Science Curriculum Preview Committee Clarification of Learning Results

Curriculum Organizing Questions	What happens when it rains? What happens when it snows? What happens when it is windy?
Elaboration
Specific Ideas	Earth is constantly changing. Some changes happen quickly, some take a long time. Constructive and destructive forces shape and change landforms.
Developmental & Instructional Implications	Young children are naturally interested in everything they see around them -- soil, rocks, streams, rain, snow, clouds, rainbows, sun, moon, and stars. During the first years of school, they should be encouraged to observe closely the objects and materials in their environment, note their properties, distinguish one from another and develop their own explanations of how things become the way they are. As children become more familiar with their world, they can be guided to observe changes, including cyclic changes, predictable trends, and less consistent changes, such as weather. NSES p. 130 Teaching geological facts about how the face of the earth changes serves little purpose in these early years. Students should start becoming familiar with all aspects of their immediate surroundings, including what things change and what seems to cause change. Benchmarks p. 72 In Benchmarks, this concept is at the 3-5 level.
Examples	Show water and wind erosion in a sand table. Then find local examples of erosion such as puddles and ditches. Observe changes when a water balloon is frozen.