Standard 1: Modeling and simulations

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General Information

Number: SC.35.CS-CS.1

Title: Modeling and simulations

Type: Standard

Subject: Science

Grade: 35

Body of Knowledge: Computer Science - Communication Systems and Computing (Discontinued after 2024-2025)

Related Benchmarks

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Related Access Points

This cluster includes the following access points.

Related Resources

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

Lesson Plans

Using Machine Learning and Computational Thinking to Train an AI Model:

Students will explore Artificial Intelligence (AI) and use computational thinking and Machine Learning (ML) to pretrain a model to recognize and identify objects, including geometric shapes and aircraft. They will used unplugged activities to mimic sorting and classification of the objects using their prior knowledge and then make connections to human learning and Machine Learning. Students will then problem solve and propose solutions using computational thinking to improve the ML model to better recognize the objects. This lesson is an integrated Computer Science, Science and Math lesson designed for students in grades 3-5 to apply math and science content knowledge while exploring and using computational thinking as they think like Computer Engineers and reflect on potential career paths.

Type: Lesson Plan

Symbols of America: The Washington Monument, Lesson 1:

Students will learn about the Washington Monument and its importance as an American symbol. They will interact with a Scratch program to learn basic facts about the monument and then complete a graphic organizer based on online research. This is lesson one of a 4-part integrated computer science and civics mini-unit.

Type: Lesson Plan

Symbols of America: Uncle Sam, Lesson 2:

Students will learn about the figure of Uncle Sam and its importance as an American symbol. They will interact with a Scratch program to learn basic facts about the icon and then complete a comic strip based on online research. This is lesson two of a 4-part integrated computer science and civics mini-unit.

Type: Lesson Plan

Symbols of America: Mount Rushmore, Lesson 3:

Students will learn about Mount Rushmore and its importance as an American symbol. They will interact with a Scratch program to learn basic facts about Mount Rushmore and then complete online research on the topic and fill out a graphic organizer. This is lesson three of a 4-part integrated computer science and civics mini-unit.

Type: Lesson Plan

Florida Tackles Invasive Species: Lesson 3:

Students will use their pseudocode from lesson 2 to create code in the Scratch program that informs viewers about an invasive species in Florida and what citizens can do to help. Finally, students will complete a digital gallery walk to interact with their peers’ projects and take notes on different invasive species. This is the final lesson in a 3 lesson integrated computer science and civics mini-unit.

Type: Lesson Plan

Florida Tackles Invasive Species: Lesson 2:

Students will use their lesson one research on an invasive species in Florida to plan an interactive Scratch program. The animation will include at least one option for citizens to control the issue. Students will learn about pseudocoding and how to plan a coding project. This is lesson 2 in a 3-part integrated computer science and civics mini-unit on invasive species.

Type: Lesson Plan

Florida Tackles Invasive Species: Lesson 1:

In this integrated lesson, students will research invasive species and the solutions that Florida citizens can participate in to mitigate the issues associated with them. Students will interact with an example Scratch simulation that illustrates how Lionfish spread. This is lesson 1 in a 3 part-integrated computer science and civics series to help students understand the invasive species of Florida and how citizens can participate in solving this issue.

Type: Lesson Plan

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 8 Coding a Simulation: Changes to Water:

Students will use logical thinking, decision making and flowcharts to code a simulation about the state of matter the water will be in, dependent upon water temperature. Students will use a free online block-coding platform called Scratch.

This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit of SaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation. To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.

Type: Lesson Plan

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 12 Engineering Design Problem: Beat the Heat Part 3: Testing a Cooler:

In this engineering design problem, students will have the opportunity to apply what they
learned about the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and
cooling by designing their own cooler. Students will be asked to use the engineering design
process to design a cooler that will reduce the melting of frozen water in hot temperatures
at the beach. Students will need to design and build their cooler, test their materials, and
justify their design decisions. In this lesson students will test their cooler’s effectiveness in
keeping ice from melting. In subsequent lessons students will improve their designs.

Type: Lesson Plan

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 13 Engineering Design Problem: Beat the Heat Part 4: Improve a Cooler:

Type: Lesson Plan

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 10 Engineering Design Problem: Beat the Heat Part 1: Design a Cooler:

In this engineering design problem, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling by designing their own cooler. Students will be asked to use the engineering design process to design a cooler that will reduce the melting of frozen water in hot temperatures at the beach. Students will need to design and build their cooler, test their materials, and justify their design decisions. This lesson is the first of several lessons based on engineering design; in subsequent lessons, students will build and test their designs with ice.

Type: Lesson Plan

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 7 Planning a Simulation: Changes to Water:

Students will use logical thinking, decision making and flowcharts to plan a coded simulation about the state of water, dependent upon water temperature. Students will then be able to use that flowchart and code their own simulation using a free online block-coding platform called Scratch.

This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit ofSaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation. To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.

Type: Lesson Plan

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 11 Engineering Design Problem: Beat the Heat Part 2: Build a Cooler:

In this engineering design problem, students will have the opportunity to apply what they
learned about the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and
cooling by designing their own cooler. Students will be asked to use the engineering design
process to design a cooler that will reduce the melting of frozen water in hot temperatures
at the beach. Students will need to design and build their cooler, test their materials, and
justify their design decisions. In this lesson students will build their cooler. In subsequent
lessons students will test their designs with ice and improve their designs.

Type: Lesson Plan

Just Right Goldilocks’ Café: Temperature & Turbidity:

This is lesson 3 of 3 in the Goldilocks’ Café Just Right unit. This lesson focuses on systematic investigation on getting a cup of coffee to be the “just right” temperature and turbidity level. Students will use both the temperature probe and turbidity sensor and code using ScratchX during their investigation.

Type: Lesson Plan

Just Right Goldilocks’ Café: Turbidity:

This is lesson 2 of 3 in the Just Right Goldilocks’ Café unit. This lesson focuses on systematic investigation on getting a cup of coffee to be the “just right” level of turbidity. Students will use turbidity sensors and code using ScratchX during their investigation.

Type: Lesson Plan

Just Right Goldilocks’ Café: Temperature:

This is lesson 1 of 3 in the Just Right Goldilocks’ Café unit. This lesson focuses on systematic investigation on getting a cup of coffee to be the “just right” temperature. Students will use temperature probes and code using ScratchX during their investigation.

Type: Lesson Plan

Lesson #3 - Moon Phase Unit:

This is the final lesson in the Moon Phase unit. In this lesson, students will complete an algorithm sheet to understand how they can connect the flowchart model to real-world programming. It also gives an insight to various blocks used in Scratch and their significance. This lesson allows students to program in Scratch based on the flowchart model made in the previous lesson and switch the costumes based on the operational conditions placed on the sprite. The final product in this lesson will showcase the students' conceptual understanding of the Moon phases in a computer science medium.

Type: Lesson Plan

Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) STEM Lessons

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 14 Beat the Heat MEA Part 1: Setting up the Cooler Experiment:

this MEA, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about describing
the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling. This MEA
is divided into four parts. In Part 1 of this activity, students will learn how to set up the
cooler experiment. They will watch a video and take notes. Students will also develop their
hypothesis in preparation to perform the experiment. In part 2, students will be asked to
use ice to test the coolers they designed in Beat the Heat Engineering Design Lessons.
Students will take measurements and collect data on their cooler. In part 3, students will
analyze the data they collected. Finally, in part 4 they will develop a procedure for selecting
the most effective cooler to keep water frozen the longest at the beach. In the optional
twist, students will need to take the mass of the cooler into account.

This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit ofSaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation. To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.

Type: Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) STEM Lesson

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 15 Beat the Heat MEA Part 2: Cooler Experiment:

In this MEA, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about describing
the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling. This MEA
is divided into four parts. In part 1, students will develop their hypothesis and receive
information on how to set up the cooler experiment. In part 2, students will use ice to test
the coolers they designed in Beat the Heat Engineering Design Lessons. Students will take
measurements and collect data on their cooler. In part 3, students will analyze the data
they collected. Finally, in part 4 they will develop a procedure for selecting the most
effective cooler to keep water frozen the longest at the beach. In the optional twist,
students will need to take the mass of the cooler into account.

Type: Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) STEM Lesson

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 16 Beat the Heat MEA Part 3: Analyzing Cooler Data:

In this MEA, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about describing
the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling. This MEA
is divided into four parts. In part 1, students will develop their hypothesis and receive
information on how to set up the cooler experiment. In part 2, students will be asked to use
ice to test the coolers they designed in Beat the Heat Engineering Design Lessons.
Students will take measurements and collect data on their cooler. In Part 3 of this activity,
students will analyze the data they collected in Part 2 by drawing and interpreting a scaled
bar graph and line graph. Students will participate in a discussion about how to interpret the
data that was collected. Finally, in part 4 they will develop a procedure for selecting the best
cooler to keep water frozen the longest at the beach. In the optional twist, students will
need to take the mass of the cooler into account.

Type: Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) STEM Lesson

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 17 Beat the Heat MEA Part 4: Ranking Procedure:

In this MEA, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about describing
the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling. This MEA
is divided into four parts. In part 1, students will develop their hypothesis and receive
information on how to set up the cooler experiment. In part 2, students will be asked to use
ice to test the coolers they designed in Beat the Heat Engineering Design Lessons.
Students will take measurements and collect data on their cooler. In part 3, students will
analyze the data they collected. Finally, in part 4 they will develop a procedure for selecting
the best cooler to keep water frozen the longest at the beach. They will communicate their
findings and procedure via a letter to next year’s class. In the optional twist, students will
need to take the mass of the cooler into account.

Type: Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) STEM Lesson

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 9 Cool Cooler Design Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA):

In this MEA, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about describing
the changes water undergoes when it changes state through heating and cooling. Students
will be asked to rank coolers based on data to solve an open-ended, realistic problem, while
considering constraints and tradeoffs. In the optional twist, students will need to take the
mass of the cooler into account.

This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Water. This is a themed unit ofSaM-1's adventures while on a Beach Vacation. To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.

Type: Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) STEM Lesson

Physical Science Unit: Properties Lesson 21 Model Eliciting Activity: Entertaining Animals:

In this MEA, students will have the opportunity to apply what they learned about physical properties and measuring linear lengths to a realistic problem. Students will be asked to design a prototype toy for Florida panthers housed at the CPALMS Rehabilitation and Conservation Center. Students will need to describe the physical properties (color, shape, texture, hardness, length) of the toy while explaining the rationale behind their design choices. In the optional twist, students will need to design a prototype toy suitable for a Florida panther with an injured leg.

This is a lesson in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit on Properties. This is a themed unit of SaM-1's adventures at the CPALMS Rehabilitation and Conservation Center. To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx .

Type: Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) STEM Lesson

Original Student Tutorials

Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation Lesson 17 Video:

This SaM-1 video provides the students with the optional "twist" for Lesson 17 and the Model Eliciting Activity (MEA) they have been working on in the Grade 3 Physical Science Unit: Water Beach Vacation.

To see all the lessons in the unit please visit https://www.cpalms.org/page818.aspx.