially in agriculture and medicine.
The common ancestry of living things allows them to be classified into a
hierarchy of groups; these classifications or family trees follow rules of
nomenclature; scientific names have unique definitions and value.
Natural selection and its evolutionary consequences provide a scientific
explanation for the fossil record that correlates with geochemical (e.g.,
radioisotope) dating results. The distribution of fossil and modern
organisms is related to geological and ecological changes (i.e. plate
tectonics, migration).
video Benchmark 4: Students will understand the interdependence of organisms and their interaction with the physical environment.
Indicators: The students will:
10 1. Atoms and molecules on the earth cycle among the living and nonliving components of
the biosphere.
Example: The chemical elements, essential elements of life, circulate in the
biosphere in characteristic paths known as biogeochemical cycles (e.g.,
nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus, etc).
video 10 2. Energy flows through ecosystems.
Examples: Organisms, ecosystems, and the biosphere possess thermodynamic
characteristics that exhibit a high state of internal order. Radiant energy
that enters the earth's surface is balanced by the energy that leaves the
earth's surface. video 10 3. Organisms cooperate and compete in ecosystems.
Example: The interrelationships and interdependence of organisms may generate
stable ecosystems.
video 10 4. Living organisms have the capacity to produce populations of infinite size, but
environments and resources are finite. This fundamental tension has profound effects on
the interactions among organisms.
Example: The presence and success of an organism, or a group of organisms,
depends upon a large number of environmental factors.
video 10 5. Human beings live within and impact ecosystems.
Example: Humans modify ecosystems as a result of population growth, technology,
and consumption. Human modifications of habitats through direct
harvesting, pollution, atmospheric changes, and other factors affect
ecosystem stability.
video Benchmark 5: Students will develop an understanding of matter, energy, and organization in living
systems.
Indicators: The students will:
10 1. Living systems require a continuous input of energy to maintain their chemical
and physical organization.
Example: All matter tends toward more disorganized states.
With death and the cessation of energy intake, living systems rapidly
disintegrate.
video 10 2. The sun is the primary source of energy for life through the process of photosynthesis.
Example: Plants capture energy by absorbing light and using it to form simple
sugars. The energy in these sugar molecules can be used to assemble
larger molecules with biological activity, including proteins, DNA,
carbohydrates, and fats. These molecules serve as sources of energy for
life processes.
video 10 3. Food molecules contain energy. This energy is made available by cellular respiration.
Examples: Energy is released when the bonds of food molecules are broken and new
compounds with lower energy bonds are formed.
Cells usually use this energy to regenerate ATP, the molecule involved in
cell metabolism.
video 10 4. The structure and function of an organism serve to acquire, transform, transport, release,
and eliminate the matter and energy used to sustain the organism.
video 10 5. The distribution and abundance of organisms and populations in ecosystems are limited
by the availability of matter and energy, and the ability of the ecosystem to recycle
materials.
video 10 6. As matter and energy flow through different levels of organization of living systems--
cells, organs, organisms, communities--and between living systems and the physical
environment, chemical elements are recombined in different ways. Each recombination
results in the storage of some energy and a dissipation of some energy into the
environment as heat. Matter is recycled, energy is not.
video As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students will develop understandings about
science and technology and abilities of technological design.
Benchmark 1: Students will develop understandings about science and technology.
Indicators: The students will:
10 1. Creativity, imagination, and a broad knowledge base are all required in the work of
science and engineering.
video 10 2. Science and technology are pursued for different purposes.
Examples: Scientific inquiry is driven by the desire to understand the natural world.
Applied science technology is driven by the need to meet human needs
and solve human problems.
video 10 3. Scientists in different disciplines ask different questions, use different methods of
investigation, and accept different types of evidence to support their explanations.
video 10 4. Science advances new technologies. New technologies open new areas for scientific
inquiry.
video 10 5. Technological knowledge is often not made public because of the financial and military
potential of the idea or invention. Scientific knowledge is made public through
presentations at professional meetings and publications in scientific journals.
video As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students will develop an understanding of
personal and community health, population growth, natural resources, environmental
quality, natural and human-induced hazards, and science and technology in local, national,
and global settings.
Benchmark 2: Students will demonstrate an understanding of population growth.
Indicators: The students will:
10 1. Rate of change in populations is determined by the combined effects of birth and death,
and emigration and immigration.
Examples: Populations can increase through exponential growth. Population growth
changes resource use and environmental conditions.
video 10 2. A variety of factors influence birth rates and fertility rates.
video 10 3. Populations can reach limits to growth.
Examples: Carrying capacity is the maximum number of organisms that can be
sustained in a given environment. Natural resources limit the capacity of
ecosystems to sustain populations.
video Benchmark 3: Students will understand that human populations use natural resources and
influence environmental quality.
Indicators: The students will:
10 1. Natural resources from the lithosphere and ecosystems have been and will continue to be
used to sustain human populations.
Examples: These processes of ecosystems include maintenance of the atmosphere,
generation of soils, control of the hydrologic cycle, and recycling of
nutrients.
Humans are altering many of these processes, and the changes may be
detrimental to ecosystem function.
video 10 2. The earth does not have infinite resources.
Example: Increasing human consumption places stress on most renewable
resources and depletes non-renewable resources.
video 10 3. Materials from human activities affect both physical and chemical cycles of the earth.
Example: Natural systems can reuse waste, but this capacity is limited.
video 10 4. Humans use many natural systems as resources.
video Benchmark 4: Students will understand the effect of natural and human-influenced hazards.
Indicators: The students will:
10 1. Natural processes of earth may be hazardous for humans.
Examples: Humans live at the interface between two dynamically changing systems,
the atmosphere and the earth’s crust. The vulnerability of societies to
disruption by natural processes has increased. Natural hazards include
volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and severe weather. Examples of slow,
progressive changes are stream channel position, sedimentation,
continual erosion, wasting of soil, and landscapes.
video 10 2. There is a need to assess potential risk and danger from natural and human induced
hazards.
Examples: Human-initiated changes in the environment bring benefits as well as
risks to society.
Various changes have costs and benefits. Environmental ethics have a
role in the decision-making process.
video Benchmark 5: Students will develop an understanding of the relationship between science, technology, and society.
Indicators: The students will:
10 1. Science and technology are essential components of modern society. Science and
technology indicate what can happen, not what should happen. The latter involves
human decisions about the use of knowledge.
video 10 2. Understanding basic concepts and principles of science and technology should precede
active debate about the economics, policies, politics, and ethics of various challenges
related to science and technology.
video 10 3. Progress in science and technology can be affected by social issues and challenges.
video As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students will develop understanding of science as
a human endeavor, the nature of scientific knowledge, and historical perspectives.
Benchmark 1: Students will develop an understanding that science is a human endeavor.
Indicators: The students will:
10 1. Demonstrate an understanding of science as both vocation and avocation.
video 10 2. Explain how science uses peer review, replication of methods, and norms of honesty.
video 10 3. Recognize the universality of basic science concepts and the influence of personal and
cultural beliefs that embed science in society.
video 10 4. Recognize that society helps create the ways of thinking (mindsets) required for scientific
advances, both toward training scientists and educating a populace to utilize benefits of
science (e.g., standards of hygiene, attitudes toward forces of nature, etc.).
video 10 5. Recognize society’s role in supporting topics of research and determining institutions
where research is conducted.
video Benchmark 2: Students will develop an understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge.
Indicators: The students will:
10 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge.
Examples: Scientific knowledge is generally empirically based, logical, skeptical,
and consistent with observable reality.
Scientific knowledge is subject to experimental or observational
confirmation.
Scientific knowledge is built on past understanding and can be refined
and augmented.
video Benchmark 3: Students will understand science from historical perspectives.
Indicators: The students will:
10 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the history of science.
Examples: Modern science has been a successful enterprise that contributes to
dramatic improvements in the human condition.
Science progresses by incremental advances of scientists or teams of
scientists.
Some advances that are fundamental and long-lasting include:
Copernican revolution, Newtonian physics, relativity, geological time
scale, plate tectonics, atomic theory, nuclear physics, biological
evolution, germ theory, industrial revolution, molecular biology,
quantum theory, medical and health technology.
video Updated September 2001By The End Of SECOND GRADE
STANDARD 1: SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
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STANDARD 3: LIFE SCIENCE
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STANDARD 5: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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STANDARD 6: SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
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STANDARD 7: HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE
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By The End Of FOURTH GRADE
STANDARD 1: SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
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STANDARD 2: PHYSICAL SCIENCE
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STANDARD 3: LIFE SCIENCE
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STANDARD 5: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
As with the Science as Inquiry Standard, not every activity will involve all stages. Students will
develop the ability to solve simple design problems that are appropriate for their developmental
level.
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STANDARD 6: SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
A variety of experiences will be provided to understand various science-related personal and
environmental challenges. This standard should be integrated with physical science, life science, and
earth & space science standards.
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Through classroom discussions, students can begin to recognize pollution as an environmental issue,
scarcity as a resource issue, and crowded classrooms or schools as a population issue.
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Students could meet and form a plan to resolve this problem.
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STANDARD 7: HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE
Experiences of investigating and thinking about explanations, not memorization, will provide
fundamental ideas about the history and nature of science. Students will observe and compare, pose
questions, gather data and report findings. Posing questions and reporting findings are human activities
that all students are able to understand. This standard should be integrated with physical science, life
science, and earth and space science standards.
Science and technology have been practiced by people for a long time. Children and adults can derive
great pleasure from doing science. They can investigate, construct, and experience science. Individuals,
as well as groups of students, can conduct investigations.
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By The End Of EIGHTH GRADE
STANDARD 1: SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
Given appropriate curriculum and adequate instruction, students can develop the skills of investigation
and the understanding that scientific inquiry is guided by knowledge, observations, questions, and a
design which identifies and controls variables to gather evidence to formulate an answer to the original
question. Students are to be provided opportunities to engage in full and partial inquiries in order to
develop the skills of inquiry.
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Some investigations involve observing and describing objects, organisms or events. Investigations can
also involve collecting specimens, experiments, seeking more information, discovering new objects and
phenomena, and creating models to explain the phenomena. Instructional activities of scientific inquiry
need to engage students in identifying and shaping questions for investigations. Different kinds of
questions suggest different kinds of investigations.
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STANDARD 3: LIFE SCIENCE
All organisms perform similar processes to maintain life. They take in food and gases, eliminate wastes,
grow and progress through their life cycle, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living
in a constantly changing environment. An organism’s behavior changes as its environment changes.
Students need opportunities to investigate a variety of organisms to realize that all living things have
similar fundamental needs. After observing an organism’s way of moving, obtaining food, and
responding to danger, students can alter the environment and observe the effects on the organism.
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A population consists of all individuals of a species that occur together at a given time and place. All
populations living together and the physical factors with which they interact compose an ecosystem.
Populations can be categorized by the functions they serve in an ecosystem: producers (make their own
food), consumers (obtain food by eating other organisms), and decomposers (use waste materials). The
major source of energy for ecosystems is sunlight. This energy enters the ecosystem as sunlight and is
transformed by producers into food energy which then passes from organism to organism, which we
observe as food webs. The resources of an ecosystem, biotic and abiotic, determine the number of
organisms within a population that can be supported.
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Millions of species of animals, plants and microorganisms are alive today. Animals and plants vary in
body plans and internal structures. Biological evolution, gradual changes of characteristics of organisms
over many generations, has brought variations among populations and species. Therefore, a structural
characteristic, process, or behavior that helps an organism survive in its environment is called an
adaptation. When the environment changes and the adaptive characteristics are insufficient, the species
becomes extinct.
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STANDARD 5: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Select and research a current technology, then project how it might
change in the next twenty years.
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The primary difference between science and technology is that science investigates to answer questions
about the natural world and technology creates a product to meet human needs by applying scientific
principles. Middle level students are able to evaluate the impact of technologies, recognizing that most
have both benefits and risks to society. Science and technology have advanced through contributions of
many different people, in different cultures, at different times in history.
Complete a Venn diagram to compare the processes of scientists and
technologists.
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STANDARD 6: SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
When an area becomes overpopulated by a species, the environment will change due to the increased use
of resources. Middle level students need opportunities to learn about concepts of carrying capacity. They
need to gather evidence and analyze effects of human interactions with the environment.
Investigate the effects of repeatedly walking off the sidewalks. Discuss
the implications for the environment. Participate in an environmental
Internet study.
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STANDARD 7: HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE
Science requires varied abilities depending on the field of study, type of inquiry, and cultural context.
The abilities characteristic of those engaged in scientific investigations include : reasoning, intellectual
honesty, tolerance of ambiguity, appropriate skepticism, open-mindedness, and the ability to make logical
conclusions based on current evidence.
Analyze data and recognize that an hypothesis not supported by data
should not be perceived as a right or wrong answer.
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Scientific knowledge is not static. New knowledge leads to new questions and new discoveries that may
be beneficial or harmful. Contributions to scientific knowledge can be met with resistance, causing a
need for replication and open sharing of ideas. Scientific contributions have been made over an expanse
of time by individuals from varied cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and across gender and economic
boundaries.
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By The End Of TWELFTH GRADE
STANDARD 1: SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
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STANDARD 3: LIFE SCIENCE
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1) heritable variation exists in every species;
2) some heritable traits are more advantageous to reproduction and/or survival than are others;
3) there is a finite supply of resources required for life; not all progeny survive;
4) individuals with advantageous traits generally survive to reproduce;
5) the advantageous heritable traits increase in the population through time.
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Transfer of energy through a series of organisms in an ecosystem is
called the food chain; at each transfer as much as 90% of the potential
energy is lost as heat.
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STANDARD 5: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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STANDARD 6: SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES
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STANDARD 7: HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE
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