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 Aa:

  • Rocks are part of the earth's composition.

  CE/CE Content Objectives:

  • A1

    To understand the properties of rocks

  CE/CE Concept Ab:
  • Prehistoric animals provide information about things that lived in the past.

  CE/CE Content Objectives:

  • A2

    To develop an awareness of prehistoric animals

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 patterns 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:
• The earth is our home planet.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• B1

  To understand objects in the sky all have properties, locations, and movements that can be described and that may change.

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 Ca:

  • Weather conditions change from day to day.

  CE/CE Content Objectives:

  • C1

    To understand various weather conditions

  CE/CE Concept Cb:
  • Rain is the result of condensation.

  CE/CE Content Objectives:

  • C2

    To understand the relationship of clouds to rain and snow

CE/CE Concept Cc:
• Weather is a result of changing atmospheric conditions.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• C3

  To understand condensation and evaporation and their relationship to the water cycle

• C4

  To understand how cloud formations relate to weather conditions

NSES Content Standard

• No correlation

• No correlation

CE/CE Concept D:
• Different bodies of water provide important resources.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• D1

  To identify different bodies of water

• D2

  To understand resources provided by bodies of water

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 Ea:

  • Animals live in a variety of habitats and change with the seasons.

  CE/CE Content Objectives:

  • E1

    To understand animals have basic needs

  • E2

    To understand how seasonal changes affect animals

CE/CE Concept Eb:
• Animals are living things with specific needs and characteristics.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• E3

  To understand the basic needs of all animals

• E4

  To understand how human beings are alike and different from other animals

• E5

  To understand ways animals are grouped

CE/CE Concept Ec:
• Animals live in a variety of habitats and change with the seasons.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• E6

  To understand how seasonal changes affect animals

CE/CE Concept Ed:
• Needs of animals must be met for them to survive.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• E7

  To recognize that certain animals are in danger of extinction

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 Fa:

  • Each plant has different structures which serve different functions.

  CE/CE Content Objectives:

  • F1

    To understand the major parts of a plant

  • F2

    To understand how plants grow and change

CE/CE Concept Fb:
• Plants are living things with specific needs, characteristics and uses.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• F3

  To understand the basic needs of all plants

• F4

  To understand the uses of various plants and plant parts

CE/CE Concept Fc:
• The parts of a plant have specific functions and uses.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• F5

  To understand some uses of each plant part

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:
• Plants and animals depend upon one another.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• G1

  To understand how plants and animals are beneficial to each other

• G2

  To understand the various roles plants and animals play in the environment

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 Ha:

  • The environment must be kept clean in order to be usable in the future.

  CE/CE Content Objectives:

  • H1

    To understand how people affect their environment

  • H2

    To understand ways to keep the air, land, and water clean

CE/CE Concept Hb:
• The environment is affected by the activities of its inhabitants.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• H3

  To understand how various activities affect the environment

CE/CE Concept Hc:
• Energy exists in many types and must be conserved.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• H4

  To understand how energy is used in our environment

• H5

  To understand the importance of conserving energy

CE/CE Concept Hd:
• Sound can serve as a source of noise pollution.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• H6

  To understand the source of sound pollution

For more information please contact the CE/CE Online

This is the time this file has been accessed since 03/01/2004.

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

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