Mathematics, Science, and Technology Elementary Standards

Standard 1: Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers. and develop solutions.

• use mathematical notation and symbolism to communicate in mathematics and to compare and describe quantities, express relationships, and relate mathematics to their environments
• use simple logical reasoning to develop conclusions
• explore and solve problems generated from school, home, and community situations, using concrete objects or manipulative materials when possible
• ask "why' questions in attempts to gain a greater understanding of objects and events
• develop tentative explanations of what they have observed
• develop plans for exploring phenomena or for evaluating explanations
• use direct observations and measurements of quantities (e.g., length, mass volume, temperature, and time) to explore phenomena
• organize observations and measurements of objects and events through classification and simple charts and tables
• interpret organized observations and measurements, recognizing simple patterns, sequences, and relationships.
• share findings with others and seek their interpretations and ideas
• adjust their explanations and understandings of objects and events based on their findings and new ideas
• engage in a design process
• describe objects to be modeled
• investigate prior solutions and ideas
• prepare and select a solution
• plan and build a model
• test and evaluate the solution

Standard 2: Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

• Use a variety of equipment and software packages to communicate information
• telecommunicate a message to a distant location
• access needed information from printed media, electronic data bases, and community resources
• describe the uses of information systems in homes, schools, and businesses.
  

Standard 3: Students will understand mathematics and become mathematically confident by communicating and reasoning mathematically, by applying mathematics in real-world settings, and by solving problems through the integrated study of number systems, geometry, algebra, data analysis, probability, and trigonometry

• use models, facts, and relationships to draw conclusions about mathematics and explain their thinking
• use patterns and relationships to analyze mathematical situations
• justify their answers and solution process
• use logical reasoning to reach simple conclusions.
• use whole numbers and fractions to identify locations, quantify groups of objects, and measure distances
• use concrete materials to model numbers and number relationships for whole numbers and common fractions, including decimal fractions
• relate counting to grouping and to place-value
• recognize the order of whole numbers and commonly used fractions and decimals
• demonstrate the concept of percent through problems related to actual situations
• add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers
• develop strategies for selecting the appropriate operational method in problem-solving situations
• know single digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts
• understand the commutative and associative properties
• use concrete materials to model spatial relationships
• construct tables, charts, and graphs to display and analyze real-world data
• use multiple representations (simulations, manipulative materials, pictures and diagrams) as tools to explain the operation of everyday procedures
• use variables such as height, weight, and hand size to predict changes over time
• use physical materials, pictures, and diagrams to explain mathematical ideas and processes and to demonstrate geometric concepts
• understand that measurement is approximate, never exact
• select appropriate standard and nonstandard measurement tools in measurement activities
• understand the attributes of area, length, capacity, weight, volume, time, temperature, and angle
• estimate and find measures such as length, perimeter, area, and volume using both non-standard and standard units
• collect and display data
• use statistical methods such as graphs, tables, and charts to interpret data
• make estimates to compare to actual results of both formal and informal measurement
• make estimates to compare to actual results of computations
• recognize situations where only an estimate is required
• develop a wide variety of estimation skills and strategies
• determine the reasonableness of results
• predict experimental probabilities
• make predictions using unbiased random samples
• determine probabilities of simple events
• recognize, describe, extend, and create a wide variety of patterns
• represent and describe mathematical relationships
• explore and express relationships using variables and open sentences
• solve for an unknown using manipulative materials
• use a variety of manipulative materials and technologies to explore patterns
• interpret graphs
• explore and develop relationships among two- and three dimensional geometric shapes
• discover patterns in nature, art, music, and literature
  
  

Standard 4: Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.

Physical Setting

• describe patterns of daily, monthly and seasonal changes in their environment
• describe the relationships among air, water, and land on Earth
• observe and describe properties of materials using appropriate tools
• describe chemical and physical changes including changes in states of matter
• describe a variety of forms of energy (e.g., heat, chemical, light) and the changes that occur in objects when they interact with those forms of energy
• observe the way one form of energy can be transformed into another form of energy present in common situations (e.g., mechanical to heat energy, mechanical to electrical energy, chemical to heat energy)
• describe the effects of common forces (pushes and pulls) on objects such as those caused by gravity, magnetism and mechanical forces
• describe how forces can operate across distances

The Living Environment

• describe the characteristics of and variations between living and non living things
• describe the life processes common to all living things
• recognize that traits of living things are both inherited and acquired or learned
• recognize that for human and other living things there is genetic continuity between generations
• describe how the structures of plants and animals complement the environment of the plant or animal
• observe that differences within a species may give individuals an advantage in living and reproducing
• describe the major stages in the life cycles of selected plants and animals
• describe evidence of growth repair, and maintenance, such as hair, nails and bone, and the healing of cuts and bruises
• describe basic life functions of common living specimens (guppy, meal worm, gerbil)
• describe some survival behaviors of common living specimens
• describe the factors that help promote good health and growth in humans
• describe how plants and animals, including humans, depend upon each other and the nonliving environment
• describe the relationship of the sun as an energy source for living and nonliving cycles
• identify ways in which humans have changed their environment and the effects of those changes.

Standard 5: Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.

• engage in technological design as in Standard 1.
• use a variety of materials and energy sources to design and construct things
• understand the importance of safety, cost of use, and availability in selecting tools and resources for a specific purpose
• develop basic skill in the use of hand tools
• use simple manufacturing processes (e.g., assembly, multiple stages of production quality central) to produce a product
• use appropriate graphic and electronic tools and techniques to process information.
• identify and describe the function of the major components of a computer system
• use the computer as a tool for generating and drawing ideas
• control computerized devices and systems through programming.
• assemble and operate simple technological systems, including those with interconnecting mechanisms to achieve different kinds of movement
• understand that larger systems are made up of smaller component subsystems
• identify technological developments that have significantly accelerated human progress
• describe how technology can have positive and negative effects on the environment and on the way people live and work

Standard 6: Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.

• observe and describe interactions among components of simple systems
• identify common things that can be considered to be systems (e.g., a plant population, a subway system, human beings)
• analyze, construct, and operate models in order to discover attributes of the real thing
• discover that a model of something is different from the real thing but can be used to study the real thing
• use different types of models, such as graphs, sketches, diagrams, and maps, to represent various aspects of the real world
• provide examples of natural and manufactured things that belong to the same category yet have very different sizes, weights, ages, speeds, and other measurements
• identify the biggest and the smallest values as well as the average value of a system when given information about its characteristics and behavior
• cite examples of systems in which some features stay the same while other features change
• distinguish between reasons for stability-from lack of changes to changes that counterbalance one another to changes within cycles
• use simple instruments to measure such quantities as distance, size, and weight and look for patterns in the data
• analyze data by making tables and graphs and looking for patterns of change
• determine the criteria and constraints of a simple decision making problem
• use simple quantitative methods, such as ratios, to compare costs to benefits of a decision problem
  

Standard 7: Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.

• analyze science/technology/society problems and issues that affect their home, school, or community, and carry out a remedial course of action
• make informed consumer decisions by applying knowledge about the attributes of particular products and making cost/benefit tradeoffs to arrive at an optimal choice
• design solutions to problems involving a familiar and real context
• investigate related science concepts to inform the solution, and use mathematics to model quantify, measure, and compute
• observe phenomena and evaluate them scientifically and mathematically by conducting a fair test of the effect of variables and using mathematical knowledge and technological tools to collect, analyze, and present data and conclusions