A CUrrICUlUm GUIDE TO STAnDArDS SCIEnCE GrADES K-12

AlAbAmA CUrrICUlUm GUIDE TO

ThE STAnDArDS: SCIEnCE

GrADES K-12

Philip C. Cleveland, Ed.D., Interim State Superintendent of Education

Alabama State Department of Education ¡¤ August 2016

This project is supported by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs

(OSEP). Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of

the U.S. Department of Education.

CURRICULUM GUIDE TO THE ALABAMA COURSE OF STUDY: SCIENCE K-12

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................... ii

INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1

ORGANIZATION OF THE CURRICULUM GUIDE ......................................................... 2

ESSENTIALS COURSES FOR HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT ..........................................3

SCIENCE CONTENT STANDARDS AND INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES,

GRADES K-8

Grade K ................................................................................................................................................................4

Grade 1 ......................................................................................................................................7

Grade 2 ......................................................................................................................................10

Grade 3 ......................................................................................................................................14

Grade 4 ......................................................................................................................................19

Grade 5 ......................................................................................................................................24

Grade 6 ......................................................................................................................................30

Grade 7 .................................................................................................................................36

Grade 8 ......................................................................................................................................42

Physical Science ........................................................................................................................49

Biology .......................................................................................................................................54

Chemistry ..................................................................................................................................60

Physics ........................................................................................................................................64

Human Anatomy & Physiology .........................................................................................67

Earth & Space Science ........................................................................................................72

Environmental Science .......................................................................................................77

GLOSSARY .......................................................................................................................................................82

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...............................................................................................................95

Curriculum Guide to the Alabama Course of Study: Science

i

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This document was developed by the 2015-2016 Curriculum Guide to the Alabama Course of

Study Science Task Force composed of elementary, middle, and high school personnel, and

parent members. The Task Force began the document in December 2015.

Rachel Barton, Parent, Mountain Brook City Schools

Karen Bonds, General Education Teacher, Autauga County Schools

Nancy Bryant Caffee, 7th & 8th Grade Science Teacher, Blount County Schools

Dawn J. Ellis, Special Education Teacher, Montgomery Public Schools

Lisa M. Heard, Special Education Coordinator, Tallapoosa County Schools

Kimberly Kozak, General Education Teacher, Autauga County Schools

Angie Lemmond, Special Education Teacher, Houston County Schools

Patrice Maxwell, General Education Teacher, Gadsden City Schools

Kelly J. Morton, General Education Teacher, Blount County Schools

DonReita E. Nelson, 7th Grade Science Teacher, Tuscaloosa County Schools

Bernita F. Patterson-Ryan, General Education Teacher, Montgomery Public Schools

Diane Prothro, 6th Grade Science Teacher, Montgomery County Schools

Rebecca B. Smith, Special Education Teacher, Blount County Schools

ChaRissa A. Stephens, 6th Grade Science Teacher, Gadsden City Schools

Angela V. Wallace-Washington, 9th Grade Biology Teacher, Shelby County Schools

Kay A. Williams, Special Education Teacher, Blount County Schools

Sherri A. Williams, Special Education Teacher, Covington County Schools

Alabama State Department of Education personnel who managed the development process

were:

Philip C. Cleveland, Ed.D., Interim State Superintendent of Education

Crystal Richardson, Program Coordinator, Special Education Services

Alicia Hodge, Education Administrator, Special Education Services

Cindy Augustine, Education Specialist, Special Education Services

The State Department of Education Process Specialists who assisted the Task Force in

developing the document were:

Diann Jones, Education Specialist, Special Education Services

Curtis Gage, Education Specialist, Special Education Services

Thank you is extended to Michal Robinson, Ed.D., Alabama State Department of Education,

Education Specialist-Science and AP, Instructional Services Section, for assisting in the

development of the guide, proofing the document, and providing important editorial comments;

and to Charles Creel, Graphic Arts Specialist, Communication Section, for assisting in the

development of the graphic design.

Curriculum Guide to the Alabama Course of Study: Science

ii

Introduction

The Curriculum Guide to the Alabama Course of Study: Science is a companion document to the

2015 Alabama Course of Study: Science, for Grades K-12. Content standards contained within

the course of study document may be accessed on the Alabama State Department of Education

(ALSDE) Web site at alsde.edu. On the home page, click on Sections, scroll down to select

Curriculum and Instruction. Click on Publications, scroll down to Courses of Study, and click

on Science.

Educators are reminded that content standards indicate minimum content¡ªwhat all students

should know and be able to do by the end of each grade level or course. Local school

systems may have additional instructional or achievement expectations and may provide

instructional guidelines that address content sequence, review, and remediation.

The Curriculum Guide to the Alabama Course of Study: Science prepares students for study of

the grade-level and course content standards through the teaching of prerequisite and enabling

skills necessary for learning each content standard. This allows students to work toward gradelevel and course content standards while working at individual ability levels. By identifying

the prerequisites and enabling skills for each standard, teachers may plan instruction to address

the achievement gap experienced by some students while still working with all students toward

achievement of the grade-level standards. It should be noted that the Curriculum Guide to the

Alabama Course of Study: Science is not a chronological list of learning targets nor a sequence of

instruction, but rather a guide to assist students in learning content in smaller increments, catching

up on content they may have missed in previous years, and/or reviewing content related to gradelevel academic standards.

The Curriculum Guide to the Alabama Course of Study: Science may be accessed at

alex.state.al.us/specialed/curriculum.html.

Educators are encouraged to use the curriculum guide to:

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

.

Allow for Problem Solving Teams (PSTs) to plan for response to intervention/instructional

strategies

Assist in development of Individual Educational Programs (IEPs) annual goals and services

Prepare for collaborative teaching

Design tutorial programs

Plan for instructional groupings

Plan for parent information and conferences

Develop curriculum-based assessments for use in determining mastery of needed prerequisite

skills

Prepare for state assessments by building prerequisite and enabling skills

Develop lesson plans for differentiated instruction

Curriculum Guide to the Alabama Course of Study: Science

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Organization of the Curriculum Guide

The organizational components of this guide include content standards and instructional

objectives. Examples may be embedded within certain content standards and objectives to

provide clarification.

Content Standards are statements found in the Alabama Course of Study: Science that define

what all students should know and be able to do at the conclusion of a grade level or

course. Content Standards contain minimum required content and complete the phrase

¡°Students will.¡± Content standards are also found in the Curriculum Guide to the Alabama

Course of Study: Science to indicate the standard for which each objective is a prerequisite or

enabling skill.

Content Standards for a grade level or course are clearly written, reasonable, measurable,

developmentally appropriate, and sufficiently rigorous to enable Alabama students to achieve

at levels comparable to other students in the nation and the world. They also provide

proportional emphasis to the essential knowledge, skills, and processes of a given grade level

or course.

Instructional Objectives divide the standards into smaller instructional units that are

prerequisite and enabling skills for the standards. Instructional objectives are useful for

facilitating the ability to have all students working toward grade-level standards while also

working at individual ability levels.

Instructional objectives within this document are numbered according to grade level, content

standard number, and the order in which the instructional objective is listed. Objectives always

start with any needed definitions, and then work down from skills closest to the standard (higher

skills) to skills the furthest from the standard (lower skills). The instructional objectives are

not a chronological list of learning targets, nor a sequence of instruction, but rather identified

prerequisite or enabling skills.

The system for numbering the objectives for Science Standard 2.9, for example, is based upon

the following:

Standard 2.9

9. Create models to identify

physical features of Earth (e.g.,

mountains, valleys, plains,

deserts, lakes, rivers, oceans).

.. F

Subject Grade

Level Content

Standard

Objective

SCI.2.9.1: Define mountain, valleys, plains, deserts,

lakes, rivers, and oceans.

SCI 2.9.2: Identify patterns of physical features on

Earth.

Curriculum Guide to the Alabama Course of Study: Science

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