The content objectives and classroom connectors on this page were written by selected Tennessee teachers of science and are congruent with the CE/CE Content Topics listed for Second Grade Science. In addition, Standards and Benchmarks have been added to each classroom connector in compliance with the Four Components of Science Education derived from a unique curricular concept. The grade level presentations prepared by the CE/CE represent one of many ways the classroom connectors can be organized.

GOAL: To develop an understanding of the interdependence of all organisms and the need for conserving natural resources

• National Science Education Standards' Content Standards, Content Topics, and Rationale
  • CE/CE Concepts and CE/CE Content Objectives Based on CE/CE Content Topics as Defined by NSES Rationale

NSES Content Standard

• Science and Technology K-4

• Abilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by humans

  Some objects occur in nature while others have been designed and made by people to solve human problems.

  Objects can be categorized into two groups, natural and designed.

• Science and Technology K-4

• Abilities of technological design

  Identify a simple problem. In problem identification, children should develop the ability to explain a problem in their own words and identify a specific task and solution related to the problem.

  Propose a solution. Students should make proposals to build something or get something to work better; they should be able to describe and communicate their ideas. Students should recognize that designing a solution may have constraints, such as cost, materials time, space, and safety.

  Implementing proposed solutions. Children should develop abilities to work individually and collaboratively, and to use suitable tools, techniques, and quantitative measurements where appropriate. Students should demonstrate the ability to balance simple constraints in problem solving.

  Evaluate a product or design. Students should evaluate their results or solutions to problems, and those of other children, by considering how well they meet the challenge to solve the problem. When possible, they should use measurements and include constraints and other criteria in their evaluation. Students should modify the design based on the results of the evaluation.

  Communicate a problem, design, and solution. Student abilities should include oral, written, and pictorial communication of both the design process and product. The communication may take the form of show and tell, group discussions, short written reports, or pictures depending on the students' abilities and the design project.

• Science and Technology K-4

• Understanding about science and technology

  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.

  People have always had problems and invented tools and techniques (ways of doing something) to solve problems. Trying to determine the effects of solution helps people avoid some new problems.

• Science in Personal and Social perspectives K-4

• Science and technology in local challenges

  People continue inventing new ways of doing things, solving problems, and getting work done. These new ideas and inventions often affect other people, sometimes the effects are good and sometimes they are bad. It is helpful to try and figure out ahead of time how ideas and inventions will affect other people.

  CE/CE Concept Aa:

  • Machines are useful but can be dangerous.

  CE/CE Content Objectives:

  • 1A1

    To understand safety in the use of machines

  CE/CE Concept Ab:
  • Work involves the movement of objects through a distance.

  CE/CE Content Objectives:

  • 1A2

    To understand work and explain the kinds of motion used in doing work

  • 1A3

    To understand such simple machines as the hammer, screwdriver, bottle opener and scissors

NSES Content Standard

• Physical Science K-4

• Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism

  Light travels in a straight line unless it strikes an object Light can be reflected by a mirror, refracted by a lens, or absorbed by the object.

  Heat can be produced in many ways such as burning, rubbing, and mixing chemicals. The heat can move from one object to another by conduction.

• Physical Science K-4

• Position and motion of objects

  Vibrating objects produce sound. The pitch of the sound can be varied by changing the rate of vibration.

CE/CE Concept Ca:
• Sound travels in all directions and through various media.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• 1C1

  To understand the transmission of sound through different kinds of matter

CE/CE Concept Cb:
• Position and Motion of Objects

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• 1C2

  To understand that sound travels in all directions from its source

CE/CE Concept Cc:
• Heat and light come from various sources.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• 1C3

  To understand one of the important sources of heat and light

NSES Content Standard

• Physical Science K-4

• Properties of objects and materials

  Objects have many observable properties, including size, weight, shape, color, temperature, and the ability to react with other substances. These properties can be measured using tools such as rulers, balances, and thermometers.

  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 these properties can be used to separate or sort a group of objects or materials.

  Materials have different states - solid, liquid, and gas. Some common materials such as water can be changed from one state to another by heating or cooling.

CE/CE Concept D:
• Matter exists in various states and has identifiable properties.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• 1D1

  To understand the different states of matter

• 1D2

  To understand the properties of matter

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 are living things with specific needs and characteristics.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• 1E1

  To understand the basic needs of all animals

• 1E2

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

• 1E3

  To understand ways animals are grouped

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

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• 1E4

  To understand how seasonal changes affect animals

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:
• Plants are living things with specific needs, characteristics and uses.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• 1F1

  To understand the basic needs of all plants

• 1F2

  To understand the uses of various plants and plant parts

NSES Content Standard

• Life Science K-4

• The characteristics 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.

• Science in Personal and Social perspectives K-4

• Personal health

  Different substances can damage the body and how it functions. Such substances include tobacco, alcohol, over-the-counter medicines, and illicit drugs. Students should understand that some substances such as prescription drugs can be beneficial but that any substance can be harmful.

CE/CE Concept G:
• Human beings are animals with characteristics and needs similar to other animals.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• 1G1

  To understand the basic needs of human beings

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 H:
• Plants and animals depend upon one another.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• 1H1

  To understand how plants and animals are beneficial to each other

• 1H2

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

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 Ja:
• The earth is our home planet.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• 1J1

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

CE/CE Concept Jb:
• Day and night result from shadows produced by the earth's rotation.

CE/CE Content Objectives:

• 1J2

  To understand how shadows are created

• 1J3

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

For more information please contact the CE/CE Online

This is the time this file has been accessed since 12/20/95.

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

Science Activities Manual: K-8 Home Page

Last Modified