| (a) Introduction.
(1) In Kindergarten through Grade 5 Science, content
is organized into recurring strands. The concepts within each grade
level build on prior knowledge, prepare students for the next grade
level, and establish a foundation in science. In Grade 1, the following
concepts will be addressed in each strand.
(A) Scientific and engineering practices. Scientific
inquiry is the planned and deliberate investigation of the natural
world using scientific and engineering practices. Scientific methods
of investigation are descriptive, correlative, comparative, or experimental.
The method chosen should be appropriate to the grade level and question
being asked. Student learning for different types of investigations
includes descriptive investigations, which have no hypothesis that
tentatively answers the research question and involve collecting data
and recording observations without making comparisons; correlative
and comparative investigations, which have a hypothesis that predicts
a relationship and involve collecting data, measuring variables relevant
to the hypothesis that are manipulated, and comparing results; and
experimental investigations, which involve processes similar to comparative
investigations but in which a hypothesis can be tested by comparing
a treatment with a control.
(i) Scientific practices. Students ask questions, plan
and conduct investigations to answer questions, and explain phenomena
using appropriate tools and models.
(ii) Engineering practices. Students identify problems
and design solutions using appropriate tools and models.
(iii) To support instruction in the science content
standards, it is recommended that districts integrate scientific and
engineering practices through classroom and outdoor investigations
for at least 80% of instructional time.
(B) Matter and its properties. Students build their
knowledge of the natural world using their senses. Students focus
on observable properties and patterns of objects, including larger
and smaller, heavier and lighter, shape, color, and texture. The students
understand changes in materials caused by heating and cooling.
(C) Force, motion, and energy. Students know that force
and motion are related and that energy exists in many forms as a part
of everyday life. Magnetism interacts with various materials and can
be used as a push and pull. The students investigate the importance
of heat and focus on changes caused by heating and cooling.
(D) Earth and space. Patterns, cycles, and systems
are recognizable in the natural world and among objects in the sky.
Students make informed choices by understanding weather and seasonal
patterns. Students understand that natural resources on Earth, including
rocks, soil, and water, are used by humans and can be conserved.
(E) Organisms and environments. All living organisms
interact with living and nonliving things within their environments
and use structures to meet their basic needs. Students know that organisms
are interdependent and part of a food chain. The students investigate
the life cycle of animals and identify likenesses between parents
and young.
(2) Nature of science. Science, as defined by the National
Academy of Sciences, is the "use of evidence to construct testable
explanations and predictions of natural phenomena, as well as the
knowledge generated through this process." This vast body of changing
and increasing knowledge is described by physical, mathematical, and
conceptual models. Students should know that some questions are outside
the realm of science because they deal with phenomena that are not
currently scientifically testable.
(3) Scientific observations, inferences, hypotheses,
and theories. Students are expected to know that:
(A) observations are active acquisition of either qualitative
or quantitative information from a primary source through the senses;
(B) inferences are conclusions reached on the basis
of observations or reasoning supported by relevant evidence;
(C) hypotheses are tentative and testable statements
that must be capable of being supported or not supported by observational
evidence. Hypotheses of durable explanatory power that have been tested
over a wide variety of conditions are incorporated into theories;
and
(D) scientific theories are based on natural and physical
phenomena and are capable of being tested by multiple independent
researchers. Unlike hypotheses, scientific theories are well established
and highly reliable explanations, but they may be subject to change
as new areas of science and new technologies are developed.
(4) Science and social ethics. Scientific decision
making is a way of answering questions about the natural world involving
its own set of ethical standards about how the process of science
should be carried out. Students distinguish between scientific decision-making
practices and ethical and social decisions that involve science.
(5) Recurring themes and concepts. Science consists
of recurring themes and making connections between overarching concepts.
Recurring themes include structure and function, systems, models,
and patterns. All systems have basic properties that can be described
in space, time, energy, and matter. Change and constancy occur in
systems as patterns and can be observed, measured, and modeled. Models
have limitations but provide a tool for understanding the ideas presented.
Students analyze a system in terms of its components and how these
components relate to each other, to the whole, and to the external
environment.
(6) Statements containing the word "including" reference
content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such
as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(1) Scientific and engineering practices. The student
asks questions, identifies problems, and plans and safely conducts
classroom, laboratory, and field investigations to answer questions,
explain phenomena, or design solutions using appropriate tools and
models. The student is expected to:
(A) ask questions and define problems based on observations
or information from text, phenomena, models, or investigations;
(B) use scientific practices to plan and conduct simple
descriptive investigations and use engineering practices to design
solutions to problems;
(C) identify, describe, and demonstrate safe practices
during classroom and field investigations as outlined in Texas Education
Agency-approved safety standards;
(D) use tools, including hand lenses, goggles, heat-resistant
gloves, trays, cups, bowls, beakers, sieves/sifters, tweezers, primary
balance, notebooks, terrariums, aquariums, stream tables, soil samples
(loam, sand, gravel, rocks, and clay), seeds, plants, windsock, pinwheel,
student thermometer, demonstration thermometer, rain gauge, straws,
ribbons, non-standard measuring items, flashlights, sandpaper, wax
paper, items that are magnetic, non-magnetic items, a variety of magnets,
hot plate, aluminum foil, Sun-Moon-Earth model, and plant and animal
life cycle models to observe, measure, test, and compare;
(E) collect observations and measurements as evidence;
(F) record and organize data using pictures, numbers,
words, symbols, and simple graphs; and
(G) develop and use models to represent phenomena,
objects, and processes or design a prototype for a solution to a problem.
(2) Scientific and engineering practices. The student
analyzes and interprets data to derive meaning, identify features
and patterns, and discover relationships or correlations to develop
evidence-based arguments or evaluate designs. The student is expected
to:
(A) identify basic advantages and limitations of models
such as their size, properties, and materials;
(B) analyze data by identifying significant features
and patterns;
(C) use mathematical concepts to compare two objects
with common attributes; and
(D) evaluate a design or object using criteria to determine
if it works as intended.
(3) Scientific and engineering practices. The student
develops evidence-based explanations and communicates findings, conclusions,
and proposed solutions. The student is expected to:
(A) develop explanations and propose solutions supported
by data and models;
(B) communicate explanations and solutions individually
and collaboratively in a variety of settings and formats; and
(C) listen actively to others' explanations to identify
important evidence and engage respectfully in scientific discussion.
(4) Scientific and engineering practices. The student
knows the contributions of scientists and recognizes the importance
of scientific research and innovation for society. The student is
expected to:
(A) explain how science or an innovation can help others;
and
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