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Teaching to Mandated Science Standards
Each activity and lesson plan is tied directly to California state standards, and will eventually be related to other state curricula. Standards are designated by Grade level ("Gr"), category ("Sc" for Science and "HSS" for History and Social Science). For example, standard "Gr7, Sc4c" is the California science standard labeled 4c for Grade 7. A list of standards is shown at the bottom of every activity, and a comprehensive list is here:
CALIFORNIA
Gr1, Sc4b. Record observations and data with pictures, numbers, or written statements.
Gr1, Sc4d. Describe the relative position of objects by using two references (e.g., above and next to, below and left of).
Gr1, Sc4e. Make new observations when discrepancies exist between two descriptions of the same object or phenomenon.
Gr1, HSS2. Compare the information that can be derived from a three-dimensional model to the information that can be derived from a picture of the same location.
Gr1, HSS3. Construct a simple map, using cardinal directions and map symbols.
Gr2, Sc3. Earth is made of materials that have distinct properties and provide resources for human activities. As a basis for understanding this concept:
Gr2, Sc3a. Students know how to compare the physical properties of different kinds of rocks and know that rock is composed of different combinations of mineral
Gr2, Sc3d. Students know that fossils provide evidence about the plants and animals that lived long ago and that scientists learn about the past history of Earth by studying fossils.
Gr2, HSS2.2. Students demonstrate map skills by describing the absolute and relative locations of people, places, and environments.
Gr3, Sc3e. Students know that some kinds of organisms that once lived on Earth have completely disappeared and that some of those resembled others that are alive today.
Gr4, Sc4a. Students know how to differentiate among igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks by referring to their properties and methods of formation (rock cycle).
Gr4, Sc5a. Students know some changes in the earth are due to slow processes, such as erosion, and some changes are due to rapid processes, such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes.
Gr4, Sc5b. Students know natural processes, including freezing and thawing and the growth of roots, cause rocks to break down into smaller pieces.
Gr4, Sc5c. Students know moving water erodes landforms, reshaping the land by taking it away from some places and depositing it as pebbles, sand, silt and mud in other places (weathering, transport, and deposition).
Gr6, Sc2. Topography is reshaped by the weathering of rock and soil and by the transportation and deposition of sediment.
Gr6, Sc2a. Students know water running downhill is the dominant process in shaping the landscape, including California 's landscape.
Gr6, Sc2b. Students know rivers and streams are dynamic systems that erode, transport sediment, change course, and flood their banks in natural and recurring patterns.
Gr6, Sc2c. Students know beaches are dynamic systems in which the sand is supplied by rivers and moved along the coast by the action of waves.
Gr7, Sc4. Evidence from rocks allows us to understand the evolution of life on Earth. As a basis for understanding this concept:
Gr7, Sc4a. Students know Earth processes today are similar to those that occurred in the past and slow geologic processes have large cumulative effects over long periods of time.
Gr7, Sc4c. Students know that the rock cycle includes the formation of new sediment and rocks and that rocks are often found in layers, with the oldest generally on the bottom.
Gr7, Sc4e. Students know fossils provide evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed.
Gr7, Sc7a. Select and use appropriate tools and technology (including calculators, computers, balances, spring scales, microscopes, and binoculars) to perform tests, collect data, and display data.
Gr7, Sc7c. Communicate the logical connection among hypotheses, science concepts, tests conducted, data collected, and conclusions drawn from the scientific evidence.
Gr7, Sc7d. Construct scale models, maps, and appropriately labeled diagrams to communicate scientific knowledge (e. g., motion of Earth's plates and cell structure).
Gr9-12, ES3c. Students know how to explain the properties of rocks based on the physical and chemical conditions in which they formed, including plate tectonic processes.
Gr9-12, Bio8e. Students know fossils provide evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed.
Gr9-12, Bio8g.* Students know how several independent molecular clocks, calibrated against each other and combined with evidence from the fossil record, can help to estimate how long ago various groups of organisms diverged evolutionarily from one another.
