SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-4
A. Classifying Life Forms -
Students will understand that there are similarities within the diversity
of all living things. Students will be able to:
1. Group the same organisms in different ways using different characteristics.
2. Design and describe a classification system for organisms.
3. Describe the different living things within a given habitat.
4. Compare and contrast the life cycles, behavior, and structure of different organisms.
B. Ecology - Students will understand how living things depend on
one another and on non-living aspects of the environment. Students will
be able to:
1. Describe a food web and the relationships within a
given ecosystem.
2. Explain the difference between producers (e.g.,
green plants), consumers (e.g., those that eat green plants), and decomposers
(e.g., bacteria that break down the "consumers" when they die),
and identify examples of each.
3. Compare and contrast physical and living components
of different biomes - i.e., regions characterized by their climate and plant
life - (e.g., tundra, rain forest, ocean, desert).
4. Investigate the connection between major living and non-living components of a local ecosystem.
C. Cells - Students will understand that cells are the basic units of life. Students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding that a cell is the basic unit of living organisms.
2. Describe how single-celled organisms exist.
3. Explore how the use of a microscope allows one
to see cells in a variety of organisms.
4. Describe the functions of the major human organ systems.
D. Continuity & Change -
Students will understand the basis for all life and that all living things
change over time. Students will be able to:
1. Identify present day organisms that have not always existed, and past life forms that have become extinct.
2. Describe how fossils form.
3. Explain how adaptations, in response to change
over time, may increase a species' chances of survival.
4. Describe ways in which organisms may be similar
to and different from their parents and explore the possible reasons for
this.
E. Structure of Matter -
Students will understand the structure of matter and the changes it can
undergo. Students will be able to:
1. Describe how the physical properties of objects sometimes change when
one object chemically combines with another.
2. Explain how matter changes in both chemical and physical ways.
F. The Earth - Students will gain knowledge about the earth and the
processes that change it. Students will be able to:
1. Describe the change in position of the continents
over time.
2. Demonstrate an understanding that many things about the earth (e.g., climate) occur in cycles that vary in length and frequency.
3. Describe differences among minerals, rocks, and soils.
4. Illustrate how water and other substances go
through a cyclic process of change in the environment.
G. The Universe - Students will gain knowledge about the universe and how humans have learned about it, and about the principles upon which it operates. Students will be able to:
1. Illustrate the relative positions of the sun, moon, and planets.
2. Trace the sources of earth's heat and light energy to the sun.
3. Describe earth's rotation on its axis and its revolution around the sun.
4. Explore the relationship between the earth and its moon.
H. Energy - Students will understand concepts of energy. Students will be able to:
1. Identify different forms of energy (e.g., light, sound, heat).
2. Explain ways different forms of energy can be produced.
I. Motion - Students will understand the motion of objects and
how forces can change that motion. Students will be able to:
1. Describe the effects of different types of forces (e.g., mechanical, electrical,
magnetic) on motion.
2. Draw conclusions about how the amount of force
affects the motion of more massive and less massive objects.
3. Generate examples illustrating that when something
is pushed or pulled, it exerts a reaction force.
J. Inquiry & Problem Solving - Students will apply inquiry and problem-solving approaches in science and technology. Students will be able to:
1. Make accurate observations using appropriate tools and units of measure.
2. Conduct scientific investigations: make observations,
collect and analyze data, and do experiments.
3. Use results in a purposeful way: design fair
tests, make predictions based on observed patterns, and interpret data to
make further predictions.
4. Design and build an invention.
5. Explain how differences in time, place, or experimenter can lead to different data.
6. Explain how different conclusions can be derived from the same data.
K. Scientific Reasoning -
Students will learn to formulate and justify ideas and to make informed
decisions. Students will be able to:
1. Give alternative explanations for observed phenomena.
2. Describe how feelings can distort reasoning.
3. Draw conclusions about observations.
4. Use various types of evidence (e.g., logical, quantitative)
to support a claim.
5. Demonstrate an understanding that ideas are more
believable when supported by good reasons.
6. Practice and apply simple logic, intuitive thinking, and brainstorming.
L. Communication -
Students will communicate effectively in the application of science and
technology. Students will be able to:
1. Record results of experiments or activities (e.g.,
interviews, discussions, field work) and summarize and communicate what they
have learned.
2. Ask clarifying and extended questions.
3. Reflect on work in science and technology using
such activities as discussions, journals, and self-assessment.
4. Make and/or use sketches, tables, graphs, physical
representations, and manipulatives to explain procedures and ideas.
5. Gather and effectively present information, using
a variety of media including computers (e.g., spreadsheets, word processing,
programming, graphics, modeling).
6. Cite examples of bias in information sources
and question the validity of information from varied sources.
7. Function effectively in groups within various assigned roles (e.g., reader, recorder).
M. Implications of Science & Technology - Students will understand the historical, social, economic, environmental, and ethical implications of science and technology. Students will be able to:
1. Explore how cultures have found different technological solutions to deal with similar needs or problems (e.g., construction, clothing, agricultural tools and methods).
2. Investigate and describe the role of scientists and
inventors.
3. Explore how technology (e.g., transportation,
irrigation) has altered human settlement.
4. Explain practices for conservation in daily life,
based on recognition that renewable and non-renewable resources have limits.
3rd Grade Hands-On Elementary Science Units:
Measurement
Flight
Plants
Structures
Findings:
The following Content Standards are missing from our current 3rd grade Hands-On Elementary Science program, but are covered at the 4th grade level:
B - Ecology (4th grade unit on Pond Life)
C - Cells (4th grade unit on Pond Life)
E - Structure of Matter (4th grade unit on Chemistry)
H - Energy (4th grade supplemental unit)
Since the above topics are covered at the fourth grade level, they are in alignment with the State of Maine Learning Results.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
ELEMENTARY GRADES 3-4
Findings:
The following Content Standards are missing from our current third grade Hands-On Elementary Science program, but appear to be covered at the fifth grade level:
D - Continuity & Change (Animal Populations & Adaptations)
F - The Earth (Rocks & Minerals, Changing Earth, Weathering, Erosion)
Recommendations:
Teachers must be aware that the Maine Learning Results expect the above-mentioned subjects to be covered in grades 3/4. Since SAD #4 students do not cover this material until grade 5, they may not perform as well as expected on the fourth grade MEAs. Teachers may want to discuss introducing Continuity & Change and The Earth at the fourth grade level rather than fifth grade. D - Continuity & Change and F - The Earth must be taught earlier than fifth grade if students are expected to know their content on the MEAs.
The third grade Hands-On Elementary Science program has wonderful unit on measurement which most students seem to enjoy a great deal. However, most, if not all, of the content of the Hands-On Elementary Science Measurement unit is covered in our Everyday Math program. Teachers might want to omit the Measurement unit in science (or shorten its duration) and include a unit on Continuity & Change or The Earth.
The same suggestion could be made for the third grade unit on Flight. While it is a great unit that the students enjoy, perhaps it is being taught at the expense of two other Content Standards (Continuity & Change or The Earth) which should be taught before students enter the 5th grade.
Findings:
The following Content Standards are missing from our current third grade Hands-On Elementary Science program:
G - The Universe
I - Motion
Fourth grade teachers confirmed my findings that our Hands-On Elementary Science program does not cover the above Content Standards in either the third or the fourth grade. Some teachers have taught concepts about The Universe using materials they have on hand, but mentioned the necessity of making sure that all fourth grade teachers covered the Content Standards of G - The Universe.
Neither grades three nor four covered I - Motion.
Recommendations:
My recommendation for the first grade was to purchase a kit (or other material) which covered the Content Standard I - Motion. If the material were broad enough, the concepts could be extended at the third grade level.
It would seem advisable to purchase or develop a unit covering the Content Standard
G - The Universe which could be used at the elementary levels.
Summary:
The third grade Hands-On Elementary Science program did not align as closely with the State of Maine Learning Results as the first grade program did. However, since the Learning Results cover both grades three and four, most of the Content Standards that need to be taught are taught in one or the other grade level.
The biggest problem stems from the fact that Content Standards G - The Universe and
I - Motion are completely missing from the third grade Hands-On Elementary Science program. Also, Content Standards D - Continuity & Change and F -The Earth need to be taught before students enter the 5th grade.