| (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 for high school courses. In Grade
3, 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 60% of instructional time.
(B) Matter and energy. Students build upon the knowledge
learned in Kindergarten-Grade 2 by investigating the physical properties
of matter. Students explore states of matter and observe that changes
can occur to matter through heating and cooling. The students explore
using substances by combining them to create or modify objects based
on their physical properties.
(C) Force, motion, and energy. Students manipulate
objects by pushing and pulling to demonstrate changes in motion and
position. Students also identify forces such as magnetism and gravity.
Students understand energy exists in many forms, including mechanical,
thermal, light, and sound. The students identify forms of energy in
everyday life.
(D) Earth and space. Students learn that there are
recognizable processes that change the Earth over time. Students compare
day-to-day changes in weather. They also investigate how soil is formed
through the processes of weathering and decomposition. Students model
rapid changes to Earth's surface as well as explore ways to conserve
Earth's resources. Students recognize that there are identifiable
objects and patterns in Earth's solar system. Students model the orbits
of the Sun, Earth, and Moon as well as describe their relationship
to each other. This will set the foundation for Grade 4 when they
look at changes in the appearance of the Moon. Students also identify
the sequence of the planets in Earth's solar system.
(E) Organisms and environments. Students explore patterns,
systems, and cycles within environments by investigating characteristics
of organisms, life cycles, and interactions among all components of
the natural environment. Students examine how environment and the
structures and functions of animals play a key role in survival. Students
know that when changes in the environment occur, organisms may thrive,
become ill, or perish. Students also examine fossils as evidence of
past living organisms.
(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 descriptive
investigations and use engineering practices to design solutions to
problems;
(C) demonstrate safe practices and the use of safety
equipment during classroom and field investigations as outlined in
Texas Education Agency-approved safety standards;
(D) use tools, including hand lenses; metric rulers;
Celsius thermometers; wind vanes; rain gauges; graduated cylinders;
beakers; digital scales; hot plates; meter sticks; magnets; notebooks;
Sun, Earth, Moon system models; timing devices; materials to support
observation of habitats of organisms such as terrariums, aquariums,
and collecting nets; and materials to support digital data collection
such as computers, tablets, and cameras, to observe, measure, test,
and analyze information;
(E) collect observations and measurements as evidence;
(F) construct appropriate graphic organizers to collect
data, including tables, bar graphs, line graphs, tree maps, concept
maps, Venn diagrams, flow charts or sequence maps, and input-output
tables that show cause and effect; 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 advantages and limitations of models such
as their size, scale, properties, and materials;
(B) analyze data by identifying any significant features,
patterns, or sources of error;
(C) use mathematical calculations to compare patterns
and relationships; and
(D) evaluate a design or object using criteria.
(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;
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