SCIENCE

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 1

By the end of grade 1, students will be able to:

1. Construct and maintain a classroom aquarium and terrarium and

identify the living and nonliving materials in each.

2. Define habitat as the place where a plant, animal, or human

lives; and describe various types of habitats in the neighborhood

of the school and types of living things found in each.

3. Give examples of how plants, animals, and humans use water,

air, and soil.

4. Explain how a plant's structure or an animal's body or certain

<*dv_0*>body parts help protect it.

5. Compare and contrast animals on the basis of where they live,

how they protect themselves, and how they obtain food.

6. Classify and describe rocks by the way they look and feel, and

learn the name of at least one igneous, metamorphic, and

sedimentary rock.

7. Determine the hardness of some rocks and minerals by their

ability to scratch one another.

8. Observe the earth from space via a globe with special emphasis

to land features (mountains, glaciers, deserts, plains, etc.),

continents, water distribution, their home on earth.

9. Observe the changes in weather with special emphasis on

seasonal changes and clouds and weather.

10. Observe how the sky changes daily (sunrise, sunset) and

relate this to time.

11. Record monthly sky changes (following the moon and stars).

12. Record and explain the yearly (seasonal) changes in the sky

(height of sun and moon, length of days, etc.).

13. Explain forces that cause objects to move, by pushing or

pulling.

14. Identify and observe gravity, electricity, and magnets as

sources of forces.

15. Name and use three simple machines: wheels, inclined planes,

levers.

16. Measure the force with and without a ramp with a rubber band

showing how machines trade force for distance.

17. Demonstrate the use of an equal-arm balance and relate the

principle to a playground seesaw and mobiles.

18. Observe and describe how magnets attract and repel each other

and other objects.

19. Describe how a push or pull is needed to start an object

moving, to keep it moving, to change its speed or direction, or

to stop it while it is in motion.

20. Charge some type of plastic material (create an electrical

force by rubbing) and use it to exert a force to lift small bits

of paper.

21. Explain how exercise is related to good health and determine

their optimum heart-rate range for exercise to have an effect on

their physical fitness.

22. Determine how many of certain exercises can be done in a

15-second interval, as they seek to grow in health and

well-being.

23. Identify dangerous household substances (e.g., detergents,

furniture polish, insect repellents) and poisonous nonfood

plants, and list precautions taken to protect themselves and

others from bodily harm.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 2

By the end of grade 2, students will be able to:

1. Arrange in order drawings or photographs of the growth stages

of various plants, animals, and humans.

2. Compare with friends and relatives such items as hand size,

amount of hair, smoothness of skin.

3. Describe changes that take place in plants, animals, and

humans as they grow older.

4. Discuss food groups, foods, and snacks that promote good

health, and safe handling and storage of foods.

5. List some examples of weathering in general, and observe

erosion in particular in a stream table or schoolyard setting.

6. Observe areas where weathering and/or erosion have taken place

and predict what will happen to that area in the future.

7. Explain how soil is formed from the weathering of rocks, and

identify some methods used to prevent erosion.

8. Keep a weather record of temperature, wind, and rain.

9. Find order in waves (e.g., as observed with a Slinky spring

toy, ripple tank, puddle), noting especially interaction with

obstacles (reflection and transmission).

10. Construct a series of activities for studying the behavior of

waves as they partially reflect and/or pass through various

objects.

11. Test air, water, plastic, wood, and metals to determine their

ability to transmit sound.

12. State that light and sound behave as waves when they

partially reflect and partially transmit.

13. Observe the images of themselves and other objects in

mirrors, paying attention to size and location.

14. Measure object locations and image locations finding object

distance (Do) equal to image distance (Di). That is, connect Do =

Di to observations and location of images and objects (first

formal connecting of math language to nature).

15. Construct simple musical instruments and demonstrate how to

change their pitch.

16. Explain how we hear sounds, how sounds affect us, and how to

reduce sounds classified as noise.

17. Build a scale model for size and relative distance of the

moon about the earth and earth about the sun.

18. Use the sun/moon/earth scale model to represent a day, a

month, and a year.

19. Draw a not-to-scale model of the solar system to explain the

motion of the planets.

20. Describe the appearance of the night sky and identify at

least three constellations and three stars.

21. Discuss living things of long ago dinosaurs, extinct

animals and reasons for their demise, and apply this to

endangered species today.

22. Discuss the interrelationship of all living things, the value

of the variety God created, and the responsibility God gave to

humans to tend the earth.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 3

By the end of grade 3, students will be able to

1. Classify various objects to clarify the meaning of

classification.

2. Classify animals: backbone versus no backbone (vertebrate and

invertebrate).

3. Classify plants: those that reproduce by seeds or no seeds;

those that have seeds from flowers or cones; monocots and dicots.

4. Examine and identify the parts of a flower and a seed and

their functions; grow a monocot and a dicot.

5. Grow and observe a microgarden and microgarden plants: algae,

mold, mushrooms, etc.

6. Order the life cycle of some common animals: humans, chickens,

etc.

7. Observe and record the life cycle of mealworms.

8. Observe and discuss the habitats of plants and animals: city,

desert, plain, forest, seashore.

9. Build terraria and aquaria as sample habitats to tend and

observe long-term.

10. Measure the mass of various items on a balance and identify

the kilogram (via a one-liter water bottle).

11. Measure the volume of various solids, liquids and gases using

both metric and English measures.

12. Measure the lengths, areas, and volumes of solid objects;

build and draw lengths, areas, and volumes.

13. Measure the temperature of various materials using Celsius

and Fahrenheit thermometers. Chart the information.

14. Measure (or collect from TV or other media sources) the

variables of weather and keep a record: temperature

(indoor/outdoor thermometer), wind speed, cloudiness, and

moisture.

15. List the five senses and draw sketches and describe the parts

for the tongue, eye, and ear.

16. Discuss the limitations connected to impairments in any of

the senses.

17. Plan diets for third-graders that use the four food groups or

food pyramid wisely. Discuss appropriate health and wellness

issues. Keep a dietary record for a week. Commit to wholesome

eating habits.

18. Focus on the moon: keeping track of where it is for a month,

and through the seasons, explaining its motions and its phases.

19. Duplicate the moon phases and motions with a classroom model.

20. Discuss changes in the earth (erosion, volcanoes,

earthquakes), their causes and their effects, observing live in

the field examples where possible.

21. Observe the force of freezing water as an agent of change

(outdoors in winter, or in a freezer).

22. Predict from given sets of conditions or photographs where

water, ice, or wind erosion would be most likely to occur.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 4

By the end of grade 4, students will be able to

1. Discuss a plant as a system, explaining the function of each

part: root, stem, leaves, fruit, seeds.

2. Observe, identify, and explain survival strategies for birds,

fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals.

3. Explain unusual animal adaptations: body parts, mimicry,

behavior, camouflage.

4. State that a "community" includes a series of interdependent

populations in a given area.

5. Analyze a given community (e.g., pond, woods, field) and give

examples of producers, consumers, and decomposers.

6. Write a report on the concept of competition niche and

predator-prey relations in a given community and how nature tends

to establish an equilibrium.

7. Compare and contrast food chains and food webs.

8. Develop a food web given a group of forest or ocean organisms.

9. Identify and explain the living and nonliving parts of an

ecosystem.

10. Discover the laws of attraction and repulsion for magnets,

identify the North and South Poles, and divide materials by their

response to a magnet.

11. Make an iron filings picture of the magnetic lines of force

about various arrangements of magnets.

12. Make magnets and make them stronger by stroking soft iron

materials, (e.g. hacksaw blades, nails) on a strong magnet.

13. Compare and contrast igneous rocks and describe how they are

formed.

14. Build a model of a volcano and connect it to the idea of

igneous rocks.

15. Describe the location of effort, resistance, and fulcrum in a

first-, second-, and third-class lever.

16. List examples of compound machines and identify several

simple machines in each example.

17. Use a lever to show that work (force x distance) is conserved

in the system: work in = work out and explain that force may be

exchanged for distance and vice versa.

18. Identify work as a way to measure energy.

19. Build structures (bridges, etc.) using straws, toothpicks,

etc., and discover the principles of strength.

20. Sketch the principle parts of digestive, circulatory, and

respiratory systems, labeling the parts and explaining their

functions.

21. Discuss health practices, activities, diets that will support

good health in digestive, circulatory, and respiratory systems.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 5

By the end of grade 5, students will be able to

1. Measure the amount of work done in lifting an object (Work =

Force x Distance).

2. Explain that work transfers energy either to the system

(stretching a spring or the "spring" of gravity) or to the motion

of a particle as kinetic energy.

3. Demonstrate the difference between potential and kinetic

energy and explain how, when energy is transferred from one form

to another, it is still conserved.

4. Identify the parts of the excretory, skeletal, muscular,

nervous, and reproductive systems, and list the functions of

each.

5. Define an atom and a molecule and connect the names of

compounds to their constituent atoms.

6. Construct molecular models of simple compounds (first 20

atoms) based on their chemical formulas.

7. Connect the formulas of compounds of their names with the

periodic chart of the elements.

8. Use the Roman number of the columns of the periodic chart to

identify the number of bonds (hands) used by the element to

attach to other atoms in building molecules.

9. Read basic weather instruments and weather maps.

10. Predict weather conditions for the next day based on a given

weather map or set of changing data.

11. Interpret the symbols on a topographical map.

12. Measure the size of the earth by using Eratosthenes' method.

(Call a friend that lives south or north.)

13. Measure the time of day by using shadows cast by the sun.

14. Demonstrate how lunar and solar eclipses can occur.

15. Make a billion to one scale model of the solar system (size

and distance) outdoors, as a display for the community.

16. Describe the method used to measure the distance to a star.

17. Make slides of simple cells (onion, hair, cheek) and properly

focus them under a microscope.

18. Describe the basic difference between plant and animal cells.

19. Create their own hay infusion and identify the organisms in

it.

20. Differentiate between asexual and sexual reproduction.

21. Compare the reproductive processes and embryology of the

chicken with that of a human being.

22. Identify relationships, obligations, and responsibilities

humans owe to members of both sexes.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 6

By the end of grade 6, students will be able to

1. Observe objects through colored filters and find the order

present.

2. Show that all the colors together make white light and use

this idea to explain color phenomena.

3. Build an adding and subtracting model for color to explain

beams and paints respectively, using a basic set of filters

(dark red, green, blue; light cyan [blue], yellow, and magenta).

4. Discover the laws of reflection for plane mirrors: object

distance equals image distance (Do = Di) and angle of incidence

equals angle of reflection (<I = <r).

5. Draw ray diagrams to show the lines of sight and explain why

we see what we do in plane mirrors.

6. Use the ray diagram idea to explain images in convex and

concave mirrors. Compare the drawings to observations.

7. Explain what chromosomes are and how the chromosomes of sperm

and egg cells are different from other cells.

8. Describe what happens during and after fertilization.

9. Use insect cards or similar to practice using the laws of

inheritance as they apply to dominant and recessive

characteristics. Distinguish between a hybrid and a mutant.

10. Use the cell model to explain the activities of cells (life

processes, structure, reproduction).

11. Explain the activities of flowering plants (transport,

photosynthesis, growth, and development).

12. Investigate changes through time (fossils, changes in living

things, endangered species, extinct species).

13. Observe the behavior of charged objects (static electricity)

and discover the laws of charge (the two fluid theory): two

kinds, plus and minus, like charges repels, unlike charges

attract.

14. Use the laws of attraction and repulsion to explain the

effects possible with an electroscope. Distinguish conductors

from insulators.

15. Build simple circuits for current electricity. Distinguish

series and parallel circuits. Measure volts, amperes, and

resistance with a multimeter. Calculate energy in kilowatt hours.

Use batteries, wires, and bulbs to construct a parallel circuit

and a series circuit.

16. Describe an electric generator. Tell how magnetism is used to

produce electricity. Make an electromagnet.

17. Classify and identify minerals according to hardness,

cleavage, luster, streak, color, and specific gravity

18. Explain how crystals, minerals, igneous, sedimentary, and

metamorphic rocks are formed.

19. Identify and name common rocks such as sandstone,

conglomerate, shale, granite, basalt, marble, and coal.

20. Explain how the position of rock formations can give clues to

history. Compare the methods of dating rocks.

21. Explain the everyday observation of the motion of sun, moon,

and stars using the heliocentric model.

22. Describe a model as the idea used to make sense of the world

observed either directly or indirectly. Do a box experiment.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 7

By the end of grade 7, students will be able to

1. Organize their learning of plants and animals with

classifications charts.

2. Compare the life cycles of viruses and bacteria with those of

molds and yeasts.

3. Examine the life cycles of green algae, liverworts, and

mosses.

4. Explain photosynthesis.

5. Name the structure and functions of the parts of a flowering

plant stems, roots, leaves, flowers, etc.

6. Explain why we call plants producers and animals consumers.

7. Investigate the diversity among the animals from amoeba to

mammals.

8. Compare transpiration and respiration in animals of varying

complexity.

9. Compare coordination, support, and locomotion in animals of

varying complexity.

10. Compare reproduction across the animal kingdom.

11. Explain how development is controlled in animals.

12. Construct an experiment to study various responses that

living things make to stimuli.

13. Explain the life cycles of some common plants and animals.

14. Explain the atomic theory and list some differences between

atoms and molecules.

15. Use the periodic chart to determine the number of bonds

available to an atom.

16. Build molecules for the first 20 atoms, using the periodic

chart.

17. Write chemical sentences for simple interactions observed in

everyday life.

18. Find the law of definite and multiple proportions from

experiment.

19. Measure forces and use them to accelerate carts and lift

objects.

20. Measure the energy of work (F x d), kinetic energy of carts

(´ mv2), potential of gravity.

21. Identify and measure the impulse (F x t) and the momentum

(mv) of carts and show them equal.

OBJECTIVES FOR GRADE 8

By the end of grade 8, students will be able to

1. Observe and compare plant and animal cells.

2. Explain diffusion and osmosis and give examples of each.

3. Discuss cell division and mitosis and state what happens to

chromosomes during mitosis.

4. Describe the skin and list examples of its function.

5. Explain the structure of bones and how pairs of muscles help

the bones to move.

6. Name the structures and functions of the parts of the

digestive, respiratory, circulatory, excretory, and reproductive

systems.

7. Tell how the nervous and endocrine systems control and

regulate the body.

8. Identify interrelations among organisms in nature.

9. Evaluate ways in which man affects the state of the biosphere.

10. Analyze several current problems in the biosphere.

11. Evaluate the effect of drugs and alcohol on human systems and

commit to their control.

12. Discuss and practice elements of good nutrition.

13. Use the atomic molecular model to explain the behavior of

acids and bases.

14. Write chemical sentences for observed chemical changes.

15. Examine the evidence for the atomic molecular model (definite

proportions, conservation, etc.).

16. Learn to produce, collect, and identify common gases.

17. Use the ideas of chemistry to explain the changes in everyday

things kitchen chemistry; air, land, and water pollution; the

ozone problem; organic molecules.

18. Demonstrate the electrical nature of matter circuits, static

electricity, dissociation of water, etc.

19. Order the behavior of waves from ripple tank observations.

20. Observe and explain light and sound behaviors as wave

phenomena.

21. Compare wave and particle behaviors in nature.