Guiding Principles of Science Instruction:

  • Science instruction should be three-dimensional, implementing the science and engineering process standards and applying the crosscutting concepts to deepen understanding of core ideas. (NSTA, 2019)
  • Science instruction should foster independent thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving.
  • Standards-based instruction accelerates student gains.
  • Students construct scientific knowledge through exploration, discussion, and reflection.
  • Teachers are facilitators of student learning, as they engage students in rich tasks. Administrators are change agents and have the power to create and to support a culture of scientific inquiry.

IDOE Resources

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Select one Content Area or High School course at a time.
Search for key words within each standard's description.
Standard Grade Area/Subject Description
3-5.PA.2

3
4
5

 Programs and Algorithms Use digital tools to gather, manipulate, and modify data for use by a program.
3-5.PA.3

3
4
5

 Programs and Algorithms Implement problem solutions using a block-based visual programming language.
4.E.1

4

 Engineering Identify a simple problem with the design of an object that reflects a need or a want. Include criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
4.E.2

4

 Engineering Construct and compare multiple plausible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
4.E.3

4

 Engineering Construct and perform fair investigations in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
4.ESS.1

4

 Earth and Space Science Investigate how the moon appears to move through the sky and it changes day to day, emphasizing the importance of how the moon impacts the Earth, the rising and setting times, and solar and lunar eclipses.
4.ESS.2

4

 Earth and Space Science Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment.
4.ESS.3

4

 Earth and Space Science Describe how geological forces change the shape of the land suddenly and over time.
4.ESS.4

4

 Earth and Space Science Develop solutions that could be implemented to reduce the impact of humans on the natural environment and the natural environment on humans.
4.LS.1

4

 Life Science Observe, analyze, and interpret how offspring are very much, but not exactly, like their parents or one another. Describe how these differences in physical characteristics among individuals in a population may be advantageous for survival and reproduction.
4.LS.2

4

 Life Science Use evidence to support the explanation that a change in the environment may result in a plant or animal will survive and reproduce, move to a new location, or die.
4.LS.3

4

 Life Science Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction in a different ecosystems.
4.PS.1

4

 Physical Science Investigate transportation systems and devices that operate on or in land, water, air and space and recognize the forces (lift, drag, friction, thrust and gravity) that affect their motion.
4.PS.2

4

 Physical Science Investigate the relationship of the speed of an object to the energy of that object.
4.PS.3

4

 Physical Science Investigate how multiple simple machines work together to perform everyday tasks.

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