Science Cumulative Progress Indicators (CPIs) for the end of the designated grade span

Place a "+" for an expectation that represents a strength & a "-" for a weakness

+ or -

A.     Habits of Mind

By the end of Grade 4, students will:

 1.         Raise questions about the world around them and be willing to seek answers through making careful observations and experimentation.

 2.        Keep records that describe observations, carefully distinguish actual observations from ideas and speculations, and are understandable weeks and months later.

 3.         Recognize that when a science investigation is replicated, very similar results are expected.

 4.         Know that when solving a problem it is important to plan and get ideas and help from other people.

B.     Inquiry and Problem Solving

 1.         Develop strategies and skills for information–gathering and problem-solving, using appropriate tools and technologies.

 2.         Identify the evidence used in an explanation.

C.     Safety

 1.         Recognize that conducting science activities requires an awareness of potential hazards and the need for safe practices.

 2.         Understand and practice safety procedures for conducting science investigations.

+ or -

STANDARD 5.2    (SCIENCE AND SOCIETY)    ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW PEOPLE OF VARIOUS CULTURES HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, AND HOW MAJOR DISCOVERIES AND EVENTS HAVE ADVANCED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.

A.     Cultural Contributions

By the end of Grade 4, students will:

1.         Describe how people in different cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and technology.

B.     Historical Perspectives

 1.         Hear, read, write, and talk about scientists and inventors in historical context.

+ or -

STANDARD 5.3    (MATHEMATICAL APPLICATIONS)    ALL STUDENTS WILL INTEGRATE MATHEMATICS AS A TOOL FOR PROBLEM-SOLVING IN SCIENCE, AND AS A MEANS OF EXPRESSING AND/OR MODELING SCIENTIFIC THEORIES.

A.     Numerical Operations

By the end of Grade 4, students will:

1.         Determine the reasonableness of estimates, measurements, and computations of quantities when doing science.

 2.         Recognize and comprehend the orders of magnitude associated with large and small physical quantities.

 3.         Express quantities using appropriate number formats, such as:

·        integers.

·        fractions.

B.     Geometry and Measurement

By the end of Grade 4, students will:

 1.         Select appropriate measuring instruments based on the degree of precision required.

 2.         Use a variety of measuring instruments and record measured quantities using the appropriate units.

C.     Patterns and Algebra

 1.         Identify patterns when observing the natural and constructed world.

D.    Data Analysis and Probability

 1.         Use tables and graphs to represent and interpret data.

+ or -

STANDARD 5.4     (NATURE AND PROCESS OF TECHNOLOGY)     ALL STUDENTS WILL UNDERSTAND THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOP A CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE AND PROCESS OF TECHNOLOGY.

A.     Science and Technology

By the end of Grade 2, students will:

 1.         Indicators for this strand are introduced at a higher grade level.

B.     Nature of Technology

 1.         Select and use simple tools and materials to complete a task.

C.     Technological Design

 1.         Make a plan in order to design a solution to a problem.

 2.         Describe a toy or other familiar object as a system with parts that work together.

+ or -

STANDARD 5.5    (CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE)   ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUCTURE, CHARACTERISTICS, AND BASIC NEEDS OF ORGANISMS AND WILL INVESTIGATE THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE.

A.     Matter, Energy and Organization in Living Systems

By the end of Grade 2, students will:

 1.        Investigate the basic needs of humans and other organisms.

 2.         Compare and contrast essential characteristics that distinguish living things from nonliving things.

B.     Diversity and Biological Evolution

By the end of Grade 2, students will:

 1.         Recognize that different types of plants and animals live in different parts of the world.

 2.         Recognize that some kinds of organisms that once lived on earth have completely disappeared.

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 4, students will:

1.         Develop a simple classification scheme for grouping organisms.

 2.         Recognize that individuals vary within every species, including humans.

C.     Reproduction and Heredity

By the end of Grade 2, students will:

 1.         Recognize that humans and other organisms resemble their parents.

+ or -

STANDARD 5.6 (CHEMISTRY) ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUCTURE AND BEHAVIOR OF MATTER.

A.     Structure and Properties of Matter

By the end of Grade 2, students will:

1.         Sort objects according to the materials from which they are made or their physical properties, and give a rationale for sorting.

 2.         Use magnifiers to observe materials, then draw and describe what more can be seen using the tools.

 3.         Observe that water can be a liquid or a solid and can change from one form to the other.

B.     Chemical Reactions

By the end of Grade 2, students will:

 1.         Indicators for this strand are introduced at a higher grade level.

+ or -

STANDARD 5.7    (PHYSICS) ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF NATURAL LAWS AS THEY APPLY TO MOTION, FORCES, AND ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS.

A.     Motion and Forces

By the end of Grade 2, students will:

 1.         Distinguish among the different ways objects can move such as:

·       fast and slow.

·       in a straight line.

·        in a circular path.

·        back and forth.

 2.         Show that the position and motion of an object can be changed by pushing or pulling the object.

B.     Energy Transformations

By the end of Grade 2, students will:

 1.         Demonstrate that sound can be produced by vibrating objects.

+ or -

STANDARD 5.8    (EARTH SCIENCE)  ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUCTURE, DYNAMICS, AND GEOPHYSICAL SYSTEMS OF THE EARTH.

A.     Earth’s Properties and Materials

By the end of Grade 2, students:

 1.         Observe and describe rocks and soil.

B.     Atmosphere and Water

By the end of Grade 2, students:

 1.        Identify the sources and uses of water.

 2.         Recognize that water can disappear (evaporate) and collect on cold surfaces (condense).

 3.         Describe current weather conditions and recognize how those conditions affect our daily lives.

4.         Describe daily and seasonal changes and patterns in the weather.

C.     Processes that Shape the Earth

By the end of Grade 2, students:

Indicators for this strand are introduced at a higher grade level.

D.    How We Study the Earth

By the end of Grade 2, students:

1.         Record observations that describe the features of the natural world in their local environment.

STANDARD 5.9    (ASTRONOMY and SPACE SCIENCE)  ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE ORIGIN, EVOLUTION, AND STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE

A.     Earth, Moon, Sun System

By the end of Grade 2, students will: 

 1.         Recognize that the sun supplies light and heat to the Earth.

 2.         Observe the patterns of day and night and the movements of the shadows of an objects on the Earth during the course of a day.

B.     Solar System

By the end of Grade 2, students will: 

 1.         Recognize that the sun can only be seen during the day, but the moon can be seen sometimes at night and sometimes during the day.

C.     Stars

 1.         Observe that stars are many, scattered, and different in brightness.

 2.         Observe that the position of the stars, with respect to each other (constellations) is unchanging.

D.    Galaxies and Universe

  Indicators for this strand are introduced at a higher grade level.

+ or -

STANDARD 5.10 (ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES) ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE ENVIRONMENT AS A SYSTEM OF INTERDEPENDENT COMPONENTS AFFECTED BY HUMAN ACTIVITY AND NATURAL PHENOMENA.

A.     Natural Systems and Interactions

By the end of Grade 2, students will:

 1.         Associate organisms' basic needs with how they meet those needs within their surroundings.

B.     Human Interactions and Impact

 1.         Identify various needs of humans that are supplied by the natural or constructed environment.