Standards & Benchmarks for Light
Legend: F=Focus in Lesson O=Ongoing Development E=Early Development
| AAAS BENCHMARKS | LESSONS | SBA | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 1 | |||
| 1. The Nature of Science | |||||||||||||||
| A. The Scientific World View (Introduction, K-2) | F | ||||||||||||||
| B. Scientific Inquiry (Introduction, K-2) | F | ||||||||||||||
| Scientific investigations may take many different forms, including observing what things are like or what is happening somewhere, collecting specimens for analysis, and doing experiments. Investigations can focus on physical, biological, and social questions. | O | F | O | O | O | O | O | ||||||||
| Results of scientific investigations are seldom exactly the same, but if the differences are large, it is important to try to figure out why. One reason for following directions carefully and for keeping records of one's work is to provide information on what might have caused the differences. | O | O | |||||||||||||
| Scientists' explanations about what happens in the world comes partly from what they observe, partly from what they think. Sometimes scientists have different explanations for the same set of observations. That usually leads to their making more observations to resolve the differences. | F | O | F | F | |||||||||||
| C. The Scientific Enterprise (Introduction, K-2) | F | ||||||||||||||
| Science is an adventure that people everywhere can take part in, as they have for centuries. | E | O | |||||||||||||
| Clear communication is an essential part of doing science. It enables scientists to inform others about their work, expose their ideas to criticism by other scientists, and stay informed about scientific discoveries around the world. | E | O | O | ||||||||||||
| Doing science involves many different kinds of work and engages men and women of all ages and backgrounds. | E | ||||||||||||||
| 4. The Physical Setting | |||||||||||||||
| D. Structure of Matter | |||||||||||||||
| Objects can be described in terms of the materials they are made of (clay, cloth, paper, etc.) and their physical properties (color, size, shape, weight, texture, flexibility, etc.) (K-2) | F | ||||||||||||||
| F. Motion | |||||||||||||||
| Light travels and tends to maintain its direction of motion until it interacts with an object or material. Light can be absorbed, redirected, bounced back, or allowed to pass through. | F | F | O | F | F | F | F | F | F | ||||||
| Something can be "seen" when light waves emitted or reflected by it enter the eye. (6-8) | F | O | O | O | O | O | |||||||||
| 9. The Mathematical World | |||||||||||||||
| D. Uncertainty | |||||||||||||||
| Some predictions can be based on what is known about the past, assuming that conditions are pretty much the same now. | O | O | O | O | |||||||||||
| 11. Common Themes | |||||||||||||||
| B. Models (Introduction) | F | ||||||||||||||
| Many of the toys children play with are like real things only in some ways. They are not the same size, are missing many details, or are not able to do all of the same things. (K-2) | F | ||||||||||||||
| A model of something is different from the real thing but can be used to learn something about the real thing. (K-2) | F | F | |||||||||||||
| Geometric figures, number sequences, graphs, diagrams, sketches, number lines, maps, and stories can be used to represent objects, events, and processes in the real world, although such representations can never be exact in every detail. | F | F | F | ||||||||||||
| Models are often used to think about processes that happen too slowly, too quickly, or on too small a scale to observe directly, or that are too vast to be changed deliberately, or that are potentially dangerous. (6-8) | O | O | O | O | O | F | |||||||||
| 12. Habits of Mind | |||||||||||||||
| A. Values and Attitudes (Introduction, K-2; Introduction, 3-5) | F | ||||||||||||||
| Raise questions about the world around them and be willing to seek answers to some of them by making careful observations and trying things out. (K-2) | F | F | |||||||||||||
| Keep records of their investigations and observations and not change records later. | O | O | O | ||||||||||||
| Offer reasons for their findings and consider reasons suggested by others. | O | O | |||||||||||||
| D. Communication Skills | |||||||||||||||
| Describe and compare things in terms of number, shape, texture, size, weight, color, and motion. (K-2) | O | ||||||||||||||
| Make sketches to aid in explaining procedures or ideas. | F | O | O | ||||||||||||
| E. Critical-Response Skills | |||||||||||||||
| Seek better reasons for believing something than "Everybody knows that…" or "I just know" and discount such reasons when given by others. | O | ||||||||||||||
Legend: F=Focus in Lesson O=Ongoing Development E=Early Development
| NSE STANDARDS | LESSONS | SBA | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 1 | |||
| A. Science as Inquiry | |||||||||||||||
| Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry | |||||||||||||||
| Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment. | F | F | |||||||||||||
| Employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses. | O | ||||||||||||||
| Use data to construct a reasonable explanation. | F | ||||||||||||||
| Communicate investigations and explanations. | F | O | O | O | O | ||||||||||
| Understandings about scientific inquiry | |||||||||||||||
| Scientific investigations involve asking and answering a question and comparing the answer with what scientists already know about the world. | F | F | |||||||||||||
| Scientists use different kinds of investigations depending on the questions they're trying to answer. Types of investigations include describing objects, events, and organisms; classifying them; and doing a fair test (experimenting). | O | F | O | O | O | ||||||||||
| Scientists review and ask questions about the results of other scientists' work. | O | ||||||||||||||
| B. Physical Science | |||||||||||||||
| Properties of objects and materials | |||||||||||||||
| Objects are made of one or more materials, such as paper, wood, and metal. Objects can be described by the properties of the materials from which they are made, and those properties can be used to separate or sort a group of objects or materials. | F | O | O | ||||||||||||
| Properties and changes of properties in matter | |||||||||||||||
| To see an object, light from that object--emitted by or scattered from it--must enter the eye. (5-8) | F | O | O | O | O | O | |||||||||
| Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism | |||||||||||||||
| Light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object. Light can be reflected by a mirror, refracted by a lens, or absorbed by the object. | F | F | O | F | F | F | F | F | F | ||||||
| E. Science and Technology | |||||||||||||||
| Understanding about science and technology | |||||||||||||||
| People have always had questions about their world. Science is one way of answering questions and explaining the natural world. | F | O | O | ||||||||||||
| Scientists and engineers often work in teams with different individuals doing different things that contribute to the results. This understanding focuses primarily on teams working together, and secondarily, on the combination of scientist and engineer teams. | O | O | |||||||||||||
| G. History and Nature of Science | |||||||||||||||
| Science as a human endeavor | |||||||||||||||
| Although men and women using scientific inquiry have learned much about the objects, events, and phenomena in nature, much remains to be understood. Science will never be finished. | E | ||||||||||||||
| Many people choose science as a career and devote their entire lives to studying it. Many people derive great pleasure from doing science. | E | ||||||||||||||
| Unifying Concepts and Processes (K-12) | |||||||||||||||
| Evidence, models, and explanation | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | ||||||||