Introduction

Student Activities

For the Teacher

California Science Content Standards

National Science Standards

Resources

 The follow California Science Content Standards are Addressed in Activity Two: "Why is our water polluted, and how can we do about it?"

Other Standards Address in Water Pollution Unit

Grade 3

Investigation and Experimentation

5. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content 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.

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.

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

d. predict the outcome of a simple investigation, and compare the result to the prediction.

e. collect data in an investigation and analyze them to develop a logical conclusion.

Grade 4

Investigation and Experimentation

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

a. differentiate observation from inference (interpretation), and know that scientists’ explanations come partly from what they observe and partly from how they interpret their observations.

b. measure and estimate weight, length, or volume of objects.

c. formulate predictions and justify predictions based on cause and effect relationships.

d. conduct multiple trials to test a prediction and draw conclusions about the
relationships between results and predictions.

e. construct and interpret graphs from measurements.

f. follow a set of written instructions for a scientific investigation.

Grade 5

Earth Sciences

3. Water on Earth moves between the oceans and land through the processes of evaporation and condensation. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

d. the amount of fresh water, located in rivers, lakes, underground sources, and glaciers, is limited, and its availability can be extended through recycling and decreased use.

e. the origin of water used by their local communities.

Investigation and Experimentation

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

a. classify objects (e.g., rocks, plant, leaves) based on appropriate criteria.

b. develop a testable question.

c. plan and conduct a simple investigation based on a student-developed question, and write instructions others can follow to carry out the procedure.

d. identify the dependent and controlled variables in an investigation.

e. identify a single independent variable in a scientific investigation and explain what will be learned by collecting data on this variable.

f. select appropriate tools (e.g., thermometers, meter sticks, balances, and graduated cylinders) and make quantitative observations.

g. record data using appropriate graphic representation (including charts, graphs, and labeled diagrams), and make inferences based on those data.

h. draw conclusions based on scientific evidence and indicate whether further information is needed to support a specific conclusion.

i. write a report of an investigation that includes tests conducted, data collected or evidence examined, and conclusions drawn.

Grade 6

Focus on Earth Science

Resources

6. Sources of energy and materials differ in amounts, distribution, usefulness, and the time required for their formation. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

b. different natural energy and material resources, including air, soil, rocks, minerals,
petroleum, fresh water, wildlife, and forests, and classify them as renewable or
nonrenewable.

Investigation and Experimentation

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

a. develop a hypothesis.

b. select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, computers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.

c. construct appropriate graphs from data and develop qualitative statements about the relationships between variables.

d. communicate the steps and results from an investigation in written reports and verbal
presentations.

e. recognize whether evidence is consistent with a proposed explanation.

f. read a topographic map and a geologic map for evidence provided on the maps, and construct and interpret a simple scale map.

g. interpret events by sequence and time from natural phenomena (e.g., relative ages of rocks and intrusions).

h. identify changes in natural phenomena over time without manipulating the phenomena (e.g., a tree limb, a grove of trees, a stream, a hillslope).

Grade 7

Focus on Physical Science:

Density and Buoyancy

8. All objects experience a buoyant force when immersed in a fluid. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

a. density is mass per unit volume.

b. how to calculate the density of substances (regular and irregular solids, and liquids) from measurements of mass and volume.

c. the buoyant force on an object in a fluid is an upward force equal to the weight of the fluid it has displaced.

d. how to predict whether an object will float or sink.

Investigation and Experimentation

7. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content 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, computers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.

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

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

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

e. communicate the steps and results from an investigation in written reports and verbal presentations.

Where To Next?

The Task	Show Your Stuff
Activities	How'd You Do?
Resources	For the Teacher