Space Systems: Patterns and Cycles The Sun, Moon, and Stars

• Observe and record the changes in the sun over a day and throughout the year, how the Moon’s illumination changes each day, how the stars can be seen, and the amount of daylight changes over the course of a year.

• Investigate the changes throughout the day of an object’s shadow and explain a pattern based on the changing position of the Sun.

• Utilize a data collection tool to identify that differing amounts of daylight are seen at different times of the year.

• Chart and describe changes that occur in the appearance of the Moon over a 20-day period and identify a pattern in the lunar cycle.

Waves: Light and Sound

• Discover the cause and effect relationships between vibrations and movement. 

• Investigate how sound and light behave in unique ways when they encounter different materials. 

• Collect evidence that they can see objects only when they are illuminated.

• Plan and conduct investigations showing the relationship between vibrations and sound.

• Design and redesign “phones” to test which one communicates sound the best over a distance.

Structure, Function, and Information Processing

• Identify and describe patterns in the behaviors of parents and offspring that help offspring survive.

• Argue from evidence using physical characteristics that young plants and young animals are similar to but not exactly like their parents.

• Observe and record how plants and animals use their external parts to overcome challenges to survival.

• Identify real engineering solutions and the external parts of plants and animals that inspired them.

• Design, create, and wear a device that helps them survive, grow, or meet their needs using inspiration from the external parts of plants and animals.

Engineering is Elementary - The Best of Bugs: Designing Hand Pollinators

• Conduct investigations to discover that plants have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow. 

• Identify that everyday objects designed by people as solutions to problems are examples of technology.

• Investigate the parts of a flower and the parts of a bee.  Recognize that a system may fail if a part of it is missing or is not working.

• Conduct a fair test to determine which materials and properties of materials are good or poor choices for a design that can mimic a bee’s ability to pick up and deposit pollen.

• Use the Engineering Design Process to engineer their own technologies for pollinating plants by hand.