7.1: Students use scientific methods to describe, investigate, and
explain phenomena, raise questions;
- Generate alternative explanations hypotheses based on
observations and prior knowledge;
- Design inquiry that allows these explanations to be tested;
- Deduce the expected results;
- Gather and analyze data to compare the actual results to the
expected outcomes; and
- Make and communicate conclusions, generating new questions
raised by observations and readings.
This is evident when students:
aa. Frame questions in a way that distinguishes causes and
effects; identify variables that influence the situation and can be
controlled;
bb. Seek, record, and use information from reliable sources,
including scientific knowledge, observation, and experimentation;
cc. Create hypotheses to problems, design their own experiments
to test their hypothesis, collect data through observation and
instrumentation, and analyze data to draw conclusions; use
conclusions to clarify understanding and generate new questions to
be explored;
dd. Describe, explain, and model, using evidence that includes
scientific principles and observations;
gg. Propose, recognize, and analyze alternative explanations; and
ii. Work individually and in teams to collect, share, and present
information and ideas.
7.2: Students design and conduct a variety of their own
investigations and projects. These should include:
- Questions that can be studied using the resources available;
- Procedures that are safe, humane, and ethical;
- Data that are collected and recorded in ways that others can
verify;
- Data and results that are represented in ways that address the
question at hand;
- Recommendations, decisions, and conclusions that are based on
evidence, and that acknowledge references and contributions of
others;
- Results that are communicated appropriately to audiences; and
- Reflections and defense of conclusions and recommendations from
other sources, and peer review.
This is evident when students:
5 - 8
aa. Design and conduct a controlled experiment;
bb. Design and conduct field work;
cc. Completely design a physical structure or technological
system (e.g., spring scales, bicycle gear shifts, timing of traffic
lights);
dd. Complete a data study based on civic, economic, or social
issues;
ee. Design a resource or system management plan; or
ff. Illustrate mathematical models of a physical phenomenon.
7.5: Students analyze the roles and responsibilities of
scientists, mathematicians, and technologists in social, economic,
cultural, and political systems. This is evident when students:
5 - 8
aa. Analyze the roles and responsibilities of scientists,
mathematicians, and technologists in relation to ongoing research
and discoveries that impact society (e.g., the dangers and benefits
of nuclear energy).
Arithmetic, Number, and Operation Concepts
7.6: Students understand arithmetic in computation, and they
select and use, in appropriate situations, mental arithmetic, pencil
and paper, calculator, and computer. This is evident when students:
5 - 8
aa. Consistently and accurately add, subtract, multiply, and
divide rational numbers, and convert them into exponents;
Analysis
7.11: Students analyze and understand living and non-living
systems (e.g., biological, chemical, electrical, mechanical,
optical) as collections of interrelated parts and interconnected
systems. This is evident when students:
5 - 8
aa. Demonstrate understanding that systems are connected to other
systems, and that onesystem affects how others work;
bb. Demonstrate understanding that systems are effectively
designed when specifications and constraints are understood; and
cc. Use physical and mathematical models to express how systems
behave given a set of inputs or outputs.
