Unifying Concepts and Processes
As a result of activities in grades K-12, all students should develop understanding and abilities aligned with the following concepts and processes:

• Systems, order, and organization
• Evidence, models, and explanation
• Constancy, change, and measurement
• Evolution and equilibrium
• Form and function.

Unifying Concepts and Processes
During the course of study students experiences are aligned with the following unifying concepts and processes:

• Systems, order, and organization
• Evidence, models, and explanation
• Constancy, change, and measurement
• Evolution and equilibrium
• Form and function

A: Science as Inquiry
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
• Understanding about scientific inquiry

A: Science as Inquiry
During the course of their Science Seeker investigations, students will:

• Ask questions about liquids. light, sound, our bodies, plants and animals, ecosystems, and the air and sky.
• Conduct a variety of investigations to observe, compare, sort as they do science as young scientists.
• Use clocks, thermometers, hand lenses, and other tools for data-gathering.
• Use their observations and comparisons from their investigations to construct explanations to answer their questions
• Communicate their discoveries to others. Students fax or E-mail their observations to the video characters and to students in other classrooms. They compare their ideas with those of other students displayed on the video.

Kindergarten--Investigation and Experimentation
4. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

1. observe common objects using the five senses.
2. describe the properties of common objects.
3. compare and sort common objects based on one physical attribute (including color, shape, texture, size, weight).
4. communicate observations orally and in drawings.

1st grade--Investigation and Experimentation
4. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:

1. draw pictures that correctly portray at least some features of the thing being described.
2. record observations and data with pictures, numbers, and/or written statements.
3. make new observations when discrepancies exist between two descriptions of the same object or phenomena.

B: Physical Science
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding of

• Properties of materials and objects
• Position and motion of objects
• Light, heat, electricity, and magnetism

B: Physical Science
During the course of their Science Seeker investigations, students will:

• Observe, compare, and communicate about the effects of water on a variety of writing materials.
• Observe, compare, sort, and communicate about the sinking and floating of a variety of objects.
• Observe and compare water poured into a variety of containers. Students observe that water (a liquid) takes the shape of its container and that ice (a solid) maintains that shape after the container is removed.
• Observe, compare, and communicate about the effect of mixing food coloring with various liquids and foods.
• Compare the sounds made by various materials.
• Observe and communicate how they produced high and low pitches from student-created instruments.
• Compare the properties of reflection, transparency, and opaqueness of materials.
• Describe the position of a light when casting shadows.
• Compare and describe the ability of a variety of materials to hide odor.
• Gain an understanding of properties that contribute to balance, such as symmetry or a wide base.
• Conduct investigations to observe how air can push on solids and liquids.

Kindergarten-Physical Sciences
1. Properties of materials can be observed, measured and predicted. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

1. objects can be described in terms of the materials they are made of (clay, cloth, paper, etc.) and their physical properties (color, size, shape, weight, texture, flexibility, attraction to magnets, floating and sinking etc.).
2. water can be a liquid or a solid and can be made to change back and forth from one form to the other.

1st grade-Physical Sciences
1. Materials come in different forms (states) including solids, liquids, and gases. As a basis for understanding this concept students know:

1. solids, liquids, and gases have different properties.
2. the properties of substances can change when the substances are mixed, cooled, or heated.

C: Life Science
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding of

• The characteristics of organisms
• Life cycles of organisms
• Organisms and environments

C: Life Science
During the course of their Science Seeker investigations, students will:

• Observe the behavior of animals influenced by internal clues, such as hunger, and external changes in the environment. Students observe, compare and describe the reactions of fish to plants, food, hiding places, or other additions to their aquarium.
• Compare the food preferences of animals. Their classroom Hermit Crabs are omnivores, birds will eat seeds and worms, and dinosaurs with sharp teeth primarily eat meat, while those with flat teeth eat plants.
• Model how coloration is used by animals to blend in with different environments.
• Gain an understanding of germs as carriers of disease.
• Observe and compare their senses of smell and taste with those of other students.
• Observe and describe how they can use their bodies to balance themselves or objects.
• Search for, compare, and sort seeds in a variety of fruits and vegetables.
• Compare the germination of seeds left in a variety of dry and wet environments.
• Provide water, soil, light, and warmth to their miniature garden.
• Provide water, food, warmth, and air to their classroom pet.
• Use clues to track animal movement.

Kindergarten-Life Sciences
2. Different types of plants and animals inhabit the Earth. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

1. how to observe and describe similarities and differences in the appearance and behavior of plants and of animals (e.g., seed-bearing plants, birds, fish, insects).
2. how to identify major structures of common plants and animals (e.g., stems, leaves, roots, arms, wings, legs)

1st grade-Life Sciences
2. Plants and animals meet their needs in different ways. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

1. Different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environments, and have external features that help them thrive in different kinds of places
2. plants and animals both need to take in water, and animals need to take in food. In addition, plants need light.
3. animals eat plants or other animals for food and may also use plants (or even other animals) for shelter and nesting.
4. how to infer what animals eat from the shapes of their teeth (e.g. sharp teeth: eats meat; flat teeth: eats plants).

D: Earth and Space Science
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding of

• Properties of earth materials
• Objects in the sky
• Changes in earth and sky

D: Earth and Space Science
During the course of their Science Seeker investigations, students will:

• Observe and describe many properties of water.
• Discuss the fossil teeth of dinosaurs and investigate what the shape of the fossilized teeth can tell us about what the dinosaurs ate.
• Experiment with seed germination, and come to understand that soil and water are necessary for plant growth.
• Take care of a classroom pet and discuss of their own needs to understand that water is a necessity for all life.
• Observe and discuss how air can be used to fill toys, move things, and hold things up.
• Identify wind as air that is moving.
• Compare the properties and location of objects in the sky, such as stars, moon, sun, clouds, birds, and airplanes.
• Describe daily weather changes and discuss seasonal weather.
• Observe, compare, and communicate about the changing pattern of movement and shapes of the moon.

Earth Sciences
3. The Earth is composed of land, air and water. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

1. changes in weather occur from day to day and over seasons, affecting the Earth and its inhabitants.

1st grade-Earth Sciences
3. Weather can be observed, measured and described. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:

1. the weather changes from day to day, but trends in temperature or of rain (or snow) tend to be predictable during a season.
2. the sun warms the land, air, and water.

E: Science and Technology
As a result of activities in grades K-8, all students should develop

• Abilities of technological design
• Understanding about science and technology
• Abilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by humans.

E: Science and Technology
During the course of their Science Seeker investigations, students will:

• Compare a variety of materials to be used in making toy boats.
• Compare the insulating properties of a variety of materials as they investigate how to keep an ice cube from melting.
• Use what they know about light and shadow to create shadow plays.
• Observe and compare various natural and human-made light sources.
• Create a variety of bird feeders and observe birds using them. Students add objects or organisms to aquariums, observe the reaction of the fish, and make changes accordingly.
• Work in teams on an activity, just as older scientists do.

F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop an understanding of

• Personal health
• Characteristics and changes in populations
• Types of resources
• Changes in environments
• Science and technology in local challenges

F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
During the course of their Science Seeker investigations, students will:

• Gain an understanding of the following safety rules: to use a life vest while learning to swim, to not drink unknown liquids, and to not freeze water in glass containers.
• Learn how to protect their hearing and sight.
• Model how germs are transmitted by sneezing, touching, and the sharing of contaminated objects, causing them to get sick.
• Compare and communicate experiences with catching colds.
• Share ideas orally and by fax about ways to keep themselves healthy.
• Sort a variety of foods into categories on a food pyramid chart.
• Identify appropriate clothing to wear for different weather conditions.

G: History and Nature of Science
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop understanding of

• Science as a human endeavor

G: History and Nature of Science

• Many people choose science as a career and derive great pleasure from doing science. Mr. Animalis, a character in the series, is a retired pet store owner who continues to investigate and question the world around him.
• To find out about the needs of plants and animals, the video characters conduct their own investigations, and they turn to the expertise of a retired pet store owner who knows everything about pets. Students in the classroom also conduct their own investigations and look for information from local experts.

4. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations.