Core Instruction Information
We follow the Utah State Core of instruction Standards for the sciences taught in Washington County School District.
Elementary Core
Grade K
In Kindergarten science, I will:
Explore these ideas: weather patterns; living things and their surroundings; forces, motion, and interactions.
Use these concepts: patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; energy and matter.
Develop these skills: obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information; planning and carrying out investigations; designing and communicating solutions.
Grade 1
In First-Grade science, I will:
Explore these ideas: seasons and space patterns; the needs of living things and their offspring; light and sound.
Use these concepts: patterns; cause and effect; structure and function.
Develop these skills: asking questions; developing and using models; obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information; planning and carrying out investigations; constructing explanations.
Grade 2
In Second-Grade science, I will:
Explore these ideas: changes in the earth's surface; living things and their habitats; properties of matter.
Use these concepts: patterns; change and stability; structure and function; cause and effect.
Develop these skills: defining problems; developing and using models; constructing explanations; obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information; planning and carrying out investigations.
Grade 3
In Third-Grade science, I will:
Explore these ideas: weather and climate patterns; effects of traits on survival; force affects motion.
Use these concepts: patterns; change and stability; cause and effect; systems and system models.
Develop these skills: asking questions; developing and using models; planning and carrying out investigations; analyzing and interpreting data; constructing explanations; engaging in argument from evidence; designing solutions.
Grade 4
In Fourth-Grade science, I will:
Explore these ideas: organisms functioning in their environment; energy transfer; wave patterns; observable patterns in the sky.
Use these concepts: patterns; stability and change; structure and function; systems and system models; cause and effect; energy and matter; scale, proportion, and quantity.
Develop these skills: asking questions; developing and using models; constructing explanations; planning and carrying out investigations; analyzing and interpreting data; obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information; engaging in argument from evidence.
Grade 5
In Fifth-Grade science, I will:
Explore these ideas: characteristics and interactions of Earth’s systems; properties and changes of matter; cycling of matter in ecosystems.
Use these concepts: patterns; stability and change; structure and function; systems and system models; cause and effect; energy and matter; scale, proportion, and quantity.
Develop these skills: asking questions; developing and using models; constructing explanations; planning and carrying out investigations; analyzing and interpreting data; obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information; using mathematics and computational thinking.
Secondary Core
Grade 6
Grade 6th Science
The sixth-grade SEEd standards provide a framework for student understanding of the cycling of matter and the flow of energy through the study of observable phenomena on Earth. Students will explore the role of energy and gravity in the solar system as they compare the scale and properties of objects in the solar system and model the Sun-EarthMoon system. These strands also emphasize heat energy as it affects some properties of matter, including states of matter and density. The relationship between heat energy and matter is observable in many phenomena on Earth, such as seasons, the water cycle, weather, and climates. Types of ecosystems on Earth are dependent upon the interaction of organisms with each other and with the physical environment. By researching interactions between the living and nonliving components of ecosystems, students will understand how the flow of energy and cycling of matter affects stability and change within their environment.
Grade 7
Grade 7 Science
The seventh-grade SEEd standards look for relationships of cause and effect which enable students to pinpoint mechanisms of nature and allow them to make predictions. Students will explore how forces can cause changes in motion and are responsible for the transfer of energy and the cycling of matter. This takes place within and between a wide variety of systems from simple, short-term forces on individual objects to the deep, long-term forces that shape our planet. In turn, Earth’s environments provide the conditions for life as we know it. Organisms survive and reproduce only to the extent that their own mechanisms and adaptations allow. Evidence for the evolutionary histories of life on Earth is provided through the fossil record, similarities in the various structures among species, organism development, and genetic similarities across all organisms. Additionally, mechanisms shaping Earth are understood as forces affecting the cycling of Earth’s materials. Questions about cause and effect and the ongoing search for evidence in science, or science’s ongoing search for evidence, drive this storyline.
Grade 8
Grade 8 Science
The eighth-grade SEEd standards describe the constant interaction of matter and energy in nature. Students will explore how matter is arranged into either simple or complex substances. The strands emphasize how substances store and transfer energy which can cause them to interact physically and chemically, provide energy to living organisms, or be harnessed and used by humans. Matter and energy cycle and change in ecosystems through processes that occur during photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Additionally, substances that provide a benefit to organisms, including humans, are unevenly distributed on Earth due to geologic and atmospheric systems. Some resources form quickly, allowing them to be renewable, while other resources are nonrenewable. Evidence reveals that Earth’s systems change and affect ecosystems and organisms in positive and negative ways.
Science Graduation Requirements
**This list may be updated by the state at anytime**
Check with your school for their current science offerings. Not all of these courses may be offered.
| Science – A total of 2.0 credits from two of the five areas of science on the Foundation Courses list plus 1.0 credit from the Foundation Courses list or Applied and Advanced Courses list | ||
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Foundation Courses |
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Biology
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Chemistry
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Earth Science
Physics
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Applied or Advanced Courses |
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+ CTE Courses ** Include Applied/Advanced CE Courses |
Biology
Biology
The biology SEEd standards explore the patterns, processes, relationships, and the environments of living organisms. Students analyze data on the role of matter cycles and energy flow when organisms interact with their environment to explain how the stability and change of an ecosystem and biodiversity can be affected. Students investigate the structures and functions of living organisms needed in order to support necessary life functions. Students explore the cause and effect relationships of heredity, the role of DNA in gene expression and protein synthesis, and how gene expression can be altered by environmental and genetic causes. Students investigate how the mechanisms of genetic variation can lead to diversity within and among species and explain how the unity among species as well as the great diversity of species is a result of evolution by natural selection. Additionally, students design and evaluate solutions to problems that exist in these areas.
Chemistry
Chemistry
The chemistry SEEd standards explore the foundational principles of chemistry that allow students to investigate the ways in which chemistry impacts everyday life. Students investigate the properties and structure of matter at atomic and subatomic scales to explain how they influence a system’s larger scale, structures, properties, and functions. Students explain how macroscopic observations are translated into molecular-level representations and then develop and use these models to describe molecules with chemical equations or mathematical expressions. Students analyze data on the relationships between atomic and molecular structures and the properties of materials that are observed macroscopically using the human senses and scientific instruments. Students explain that matter is conserved in chemical reactions and nutrient cycles, the ability of humans to design and control chemical systems for the benefit of society, and the ways that energy interacts with matter. Additionally, students design and evaluate solutions to problems that exist in these areas.
Physics
Physics
The physics SEEd standards explore the foundational principles of physics including forces, energy, fields, and waves. Students analyze and interpret data to determine the cause and effect relationship between the net force of an object and its change in motion. Students develop and use models to illustrate that energy at all levels can be accounted for as a combination of energies associated with motion and relative positions of objects. Students use mathematics and computational thinking to support the claim that the total momentum of a system is conserved when there is no net force acting on a system. Students plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that an electric current causes a magnetic field and that a changing magnetic field causes an electric current. Students also engage in argument to support the assertion that electromagnetic radiation can be described either by a wave or a particle model. Additionally, students design and evaluate solutions to problems that exist in these areas.
Earth & Space
Earth and Space Science
The Earth and space science SEEd Standards investigate processes and mechanisms that have resulted in the formation of our Earth, galaxy, and universe. Students develop models to illustrate the life span of the Sun and the role of nuclear fusion releasing energy in the Sun’s core. Students analyze and interpret data to construct an explanation for Earth’s 4.6 billion year history and explore changes to Earth’s systems. Students develop and use a model of Earth’s interior to describe the cycling of matter by thermal convection. Students plan and carry out an investigation on the properties of water to determine its effects on Earth materials. Students use computational thinking to explain sustainable and natural resources, focusing on responsible stewardship. Additionally, students design and evaluate solutions to problems that exist in these areas.