Any opinions,
findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are
those of the developer, PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE, and do not necessarily
reflect those of the National Science Foundation.
Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Science and Technology
The Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Science and Technology you can cover using "To MARS with MER" are listed below. 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 planned for "To MARS with MER".
Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Science and Technology
Grade 4
3.1. Unifying Themes
Pennsylvania's public schools shall teach, challenge and support every student to realize his or her maximum potential and to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to...
A. Know that natural and human-made objects are made up of parts.
Identify and describe what parts make up a system.
Identify system parts that are natural and human-made (e.g., ball point pen, simple electrical circuits, plant anatomy).
Describe the purpose of analyzing systems.
Know that technologies include physical technology systems (e.g., construction, manufacturing, transportation), informational systems and biochemical-related systems.
B. Know models as useful simplifications of objects or processes.
Identify different types of models.
Identify and apply models as tools for prediction and insight.
Apply appropriate simple modeling tools and techniques.
Identify theories that serve as models (e.g., molecules).
C. Illustrate patterns that regularly occur and reoccur in nature.
Identify observable patterns (e.g., growth patterns in plants, crystal shapes in minerals, climate, structural patterns in bird feathers).
Use knowledge of natural patterns to predict next occurrences (e.g., seasons, leaf patterns, lunar phases).
D. Know that scale is an important attribute of natural and human made objects, events and phenomena.
Identify the use of scale as it relates to the measurment of distance, volume and mass.
Explain the importance of scale in producing models and apply it to a model.
E. Recognize change in natural and physical systems.
Recognize change as fundamental to science and technology concepts.
Examine and explain change by using time and measurement.
Describe relative motion.
Describe the change to objects caused by heat, cold, light or chemicals.
3.2 Inquiry and Design
Pennsylvania's public schools shall teach, challenge and support every student to realize his or her maximum potential and to
A. Identify and use the nature of scientific and technological knowledge.
Distinguish between a scientific fact and a belief.
Provide clear explanations that account for observations and results.
Relate how new information can change existing perceptions.
B. Describe objects in the world using the five senses.
Recognize observational descriptors from each of the five senses (e.g., see-blue, feel-rough).
Use observations to develop a descriptive vocabulary.
C. Recognize and use the elements of scientific inquiry to solve problems.
Generate questions about objects, organisms and/or events that can be answered through scientific investigations.
Design an investigation.
Conduct an experiment.
State a conclusion that is consistent with the information.
D. Recognize and use the technological design process to solve problems.
Recognize and explain basic problems.
Identify possible solutions and their course of action.
Try a solution.
Describe the solution, identify its impacts and modify if necessary.
Show the steps taken and the results.
3.4 Physical Science, Chemistry and Physics
Pennsylvania's public schools shall teach, challenge and support every student to realize his or her maximum potential and to
C. Observe and describe different types of force and motion.
Describe various types of motions.
Compare the relative movement of objects and describe types of motion that are evident.
Describe the position of an object by locating it relative to another object or the background (e.g., geogrphic direction, left, up).
D. Describe the composition and structure of the universe and the earth's place in it.
Identify planets in our solar system and their gneral characteristics.
Describe the solar system motions and use them to explain time (e.g., days, seasons), major lunar phases and eclipses.
3.6 Technology Education
Pennsylvania's public schools shall teach, challenge and support every student to realize his or her maximum potential and to
B. Know that information technologies involve encoding, trnsmitting, receiving, storing, retrieving and decoding.
Identifying electronic communication methods that exist in the community (e.g., digital cameras, telephone, internet, television, fiber optics).
Demonstrate the ability to communicate an idea by applying basic sketching and drawing techniques.
3.7 Technological Devices
Pennsylvania's public schools shall teach, challenge and support every student to realize his or her maximum potential and to
B. Select appropriate instruments to study materials.
Develop simple skills to measure, record, cut and fasten.
Explain appropriate instrument selection for specific tasks.
Computer literacty, including the use of hardware and software in standard statements C, D, and E, should be integrated across all content areas.
C. Identify basic computer operations and concepts.
Identify the major parts necessary for a computer to input and output data.
Explain and demonstrate the basic use of input and out put devices (e.g., keyboard, monitor, printer, mouse).
Explain and deomonstrate the use of external and internal storage devices (e.g., disk drive, CD drive).
D. Use basic computer software.
Apply operating system skills to perform basic computer tasks.
Apply basic word processing skills.
Identify and use simple graphic and presentation graphic materials generated by the computer
Apply specific instructional software.
E. Identify basic computer communications systems.
Apply a web browser.
Apply basic electronic mail functions.
Use on-line searches to answer age appropriate questions.
Grade 7
3.1. Unifying Themes
Pennsylvania's public schools shall teach, challenge and support every student to realize his or her maximum potential and to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to...
A. Explain the parts of a simple system and their relationship to each other.
Describe related parts that work together to achieve a desired result (e.g., digestive system).
Explain the importance of order in a system.
Distinguish between system inputs, system processes and system outputs.
Distinguish between open loop and closed loop systems.
Apply systems analysis to solve problems.
B. Describe the use of models as an application of scientific or technological concepts.
Identify and describe different types of models and their functions.
Apply models to predict specific results and observations (e.g., population growth, effects of infectious organisms).
Explain systems by outlining a system's relevant parts and its purpose and/or designing a model that illustrates its function.
C. Identify patterns as repeated processes or recurring elements in science and technology.
Identify different forms of patterns and use them to group and classify specific objects.
Identify repeating structure patterns.
Identify and describe patterns that occur in physical systems (e.g., construction, manufacturing, transportation), informational systems and biochemcial-related systems.
D. Explain scale as a way of relating concepts and ideas to one another by some measure.
Apply various applications of size and dimensions of scale to scientific, mathematical, and technological applications.
E. Identify change as a variable in describing natural and physical systems.
Describe fundamental science and technology concepts that could solve practical problems.
Explain how ratio is used to describe change.
Describe the effect of making a change in one part of a system on the system as a whole.
3.2 Inquiry and Design
Pennsylvania's public school shall teach, challenge and support every student to realize his or her maximum potential and to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to...
A. Explain and apply scientific and technological knowledge.
Distinguish between a scientific theory and a belief.
Answer "What if" questions based on observation, inference or prior knowledge or experience.
Explain how skepticism about an accepted scientific explanation led to a new understanding.
Explain how new information may change existing theories and practice.
B. Apply process knowledge to make and interpret observations.
Measure materials using a variety of scales.
Describe relationships by making inferences and predictions.
Communicate, use space/time relationships, define operationally, raise questions, formulate hypotheses, test and experiment,
Design controlled experiments, recognize variables, and manipulate variables.
Interpret data, formulate models, design models, and produce solutions.
C. Identify and use the elements of scientific inquiry to solve problems.
