Physical Sciences

1. Properties of materials can be observed, measured and predicted.
As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:
a. objects can be described in terms of the materials they are made of (clay, cloth, paper, etc.) and their physical properties (color, size, shape, weight, texture, flexibility, attraction to magnets, floating and sinking, etc.).
b. water can be a liquid or a solid and can be made to change back and forth from one form to the other.
c. water left in an open container evaporates (goes into the air), but water in a closed container does not.

Life Sciences

2. Different types of plants and animals inhabit the Earth.
As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:
a. how to observe and describe similarities and differences in the appearance and behavior of plants and of animals (e.g., seed-bearing plants, birds, fish, insects).
b. stories sometimes give plants and animals attributes they do not really have.
c. how to identify major structures of common plants and animals (e.g., stems, leaves, roots, arms, wings, legs).

Earth Sciences

3. The Earth is composed of land, air and water.
As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:
a. characteristics of mountains, rivers, oceans, valleys, deserts, and local landforms.
b. changes in weather occur from day to day and over seasons, affecting the Earth and its inhabitants.
c. how to identify resources from the Earth that are used in everyday life, and that many resources can be conserved.

Investigation and Experimentation

4. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations.
As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
a. observe common objects using the five senses.
b. describe the properties of common objects.
c. describe the relative position of objects using one reference (e.g., above or below).
d. compare and sort common objects based on one physical attribute (including color, shape, texture, size, weight).
e. communicate observations orally and in drawings.