Browse All Standards

Kindergarten

Weather and Climate

 

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

Performance Expectations
 

 

Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time. K-ESS2-1

Clarification Statement and Assessment Boundary

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.

Assessment Boundary: Assessment of quantitative observations limited to whole numbers and relative measures such as warmer/cooler.

 

Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather. K-ESS3-2

Clarification Statement and Assessment Boundary

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on local forms of severe weather.

Assessment Boundary: none

 

Make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth’s surface. K-PS3-1

Clarification Statement and Assessment Boundary

Clarification Statement: Examples of Earth’s surface could include sand, soil, rocks, and water

Assessment Boundary: Assessment of temperature is limited to relative measures such as warmer/cooler.

 

Use tools and materials provided to design and build a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area. K-PS3-2

Clarification Statement and Assessment Boundary

Clarification Statement: Examples of structures could include umbrellas, canopies, and tents that minimize the warming effect of the sun.

Assessment Boundary: none

Science and Engineering Practices

Asking Questions and Defining Problems

Asking questions and defining problems in K–2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to simple descriptive questions.

Ask questions based on observations to find more information about the designed world. (K-ESS3-2)

Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

Planning and carrying out investigations to answer questions or test solutions to problems in K–2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to simple investigations, based on fair tests, which provide data to support explanations or design solutions.

Make observations (firsthand or from media) to collect data that can be used to make comparisons. (K-PS3-1)

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Analyzing data in K–2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to collecting, recording, and sharing observations.

Use observations (firsthand or from media) to describe patterns in the natural world in order to answer scientific questions. (K-ESS2-1)

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Constructing explanations and designing solutions in K–2 builds on prior experiences and progresses to the use of evidence and ideas in constructing evidence-based accounts of natural phenomenon and designing solutions.

Use tools and materials provided to design and build a device that solves a specific problem or a solution to a specific problem. (K-PS3-2)

Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information in K–2 builds on prior experiences and uses observations and texts to communicate new information.

Read grade-appropriate texts and/or use media to obtain scientific information to describe patterns in the natural world. (K-ESS3-2)

Connections to Nature of Science

Science Knowledge Is Based on Empirical Evidence

Scientists look for patterns and order when making observations about the world. (K-ESS2-1)

Scientific Investigations Use a Variety of Methods

Scientists use different ways to study the world. (K-PS3-1)

Disciplinary Core Ideas

PS3.B:  Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer

Sunlight warms Earth’s surface. (K-PS3-1), (K-PS3-2)

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. (K-ESS2-1)

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. (K-ESS3-2)

ETS1.A:  Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems

Asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems. (secondary to K-ESS3-2)

Crosscutting Concepts

Patterns

Patterns in the natural and human designed world can be observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence. (K-ESS2-1)

Cause and Effect

Events have causes that generate observable patterns. (K-ESS3-2), (K-PS3-1), (K-PS3-2)

Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World

People depend on various technologies in their lives; human life would be very different without technology. (K-ESS3-2)

Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology

People encounter questions about the natural world every day. (K-ESS3-2)

Common Core State Standards Connections

ELA/Literacy
  • RL.K.1 - With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. (K-ESS3-2)
  • SL.K.3 - Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. (K-ESS3-2)
  • W.K.7 - Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them). (K-ESS2-1), (K-PS3-1), (K-PS3-2)
Mathematics
  • K.CC - Counting and Cardinality (K-ESS3-2)
  • K.CC.A - Know number names and the count sequence. (K-ESS2-1)
  • K.MD.A.1 - Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight. Describe several measurable attributes of a single object. (K-ESS2-1)
  • K.MD.A.2 - Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of"/"less of" the attribute, and describe the difference. (K-PS3-1), (K-PS3-2)
  • K.MD.B.3 - Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count. (K-ESS2-1)
  • MP.2 - Reason abstractly and quantitatively. (K-ESS2-1)
  • MP.4 - Model with mathematics. (K-ESS2-1), (K-ESS3-2)