Science Grade K

Chester Township Public Schools
Science Curriculum

Science - Grade K

Science

The New Jersey Curriculum Content Standards for Science reflect "the belief that all students can and must learn enough science to assume their role as concerned citizens equipped with necessary information and decision-making skills."

The following is a list of the New Jersey Science Standards:

5.1        "All students will learn to identify systems of interacting components and understand how their interactions combine to produce the overall behavior of the system."

5.2        "All students will develop problem-solving, decision-making and inquiry skills, reflected by formulating usable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting systematic observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating results."

5.3        "All students will develop an understanding of how people of various cultures have contributed to the advancement of science and technology."

5.4        "All students will develop an understanding of technology as an application of scientific principles."

5.5        "All students will integrate mathematics as a tool for problem-solving in science, and as a means of expressing and/or modeling scientific theories."

5.6        "All students will gain an understanding of the structure, characteristics, and basic needs of organisms."

5.7        "All students will investigate the diversity of life."

5.8        "All students will gain an understanding of the structure and behavior of matter."

5.9        "All students will gain an understanding of natural laws as they apply to motion, forces, and energy transformations."

5.10    "All students will gain an understanding of the structure, dynamics, and geophysical systems of the earth."

5.11    "All students will gain an understanding of the origin, evolution, and structure of the universe."

5.12    "All students will develop an understanding of the environment as a system of interdependent components affected by human activity and natural phenomena."

The Science performance standards are built upon the National Research Council's "National Science Education Standards" (1996) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Project 2061 "Benchmarks for Science Literacy" (1993).

In Science, the goal is for all students to achieve scientific literacy. The objectives and competencies included in this curriculum deal with scientific concepts and the application of those concepts within the field of science and in other fields of study.

The National Science Education Standards outline "what students should know, understand, and be able to do in the natural sciences over the course of K-12 education.

Grade K

In the Kindergarten Science course, students begin to grow emotionally, socially, physically, and intellectually. They begin to explore the world of science: physical, life, earth and space. Students engage in activities which require them to develop research and inquiry skills. The course emphasizes the need for students to explore scientific concepts and become aware of how those concepts effect their world.

Research and Inquiry

The Research and Inquiry unit includes the history and development of science and scientists, investigation techniques, the use of instruments in science, communication of scientific concepts, and real world issues that surround science, technology, and mathematics.

Results: Investigations/Compare
The learner will be able to use scientific investigations to compare results using the senses to make observations. (NJCCCS 5.1).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Results	Application	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Real World: Shapes/Identify/Nature
The learner will be able to identify shapes in nature and observe and describe objects by the properties of size, color and shapes. (NJCCCS 5.1).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Real World: Shapes & Forms	Knowledge	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Patterns: Identify/Nature
The learner will be able to identify patterns in nature focusing on seasonal changes, trees , animals getting ready for winter. (NJCCCS 5.4).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Patterns	Knowledge	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Earth and Space Science

The Earth and Space Science unit includes properties of the Earth, moon, sun, solar system, and universe.

Seasons: Four Seasons/Describe
The learner will be able to describe the four different seasons: summer, fall, winter, spring and describe seasonal changes (NJCCCS 5.8.

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Seasons	Comprehension	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Environment Impact
The learner will be able to give examples and describe some ways that people have an impact on the environment. (NJCCCS 5.1, 5.4).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Earth/Space Science	Knowledge	Introduce	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Conservation
The learner will be able to develop ideas for practicing conservation in the environment. (NJCCCS 5.4).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Earth/Space Science	Application	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Environment and Survival
The learner will be able to infer that living things get what they need to survive from the environment. (NJCCCS 5.4).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Earth/Space Science	Comprehension	Introduce	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

The Physical Science unit includes properties of objects, motion of objects, matter, energy, light, heat, electricity, magnetism, and force.

Light: Understanding
The learner will be able to identify objects that give off light, such as a flashlight.

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Light	Knowledge	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

The Life Science unit includes organism characteristics, plants and animals, seasons, life cycles, and the environment.

Living Things: Identify
The learner will be able to identify the living thing when shown pictures of living and non-living things (NJCCCS 5.4).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Living Things	Knowledge	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Sensing the Environment
The learner will be able to identify the parts of the body that are used to sense the environment. (NJCCCS 5.1, 5.5).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Agriculture		Introduce	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Observation and Senses
The learner will be able to use the senses to make observations. (NJCCCS 5.1).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Agriculture	Application	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Descrbe Objects
The learner will be able to describe objects by the way that they feel, smell, taste, sound or look. (NJCCCS 5.1).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Agriculture		Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Classify Objects
The learner will be able to classify objects by the way they feel, taste, smell, sound or look. (NJCCCS 5.1).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Agriculture	Application	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Plant Structure
The learner will be able to understand that plants have certain structures by which they can be described, including roots, stems, and leaves. (NJCCCS 5.5).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Agriculture	Comprehension	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Plant Needs
The learner will be able to infer that plants have certain needs including air, light, warmth, water, and give some common examples. (NJCCCS 5.5).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Agriculture		Introduce	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Living Things: Compare
The learner will be able to compare living things in terms of size, shape, and structure. (NJCCCS 5.5).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Living Things: Characteristics	Analysis	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and KindergartenTeachers.

Heredity: Plants/Observe
The learner will be able to observe the similarities and differences in the offspring of plants and explain and give examples of plants that grow from seeds and how they change as they develop. (NJCCCS 5.5).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Heredity	Comprehension	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.

Animals & Plants: Dependency
The learner will be able to understand that plants and animals depend on each other for survival and that everyone must be responsible for the wise use of the environment and its resources. (NJCCCS 5.4, 5.5).

Strand	Bloom's	Scope	Source
Animals and Plants	Comprehension	Master	New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, National Science Education Standards, The Higher Order Learning (1999) Curriculum, Chester Science Currriculum Committee and Kindergarten Teachers.