| (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 Kindergarten, 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. The students focus
on observable properties and patterns of objects, including shape,
color, texture, and material.
(C) Force, motion, and energy. Students explore the
location, motion, and position of objects and investigate the importance
of light energy as it relates to the students' everyday lives. Students
focus on demonstrating light energy sources and their effect on objects.
(D) Earth and space. Patterns are recognizable in the
natural world and among objects in the sky. Students understand that
weather, seasons of the year, and day and night are repeated patterns.
Materials found on Earth can be used and classified.
(E) Organisms and environments. All living organisms
satisfy basic needs through interactions with nonliving things and
living organisms, and they have structures and functions that help
them survive within their environments. Students investigate the life
cycle of plants 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, trays,
cups, bowls, sieves or sifters, notebooks, terrariums, aquariums,
samples (rocks, sand, soil, loam, gravel, clay, seeds, and plants),
windsock, demonstration thermometer, rain gauge, straws, ribbons,
non-standard measuring items, blocks or cubes, tuning fork, various
flashlights, small paper cups, items that roll, noise makers, hot
plate, opaque objects, transparent objects, foil pie pans, foil muffin
cups, wax paper, Sun-Moon-Earth model, and plant life cycle model
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 on society. The student is expected
to:
(A) explain how science or an innovation can help others;
and
(B) identify scientists and engineers such as Isaac
Newton, Mae Jemison, and Ynes Mexia and explore what different scientists
and engineers do.
(5) Recurring themes and concepts. The student uses
recurring themes and concepts to make connections across disciplines.
The student is expected to:
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