The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 3-5 meet expectations that they have an intentional sequence where student tasks increase in sophistication. Materials are designed with an intentional or suggested sequence and student tasks related to explaining phenomena and/or solving problems increase in sophistication within each unit and across the grade band.

Across the 3-5 grade-band, the materials have a recommended sequence with three units divided by physical, life, and earth and space science assigned to each grade level. Within grade levels, the units can be sequenced in any order.

Materials increase in sophistication across the grade band as students engage with phenomena and problems. As students progress through the grade band, student expectations as they engage in activities connected to phenomena and problems increase. Supports for students are also gradually released, and by Grade 5, they are doing more work independently or with fewer aids. Because the order of units within a grade level is not suggested, there is not a general increase in sophistication within a single grade. However, there are instances where student expectations increase within a single unit.

Examples of student tasks increasing in sophistication across the grade band:

• The materials increase in sophistication as students work with data connected to phenomena and problems. By the time students reach Grade 5, the teacher provides less scaffolding and more work is done independently by students. For example, in Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: Variations in Air Temperature, students collect data on weather conditions using a pre-made table. The teacher then guides a discussion with scaffolded prompts to help students make sense of the data comparing the temperature at various points in the day. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: Energy of Motion – Bounce, students now play a part in designing a chart to collect data on bouncing balls from various heights. The class has a discussion about the data, but the teacher provides less support and only asks for “patterns in the data” rather than asking specific questions about the data. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 6, Lesson 6C: What is the Effect of Temperature on Dissolving?, students collect data on the effect of water temperature on how quickly Kool-Aid dissolves. Now, students create their own charts without support from the materials. In Lesson 1B: Mapping the Odor in the Neighborhood, from the same unit, students analyze data more independently. Instead of starting with a class discussion of their data on odor traveling through a neighborhood, students first work in small groups to evaluate the data on their own.

• The materials increase in sophistication as students build and use arguments related to phenomena and problems. By Grade 5, students make a greater number of arguments and receive less support from the teacher to construct those arguments. For example, in Grade 3, Life Cycles and Survival, Activity 1, Lesson 1C: Communicating Like Frogs, students share devices they made to communicate using sounds. As students share their ideas, they use sentence stems from an anchor chart, such as “What do you mean by … ?”, to help them respectfully disagree, ask clarifying questions, add to ideas, and otherwise engage in argumentation discourse. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: Weathering and Erosion Detectives, the teacher provides less support as students engage in argumentation. As a whole class, students share and discuss their claims about examples of weathering and erosion they found on the schoolyard. The teacher provides general prompts such as, “What evidence do you have that makes you think that?” giving students fewer and less specific prompts than in Grade 3. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: The Puddle is Missing, students construct arguments for why a puddle of water disappeared over the course of the day. Students develop a model and then share them with a small group. The teacher provides little support beyond “Encourag[ing] a free exchange of ideas and changes based on the ideas of their peers.”

• The materials increase in sophistication as students work with information related to phenomena and problems. By the time students reach Grade 5, they are working with a greater number of resources to collect information from and receive less support from the teacher to collect and share information. For example, in Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Clouds–Making Sense of our Data, students explore the role of clouds in the weather. The teacher leads a whole-class read aloud and periodically pauses to ask scripted prompts that support students to collect information they need to answer questions about clouds and weather. In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 5, Lesson 5C: Animal Defenses, students collect information about animal defense mechanisms. Now, students read in small groups rather than as a whole class. Students are also responsible for taking notes on their own, but they are given a chart to fill out that helps them determine important information. In Grade 5, Earth and Space Systems, Activity 6, Lesson 6C: Develop and Implement A Plan To Preserve and Protect Earth’s Resources and Environment, students develop plans to reduce human impact on the environment. Students are given a variety of texts to use as they develop their plans. They are given little direct support and must now incorporate multiple texts into their work.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-level disciplinary core ideas for physical sciences.

Materials incorporate all grade-level components and associated elements of the physical science disciplinary core ideas (DCIs). Most DCIs appear in multiple learning opportunities and are fully met. Students interact with the concepts in a variety of ways, including reading trade books and engaging in investigations and class discussions.

Examples of grade-level physical science DCI elements present in the materials:

• PS2.A-E1. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: Balanced and Unbalanced Forces, students draw and explain two models of an electric car showing when the forces were balanced and unbalanced. They also update a previously developed model of a toy truck after it hits a barrier including arrows to show when forces are balanced or unbalanced.

• PS2.A-E2. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 4, Lessons 4C and 4D, students observe and measure how much force is needed to move blocks across different surfaces. Students then model and explain the forces acting on the block for each surface and predict how much force would be needed to move the blocks if additional weight was added.

• PS2.B-E1. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 4, Lesson 4A: Exploring Motion: Friction, students read a publisher-created story called Herman’s Moving Experience in which Luke, a lizard, tries to help Herman, a snail, move along the road faster by pushing on him and then using acorns as rollers. Students create three models of motion: Luke pushing Herman without acorns, Luke pushing Herman with acorns, and Herman moving on the acorns after the push.

• PS2.B-E2. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 6, Lesson 6B: Forces at a Distance,  students investigate what happens to a hanging bar magnet when another magnet is moved close to it. They describe what happens and draw and label a model of how they made a hanging magnet spin without the use of a contact force. In Lesson 6C, students explore how statically charged balloons and paper can be moved without coming in contact with each other.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-level disciplinary core ideas for earth and space sciences. Materials incorporate all grade-level components and associated elements of the earth and space science disciplinary core ideas (DCIs). Most DCIs appear in multiple learning opportunities and are fully met. Students interact with the concepts in a variety of ways, including reading trade books, engaging in investigations, making models, and having class discussions.

Examples of the grade-level earth and space science DCI elements present in the materials:

• ESS2.D-E1. In Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 3, Lesson 3B: Measuring Air Pressure, Highs and Lows, students collect data and record data in their Weather Trackers Observation Chart and present findings to the class. Students focus on air pressure data from the previous three to four days and indicate if the air pressure is increasing, staying the same, or decreasing. Instructional materials ask teachers to review how air pressure is used for forecasting future weather events.

• ESS2.D-E2. In Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 6, Lesson 6C: Weather in the Climate Zones, students read and discuss the trade book The Climate Zone. Students use the data from their Weather Observation Logs to determine the climate for their location and discuss if these observations reflect the average weather in their climate zone. During a Science Talk, students develop a definition of climate and discuss the cause-and-effect relationship between an area’s climate and its location on the earth.

• ESS3.B-E1. In Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 7, Lesson 7C: Weather Hazards Warning System, students select a weather hazard and develop a public service announcement that offers safety measures people can take to reduce the risk of damage from a storm.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 3-5 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-band and grade-level disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) for engineering, technology, and applications of science (ETS) and all associated elements. 

In Grade 3, no performance expectations (PEs) are associated with physical, life, or earth and space science DCIs that also connect to an ETS DCI. However, the materials do include opportunities for students to engage with ETS elements in this grade.

Examples of ETS DCI elements present in the Grade 3 materials:

• ETS1.A-E1. In Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 4, Lesson 4B: Blowing in the Wind, students design and build a device that will measure the speed of wind and indicate the direction the wind is coming from. Students are given time limits and review materials available for building a wind instrument (constraints) as well as a Wind Product Descriptor, which outlines two criteria for the design. Students test their ideas, analyze the performance of the instrument, and make improvements based on trials. 

• ETS1.B-E3. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: Testing Motion: Toy Vehicle, students work in teams to brainstorm ideas that will help solve the problem of using a battery operated vehicle to move cookies from one room to another. Students test their ideas and then share their work with other groups, making adjustments to designs based on their conversations. 

• ETS1.B-E2. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: Using What We Know about Motion, students develop a prototype of a vehicle that will travel a given distance carrying a load. Students test their design, collect data on the tests, and use the data to improve the design.

In Grade 4, two PEs are associated with physical, life, or earth and space science DCIs that also connect to an ETS DCI. The materials include opportunities for students to engage with these ETS elements in this grade.

Examples of the Grade 4 grade-level ETS DCI elements present in the materials:

• ETS1.A-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 4, Lesson 4A: Building on Energy, students are presented with the challenge of building a Rube Goldberg device that will send a signal or demonstrate the energy is transferred but not used up. Each task presents a problem and criteria required to solve the problem. Students agree upon constraints for completing the challenge and begin work to develop a plan. 

• ETS1.B-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 6, Lesson 6B: Designing a Device to Melt Butter, students develop a plan to create a device that will melt butter, present their plans to their peers, review their plans, revise them based on new knowledge, and determine how their device will work. Students are given time to develop, test, revise, and present their devices to the rest of the class.

• ETS1.C-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7B: Electrical Switch, students design an electrical switch that can turn a light bulb on and off. Students are given a chance to develop and test their models, and to share their models with their peers. After the teams present their designs to the class they explain their greatest challenges, compare their different models, and are given time to revise their models based upon feedback, and a review of which classroom models best meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

In Grade 5, no PEs associated with physical, life, or earth and space science DCIs connect to an ETS DCI. However, the materials do include opportunities for students to engage with ETS elements in this grade.

Examples of ETS DCI elements present in the Grade 5 materials:

• ETS1.A-E1. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 6, Lesson 6D: Engineering-Designing a Solar Still, students are given the scenario that they are on a small island in the middle of the ocean with no water. They must design and construct a solar still to separate the salt from ocean water, using only the provided materials. Students plan, test, redesign, and test a second solution. Students share and compare their solar stills, giving and receiving feedback.

• ETS1.B-E3. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 3, Lesson 3D: When the Water Hits the Ground, students are given the design challenge to prevent erosion from water on a hillside. In small groups, students discuss how they will develop their plan before they begin to build their model. After building, testing, making adjustments to their design, and updating their model, students present their models to the class and either recommend building a housing development on the hillside or not. 

• ETS1.C-E1. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 3, Lesson 3D: When the Water Hits the Ground, students are given the design challenge to prevent erosion due to water on a hillside. Working as a group, students discuss how they will develop their plan before they begin to build their model. Students build and test their model. They make adjustments to the model to prevent erosion, selecting the best solution. They make a recommendation to the builders of a housing development as to whether they should proceed with a project to build on a hillside, or not continue building on the hillside. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-level science and engineering practices and associated elements.

Materials incorporate all grade-level science and engineering practices (SEPs) and associated elements within the grade level. Students are provided with multiple opportunities in which to engage with a variety of SEPs.

Examples of SEPs and elements associated with the grade-level performance expectations that are met in the materials:

• AQDP-E3. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 2, Lesson 2A: Investigating Motion, after investigating the speed of an electric car, students ask a question about how changing a variable in the investigation could change the speed of the car. They plan their own investigation and make a prediction about what they might find based on what they already know about the motion of the car.

• AQDP-E5. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 6, Lesson 6D: Magnetic Forces Solve a Problem, after completing a design challenge with a fire truck and learning about non-contact forces (static electricity and magnetism), students are given another design challenge: to solve a problem using magnetism. Students define the problem they will solve using magnets (or some other non-contact force) and draw and write how they will solve the problem. They are shown a list of materials they can use but are told they can also use materials from home.

• MOD-E4. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 3, Lesson 3A: Observing Motion: Tumbleweeds and Leaping Frogs, the class is divided into two groups, half watch a YouTube video of a tumbleweed rolling down the road, and the other half watch a video of frogs jumping. After discussing their ideas about what causes motion, students make a model that explains what they think causes the tumbleweed or frogs to change their motion.

• INV-E1. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 2, Lesson 2A: Investigating Motion, students collaboratively plan and conduct a second investigation to change the motion of an electric toy car by changing only one variable. They make observations and record data to provide evidence for how they changed the motion of an electric car.

• INV-E3. In Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: Variations in Air Temperature, students conduct an investigation to determine the heating and cooling rates of soil and water over a two-day period. They measure and record the temperature of soil and water as it is heated by a lamp and as it cools when the lamp is turned off. They use the data they collect to help them explain why it feels cooler next to a large body of water on a hot sunny day than it does far from the water.

• DATA-E1. In Grade 3, Weather, Climate and Natural Hazards, Activity 2, Lesson 2D: Variations in Air Temperature-Making Sense of Data, students take temperature data that was collected and recorded in a table in a previous lesson and make it into a graph. They review the graph and identify if there are any patterns that show a cause/effect relationship between the heating of land and water and the time of day.

• DATA-E2. In Grade 3, Life Cycles and Survival in an Ecosystem, Activity 1, Lesson 1D: Why Does Our Frog Make Calls?, students carry out a role-play to demonstrate a single frog call versus a group frog call. During the role-play, students time how long it takes female frogs to find a single male frog calling versus a group of male frogs calling and record their data in a table. Students analyze their data to determine if there is a pattern as to which frog behavior is more likely to result in a mating pair.

• CEDS-E2. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 4, Lesson 4D: Friction–Making Sense of Data, students write a conclusion, based on evidence, to explain how friction impacts the amount of force needed to move an object.

• ARG-E4. In Grade 3, Life Cycles and Survival in an Ecosystem, Activity 6, Lesson 6C: Reporting the Effects of Change, students read a research article about the effect of catastrophic events such as earthquakes, climate change, or pollution and write a claim, based on evidence, about an organism's ability to survive in its environment. 

• ARG-E6. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 6, Lesson 6D: Magnetic Forces Solve a Problem, students identify and use magnetism, or another non-contact force, to devise a solution to a problem such as making a homemade car change direction and travel from one room to another, or another problem of their choosing. Students identify the balanced and unbalanced forces that solved the problem, describe adjustments they made, and identify the easiest and most challenging parts of completing the task.

• INFO-E4. In Grade 3, Weather Climate and Natural Hazards, Activity 2, Lesson 2A: “Phew! I’m Hot!” “BRRR! I’m Cold!” students use information gathered from the trade book Air is All Around to describe how the authors demonstrated that air is everywhere and to explain why the air temperature is the same or different when measured in two different locations such as in a hot air balloon, next to the river, or in the middle of a forest. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades 3-5 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-level science and engineering practices and associated elements across the grade band.

Materials incorporate all SEPs and associated elements within the grade band and provide repeated opportunities for students to use grade-band appropriate SEPs across various contexts throughout the band.

Examples of SEP elements associated with the grade-band performance expectations that are met in the materials:

• AQDP-E3. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 2, Lesson 2A: Investigating Motion, after investigating the speed of an electric car, students ask a question about how changing a variable in the investigation could change the speed of the car. They plan their own investigation and make a prediction about what they might find based on what they already know about the motion of the car.

• AQDP-E5. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 6, Lesson 6D: Magnetic Forces Solve a Problem, after completing a design challenge with a fire truck and learning about non-contact forces (static electricity and magnetism), students are given another design challenge: to solve a problem using magnetism. Students define the problem they will solve using magnets (or some other non-contact force) and draw and write how they will solve the problem. They are shown a list of materials they can use but are told they can also use materials from home.

• MOD-E3. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape Earth, Activity 5, Lesson 5A: Reduce the Impact of Natural Hazards, students draw a model of a proposed solution to reduce the impact of a natural hazard.

• MOD-E4. In Grade 5, Matter and Energy in an Ecosystem, Activity 3, Lesson 3C: What Do Plants Do for Food?, students create a model that explains how they think plants get their food for growth.

• MOD-E6. In Grade 5, Earth and Space Systems, Activity 2, Lesson 2A: What’s in the Atmosphere?, students use a computer simulation to test the effects of changing the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere.

• INV-E1. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 2, Lesson 2A: Investigating Motion, students collaboratively plan and conduct a second investigation to change the motion of an electric toy car by changing only one variable. They make observations and record data to provide evidence for how they changed the motion of an electric car.

• INV-E3. In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Information Processing, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: No Light! No Sight!, using a cardboard light box, students make observations and record their data to answer the question of how much light is needed to see a plastic toy in a dark box.

• DATA-E1. In Grade 5, Earth and Space Systems, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: What Makes the Wind?, students follow directions for an investigation of air movement that is presented in their Student Journal. Students make a chart to organize their data and look for trends. 

• DATA-E2. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: The Energy of Motion, students investigate how changing the release height of a ball on a ramp affects how far the ball will roll. Students change the starting height twice and conduct four trials for each height. Students analyze and interpret their data to write a claim based on evidence and reasoning that summarizes what they found. 

• DATA-E4. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: Using What We Know about Motion, students make a toy fire truck that will carry a load, they use data collected during testing to modify and improve their design.

• MATH-E3. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 3, Lesson 3B: Measuring Matter–Volume, students develop strategies and use tools to measure the weight and volume of solids and liquids.

• CEDS-E2. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 4, Lesson 4D: Friction–Making Sense of Data, students write a conclusion, based on evidence, to explain how friction impacts the amount of force needed to move an object.

• CEDS-E3. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7A: Electricity, students use batteries, wires, and bulbs to create a circuit that will light the bulb. After generating their explanation, students describe the evidence they observed that “shows how energy can move from place to place in an electrical current.”

• CEDS-E5. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 7, Lesson 7C: Oil Spill, students develop a solution to cleaning up an oil spill. Students design solutions, share them across small groups, compare designs, adjust, and test the solutions. 

• ARG-E4. In Grade 5, Matter and Energy in an Ecosystem, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Introducing Change to the Eco-Players, students construct an argument about what will happen to the ecosystems in the Upper and Lower Peninsula in Michigan if there was an increase in the cougar population that feed on the deer that live there.

• ARG-E6. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 6, Lesson 6D: Magnetic Forces Solve a Problem, students identify and use magnetism, or another non-contact force, to devise a solution to a problem such as making a homemade car change direction and travel from one room to another, or another problem of their choosing. Students identify the balanced and unbalanced forces that solved the problem, describe adjustments they made, and identify the easiest and most challenging parts of completing the task.

• INFO-E4. In Grade 4, Structure, Function and Information Processing, Activity 4, Lesson 4C: Research and Data Entry, students collect information from books and websites about a plant or animal found in the schoolyard to explain how different animal structures aid in survival of the animals.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3-5 meet expectations that they incorporate all grade-level crosscutting concepts and associated elements across the grade band. The materials include all of the CCC elements associated with the performance expectations for the grade band. Elements of the CCCs are found across all three grades within this grade band. Materials include few elements of the CCCs from above the grade band without connecting to the grade-band appropriate CCC. Across the grade band, students have multiple opportunities to engage with the grade-level CCCs that are implicitly connected to SEPs or DCIs as they build toward grade-level performance expectations. There are fewer opportunities for students to explicitly discuss the CCCs. For example, students have frequent opportunities to use observations to describe patterns in the natural world to answer scientific questions (SEP-DATA-E3) but have limited opportunities to explicitly discuss the importance of using patterns as evidence to describe phenomena (CCC-PAT-E3). 

Examples of CCC elements associated with the grade-band performance expectations that are present in the materials:

• CE-E1. In Grade 3, Weather, Climate, and Natural Hazards, Activity 2, Lesson 2B: Variations in Air Temperature, students investigate the relationship between time of day and air temperature by making a class model using lamps at three different angles (to simulate morning, noon, and late afternoon) and thermometers. Students measure the temperatures three times for each angle and compare the results. Students then draw a model in their Student Journal based on the classroom model that explains why the temperature of the air changes throughout the day.

• EM-E2. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 6, Lesson 6A: Where’s the Salt? Where’s the Sugar?, students plan and carry out an investigation where they measure the weight of water and sugar before and after mixing to demonstrate that even though the sugar seems to disappear, the weight shows that it is still present in the solution.

• EM-E3. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 8, Lesson 8C: Energy All Around, students develop a model to explain the energy transfer occurring in a number of first-hand observations including a row of dominoes falling, a ball rolling down a ramp, and a flashlight with batteries.

• PAT-E1. In Grade 3, Life Cycles and Survival in an Ecosystem, Activity 3, Lesson 3D: Sharing and Comparing Our Life Cycle Research, students share the information they found when researching a plant or animal’s life cycle. They compare the life cycle of the organism they researched to that of a frog and to the organisms other students researched, looking for similarities and differences in the phases the organisms go through and the length of time it takes for the organisms to develop.

• PAT-E2. In Grade 4, Processes That Shape the Earth, Activity 4, Lesson 4B: Making Sense of Our Earthquake Mapping, students use data about the location of earthquakes to predict what will happen next in areas that are most affected by earthquakes versus areas that have few or no earthquakes.

• PAT-E3. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 4, Lesson 4D: Friction-Making Sense of Data, after conducting an investigation to determine the amount of force required to move a block of wood across different surfaces such as wood, sandpaper, rubber band, and wax paper, students create a bar graph using class data that shows the number of washers needed to overcome the force of friction. Students discuss the emerging patterns about the amount of force needed to move a block over different surfaces. Students use this evidence to write a conclusion to the investigation.

• SPQ-E1. In Grade 4, Processes that Shape the Earth, Activity 1, Lesson 1B: Weathering and Erosion Detectives, students compare changes due to weathering and erosion that occurred in their schoolyard with other examples including rock formations, a riverbed, and glaciers. Students discuss the speed of the different changes and whether they happened quickly or slowly.

• SPQ-E2. In Grade 5, Earth and Space Systems, Activity 3, Lesson 3B: My Rock Tells a Story, students evaluate how much water is used in a variety of day to day activities. Students measure the water used in gallons and compare the unit to a standard one-gallon jug of water.

• SYS-E2. In Grade 5, Matter and Energy in an Ecosystem, Activity 2, Lesson 2C: What are Balanced Systems?, students identify the components of a closed model ecosystem in a bottle, describe the role of producers, consumers, and decomposers in larger ecosystems, and explain how each part of the system interacts.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade 3-5 meet expectations that they incorporate NGSS connections to nature of science and engineering.

Materials incorporate grade-band NGSS Connections to the Nature of Science and Engineering within individual lessons or activities across the series. Elements from all three of the following categories are included in the materials for the grade band:

• grade-band Nature of Science elements associated with SEPs

• grade-band Nature of Science elements associated with CCCs

• grade-band Engineering elements associated with CCCs

Although students engage in all three categories across the grade band, most of these are found  in the physical science units. 

Examples of grade-band connections to NOS elements associated with SEPs present in the materials:

• NOS-BEE-E2. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Burning, students investigate heat transfer by measuring the temperature of water held over a candle. The teacher explains to students that using a thermometer helps scientists be more accurate when determining the temperature of a substance.

• NOS-VOM-E2. In Grade 5, Structure and Properties of Matter, Activity 1, Lesson 1A: A Skunk in the Neighborhood, students make an initial model of how a skunk’s odor traveled through a neighborhood. The teacher explains that models are one of the tools that scientists use to make thinking and ideas public and visible.

Examples of grade-band connections to NOS elements associated with CCCs present in the materials:

• NOS-AOC-E1. In Grade 3, LIfe Cycles and Survival in an Ecosystem, Activity 6, Lesson 6A: Finding Out About Fossils, students share their observations of fossils and discuss the questions paleontologists ask to piece together earth’s history. The teacher explains to students that when paleontologists and geologists study fossils and rocks, they assume that the physical laws on earth are constant over time. This applies to forces like gravity, the laws of motion, and the needs of living things.

• NOS-AOC-E1. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 5, Lesson 5B: Burning, during a discussion about thermometers, the teacher explains that thermometers help scientists be more accurate when determining the temperature of a substance. Scientists established a standard using physical changes that occur at the same temperature each time. 

• NOS-HE-E2. In Grade 4, Structure, Function, and Informational Processing, Activity 4, Lesson 4B: Schoolyard Observations, after the teacher introduces an overview of the Project Noah Website, the teacher tells the class they are going to work in pairs and become naturalists or citizen scientists to plan an investigation into the variety of plants and animals that live in the schoolyard.

• NOS-HE-E2. In Grade 5, Matter and Energy in an Ecosystem, Activity 4, Lesson 4C: Carrying Out Our Investigations, during a science talk, students share their plans to investigate what plants use for food. The teacher discusses how scientists share information and collaborate and explains that the class is like a community of scientists carrying out different investigations and, at the conclusion, students share their results and findings.

Examples of grade-band connections to ENG elements associated with CCCs present in the materials:

• ENG-INTER-E3. In Grade 3, Forces and Interactions, Activity 6, Lesson 6D: Magnetic Forces Solve a Problem, after many investigations exploring how forces affect the motion of different objects, students are told that they are going to become engineers and solve a problem about motion using non-contact forces such as magnetism or electricity. Students can choose to continue with the original design challenge of moving an electric toy car from one place to another without touching it, or they can solve a different problem using magnets or static electricity.

• ENG-INTER-E4. In Grade 4, Energy and Waves, Activity 7, Lesson 7B: Electrical Switch, after investigating electrical circuits, students are told that they are going to use what they learned about electrical circuits and become engineers to design a switch that will turn a light bulb on and off without needing to unscrew the bulb.