2020 Colorado Academic Standards

2020 Colorado Academic Standards Online

Use the options below to create customized views of the 2020 Colorado Academic Standards. For all standards resources, see the Office of Standards and Instructional Support.

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clear Content Area: Science // Grade Level: Kindergarten // Standard Category: 3. Earth and Space Science

Science

Kindergarten, Standard 3. Earth and Space Science

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More information icon Prepared Graduates:

  • 10. Students can use the full range of science and engineering practices to make sense of natural phenomena and solve problems that require understanding how and why Earth is constantly changing.

More information icon Grade Level Expectation:

1. Patterns are observed when measuring the local weather, including how humans and other organisms impact their environment.

More information icon Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

  1. Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time. (K-ESS2-1) (Clarification Statement: Examples of qualitative observations could include descriptions of the weather [such as sunny, cloudy, rainy, and warm]; examples of quantitative observations could include numbers of sunny, windy, and rainy days in a month. Examples of patterns could include that it is usually cooler in the morning than in the afternoon and the number of sunny days versus cloudy days in different months.) (Boundary: Quantitative observations limited to whole numbers and relative measures such as warmer/cooler.)
  2. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs. (K-ESS2-2) (Clarification Statement: Examples of plants and animals changing their environment could include a squirrel digs in the ground to hide its food and tree roots can break concrete.)

More information icon Academic Contexts and Connections:

More information icon Colorado Essential Skills and Science and Engineering Practices:

  1. Use observations (firsthand or from media) to describe patterns in the natural world in order to answer scientific questions. (Analyzing and Interpreting data) (Entrepreneurial: Critical thinking/Problem solving).
  2. Construct an argument with evidence to support a claim. (Engaging in Argument from Evidence) (Personal: Personal responsibility).
  3. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientists look for patterns and order when making observations about the world

More information icon Elaboration on the GLE:

  1. Students can answer the question: What regulates weather and climate?
  2. ESS2:D Weather and Climate: Weather is the combination of sunlight, wind, snow or rain, and temperature in a particular region at a particular time. People measure these conditions to describe and record the weather and to notice patterns over time.
  3. ESS2:E Biogeology: Plants and animals can change their environment.
  4. ESS3:C Human Impacts on Earth Systems: Things that people do to live comfortably can affect the world around them. But they can make choices that reduce their impacts on the land, water, air and other living things

More information icon Cross Cutting Concepts:

  1. Pattern: Patterns in the natural world can be observed, used to describe phenomena and used as evidence.
  2. Systems and System Models: Systems in the natural and designed world have parts that work together.

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More information icon Prepared Graduates:

  • 11. Students can use the full range of science and engineering practices to make sense of natural phenomena and solve problems that require understanding how human activities and the Earth's surface processes interact.

More information icon Grade Level Expectation:

2. Plants and animals meet their needs in their habitats and impact one another; people can prepare for severe weather.

More information icon Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

  1. Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live. (K-ESS3-1) (Clarification Statement: Examples of relationships could include that deer eat buds and leaves, therefore, they usually live in forested areas; and grasses need sunlight so they often grow in meadows. Plants, animals, and their surroundings make up a system.)
  2. Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather. (K-ESS3-2) (Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on local forms of severe weather.)
  3. Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air and/or other living things in the local environment. (K-ESS3-3) (Clarification Statement: Examples of human impact on the land could include cutting trees to produce paper and using resources to produce bottles. Examples of solutions could include reusing paper and recycling cans and bottles.)

More information icon Academic Contexts and Connections:

More information icon Colorado Essential Skills and Science and Engineering Practices:

  1. Ask questions based on observations to find more information about the designed world. (Asking Questions and Defining Problems) (Entrepreneurial: Inquiry/Analysis).
  2. Use a model to represent relationships in the natural world. (Developing and Using Models) (Personal: Initiative/Self-direction).
  3. Read grade-appropriate texts and/or use media to obtain scientific information to describe patterns in the natural world. (Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information) (Civic/Interpersonal: Communication).
  4. Communicate solutions with others in oral and/or written forms using models and/or drawings that provide detail about scientific ideas. (Obtaining, Evaluating and Communicating Information) (Civic/Interpersonal: Communication).

More information icon Elaboration on the GLE:

  1. Students can answer the question: How do Earth's surface processes and human activities affect each other?
  2. ESS3:A Natural Resources: Living things need water, air and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do.
  3. ESS3:B Natural Hazards: Some kinds of severe weather are more likely than others in a given region. Weather scientists forecast severe weather so that the communities can prepare for and respond to these events.
  4. ESS3:C Human Impacts on Earth Systems: Things that people do to live comfortably can affect the world around them. But they can make choices that reduce their impacts on the land, water, air and other living things.

More information icon Cross Cutting Concepts:

  1. Cause and Effect: Events have causes that generate observable patterns.
  2. Systems and System Models: Systems in the natural and designed world have parts that work together.
  3. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: People encounter questions about the natural world every day. People depend on various technologies in their lives; human life would be very different without technology.

Need Help? Submit questions or requests for assistance to bruno_j@cde.state.co.us