California Academic Content Standards

The STANDARDS CORRELATION chart suggests which California Academic Content Standards you can cover using Light, Optics, Mirros and Telescopes in your classroom. We hope you will discover additional standards you can use.

For additional California Academic Content Standards you can cover see the STANDARDS CORRELATION chart for the following PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE SCIENCE CONCEPTS IN CONTEXT programs:

Earth Science Modules
Sun and Seasons, Day and Night

Jet Streams and Ocean Currents: the Global Circulation of air and Water

The Greenhouse Effect

The Water, Carbon and Other Geochemical Cycles

Life Science Modules
Photosynthesis: from Sunlight to Life

Food Webs: Connections Across the Natural World

Adaptation and Natural selection: Evolution at Work

Life in Extreme Environments

Physical Science Modules
Light, Optics, Mirros and Telescopes

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Force and Motion

Convection, Conduction and Radiation

Space Science Modules
Gravity: Mass, Weight and Motion

Objects in the sky: Planets, Stars and More!

Fusion and Fission: Atoms and Energy

How We Explore Space: Extending Our Senses Beyond Earth

Elementary Standards: Kindergarten,   Grade One,   Grade Two,   Grade Three,   Grade Four,   Grade Five
Middle School Standards: Grade Six,   Grade Seven,   Grade Eight
High School Starndards: Grades 9-12

Grade Three

Physical Sciences

1. Energy and matter have multiple forms and can be changed from one form to another. As a basis for understanding this concept:

 

a. Students know energy comes from the Sun to Earth in the form of light.

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2. Light has a source and travels in a direction. As a basis for understanding this concept:

 

a. Students know sunlight can be blocked to create shadows.

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b. Students know light is reflected from mirrors and other surfaces.

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c. Students know the color of light striking an object affects the way the object is seen.

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d. Students know an object is seen when light traveling from the object enters the eye.

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Investigation and Experimentation

5. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

 

a. Repeat observations to improve accuracy and know that the results of similar scientific investigations seldom turn out exactly the same because of differences in the things being investigated, methods being used, or uncertainty in the observation.

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b. Differentiate evidence from opinion and know that scientists do not rely on claims or conclusions unless they are backed by observations that can be confirmed.

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c. Use numerical data in describing and comparing objects, events, and measurements.

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d. Predict the outcome of a simple investigation and compare the result with the prediction.

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e. Collect data in an investigation and analyze those data to develop a logical conclusion.

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Grade Seven

Focus on Life Sciences
Physical Principles in Living Systems (Physical Science)

6. Physical principles underlie biological structures and functions. As a basis for un-derstanding this concept:

 

a. Students know visible light is a small band within a very broad electromagnetic spectrum.

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b. Students know that for an object to be seen, light emitted by or scattered from it must be detected by the eye.

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c. Students know light travels in straight lines if the medium it travels through does not change.

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d. Students know how simple lenses are used in a magnifying glass, the eye, a camera, a telescope, and a microscope.

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e. Students know that white light is a mixture of many wavelengths (colors) and that retinal cells react differently to different wavelengths.

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f. Students know light can be reflected, refracted, transmitted, and absorbed by matter.

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g. Students know the angle of reflection of a light beam is equal to the angle of incidence.

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h. Students know how to compare joints in the body (wrist, shoulder, thigh) with structures used in machines and simple devices (hinge, ball-and-socket, and sliding joints).

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i. Students know how levers confer mechanical advantage and how the application of this principle applies to the musculoskeletal system.

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j. Students know that contractions of the heart generate blood pressure and that heart valves prevent backflow of blood in the circulatory system.

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Investigation and Experimentation

7. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

 

a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, comput-ers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.

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b. Use a variety of print and electronic resources (including the World Wide Web) to collect information and evidence as part of a research project.

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c. Communicate the logical connection among hypotheses, science concepts, tests conducted, data collected, and conclusions drawn from the scientific evidence.

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d. Construct scale models, maps, and appropriately labeled diagrams to communi-cate scientific knowledge (e.g., motion of Earth’s plates and cell structure).

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e. Communicate the steps and results from an investigation in written reports and oral presentations.

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Updated July 2001