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EARTH SCIENCE

Pre-K to 5th Grade

Properties of earth materials
Objects in the sky
Changes in earth and sky

Pre-K	earth science: objects in the sky
understandings: The sun, moon, stars, are objects that we see in the sky.
essential questions: What things can we see in the sky almost everyday if there are no clouds? What pattern does day and night follow? What seasons do we experience and how are these alike and different that those experienced in other parts of the world?
benchmarks	clarifying examples and/or vocabulary	best practices and/or lesson ideas	notes
States that the Sun, Moon and stars are separate objects in the seen in the sky.	Sun, Moon, Stars.	Draw pictures whenever the students observe these objects. Assign drawing “homework” for the moon and star observations.
Day and night follow each other in the pattern of day, night, day, night…	Using a poster or chart of plants and the sun, students should be able to point where the Earth is in relation to other planets and the sun.	Compare this pattern (A,B,A,B,…) to other patterns that can be found (e.g. music bells, colored squares, short & tall, etc.)
Explains that there are seasons experienced by different parts of the world and these follow a pattern of fall, winter, spring, summer…	Post photographs of different seasons experienced in other places along with word labels.	Describe the change of seasons in Guatemala over the course of a year (rainy, cold, hot, fruit flowers budding in spring, etc). Keep a posted record of these observations. Sequence several photos to show seasonal changes.

Kindergarten	earth science: objects in the sky
understandings: The sun, moon, stars, clouds, birds, and airplanes all have properties, locations, and movements that can be observed and described. The sun provides the light and heat necessary to maintain the temperature of the earth.
essential questions: How would you describe the Earth? Where is the Earth located in the Solar System? How would you describe the amount of stars in the sky?
benchmarks	clarifying examples and/or vocabulary	best practices and/or lesson ideas	notes
Identifies the Earth and states it is one of several planets that orbit’s a star, the Sun.	Earth, Orbit, Star, Sun. The sun is a star.	Using a poster or chart of plants and the sun, students should be able to point where the Earth is in relation to other planets and the sun.
Discusses that there are a vast number of stars in the sky.	Too many things to count even though there is a finite number (e.g. sand, grass stars).	Use a tub of sand to illustrate concept. One grain represents Earth. There are too many to count.

1^ST GRADE	earth science: properties of earth materials
understandings: 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, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. Weather changes from day to day and over the seasons. Weather can be described by measurable quantities, such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation. 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 observable shape of the moon changes from day to day in a cycle that lasts about a month.
essential questions: How would you explain air? How would you illustrate the elements of the water cycle? How would you test the idea that the amount of water on Earth stays the same? What materials is the Earth composed of and how would you illustrate them?
benchmarks	clarifying examples and/or vocabulary	best practices and/or lesson ideas	notes
Infers that air is a substance that surrounds us, takes up space, and moves around us as wind.	Atmosphere is a blanket of air around the earth, air is a substance.	AIMS: Project AIMS “The Covered Candle” Construct a windmill.
Illustrates the basic concept of water cycle and how it works and states that the amount of water on Earth stays the same.	Draw and label the water cycle.	Bottle Biology (Pro. Library) “Water Cycle Column” AIMS: A Week with AIMS: “Water, Precious Water - Rain Away” “Mini H2O Cycle” “Moving H2O” “Moving Raindrops In H2O Cycle” AIMS: Primary Science 2 “Water Watchers” Observe evidence of cycle in a closed terrarium. Use a lamp to produce heat. The student will explore the differences in evaporation (drying) when placing wet paper clothes at various sites over a designated period of time.
States that Earth is composed of land, air, and water. Illustrates that Earth materials consist of solid rocks, soil, liquid water and the gases of the atmosphere.	Materials: mineral, rock, boulder, gravel, sand, clay, soil. Liquid water, visible, flowing, melting, dew-Solid, hard, visible, freezing, ice. Gas-invisible, water vapor, moisture, evaporation.	AIMS: Primarily Earth “Earth’s Features”

1^st GRADE	earth science objects in the sky
understandings: The sun, moon, stars, clouds, birds, and airplanes all have properties, locations, and movements that can be observed and described. The sun provides the light and heat necessary to maintain the temperature of the earth.
essential questions: What is the basic pattern of the sun and moon? How might you illustrate the phases of the moon? How would you describe the amount of stars in the sky? How can you compare the size and distance of the sun, moon and Earth?
benchmarks	clarifying examples and/or vocabulary	best practices and/or lesson ideas	notes
Observes and illustrates basic patterns of the sun and moon.	Planet, star, sphere, space, solar system, larger/smaller, closer/farther, heat, light. State that the earth is spherical. Infer that the earth spins on its own axis causing day and night. State that the earth orbits the sun once each year.	AIMS: Cycles Of Knowing & Growing “Look At The Moon” Illustrates the phases of the moon over a period of several weeks. Draw the shape of the moon observed on the class calendar to identify a pattern over a long period of time.
Restates that there are too many stars to count.	Using books and photographs.	Try to count blades of grass in the playground. Students think of other examples where counting existing objects is almost impossible (snowflakes, carpet fibers).
Restates that the sun, moon and Earth are massive in size and are separated from one another by vast distances.	Using books and photographs.	Internet Site: NASA http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov

2^nd GRADE	earth science: properties of earth materials
understandings: Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water, and the gases of the atmosphere. The varied materials have different physical and chemical properties, which make them useful in different ways, 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 that 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. Fossils provide evidence about the plants and animals that lived long ago and the nature of the environment at that time.
essential questions: What are the physical properties of different rocks? What is the relationship between fossils and living relatives? How do fossils provide us with information about Earth’s past? What positive or negative effects do human or nature play on the environment?
benchmarks	clarifying examples and/or vocabulary	best practices and/or lesson ideas	notes
Compare the physical properties of different kinds of rocks and state that rocks are composed of different combinations of minerals.	Rock, Minerals, Soil.	AIMS: Primarily Earth “Rock Groups” “Rocks & More Rocks”

Define fossils as evidence of ancient life and conditions and compare the similarities between fossils and living relatives.	Given a collection of fossils (insects in amber, Gingko in limestone, etc.) compare to present day specimens. Examine a collection and/or pictures of fossils to determine the plant life that existed. Infer the environmental conditions for this plant community.	National Geographic Books: “Fossils” (elementary library) Bury chicken bones in a tub/tray of sand. Students use same careful methodology as paleontologists (research this in library) to uncover these “fossils”. Compare these bones to human skeletal system learned in 2^nd Grade Life Science. Internet: National Geographic How Scientists Excavate Fossils
Explain how changes in environments can be either caused by humans or natural events and that some changes are beneficial and some harmful.	Make observations on the school property about changes caused by humans and changes caused by nature. Discuss if the change is beneficial, harmful, or both.	Bottle Biology (Pro. Library) “Salt Pollution” Make a model of a leaky faucet to observe and measure how much water is wasted.

2^nd GRADE	earth science: objects in the sky
understandings: The sun, moon, stars, clouds, birds, and airplanes all have properties, locations, and movements that can be observed and described. The sun provides the light and heat necessary to maintain the temperature of the earth.
essential questions: What is the relationship between sunrise and sunset with seasonal changes? How can you explain that the stars appear to move across the sky? How would you identify and illustrate the planets of the solar system? How would you assemble a model of the solar system?
benchmarks	clarifying examples and/or vocabulary	best practices and/or lesson ideas	notes
Model how the stars appear to move across the sky when in fact they are relatively stationary and that Earth is moving.	Stationary.	AIMS: Cycles Of Knowing & Growing “Sky Watchers”
Identify the nine planets of our solar system.	Planet names.	Internet Site: NASA Teach or create mnemonic device for remembering (e.g. My Very Eager Mother Just Sat Under New Pillows).

2^nd GRADE	earth science: changes in the earth and sky
understandings: 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, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. Weather changes from day to day and over the seasons. Weather can be described by measurable quantities, such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation. 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 observable shape of the moon changes from day to day in a cycle that lasts about a month.
essential questions: How would you illustrate the monthly pattern of movement for the sun, and moon? What is the effect of the movement of the sun and moon? How do weather tools help us explain and forecast the weather? How do we predict weather patterns for each season? What is the effect of natural changes in the Earth’s surface?
benchmarks	clarifying examples and/or vocabulary	best practices and/or lesson ideas	notes
Observe safely, record, and describe the daily movement of the Sun using cardinal points.	Record the changing shadow of a gnomon (flagpole, pencil) and deduce the apparent movement of the Sun across the sky.	AIMS: Cycles Of Knowing & Growing “Mr.Groundhog” AIMS: Pieces & Patterns “Sun Watchers” AIMS: Overhead & Underfoot “Sunny Side Up” AIMS: Project AIMS “Shifty Shadows” Construct sundials.
Describe the weather using observations, age appropriate tools and measurements.	Anemometer, rain gauge, thermometer, wind speed/direction, temperature, amount of rainfall.	AIMS: Primarily Earth “Watching the Weather” Create a weather station and record temperature and precipitation of an entire school year. Graph information to look for patterns.
Predict weather patterns for each season.	Collect and research weather data to identify seasonal patterns.	Internet Site: NOAA http://www.education.noaa.gov/ Check local newspaper’s (in library) weather report.
Describe natural changes in the earth’s surface.	Causes of changes—volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion (water, wind, gravity, glaciers). Results of change—valleys, hills, lakes, widened rivers, mountains, cracks, movement of earth materials (boulders, gravel, sand, clay). Trace the path that rain water follows after it falls. Places around the school where erosion has occurred, such as gullies formed in down-hill gravel areas, cracks in asphalt. Places beyond the school where changes have occurred, such as volcanic mountains, shorelines, landslides, sand dunes, slopes, river valleys.	Science Teacher Magazine (Sep ’04) “Sand Geology” Internet Site: Nat’l Geographic Lesson Plans

3^rd GRADE	earth science: properties of earth materials
understandings: Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water, and the gases of the atmosphere. The varied materials have different physical and chemical properties, which make them useful in different ways, 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 that 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. Fossils provide evidence about the plants and animals that lived long ago and the nature of the environment at that time.
essential questions: How might you classify a variety of Earth’s landforms, and water systems? How would you test the idea that the amount of water on Earth stays the same even though it changes from one form to another? How might you demonstrate that water exists on Earth in three forms (states)? What is the effect of humans on the environment?
benchmarks	clarifying examples and/or vocabulary	best practices and/or lesson ideas	notes
Identify and classify a variety of Earth surface features that are landforms and water systems.	Plateau, crater, valleys, continents, bays, seas, oceans. Examine multiple photographs of different landforms and water systems then classify them.	AIMS: Primarily Earth “Earth’s Features”(1^st grade does this lesson also. Try to extension exercises and/or add additional vocabulary and complexity. Also consider making models, such as using a tub of sand and pouring water to see how rivers are formed.)
Explain that the amount of water on earth continues to stay the same even though it may change from one form to another	Water cycle. What happens to water in different environments? Conduct several experiments with potted plants, terrariums, water in plastic bags, heating and cooling water, etc. Students ask questions, make observations, and explain their thinking using diagrams, models, and oral presentations.	AIMS: Our Wonderful World “Thirsty Greens” “Water Still On The Hill” AIMS: Water Precious Water “Were You Aware?” “Pond Today-Meadow Tomorrow”(Long term activity-3wks) “Moving Molecules” AIMS: Weather Sense-Moisture “The Water Cycle” “Moisture Proverbs”
Describe how water exists on earth in three states.	Gas -invisible, water vapor, moisture, evaporating.	AIMS: Our Wonderful World