Alaska
Science Performance Standards
Level 1 Ages 5-7
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A 1. Students use
models to represent structures and identify different scale relationships.
A 2. Students
observe physical properties of substances and observe that a substance
maintains many of the same properties whether it is big or small.
A 3. Students
make observations of the daytime and nighttime sky over a period of time and
chart the movement of objects.
A 4. Students
observe natural events and identify patterns in the weather and the seasons.
A 5. Students
show how objects can be moved without being touched, and how shadows are formed
by light.
A 6. Students
observe and record changes in an object’s position and motion when applying a
push or pull.
A 7. Students
observe and describe earth materials such as clay, silt, sand, rocks, and
pebbles that exist in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors, and hardness.
A 8a. Students
observe and describe changes in matter and identify some changes that are
easily reversible, and some that are not.
A 8b. Students
observe that the sun warms the land, air and water.
A 8c. Students
observe that there are many ways to produce heat and other forms of energy.
A 9. Students
identify examples of living and non-living things in their environment and
demonstrate understanding that things change over time.
A 10. Students
use a hand lens to observe minute details of living things.
A 11. Students
identify similarities and differences between offspring and their parents.
A 12. Students
sort plants and animals into groups using consistent criteria, and describe how
some characteristics are for the survival of the plant or animal.
A 13. Students
describe organisms that once lived on earth, but have completely disappeared.
A 14a. Students
identify those things which plants and animals need in order to survive and
reproduce.
A 14b. Students
identify local animals that live together in groups.
A 14c. Students
listen to a story (from the past or present) that describes how a shortage or
surplus of resources affects the survival of plants and animals.
A 15. Students
identify local landforms and resources.
B 1. Students
observe and describe their world.
B 2. Students
use appropriate measuring and observation instruments to explore the natural
world around them.
B 3. Students ask
questions about the natural world.
B 4. Students
collaborate to investigative the natural world.
B 5. Students
differentiate between what they observe with their senses and what they
interpret about those observations.
B 6. Student
learn classroom safety procedures, identify consequences or unsafe behavior,
and practice safe behavior in the classroom and laboratory.
C 1. Students
will use observations to collect and identify facts.
C 2. Students
will compare observations and/or repeat observations to check for validity of
results.
C 3. Students
recite a tribal folk lore describing a scientific event.
C 4. Students
observe a phenomenon and record a personal (non-scientific) belief about that
phenomenon.
C 5. Students
work together to explore and share scientific discoveries about their
environment.
C 6. Students
share information about their world that they have learned through observation.
C 7. Students
examine inventions and describe the human efforts required to produce it.
C 8. Students
observe and discuss phenomena that conflict with common sense.
D 1. Students
use science knowledge to describe everyday events.
D 2. Students
role-play and discuss the positive and negative consequences of a single
scientific or technological event.
D 3. Students
propose and discuss solutions to simple problems.
D 4. Students
describe simple technology used in everyday life.
D 5. Students
discuss how tools are used to observe, measure, and make things that help us.
D 6. Students
retell examples of consequences that have resulted from their actions.
Alaska Science Performance Standards
Level 2 Ages
8-10
A 1. Students use models to represent matter as solids,
liquids or gases and the change from one state to another.
A 2. Students observe physical and chemical properties of
common substances and observe changes to those properties.
A 3. Students make observations of the daytime and
nighttime sky and create a 3-dimensional model to explain the movement of the
earth and moon in our solar system.
A 4. Students observe natural events related to weather,
seasons, and phases of the moon, and identify patterns in their observation.
A 5. Students observe the force and energy manifestations
of nature, such as gravity, magnetism, light and electricity and their
interactions with a variety of materials.
A 6. Students predict how an object’s speed, motion and
direction change when they apply an outside force.
A 7. Students observe and describe changes in the local
environment caused by weather, waves, wind, water, ice, and living organisms.
A 8a. Students observe and describe physical and chemical
changes to a system.
A 8b. Students observe and describe heat flow from one
object to another.
A 8c. Students determine heat conductivity of various
materials
A 9. Students describe the cycling of matter and transfer
of energy in the local ecosystem.
A 10. Students recognize the basic requirements for all
living things: food, water, waste disposal, and reproduction.
A 11. Students identify characteristics of plants and
animals that inherited as well as characteristics of plants and animals that
are influenced by the environment.
A 12. Students categorize groups of plants and animals
according to external features and explain how these features help organisms
survive in different environments.
A 13. Students describe how living organisms have changed
over time.
A 14a. Students classify familiar plants and animals based
on their position in a simple food chain.
A 14b. Students identify groups of plants and animals that
live within characteristic biomes.
A 14c. Students describe migration, hibernation, and other seasonal patterns of local animals.
B 1. Students observe, measure, and collect data from
experiments and use this information to classify, predict, and communicate
about their everyday world and verify those predictions.
B 2. Students conduct simple experiments to answer a
specific question about the natural or designed world.
B 3. Students discuss multiple explanations for an
observed phenomenon.
B 4. Students use collaboration to investigate a
question.
B 5. Students practice factual reporting of data and
identify techniques that ensure the fair collection and comparison of evidence.
B 6. Students examine laboratory and community safety
procedures, identify how an individual affects the safety of the group, and
practice safe behavior in the classroom and laboratory.
C 1. Students will observe and record an event, then
explore concepts associated with those observations and facts.
C 2. Students conduct simple experiments, compare their
results with the work of others, and explain any differences.
C 3. Students identify how various cultures throughout
history have developed different units and tools for measurement.
C 4. Students observe a phenomenon; record a person
(non-scientific) belief about that phenomenon; compare their personal
non-scientific) belief to the scientific explanation.
C 5. Students work together to explore and share
scientific discoveries about their environment.
C 6. Students describe a historical scientific discovery
that happened as a result of an accident.
C 7. Students design a timeline to show the historical
development of an object or tool that they use.
C 8. Students observe and describe examples of how
scientific ideas that conflicted with beliefs or common sense are resisted.
D 1. Students use science knowledge and reasoning to
explain the science of everyday events.
D 2. Students describe various effects of an innovation
on the safety, health and environment of the local community.
D 3. Students identify a community problem or issue and
describe the information needed to develop a scientific solution.
D 4. Students evaluate multiple solutions to the same
problem.
D 5. Students debate the usefulness of various science
tools and technological innovations in their community.
D 6. Students work scientifically to improve a situation
that exists in their local school or community.
Alaska
Science Performance Standards
Level 3 Ages 11-14
A 1. Students
develop and used models to demonstrate how atoms and elements form molecules
and compounds, and how properties such as density can be measured and compared.
A 2. Students
will explain changes that occur in physical and chemical properties of matter
using a qualitative description of changes on a molecular level, including
conservation of matter.
A 3. Students
will explain changes that occur in physical and chemical properties of matter
using a qualitative description of changes on a molecular level, including conservation
of matter.
A 4. Students
conduct research and make predictions about tides, weather, seasons, and phases
of the moon and correlate these natural events to the motion of the Earth
within our solar system.
A 5. Students
describe gravity as the force that governs orbital motion in the solar system
and motion of the tides on the Earth, and describe light as radiation that
travels in a straight line that can be reflected, refracted, or absorbed by
matter.
A 6. Students
analyze how balanced and unbalanced forces act on familiar objects and predict
or explain changes in motion that may (or may not) occur.
A 7. Students
use models to explain how large scale movements within the Earth’s interior
cause changes on the Earth’s surface.
A 8a. Students investigate
common physical and chemical changes and the characteristics associated with
each type of change, and relate these changes to simple rearrangements of
atoms.
A 8b. Students
observe and describe energy changes that take place around them.
A 8c. Students
examine energy transfers and identify energy that is useful vs. energy that is
unavailable.
A 9. Students
create an ecosystem and explain physical and chemical changes that take place
as energy flows and matter cycles within that ecosystem.
A 10. Students
create models to describe the basic structure of plant and animal cells, how
cells organize to form tissues, how tissues form organs, and how organs form
organ systems within multicellular organisms.
A 11. Students
explain the similarities and differences between sexual and asexual
reproduction in a variety of organisms.
A 12. Students
organize living organisms into groups based on an internal and external
structure, reproductive style, and their place in the food web.
A 13. Students
use information found in the fossil record to provide evidence for the history
of Earth and its changing life forms.
A 14a. Students
classify living organisms based on their position and function in a complex
food web.
A 14b. Students
describe the interactions of individuals within a population.
A 14c. Students
predict how a shortage or excess of resources affect organisms in higher
trophic levels.
A 15. Students
conduct research to learn how the local environment is used by a variety of
competing interests including local plant and animal populations, individual
families, the local community, and outside sources such as oil and mining
companies, hunting groups, and tourists.
A 16. Students
describe how objects in one moving reference frame are perceived in reference
to another moving reference frame. (classical relativity)
B 1. Students
hypothesize, make qualitative and quantitative observations, control
experimental variables, interpret data; and use this information to explain
everyday phenomena and make predictions
B 2. Students
use appropriate instruments, develop and design a controlled experiment, and
conduct research.
B 3. Students
compare their work to the work of others to identify multiple paths that can be
used to investigate a particular question.
B 4. Students
design an experiment through a collaborative process, describing individual
ways to answer the question before coming to group consensus on the best
experimental design.
B 5. Students
practice factual recording of experimental results and unbiased data
collection.
B 6. Students
examine laboratory and community safety procedures, identify how an individual
affects the safety of the group, and practice safe behavior in the classroom
and laboratory.
C 1. Students
will make and record observations and be able to link those observations to
known scientific concepts, principles and laws.
C 2. Students
conduct a series of experiments to demonstrate the reproducibility of
scientific phenomena.
C 3. Students
describe how the local society, culture, history, and environment have affected
the development of scientific knowledge.
C 4. Students
investigate the societal (non-scientific) belief of a community regarding a
natural phenomenon.
C 5. Students
work in a team to observe, research, and study an issue related to their
community and synthesize data derived from multiple perspectives.
C 6. Students
describe the steps in the development of a widely used technology (e.g.,
Teflon, sticky notes, nylon, penicillin, etc.)
C 7. Students
design concept webs that show how contributions across a variety of fields are
used to produce inventions.
C 8. Students
show how acceptance of a new idea depends upon supporting evidence and how new
ideas that conflict with beliefs or common sense are often resisted.
D 1. Students
research a local problem or issue and form a viewpoint that is supported by
scientific evidence
D 2. Students
describe the unexpected effects, both positive and negative and short-and
long-term, of a discovery, invention, or scientific breakthrough.
D 3. Students
identify a community problem or issue, collect information and secondary
research, and propose a scientific solution.
D 4. Students
evaluate the scientific and societal impact of recent technologies.
D 5. Students
describe how public policy affects their lives and participate diplomatically
in evidence-based discussions relating to their community.
D 6. Students use scientific reasoning to design a solution to a problem or issue and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution.
Alaska Science Performance Standards
Level 4 Ages
15-18
A 1. Students develop, create and use models to
demonstrate their understanding of the nature of particles and interactions on
the molecular, atomic, and subatomic levels, and how these explain the physical
and chemical properties of matter.
A 2. Students describe and explain a common chemical
reaction including atomic chemical bonding, and reaction rates.
A 3. Students use secondary research to develop models
that explain the origin and continued development of the solar system, galaxy,
and the universe.
A 4. Students explain tides, weather, seasons, and phases
of the moon including the appropriate concepts of gravity, the Coriolus effect,
role of the atmosphere, and Earth’s rotation and revolution.
A 5. Students explain how gravity and electromagnetic
forces operate according to simple principles and how they can be used in
applications such as mineral resource prospecting, satellites, space travel and
affect natural phenomena such as the aurora.
A 6. Students explain common examples of linear and
rotational motion using Newton’s Laws of Motion.
A 7. Students explain short-term and long-term
transformations of the earth’s surface, including those caused by living things
and human intervention.
A 8a. Students explain how the absorption or emission of
energy is related to physical, chemical, and nuclear reactions and explains how
these reactions can be quantitatively accounted for in terms of changes in
arrangements of neutrons, protons, electrons, atoms or molecules.
A 8b. Students measure energy transfers that take place
around them and use the data to examine The Law of Conservation of Energy.
A 8c. Students explain entropy and its affect on energy
availability.
A 9. Students describe the relationship between energy
and matter in a biological system.
A 10. Students identify structure-function relationships
at the subcellular, cellular, tissue, organ, and organism levels of
organization.
A 11. Students build a model to show how the structure of
DNA affects the structure of proteins, cells, and ultimately phenotypic
characteristics of the organism.
A 12. Students describe how diversity and genetic
variability influence a species survival rate under changing environmental
conditions.
A 13. Students use the theory of natural selection to
explain changes in life forms over time.
A 14a. Students classify living organisms based on inter-
and intra-community relationships, and describe how organisms and groups of
organisms affect the environment.
A 14b. Students describe plant and animal population
interactions within various communities and biomes.
A 14c. Students describe the health of a local ecosystem
using the parameters of population size, species diversity, and productivity.
A 15. Students recommend a management strategy to solve a
local environmental problem related to resource utilization such as fish and
game, building permits, mineral rights, and land use policies.
A 16. Students describe how studying radioactive decay,
nuclear fission, and fusion can provide evidence confirming the Law of
Conservation of Matter and Energy.
B 1. Students collect, analyze, and interpret qualitative
and quantitative data, develop models, and suggest further experimentation to
investigate and explain everyday phenomena in their world.
B 2. Students conduct primary scientific research and use
sophisticated instrumentation technology to design, modify, and conduct a
series of experiments related to a multifaceted problem in the natural or
designed world.
B 3. Students conduct research and media searches that
highlight multiple forms of inquiry and multiple solutions to complex problems.
B 4. Students work in collaborative groups to collect and
analyze their experimental results.
They conduct media searches and use the information to support their
experimental design.
B 5. Students discuss the validity of assertions made in
primary and secondary scientific sources by analyzing and critiquing the data
used as evidence to support those assertions.
B 6. Students examine laboratory and community safety
procedures, identify how an individual affects the safety of the group, and
practice safe behavior in the classroom and laboratory.
C 1. Students can differentiate between facts,
observations, concepts, principles, laws, and theories, as used in science
publications.
C 2. Students evaluate the validity of experimental
findings.
C 3. Students describe how human society, culture,
history, and environment have influenced the development of scientific thinking.
C 4. Students investigate societal (non-scientific)
beliefs of multiple communities cultures regarding a phenomenon.
C 5. Students use personal and group experiences as well
as media searches to synthesize data derived from multiple perspectives to study
a multifaceted problem related to state, regional, or global concerns and post
their results for review.
C 6. Students describe how current research is changing
accepted scientific theories.
C 7. Students identify the research, contributions,
discoveries, and collaborative efforts currently underway to solve a
scientific, industrial, mechanical, agricultural, or medical problem.
C 8. Students analyze the evidence used to support
current or historic scientific understanding of an issue as well as the
evidence used to support ideas contrary to current scientific understanding.
D 1. Students investigate a regional or global issue;
identify and evaluate the current solutions.
D 2. Students research a current problem and conduct a
cost and benefit analysis associated with both the problem and potential
solutions.
D 3. Students conduct independent research investigations
about a community issue and propose a solution based on their original data.
D 4. Students evaluate scientific and societal impacts of
developing technologies.
D 5. Students propose a scientifically or technologically
based change to public policy at the local, state, or national level and share
their proposal with the audience of those affected by the issue as well as
those involved in policy-making decisions.
D 6. Students work collaboratively to design a solution
to a problem, develop an evaluation tool to measure the effectiveness of their
solution, and make revisions to the original solution based on the information
collected.