Unifying Concepts and Processes

Systems, Order, & Organization
Laws of force, motion, classification of organisms, planetary motion.

Evidence, Models, Explanation
Prediction, probability, hypotheses, models, laws.

Constancy, Change, Measurement
Rate, scale, patterns, trends, cycles.

Evolution & Equilibrium
Changes in environment, populations, ecosystems, conservation of energy, natural- and human- induced hazards.

Form & Function
Diversity and adaptation of organisms, interaction of energy and matter, behavior of organisms.

Science as Inquiry

Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigation.

Design and conduct scientific investigation.

Use technology and mathematics to improve investigation and communication.

Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic and evidence

Content

Life Science:

Life Cycles and Heredity

	Identify common characteristics of the life cycles of animals and plants.
	Relate decomposition of the life cycle.
	Identify the stages of the life cycle of the frog.
	Explain how metamorphosis occurs in the life cycle of a frog.
	Compare the life cycle of a frog to other animals.
	Differentiate between inherited traits and those that result from interactions with the environment.

Organisms and Their Environment

	Explain how environment has changed the characteristics of present animals from their prehistoric ancestors.
	Relate habitats to an ecosystem.
	Describe responses how organisms respond to internal or external stimuli.
	Design an experiment to study the responses of a living thing to stimuli (hypotheses, observation, data collection, and conclusion).
	Describe the stimuli responses exhibited by plants such as heliotropism and geotropism.
	Explain how loss of habitat results in the endangerment of species; give examples of animals that are endangered.
	Distinguish between instinctive (turtles burying their eggs) and learned behaviors (humans building fires for warmth).

Earth and Space Science:

Structure of the Earth System

	Identify and label the layers of the earth.
	Identify the three categories of rocks and explain the process involved in their formation; differentiate the characteristics of each category.
	Explain how different weather conditions interact to produce various types of precipitation.
	Relate the water cycle to changes in the earth's surface.

Earth's History

	Discuss and describe the effects of volcanic eruptions.
	Discuss and describe the effects of earthquakes.

Earth in the Solar System

Explain the normal, predictable motions of the earth and its moon in the solar system, and how these motions effect the day, year, and phases of the moon.

Physical Science:

Physics -- Energy

	Compare and contrast the different forms of energy.
	Explain how different forms of energy cause motion or change.
	Define friction and relate it to force.
	Determine the friction between sliders and surfaces.
	Determine the amount of friction between surfaces with a spring scale.
	Predict the amount of effort needed to move a load on a surface.
	Identify different forms of energy and explain how each form can be converted into another usable form of energy.
	Explain the causes of static electricity and predict when static electricity will occur; discuss.
	Build simple circuits using combinations of battery, bulb, wire, buzzer, motor, and switches.
	Identify materials as conductors or nonconductors.

Technology/Engineering:

Materials and Tools

Identify the materials used to build an electromagnet.

Construct and test a simple electromagnet using a nail, insulated wire, and a 6-volt battery.

Engineering Design Process

	Discuss the need to maintain reasonable temperatures within a house.
	Develop designs for a house that will maintain a comfortable temperature in an extreme temperature environment (arctic, equatorial, or temperate [Massachusetts]).
	Identify the factors that engineers/builders must consider when they design houses in different climates.
	Discuss how engineers use animal movements as a basis for their own designs of moving objects (how birds fly to airplanes [wings], how aquatic animals swim to boats [of propulsion and shape]).

Science Applications

Identify a problem or design an opportunity.

Propose designs and choose between alternative solutions.

Implement a proposed solution.

Evaluate the solution and its proposed consequences.

Communicate the problem, process, and solution.

Science: Personal & Social Perspectives

Personal and community health.

Population growth.

Natural resources.

Environmental quality.

Natural- and Human-induced hazards.

History and Nature of Science

Science as Human Endeavor
Requiring reasoning, insight, energy, skill, and creativity, as well as habits of mind, i.e., intellectual honesty, tolerance of ambiguity, skepticism, and openness to new ideas.

Nature of Scientific Knowledge
Including evaluation of experiments, observations, theoretical models, proposed explanations, evidence, reasoning, and alternate conclusions.

Historical Perspectives
Including the study of famous scientists and discoveries.