Access Point #: SC.1.N.1.In.4

Ask a question about a science investigation.
General Information
Number: SC.1.N.1.In.4
Category: Independent
Date Adopted or Revised: 02/08
Big Idea: The Practice of Science

A: Scientific inquiry is a multifaceted activity; The processes of science include the formulation of scientifically investigable questions, construction of investigations into those questions, the collection of appropriate data, the evaluation of the meaning of those data, and the communication of this evaluation.

B: The processes of science frequently do not correspond to the traditional portrayal of "the scientific method."

C: Scientific argumentation is a necessary part of scientific inquiry and plays an important role in the generation and validation of scientific knowledge.

D: Scientific knowledge is based on observation and inference; it is important to recognize that these are very different things. Not only does science require creativity in its methods and processes, but also in its questions and explanations.

Related Benchmarks

This access point is an alternate version of the following benchmark(s).

Related Courses

This access point is part of these courses.
5020020: Science Grade One
7720020: Access Science Grade 1
5011010: Library Skills/Information Literacy Grade 1
5020080: STEM Lab Grade 1

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this access point.

Lesson Plans

Night Journals:

This project engages students in data collection as they record their observations of the stars over a month-long period. Teachers keep a class journal (recording their own observations) and students will record their observations each night in their journals by drawing what they saw. Discussion and a follow-up activity involving marshmallows emphasize the multitude and placement of stars.

Type: Lesson Plan

Float or Sink?:

This lesson builds on lessons regarding the different properties of solids by having students explore how different objects float or sink when placed in water.

Type: Lesson Plan

Properties of Solids:

This lesson (intended to be used with other sorting lessons) allows students to understand the basic concepts of matter and properties of solids. This lesson involves the creation of a vocabulary chart with a child-friendly definition of matter and a Thinking Map with the varying properties of solids that students can use to sort different objects. Students explore two different objects and record their observations about the objects' properties.

Type: Lesson Plan

Some Things Happen Fast and Some Things Happen Slow:

In this lesson, teachers show their students pictures of different events happening on Earth and asks if these events happen quickly or slowly, how students generated that judgment, and what happens on Earth after each event occurred. Students can explore a location around the school and record observations in their notebook about what events may be occurring in that location and if they are occurring slowly or quickly.

Type: Lesson Plan

Tree Observations:

In this project, each class "adopts" a tree and collects data about it over the entire year. Teachers maintain a class tree notebook that includes a picture of the tree and a description of the environmental characteristics on each observation day as students draw a picture of the tree that day in their personal science notebooks. Emphasis should be placed on the importance of water, sunlight, and food as essential to the tree's survival.

Type: Lesson Plan

Unit/Lesson Sequences

Properties of the Sun:

These two lesson plans provide projects that allow students to 1) design, create, and test shade structures using given materials (connecting to the engineering design process) and 2) explore harmful and beneficial properties of the Sun through observing the effects of exposure or non-exposure of certain materials to sunlight and heat.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Learning About Mealworms:

In this unit, students learn about metamorphosis and how animals change from birth to the adult stage through observing and collecting data as mealworm larvae progress through their life cycle to the adult stage (beetles).

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

How do Objects Move | Engineering Design Challenge:

In this unit, students explore and explain the many different ways that an object moves and how its properties affect its movements. In one lesson ("In What Ways"), students predict and test their predictions on how different objects will move when gently pushed on their desks. In "Do All Tops Spin Alike?," students use different materials to construct their own tops and test its movements. "Making Objects Move" introduces the concept of acceleration and allows students to use different sizes and types of balls and other materials to build tracks that will be used to stop the ball at a certain location. "Playground Equipment" gives an engineering experience by engaging students in a competition with a given scenario and asking them to design, test, and re-design (if necessary) a functioning piece of new playground equipment (the terms "force," "motion," "gravity," and "simple machine" are introduced).

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Magnification:

These lessons allow students to explore how magnifiers work by using different types of magnifiers to observe classroom objects and their own creations.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

What Makes Objects Move?:

In this unit, students use different objects and observations to explore what factors influence an objects' motion.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Student Resources

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Parent Resources

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