Untitled Document

From Seed to Seed:
Plant Science for K-8 Educators

II. National Standards

From the science, geography, health, history, language arts, and mathematics national standards, we have extracted the individual content standards that apply to the material and activities presented in this course. While the course material emphasizes the National Science Education Standards (this is, after all, a science course), we strongly encourage you to teach many of these lessons in an interdisciplinary manner. We understand that incorporating standards into your curriculum can be a daunting task, especially when the demands on your time are constantly increasing. By including the applicable standards, we hope to enable you to easily meet your standards requirements while introducing students to the wonderful world of plants. You will soon see that the inclusion of gardening in your curriculum provides not only an opportunity for your students to get excited about science, but also an opportunity for you to teach rich, cross-disciplinary lessons. And this is just a start. As always, we recommend that you expand these lessons to meet your own curriculum needs.

Below, we provide a list and a brief description of the national standards that are addressed in this course. We have also included the Web site address for each of the standards. Clicking on the address will allow you to access the complete national standards document on the World Wide Web. In addition, each curriculum activity in this course includes a section labeled National Standards. In this section is a list of the standards that apply to each particular activity. The list is abbreviated to save space, but if you click on any one of the standards, you will be returned to this section, and the full description of the standard. To save you the time of moving back and forth between pages, we recommend that you print this section out to use as a reference when reviewing the activities.

A. National Science Education Standards
www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/html/

The National Science Education Standards were published in 1996 by the National Research Council in Washington, DC. The content standards are divided into three age groups: K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. Below we include the applicable content standards for grades K-4 and 5-8.

STANDARD A: SCIENCE AS INQUIRY

Grades: K-4
This standard emphasizes investigation and inquiry rather than the memorization of scientific terms and information. Students should have the ability to conduct scientific inquiries, which includes the ability to:

1. Ask a simple question.

2. Plan and conduct an investigation based on systematic observations. This involves describing and classifying objects, events, and organisms.

3. Use simple equipment and tools (magnifying glass, thermometer, ruler) to gather data.

4. Construct a reasonable explanation for the data.

5. Communicate findings.

Teachers may aid in the scientific inquiry process by initiating one or more of these steps for the students. This standard also requires that students gain an understanding about the scientific inquiry process.

Grades: 5-8
Students should challenge their current beliefs and concepts through the scientific inquiry process. They should be able to conduct partial and full scientific inquiries. This includes the ability to:

1. Identify, refine, and refocus questions.

2. Design and modify the experimental methods.

3. Decide what evidence should be used and account for anomalous data.

4. Listen to and respect other students' ideas and explanations.

STANDARD C: LIFE SCIENCE

Grades: K-4
Students must develop an understanding of the characteristics of organisms, the life cycles of organisms, and the relationship between organisms and their environment through observations and interactions within the natural world. This can involve developing an understanding of:

1. The needs, structure, and behavior of plants when exposed to internal and external cues.

2. The life cycle of a plant from seed to seed.

3. Inheritance, based on observable traits.

4. The physical characteristics of the environment and the effect of plants on the environment.

Grades: 5-8
The point of view should shift from individual organisms to patterns in ecosystems. Students should develop an understanding of:

1. The structure and function of living systems.

2. Sexual and asexual reproduction in plants.

3. Heredity, including an understanding of the genetic material carrying the information.

4. Regulation and behavior.

5. The diversity and adaptations of plants.

STANDARD F: SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES

Grades: K-4
Students are expected to develop an understanding of personal health. This involves understanding, for example:

1. Nutrition-students should develop an understanding of the reasons that some foods are nutritionally better than others. Students should be able to draw connections between how the body uses food and how various foods contribute to health.

2. That plants can be used to produce harmful (e.g., cigarettes) and beneficial (e.g., aspirin) personal health products.

Grades: 5-8
Students should further develop their understanding of personal health, especially as it relates to nutrition. A strong connection should be made between plants and the foods that provide the energy and nutrients for the growth and development of people. Students should also be introduced to personal and societal challenges, such as environmental degradation and genetic engineering.

B. Geography for Life: National Geography Education Standards
www.ncge.org/publications/tutorial/standards/

The National Geography Education Standards were published by the National Geographic Society in 1994. The complete document contains 18 standards.

STANDARD # 1
Students will learn how to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information.

C. National Health Education Standards
www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed387483.html

The National Health Education Standards were written in 1995 by the Joint Committee on National Health Education Standards. The complete document is composed of seven broad standards that promote health literacy. These standards are not divided by grade level. Also included are performance indicators to help educators determine the knowledge and skills that students possess by the end of grades 4, 8, and 11.

STANDARD # 1:
Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention. This involves recognizing the ways in which lifestyle can promote health.

STANDARD # 2:
Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid health information and health-promoting products and services.

STANDARD # 3:
Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks. This involves the ability to identify responsible and harmful behaviors.

D. National Standards for History
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/standards/

The National Standards for History were published in 1994 by the National Center for History in Schools.

Grades: K-4 (Expanding Children's World in Time and Space)

STANDARD # 1: FAMILY LIFE NOW AND IN THE RECENT PAST; FAMILY LIFE IN VARIOUS PLACES LONG AGO

1a. For various cultures represented in the classroom, students will compare and contrast family life now with family life over time and between various cultures and consider such things as cultural traditions.

1b. Students should interview family members or older community members to discover and share stories, songs, and celebrations that are part of their family or cultural heritage. Students can reenact, illustrate, or create stories describing ways that various groups have transmitted beliefs and values through celebrations of national holidays, religious observances, and ethnic and national traditions.

STANDARD # 2: HISTORY OF STUDENTS' LOCAL COMMUNITY AND HOW COMMUNITIES IN NORTH AMERICA VARIED LONG AGO

2b. Students should compare and contrast the different ways in which early Hawaiian and Native American peoples such as the Iroquois, the Sioux, the Hopi, the Nez Perce, the Inuit, and the Cherokee adapted to their various environments and created their patterns of community life long ago.

STANDARD # 3: THE PEOPLE, EVENTS, PROBLEMS, AND IDEAS THAT CREATED THE HISTORY OF THEIR STATE

3a. Students should demonstrate an understanding of the history of the indigenous people who first lived in their state or region by drawing upon legends and myths of the Native Americans or Hawaiians to describe personal accounts of their history.

STANDARD # 8: MAJOR DISCOVERIES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, THEIR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS, AND THE SCIENTISTS AND INVENTORS FROM MANY GROUPS AND REGIONS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM

8a. Students should compare and contrast the behaviors of hunters and gatherers with those people who cultivated plants and raised domesticated animals for food.

Grades: 5-8 (Exploring the American Experience and Exploring Paths to the Present)

STANDARD # 1:THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIETIES IN THE AMERICAS, WESTERN EUROPE, AND WEST AFRICA THAT INCREASINGLY INTERACTED AFTER 1450

Students should draw comparisons in how different societies used plants for food, medicine, and cultural practices.

E. National Standards for English Language Arts
www.nobeled.com/test/language.html

Official National Standards for English Language Arts are still being developed. These unofficial standards (Standards for Assessment of Reading and Writing) were prepared by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English in 1994.

WRITING

1. Students should demonstrate competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process.

4. Students should be able to effectively gather and use information for research purposes.

READING

5. Students should demonstrate competence in the general skills and strategies of the reading process.

7. Students should demonstrate competence in the general skills and strategies for reading information.

10. Students should demonstrate competence in using different information sources, including those of a technical nature, to accomplish specific tasks.

LISTENING AND SPEAKING

11. Students should demonstrate competence in speaking and listening as tools for learning.

F. Principles and Standards for School Mathematics
www.nctm.org/standards

The Principles and Standards for School Mathematics were published by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in 1995. The standards include six principles that should guide school mathematics programs. More specifically, the document lists 10 standards that propose content and process goals. The standards are divided by grade level into three groups: K-2, 3-5, and 6-8.

MEASUREMENT STANDARD

Grades: K-2
Students should understand measurable attributes. This includes the ability to:

1. Recognize attributes of length, volume, weight, area, and time.

2. Compare and order objects according to these attributes.

3. Understand how to measure attributes using standard and nonstandard units.

4. Select an appropriate unit and tool for the attribute being measured.

Students should also be able to apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas.

Grades: 3-5
Students should understand:

1. Measurable attributes, such as length, area, weight, and volume, and be able to select the appropriate type of unit for measuring each attribute.

2. The need for measuring with standard units and become familiar with standard units.

Students should apply appropriate techniques, tools and formulas, including:

1. Selecting and applying appropriate standard units and tools to measure length, area, volume, weight, time, and temperature.

Grades: 6-8
Students should be able to select and apply techniques and tools to accurately measure to appropriate levels of precision.

DATA ANALYSIS AND PROBABILITY STANDARD

Grades: K-2
Formulate Questions. Students should be able to:

1. Pose questions and gather data about their surroundings.

2. Sort and classify objects according to their attributes and organize data about the objects.

3. Represent data using concrete objects, pictures, and graphs.

Select and Use. Students should be able to:

1. Describe parts of the data and the set of data as a whole to determine what the data show.

Grades: 3-5
Formulate Questions. Students should:

1. Design investigations to address a question and consider how data collection methods can affect the nature of the data set.

2. Collect data using observations, surveys, and experiments.

3. Represent data using tables and graphs (line and bar).

Select and Use. Students should be able to:

1. Describe the shape and important features of a data set.

Develop and Evaluate. Students should:

1. Propose and justify conclusions based on the data.

Grades: 6-8
Formulate Questions: Students will:

1. Formulate questions, design studies, and collect data about characteristics shared by two populations or different characteristics within one population.

2. Select, create, and use appropriate graphical representations of data, including histograms, box plots, and scatterplots.

Select and Use. Students can:

1. Discuss and understand correspondence between data sets and graphical representations.

Develop and Use. Students are able to:

1. Use observations to make conjectures about populations from which samples come.

Made possible by a grant from Oracle Corp.

For questions regarding this web site, contact Webmaster