Curriculum expectations

Grades 2-4

From the Common Framework of Science Learning Outcomes K-12, Pan-Canadian Protocol for Collaboration on School Curriculum, Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), 1997 and a variety of subsequent provincial curriculum documents which are based on this National Protocol.

Plants

The focus is on the characteristics and requirements of plants and the ways in which plants grow. Students will observe and investigate plants grown at school and will also learn about the importance of plants as sources of oxygen, food, and shelter, and the need for humans to protect plants and their habitats.

Germinate seeds and record similarities and differences as seedlings develop (e.g., plant quick-growing seeds such as sunflower, tomato, beet, or radish seeds) in peat pellets to observe growth.

Demonstrate an understanding that plants grow and change and have distinct characteristics.

• Observe and describe changes that occur through the life cycle of a growing plant.
• Identify and investigate life needs of plants and describe how plants are affected by the conditions in which they grow.
• Investigate ways in which plants adapt and/or react to their environment, including changes in their environment.
• Assess ways in which plants have an impact on the environment, and ways in which human activity has an impact on plants and plant habitats.
• Investigate similarities and differences in the characteristics of various plants, and ways in which the characteristics of plants relate to the environment in which they grow.
• Identify the major parts of plants, including root, stem, flower, stamen, pistil, leaf, seed, and fruit, and describe how each contributes to the plant's survival within the plant's environment
• Use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including stem, leaf, root, pistil, stamen, flower, adaptation, and germination, in oral and written communication.
• Describe how most plants get energy to live directly from the sun.
• Respond to the ideas and actions of others and acknowledge their ideas and contributions.
• Follow established safety procedures during science and technology investigations (e.g., avoid touching eyes when handling plants; never taste any part of a plant unless instructed to do so by the teacher).
• Estimate measurements.
• Make and record relevant observations and measurements, using written language, pictures, and charts.
• Identify and suggest explanations for patterns and discrepancies in observed objects and events.
• Construct and label concrete-object graphs, pictographs, or bar graphs.
• Make predictions, based on an observed pattern.
• Ask questions that lead to exploration and investigation.

Exploring soils

• Soil is not just dirt but an essential source of life and nutrients for many organisms, including humans. Soil provides a base for forests, fields, farms, and gardens and is necessary to animals and plants. Soils are composed of a variety of living and non-living things and earth materials; there are different kinds of soil; and the unique characteristics, composition, and condition of each soil type determine its capacity to sustain life.
• Investigate the composition and characteristics of different soils.
• Identify and describe different types of soils (e.g., sandy, loamy, clay soils).
• Demonstrate an understanding of the composition of soils, the types of soils, and the relationship between soils and other living things.
• Investigate the components of soil (e.g., nonliving things such as pebbles and decaying matter; living things such as organic matter, bacteria, earthworms, and insects), the condition of soil (e.g., wet, dry), and additives found in soil (e.g., pesticides, fertilizers, salt), using a variety of soil samples from different local environments, and explain how the different amounts of these components in a soil sample determine how the soil can be used. [teachers might also consider the option of looking at an “out of Earth” situation like the “soil” on Mars]
• Use scientific inquiry/experimentation skills to determine which type(s) of soil (e.g., sandy soil, clay soil, loam) will sustain life [teachers might also consider why the type of soil on Mars might be important to future space travelers]
• Communicate procedures and results, using drawings, demonstrations, and written and oral descriptions.
• Communicate questions, ideas, and intentions while conducting their explorations.
• Make and record relevant observations and measurements, using written language, pictures, and charts.
• Use appropriate tools for manipulating and observing materials and in building simple models.
• Propose an answer to an initial question or problem and draw simple conclusions based on observations or research.
• Make predictions, based on an observed pattern.
• Ask questions that lead to exploration and investigation.

Habitats and Communities

The focus on habitats, the natural communities that depend on them, and the impacts changes to habitats can have on interrelationships among plants and animals within these communities. Living things (including humans) rely on other living things for the energy and resources they need to live. Students have the opportunity to investigate factors that alter various habitats and communities, including those factors that occur naturally and those that result from human action. Caring for living things in the classroom helps students to learn about their habitats.

• Classify organisms according to their role in a food chain.
• Use scientific inquiry/research skills to investigate ways in which plants and animals in a community depend on features of their habitat to meet important needs.
• Use scientific inquiry/research skills to create a living habitat containing a community, and describe and record changes in the community over time
• Demonstrate an understanding of habitats as areas that provide plants and animals with the necessities of life (e.g., food, water, air, space, and light). [Teachers might choose to use a space vehicle – a closed environment system – as an example of a very specific habitat.
• Identify factors (e.g., availability of water or food, amount of light, type of weather) that affect the ability of plants and animals to survive in a specific habitat
• Demonstrate an understanding of why all habitats have limits to the number of plants and animals they can support
• Communicate procedures and results, using lists, notes in point form, sentences, charts, graphs, drawings, and oral language.
• Make observations and collect information that is relevant to a given question or problem.
• Carry out procedures to explore a given problem and to ensure a fair test of a proposed idea, controlling major variables.
• Identify new questions or problems that arise from what was learned.
• Identify and suggest explanations for patterns and discrepancies in data.
• Compile and display data, by hand or by computer, in a variety of formats including frequency tallies, tables, and bar graphs.
• State a prediction and a hypothesis based on an observed pattern of events.
• Demonstrate that specific terminology is used in science and technology contexts.
• Compare the results of their investigations to those of others and recognize that results may vary.
• Demonstrate processes for investigating scientific questions and solving technological problems.
• Identify examples of scientific questions and technological problems that are currently being studied.