prek2b3

Science Curriculum Preview Committee Clarification of Learning Results

Revised 04/07/04

PreK-2

B3: Give examples of how one change in a system affects other parts of the system.

Curriculum Organizing Questions

What might happen to the organisms in this environment if the temperature or amount of water changed?

What are some of the parts of this?

If we change a part, what happens?

What are some of the parts that affect each other?

Elaboration
Students should practice identifying parts of things and how one part connects to and affects another, and should predict the effects of removing or changing parts. Frequent discussion of how one thing affects another lays the ground for recognizing interactions. Learning about systems in some situations may not transfer well to other situations, so systems should be encountered through a variety of approaches, including designing and troubleshooting. Simple systems should be encountered before complex ones. When applying this concept to ecosystems at the K-2 level it is probably best to focus on very simple examples. Benchmarks p. 264

Specific Ideas

Most things are made of parts. Benchmarks 11A1

Something may not work if some of its parts are missing. Benchmarks 11A2 (gr 3-5)

In something that consists of many parts, the parts usually influence one another. Benchmarks 11A1 (gr 3-5)

Something may not work as well (or not at all) if a part of it is missing, broken, worn out, mismatched, or misconnected.

In an ecosystem, changes can cause organisms to die, thrive, or move to a new location. NSES C32

In an ecosystem, one change often causes other changes. Benchmarks 9B2

Developmental & Instructional Implications
Some research has found that student misconceptions about certain subjects can arise from their difficulty in recognizing natural phenomena as groups or systems of interacting objects. Elementary students may believe that a group of objects must be doing something in order to be a system. At all ages students tend to note the qualities of separate objects, rather than seeing the interactions between the parts of a system. Benchmarks p. 355

Examples

Back to Big Ideas Grid B Back to Standard B Back to Index

Curriculum Organizing Questions	What might happen to the organisms in this environment if the temperature or amount of water changed? What are some of the parts of this? If we change a part, what happens? What are some of the parts that affect each other?
Elaboration	Students should practice identifying parts of things and how one part connects to and affects another, and should predict the effects of removing or changing parts. Frequent discussion of how one thing affects another lays the ground for recognizing interactions. Learning about systems in some situations may not transfer well to other situations, so systems should be encountered through a variety of approaches, including designing and troubleshooting. Simple systems should be encountered before complex ones. When applying this concept to ecosystems at the K-2 level it is probably best to focus on very simple examples. Benchmarks p. 264
Specific Ideas	Most things are made of parts. Benchmarks 11A1 Something may not work if some of its parts are missing. Benchmarks 11A2 (gr 3-5) In something that consists of many parts, the parts usually influence one another. Benchmarks 11A1 (gr 3-5) Something may not work as well (or not at all) if a part of it is missing, broken, worn out, mismatched, or misconnected. In an ecosystem, changes can cause organisms to die, thrive, or move to a new location. NSES C32 In an ecosystem, one change often causes other changes. Benchmarks 9B2
Developmental & Instructional Implications	Some research has found that student misconceptions about certain subjects can arise from their difficulty in recognizing natural phenomena as groups or systems of interacting objects. Elementary students may believe that a group of objects must be doing something in order to be a system. At all ages students tend to note the qualities of separate objects, rather than seeing the interactions between the parts of a system. Benchmarks p. 355
Examples