Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Living things have life cycles adapted to their environment.
- Sample questions to support inquiry with students
- Why are life cycles important?
- How are the life cycles of local plants and animals similar and different?
- How do offspring compare to their parents?
Materials can be changed through physical and chemical processes.
- Sample questions to support inquiry with students
- Why would we want to change the physical properties of an object?
- What are some natural processes that involve chemical and physical changes?
Forces influence the motion of an object.
- Sample questions to support inquiry with students
- What are different ways that objects can be moved?
- How do different materials influence the motion of an object?
Water is essential to all living things, and it cycles through the environment.
- Sample questions to support inquiry with students
- Why is water important for all living things?
- How can you conserve water in your home and school?
- How does water cycle through the environment?
Content
Learning Standards
Content
metamorphic
metamorphic life cycles: body structure changes (e.g., caterpillar to butterfly, mealworm transformation, tadpoles to frog)
and non-metamorphicnon-metamorphic life cycles: organism keeps same body structure through life but size changes (e.g., humans)
life cycles of different organisms
similarities and differences between offspring and parent
a kitten looks like cat and a puppy looks like dog but they do change as they grow; salmon change a great deal as they grow and need fresh and salt water environments to survive
First Peoples use of their knowledge of life cycles
- stewardship: sustainably gathering plants and hunting/fishing in response to seasons and animal migration patterns (e.g., clam gardens, seasonal rounds, etc.)
- sustainable fish hatchery programs run by local First Peoples
physical
physical ways of changing materials:
ways of changing materials
- warming, cooling, cutting, bending, stirring, mixing
- materials may be combined or physically changed to be used in different ways (e.g., plants can be ground up and combined with other materials to make dyes)
chemical
chemical ways of changing materials: cooking, burning, etc.
ways of changing materials
types of forces
- contact forces and at-a-distance forces:
- different types of magnets
- static electricity
- balanced and unbalanced forces:
- the way different objects fall depending on their shape (air resistance)
- the way objects move over/in different materials (water, air, ice, snow)
- the motion caused by different strengths of forces
water sources including local watersheds
- oceans, lakes, rivers, wells, springs
- the majority of fresh water is stored underground and in glaciers
water conservation
fresh water is a limited resource and is not being replaced at the same rate as it is being used
the water cycle
The water cycle is driven by the sun and includes evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff. The water cycle is also a major component of weather (e.g., precipitation, clouds).
local First People’s knowledge of water:
- water cycles
- conservation
- connection to other systemscultural significance of water (i.e., water is essential for all interconnected forms of life)
Curricular Competency
Learning Standards
Curricular Competency
Questioning and predicting
Questioning and predicting
Cycles are sequences or series of events that repeat/reoccur over time. A subset of pattern, cycles are looping or circular (cyclical) in nature. Cycles help people make predictions and hypotheses about the cyclical nature of the observable patterns.
- Key questions about cycles:
- How do First Peoples use their knowledge of life cycles to ensure sustainability in their local environments?
- How does the water cycle impact weather?
Demonstrate curiosity and a sense of wonder about the world
Observe objects and events in familiar contexts
Ask questions about familiar objects and events
Make simple predictions about familiar objects and events
Planning and conducting
Make and record observations
Safely manipulate materials to test ideas and predictions
Make and record simple measurements using informal or non-standard methods
Processing and analyzing data and information
Experience and interpret the local environment
Recognize First Peoples stories (including oral and written narratives), songs, and art, as ways to share knowledge
Sort and classify data and information using drawings, pictographs and provided tables
Compare observations with predictions through discussion
Identify simple patterns and connections
Evaluating
Compare observations with those of others
Consider some environmental consequences of their actions
Applying and innovating
Take part in caring for self, family, classroom and school through personal approaches
Transfer and apply learning to new situations
Generate and introduce new or refined ideas when problem solving
Communicating
Communicate observations and ideas using oral or written language, drawing, or role-play
Express and reflect on personal experiences of place
Place is any environment, locality, or context with which people interact to learn, create memory, reflect on history, connect with culture, and establish identity. The connection between people and place is foundational to First Peoples perspectives of the world.
- Key questions about place:
- What is place?
- What are some ways in which people experience place?
- How can you gain a sense of place in your local environment?
- How can you share your observations and ideas about living things in your local environment to help someone else learn about place?