| (a) Introduction.
(1) In Grades 6 through 8 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 for high school courses. In Grade 6, 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.
(B) Matter and energy. Students build upon their knowledge
of properties of solids, liquids, and gases and further explore their
molecular energies. In Grade 6, students learn how elements are classified
as metals, nonmetals, or metalloids based on their properties on the
Periodic Table. Students have previous experience with mixtures in
Grade 5. Grade 6 furthers their understanding by investigating the
different types of mixtures. Subsequent grades will learn about compounds.
In Grade 6, students compare the density of substances relative to
fluids and identify evidence of chemical changes.
(C) Force, motion, and energy. Students investigate
the relationship between force and motion using a variety of means,
including calculations and measurements through the study of Newton's
Third Law of Motion. Subsequent grades will study force and motion
through Newton's First and Second Laws of Motion. Energy occurs as
either potential or kinetic energy. Potential energy can take several
forms, including gravitational, elastic, and chemical energy. Energy
is conserved throughout systems by changing from one form to another
and transfers through waves.
(D) Earth and space. Cycles within Sun, Earth, and
Moon systems are studied as students learn about seasons and tides.
Students identify that the Earth is divided into spheres and examine
the processes within and organization of the geosphere. Researching
the advantages and disadvantages of short- and long-term uses of resources
enables informed decision making about resource management.
(E) Organisms and environments. All living organisms
are made up of smaller units called cells. Ecosystems are organized
into communities, populations, and organisms. Students compare and
contrast variations within organisms and how they impact survival.
Students examine relationships and interactions between organisms,
biotic factors, and abiotic factors in an ecosystem.
(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. These
patterns help to make predictions that can be scientifically tested.
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,
for at least 40% of instructional time, 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 descriptive,
comparative, and experimental investigations and use engineering practices
to design solutions to problems;
(C) use appropriate safety equipment and practices
during laboratory, classroom, and field investigations as outlined
in Texas Education Agency-approved safety standards;
(D) use appropriate tools such as graduated cylinders,
metric rulers, periodic tables, balances, scales, thermometers, temperature
probes, laboratory ware, timing devices, pH indicators, hot plates,
models, microscopes, slides, life science models, petri dishes, dissecting
kits, magnets, spring scales or force sensors, tools that model wave
behavior, satellite images, hand lenses, and lab notebooks or journals;
(E) collect quantitative data using the International
System of Units (SI) and qualitative data as evidence;
(F) construct appropriate tables, graphs, maps, and
charts using repeated trials and means to organize data;
(G) develop and use models to represent phenomena,
systems, processes, or solutions to engineering problems; and
(H) distinguish between scientific hypotheses, theories,
and laws.
(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 advantages and limitations of models such
as their size, scale, properties, and materials;
(B) analyze data by identifying any significant descriptive
statistical features, patterns, sources of error, or limitations;
(C) use mathematical calculations to assess quantitative
relationships in data; and
(D) evaluate experimental and engineering designs.
(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 and consistent with scientific ideas, principles,
and theories;
(B) communicate explanations and solutions individually
and collaboratively in a variety of settings and formats; and
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