NSES Content Standard

• Earth and Space Science K-4

• Properties of Earth materials

  Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, liquid water, and the gases of the atmosphere. These varied materials have different physical and chemical properties. These properties make them useful, 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 humans use.

  Soils have properties of color and texture, capacity to retain water and ability to support the growth of many kinds of plants, including those in our food supply. Other Earth materials are used to construct buildings, make plastics and provide fuel for generating electricity and operating cars and trucks.

  The surface of the Earth changes. Some changes are due to slow processes, such as erosion and weathering, and some changes are due to rapid processes such as landslides, volcanoes, and earthquakes.

  Fossils provide evidence about the plants and animals that lived long ago and nature of the environment at that time.

CE/CE Concept A:
• Rocks and soil move through a continuous cycle.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• A1

  To understand some living and non-living components of soil

• A2

  To understand the different kinds of soil

• A3

  To understand the various kinds of rocks and how they are formed

• A4

  To understand the rock-soil cycle

• A5

  To understand factors which cause changes in the earth's surface

NSES Content Standard

• Earth and Space Science K-4

• Objects in the sky

  The sun, moon, stars, clouds, birds, and airplanes all have properties, locations, and movements that can be described and that may change.

  Objects in the sky have patters of movement. The Sun, for example, appears to move across the sky in the same way every day, but its path changes slowly over the seasons. The moon moves across the sky on a daily basis much like the sun. The shape of the moon seems to change from day to day in a cycle that lasts about a month.

  The sun provides the light and heat necessary to maintain the temperature of the Earth.

CE/CE Concept B:
• Our solar system is composed of many objects which revolve around a star.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• B1

  To understand the composition of our solar system including the similarities and differences among planets

• B2

  To understand the earth-sun-moon relationship

CE/CE Concept Jb:
• Day and night result from the rotation of the earth.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• B3

  To understand the relationship of the earth and sun in changing from day to night

NSES Content Standard

• Earth and Space Science K-4

• Objects in the sky

  Weather can change from day to day and over the season. Weather can be described by measurable quantities, such as temperature, wind direction and speed, precipitation, and humidity.

CE/CE Concept C:
• Cloud formations are associated with weather conditions.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• C1

  To understand how cloud formations relate to weather conditions

CE/CE Concept Ca:
• Atmospheric conditions vary.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• C2

  To understand weather and the effect of changing atmospheric conditions

• C3

  To understand how weather predictions are made

NSES Content Standard

• No correlation

• No correlation

CE/CE Concept D:
• Oceans are important to life on earth.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• D1

  To understand the physical features of the oceans

• D2

  To understand the relationship among ocean food chains

• D3

  To understand resources provided by the oceans

• D4

  To understand the movement of oceans in currents, tides, and waves

CE/CE Concept Da:
• The topography of the ocean floor is in constant change.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• D5

  To understand the structure and constant changing of the ocean floor

• D6

  To understand the changes which occur in the oceans and their effect on the earth

• D7

  To understand relationships among oceans, weather, and climate

NSES Content Standard

• Life Science K-4

• The characteristics of organisms

  Organisms have basic needs, which for animals are air, water, and food. -Organisms can only survive in environments in which they can meet their needs. The world has many different environments, and distinct environments support the life of different types of organisms.

  Each plant or animal has different structures which serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct structures of the body for walking, holding, seeing, and talking.

  The behavior of individual organisms is influenced by internal cues such as hunger and by external cues such as an environmental change. Humans and other organisms have senses that help them detect internal and external cues.

• Life Science K-4

• Life Cycles of organisms

  Plants and animals have life cycles that include being born, developing into adults, reproducing, and eventually dying. The details of this life cycle are different for different organisms.

  Plants and animals closely resemble their parents.

  Many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents of the organism, but other characteristics result from, an individual's interactions with the environment. Inherited characteristic include the color of flowers and the number of limbs of an animal. Other features such as the ability to play a musical instrument, are learned through interactions with the environment.

• Life Science K-4

• Organisms and their environments

  All animals depend on plants. Some animals eat plants for food. Other animals eat animals that eat the plants.

CE/CE Concept E:
• Animals differ in many ways.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• E1

  To understand distinguishing characteristics of selected vertebrates and invertebrates

• E2

  To understand the increasing complexity of cellular organization from cell to organism

CE/CE Concept Ea:
• Animals must be able to adapt to changes in order to survive.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• E3

  To understand the means and characteristics of animal adaptation

NSES Content Standard

• Life Science K-4

• The characteristics of organisms

  Plants require air, water and light.

  Each plant or animal has different structures which serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct structures of the body for walking, holding, seeing, and talking.

• Life Science K-4

• Life Cycles of organisms

  Plants and animals have life cycles that include being born, developing into adults, reproducing, and eventually dying. The details of this life cycle are different for different organisms.

  Plants and animals closely resemble their parents.

  Many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents of the organism, but other characteristics result from, an individual's interactions with the environment. Inherited characteristic include the color of flowers and the number of limbs of an animal. Other features such as the ability to play a musical instrument, are learned through interactions with the environment.

• Life Science K-4

• Organisms and their environments

  All animals depend on plants. Some animals eat plants for food. Other animals eat animals that eat the plants.

CE/CE Concept F:
• Living things are composed of one or more cells.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• F1

  To recognize the basic parts of a plant

TN Concept Fb:
• Plants reproduce and grow in various ways.

TN Content Objectives:

• F2

  To understand the functions of the parts of a flowering plant

• F3

  To understand how flowering plants reproduce

• F4

  To understand environmental factors which affect plant growth and how plants adapt to the environment

CE/CE Concept Fa:
• A plant's growth is influenced by the environment.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• F5

  To understand how green plants make and store their own food

CE/CE Concept Fb:
• Plants have complex structures with specialized functions.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• F6

  To understand the characteristics of seed bearing and non-seed bearing plants

• F7

  To understand how green plants differ from non-green plants

• F8

  To understand the oxygen-carbon dioxide cycle

NSES Content Standard

• Life Science K-4

• Organisms and their environments

  All animals depend on plants. Some animals eat plants for food. Other animals eat animals that eat the plants.

  An organism's patterns of behavior are related to the nature of that organism's environment, including the kinds and numbers of other organisms present, the availability of food and resources, and the physical characteristics of the environment. When the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce, and others die or move to new locations.

  All organisms cause changes in the environment where they live. Some of these changes are detrimental to themselves or other organisms, whereas others are beneficial.

  Humans depend on both their natural and their constructed environment. -Humans change environments in ways that can either be beneficial or detrimental for other organisms, including the humans themselves.

CE/CE Concept G:
• The habitat is the environment in which particular organisms live.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• G1

  To understand the basic concept of habitat and how habitats can be preserved

CE/CE Concept Ga:
• Living things perform specialized tasks in the environment.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• G2

  To understand the differences among producers, consumers, and decomposers

CE/CE Concept Gb:
• Each local community has important plants and animals.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• G3

  To understand important plants and animals within the local community

NSES Content Standard

• Science in Personal and Social perspectives K-4

• Types of resources

  Resources include those things that we get from the living and nonliving environment to meet the needs and wants of a population.

  Some resources include basic materials, such as air, water, and soil; some are produced from basic resources, such as food, fuel, and building materials; and some resources are nonmaterial, such as quiet places, beauty, security, and safety.

  The supply of many resources is limited. If used, those materials can be extended through recycling and decreased use.

• Science in Personal and Social perspectives K-4

• Changes in environments

  Environments include the space, conditions, and factors that affect individual's and population's ability to survive and quality of life.

  Changes in environments can be natural or influenced by humans. Some changes are good, some neither good nor bad, and some are bad. Pollution is a change in the environment that can influence the health, survival, or activities of organisms, including humans.

  Some environmental changes occur slowly, and others occur rapidly. -Students should understand the differences and consequences of changing environments in small increments over long periods of time and changes that occur in large increments in short periods.

CE/CE Concept H:
• Living things are affected by changes in the environment.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• H1

  To understand the effect of environmental change on inhabitants

CE/CE Concept Ha:
• Energy is often wasted in the home and community.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• H2

  To understand how energy is wasted and how it can be conserved

CE/CE Concept Hb:
• Chemicals may be harmful to the environment.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• H3

  To understand how some chemicals may affect the environment

CE/CE Concept Hc:
• Environmental problems may vary from community to community.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• H4

  To understand environmental concerns within the local community

• H5

  To understand how urban and rural environmental problems vary

CE/CE Concept Hd:
• Each individual impacts the environment.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• H6

  To understand the relationships between the individual and the environment

CE/CE Concept He:
• Energy consumption impacts the environment.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• H7

  To understand the relationship between energy and the environment

• H8

  To understand the kinds, uses and problems associated with renewable and non-renewable resources

CE/CE Concept Ib:
• Alternative energy forms have been developed to conserve natural resources.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• H9

  To understand why alternative energy forms are important

For more information please contact the CE/CE Online

This is the time this file has been accessed since 04/15/2004.

The University of Tennessee at Martin is not responsible for the information or views expressed here.

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