Grade 1 • Science What Your Child Will Learn

Grade 1 Science

What Your Child Will Learn

Science and Engineering Practices

The eight Science and Engineering Practices describe the behaviors and habits of mind that are necessary to make students' knowledge of content more meaningful. Developing skills in these practices supports a better understanding of how scientific knowledge is produced and how engineering solutions are developed. g1_science.png

  • Ask questions (for science) and define problems (for engineering).
  • Develop and use models.
  • Plan and carry out investigations.
  • Analyze and interpret data.
  • Use mathematical thinking.
  • Construct explanations (for science) and design solutions (for engineering).
  • Engage in argument (discussion of opinion) based on evidence.
  • Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information.

Core Ideas

Plant and Animal: Structure and Function

  • All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water, and air.
  • Plants also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow.
  • Adult plants and animals can have young. In many kinds of animals, parents and their offspring engage in behaviors that help the offspring survive.
  • Animals have body parts that capture and convey different kinds of information needed for growth and survival. Animals’ behavior in reaction to this information can help them survive.
  • Young animals are very much, but not exactly, like their parents. Plants also are very much, but not exactly, like their parents.

Download the Grade 1, Quarter 1 Parent Preview to further explore key ideas, and preview vocabulary and home connections.

Patterns in Space Systems

  • The sun, moon, and stars move in a predictable pattern that can be observed, described clearly, and predicted ahead of time.
  • Patterns (such as sunrise, sunset, seasons, and stars) can all be observed, described, and predicted ahead of time.

Download the Grade 1, Quarter 2 Parent Preview to further explore key ideas, and preview vocabulary and home connections.

Physical Science: Light

  • Objects can be seen if light is available to shine on them. Objects can also be seen if they give off their own light.
  • Some materials allow light to pass through them (transparent), some materials allow only some light to pass through (translucent), and others block all the light and do not allow light to pass through (opaque).
  • Mirrors can be used to redirect a beam of light.

Download the Grade 1, Quarter 3 Parent Preview to further explore key ideas, and preview vocabulary and home connections.

Physical Science: Sound

  • Sound can make matter vibrate, and vibrating matter can make sound.
  • People have created and used a variety of devices to make sounds that communicate over long distances.
  • Sound is a natural phenomenon found everywhere in nature and is also found and used in the human-made world.

Download the Grade 1, Quarter 4 Parent Preview to further explore key ideas, and preview vocabulary and home connections.

Crosscutting Concepts

  • Patterns: Patterns in the natural and human designed world can be observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence.
  • Structure and Function: The shape and stability of structures of natural and designed objects are related to their function(s).
  • Cause and Effect: Simple tests can be designed to gather evidence to support or disprove student ideas about causes.

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