Standards & Benchmarks for Matter

Legend: F=Focus in Lesson O=Ongoing Development E=Early Development

NSE STANDARDS			LESSONS															SBAS						SRB
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	1	2	3	4	5	6
A. Science as Inquiry
	Abilities Necessary to do Scientific Inquiry
		Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment.	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O	O			O	O	O		O	O		O
		Plan and conduct a simple investigation.					O					F			F	F						F
		Employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses.		O	F	F	O	O	O	O		O		O	F				O	F
		Use data to construct a reasonable explanation.			O	O				O	O		F			O							F
		Communicate investigations and explanations.		O	O	O	O	O		O			F	O	O	O			O		F	O
		Design and conduct a scientific investigation. (Grades 5 through 8)					O					F	O									F
		Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data. (Grades 5 through 8)																		E
	Understandings About Scientific Inquiry
		Scientific investigations involve asking and answering a question and comparing the answer with what scientists already know about the world.	E	E						O		O			O	O		F	O
		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	O			O		O	O	O	F		O	O	O	O		F			F
		Simple instruments, such as magnifiers, thermometers, and rulers, provide more information than scientists obtain using only their senses.			O	O		O							O					O
		Scientists develop explanations using observations (evidence) and what they already know about the world (scientific knowledge). Good explanations are based on evidence from investigations.			O	O	O		O	O	O		F			O	O						F
		Scientists make the results of their investigations public; they describe the investigations in ways that enable others to repeat the investigations.					O			O			F			O					O	O
		Scientists review and ask questions about the results of other scientists' work.					O						O			O		O			O	O	O
B. Physical Science
	Properties of Objects and Materials
		Objects have many observable properties, including size, weight, shape, color, temperature, and the ability to react with other substances. Those properties can be measured using tools, such as rulers, balances, and thermometers.			F	F	O	F	O			O			O				E	F				O
		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.	E	F				F						F	O									F
		Materials can exist in different states—solid, liquid, and gas. Some common materials, such as water, can be changed from one state to another by heating or cooling.	F	F			F		F	F	F	O	O		O	O								F
		A substance has characteristic properties, such as density… which are independent of the amount of the sample. (Grades 5 through 8)						F																F
		Substances react chemically in characteristic ways with other substances to form new substances... with different characteristic properties. (Grades 5 through 8)															F							F
	Light, Heat, Electricity, and Magnetism
		Magnets attract and repel each other and certain kinds of other materials.												O
D. Earth and Space Science
	Properties of Earth Materials
		Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water, and the gases of the atmosphere. The varied materials have different physical and chemical properties, which make them useful in different ways, for example, as building materials, as sources of fuel, or for growing the plants we use as food. Earth materials provide many of the resources that humans use.																						O
	Structure of the Earth System
		The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and trace gases that include water vapor. The atmosphere has different properties at different elevations. (Grades 5 through 8)																						O
E. Science and Technology
	Understandings about Science and Technology
		People have always had questions about their world. Science is one way of answering questions and explaining the natural world.	O	O			O			O	O	O	O		O	O		O	O					O
		People have always had problems and invented tools and techniques (ways of doing something) to solve problems. Trying to determine the effects of solutions helps people avoid some new problems.																						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	O	O	O	O						O
		Women and men of all ages, backgrounds, and groups engage in a variety of scientific and technological work.																						O
		Tools help scientists make better observations, measurements, and equipment for investigations. They help scientists see, measure, and do things that they could not otherwise see, measure, and do.			O	O	O	O	O	O		O			O				O	O
	Abilities to Distinguish between Natural Objects and Objects Made by Humans
		Some objects occur in nature; others have been designed and made by people to solve human problems and enhance the quality of life.																						O
		Objects can be categorized into two groups, natural and designed.																						O
F. Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
	Types of Resources
		The supply of many resources is limited. If used, resources can be extended through recycling and decreased use.												E										O
	Changes in Environments
		Changes in environments can be natural or influenced by humans. Some changes are good, some are bad, and some are neither good nor bad. Pollution is a change in the environment that can influence the health, survival, or activities of organisms, including humans.																						O
	Science and Technology in Local Challenges
		People continue inventing new ways of doing things, solving problems, and getting work done. New ideas and inventions often affect other people; sometimes the effects are good and sometimes they are bad. It is helpful to try to determine in advance how ideas and inventions will affect other people.																						E
G. History and Nature of Science
	Science as a Human Endeavor
		Science and technology have been practiced by people for a long time.																						O
		Men and women have made a variety of contributions throughout the history of science and technology.																						O
		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.														F
		Many people choose science as a career and devote their entire lives to studying it. Many people derive great pleasure from doing science.																						O
	History of Science
		Many individuals have contributed to the traditions of science. Studying some of these individuals provides further understanding of scientific inquiry, science as a human endeavor, the nature of science, and the relationships between science and society.																						O
		In historical perspective, science has been practiced by different individuals in different cultures. In looking at the history of many peoples, one finds that scientists and engineers of high achievement are considered to be among the most valued contributors to their culture.																						O
		Tracing the history of science can show how difficult it was for scientific innovators to break through the accepted ideas of their time to reach the conclusions that we currently take for granted.																						O

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Legend: F=Focus in Lesson O=Ongoing Development E=Early Development

AAAS BENCHMARKS			LESSONS															SBAS						SRB
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	1	2	3	4	5	6
1. The Nature of Science
	A. The Scientific World View
		Results of similar scientific investigations seldom turn out exactly the same. Sometimes this is because of unexpected differences in the things being investigated, sometimes because of unrealized differences in the methods used or in the circumstances in which the investigation is carried out, and sometimes just because of uncertainties in observations. It is not always easy to tell which.						O		O			O			O
	B. Scientific Inquiry
		Describing things as accurately as possible is important in science because it enables people to compare their observations with those of others. (Grades K through 2)																	F	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	O	O	F		O	O	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.											F							F	F	O
		Scientists' explanations about what happens in the world come 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.			O		E									O			E				F
		Scientists do not pay much attention to claims about how something they know about works unless the claims are backed up with evidence that can be confirmed and with a logical argument.											O						O				F
		If more than one variable changes at the same time in an experiment, the outcome of the experiment may not be clearly attributable to any one of the variables. (Grades 6 through 8)										F										F
	C. The Scientific Enterprise
		Science is an adventure that people everywhere can take part in, as they have for many centuries.																						F
		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.					O			O		O	F	O	O	O		F	O		F	O	O
		Doing science involves many different kinds of work and engages men and women of all ages and backgrounds.																						O
2. The Nature of Mathematics
	C. Mathematical Inquiry
		Numbers and shapes--and operations on them--help to describe and predict things about the world around us.												O	O
3. The Nature of Technology
	A. Technology and Science
		Throughout all of history, people everywhere have invented and used tools. Most tools of today are different from those of the past but many are modifications of very ancient tools.																						O
		Technology enables scientists and others to observe things that are too small or too far away to be seen without them and to study the motion of objects that are moving very rapidly or are hardly moving at all.																						O
		Measuring instruments can be used to gather accurate information for making scientific comparisons of objects and events and for designing and constructing things that will work properly.			O	O		O		O		O	O	O	O					F
		Technology extends the ability of people to change the world: to cut, shape, or put together materials; to move things from one place to another; and to reach farther with their hands, voices, senses, and minds. The changes may be for survival needs such as food, shelter, and defense, for communication and transportation, or to gain knowledge and express ideas.																						O
	C. Issues in Technology
		Technology has been part of life on earth since the advent of the human species. Like language, ritual, commerce, and the arts, technology is an intrinsic part of human culture, and it both shapes society and is shaped by it. The technology available to people greatly influences what their lives are like.																						O
		Any invention is likely to lead to other inventions. Once an invention exists, people are likely to think up ways of using it that were never imagined at first.																						O
4. The Physical Setting
	B. The Earth
		When liquid water disappears, it turns into a gas (vapor) in the air and can reappear as a liquid when cooled, or as a solid if cooled below the freezing point of water. Clouds and fog are made of tiny droplets of water.								F	F		O											F
		Air is a substance that surrounds us, takes up space, and whose movement we feel as wind.		E			F																	F
	D. Structure of Matter
		Heating and cooling causes changes in the properties of material. Many kinds of changes occur faster under hotter conditions.							F	O	O				O									F
		No matter how parts of an object are assembled, the weight of the whole object made is always the same as the sum of the parts; when a thing is broken into parts, the parts have the same total weight as the original thing.			F									F	F
		Materials may be composed of parts that are too small to be seen without magnification.		E						O					F									F
		When a new material is made by combining two or more materials, it has properties that are different from the original materials. For that reason, a lot of different materials can be made from a small number of basic kinds of materials.													O	F	F							O
		Equal volumes of different substances usually have different weights. (Grades 6 through 8)						F																F
		Most substances can exist as a solid, liquid, or gas depending on temperature. (Grades 6 through 8) [AAAS, Atlas of Science Literacy , States of Matter map]	E	E					F	O	F	O												F
	G. The Forces of Nature
		Without touching them, a magnet pulls on all things made of iron and either pushes or pulls on other magnets.												O
8. The Designed World
	B. Materials and Manufacturing
		Through science and technology, a wide variety of materials that do not appear in nature at all have become available, ranging from steel to nylon to liquid crystals.																						O
		Discarded products contribute to the problem of waste disposal. Sometimes it is possible to use the materials in them to make new products, but materials differ widely in the ease with which they can be recycled.																						O
9. The Mathematical World
	A. Numbers
		In some situations, "0" means none of something, but in others it may be just the label of some point on a scale.																		O
		When people care about what is being counted or measured, it is important for them to say what the units are (three degrees Fahrenheit is different from three centimeters, three miles from three miles per hour).			O	F		O	O			O	O	O	O					O
		Measurements are always likely to give slightly different numbers, even if what is being measured stays the same.			O	O							O	O						F
	B. Symbolic Relationships
		Tables and graphs can show how values of one quantity are related to values of another.			O	O			O	O			F	O	O			O					O	F
	C. Shapes
		Length can be thought of as unit lengths joined together, area as a collection of unit squares, and volume as a set of unit cubes.				F																		O
		Graphical display of numbers may make it possible to spot patterns that are not otherwise obvious, such as comparative size and trends.														O		O						O
	D. Uncertainty
		Some predictions can be based on what is known about the past, assuming that the conditions are pretty much the same now.								O				O	O
	E. Reasoning
		One way to make sense of something is to think how it is like something more familiar.									O
11. Common Themes
	C. Constancy and Change
		Some features of things may stay the same even when other features change. Some patterns look the same when they are shifted over, or turned, or reflected, or seen from different directions.			O	O
12. Habits of Mind
	A. Values and Attitudes
		Keep records of their investigations and observations and not change the records later.			O	O	O		O			O	O						O
		Offer reasons for their findings and consider reasons suggested by others.	O				O			O	O		O										O
		Know that often different explanations can be given for the same evidence, and it is not always possible to tell which one is correct. (Grades 6 through 8)	O							O	O		O			O							O
	B. Computation and Estimation
		Add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers mentally, on paper, and with a calculator.				O									O
		Judge whether measurements and computations of quantities such as length, area, volume, weight, or time are reasonable in a familiar context by comparing them to typical values.			O	O								O						O
	C. Manipulation and Observation
		Measure and mix dry and liquid materials (in the kitchen, garage, or laboratory) in prescribed amounts, exercising reasonable safety.			O	O				O		O		F	F
		Keep a notebook that describes observations made, carefully distinguishes actual observations from ideas and speculations about what was observed, and is understandable weeks or months later.		O	O	O	O	O	O	F	O	O	O	O	O	O	O
	D. Communication Skills
		Write instructions that others can follow in carrying out a procedure.					F					F		O		O					F	O
		Make sketches to aid in explaining procedures or ideas.					F						O						O
		Use numerical data in describing and comparing objects and events.			O	O
		Locate information in references… (Grades 6 through 8)																F
	E. Critical-Response Skills
		Recognize when comparisons might not be fair because some conditions are not kept the same.								E			O									F
		Seek better reasons for believing something than "Everybody knows that…" or "I just know" and discount such reasons when given by others.											O										O

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