Ohio's Academic Content Standards in Science
Grade Level Indicators
Scientific InquiryStudents develop scientific habits of mind as they use the processes of scientific inquiry to ask valid questions, and to gather and analyze information. They understand how to develop hypotheses and make predictions. They are able to reflect on scientific practices as they develop plans of action to create and evaluate a variety of conclusions. Students are also able to demonstrate the ability to communicate their findings to others.
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Prekindergarten |
| 1. | Ask questions about objects, organisms and events in their environment during shared stories, conversations and play (e.g., ask about how worms eat). (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Show interest in investigating unfamiliar objects, organisms and phenomena during shared stories, conversations and play (e.g., "Where does hail come from?"). (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Predict what will happen next based on previous experiences (e.g., when a glass falls off the table and hits the tile floor, it most likely will break). (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Investigate natural laws acting upon objects, events and organisms (e.g., repeatedly dropping objects to observe the laws of gravity, observing the life cycle of insects). (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Use one or more of the senses to observe and learn about objects, organisms and phenomena for a purpose (e.g., to record, classify, compare, talk about). (ORC Resources) | | 6. | Explore objects, organisms and events using simple equipment (e.g., magnets and magnifiers, standard and non-standard measuring tools). (ORC Resources) | | 7. | Begin to make comparisons between objects or organisms based on their characteristics (e.g., animals with four legs, smooth and rough rocks). (ORC Resources) | | 8. | Record or represent and communicate observations and findings through a variety of methods (e.g., pictures, words, graphs, dramatizations) with assistance. (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Kindergarten |
| 1. | Ask "what if" questions. (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Explore and pursue student-generated "what if" questions. (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Use appropriate safety procedures when completing scientific investigations. (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Use the five senses to make observations about the natural world. (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Draw pictures that correctly portray features of the item being described. (ORC Resources) | | 6. | Recognize that numbers can be used to count a collection of things. (ORC Resources) | | 7. | Use appropriate tools and simple equipment/instruments to safely gather scientific data (e.g., magnifiers and other appropriate tools). (ORC Resources) | | 8. | Measure the lengths of objects using non-standard methods of measurement (e.g., teddy bear counters, pennies). (ORC Resources) | | 9. | Make pictographs and use them to describe observations and draw conclusions. (ORC Resources) | | 10. | Make new observations when people give different descriptions for the same thing. (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 1 |
| 1. | Ask "what happens when" questions. (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Explore and pursue student-generated "what happens when" questions. (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Use appropriate safety procedures when completing scientific investigations. (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Work in a small group to complete an investigation and then share findings with others. (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Create individual conclusions about group findings. (ORC Resources) | | 6. | Use appropriate tools and simple equipment/instruments to safely gather scientific data (e.g., magnifiers, timers, simple balances and other appropriate tools). (ORC Resources) | | 7. | Make estimates to compare familiar lengths, weights and time intervals. (ORC Resources) | | 8. | Use oral, written and pictorial representation to communicate work. (ORC Resources) | | 9. | Describe things as accurately as possible and compare with the observations of others. (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 2 |
| 1. | Ask "how can I/we" questions. (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Ask "how do you know" questions (not "why" questions) in appropriate situations and attempt to give reasonable answers when others ask questions. (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Explore and pursue student-generated "how" questions. (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Use appropriate safety procedures when completing scientific investigations. (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Use evidence to develop explanations of scientific investigations. (What do you think? How do you know?) (ORC Resources) | | 6. | Recognize that explanations are generated in response to observations, events and phenomena. (ORC Resources) | | 7. | Use appropriate tools and simple equipment/instruments to safely gather scientific data (e.g., magnifiers, non-breakable thermometers, timers, rulers, balances, calculators and other appropriate tools). (ORC Resources) | | 8. | Measure properties of objects using tools such as rulers, balances and thermometers. (ORC Resources) | | 9. | Use whole numbers to order, count, identify, measure and describe things and experiences. (ORC Resources) | | 10. | Share explanations with others to provide opportunities to ask questions, examine evidence and suggest alternative explanations. (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 3 |
| 1. | Select the appropriate tools and use relevant safety procedures to measure and record length and weight in metric and English units. (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Discuss observations and measurements made by other people. (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Read and interpret simple tables and graphs produced by self/others. (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Identify and apply science safety procedures. (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Record and organize observations (e.g., journals, charts, tables). (ORC Resources) | | 6. | Communicate scientific findings to others through a variety of methods (e.g., pictures, written, oral and recorded observations). (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 4 |
| 1. | Select the appropriate tools and use relevant safety procedures to measure and record length, weight, volume, temperature and area in metric and English units. (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Analyze a series of events and/or simple daily or seasonal cycles, describe the patterns and infer the next likely occurrence. (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Develop, design and conduct safe, simple investigations or experiments to answer questions. (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Explain the importance of keeping conditions the same in an experiment. (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Describe how comparisons may not be fair when some conditions are not kept the same between experiments. (ORC Resources) | | 6. | Formulate instructions and communicate data in a manner that allows others to understand and repeat an investigation or experiment. (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 5 |
| 1. | Select and safely use the appropriate tools to collect data when conducting investigations and communicating findings to others(e.g., thermometers, timers, balances, spring scales, magnifiers, microscopes and other appropriate tools). (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Evaluate observations and measurements made by other people and identify reasons for any discrepancies. (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Use evidence and observations to explain and communicate the results of investigations. (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Identify one or two variables in a simple experiment. (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Identify potential hazards and/or precautions involved in an investigation. (ORC Resources) | | 6. | Explain why results of an experiment are sometimes different (e.g., because of unexpected differences in what is being investigated, unrealized differences in the methods used or in the circumstances in which the investigation was carried out, and because of errors in observations). (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 6 |
| 1. | Explain that there are not fixed procedures for guiding scientific investigations; however, the nature of an investigation determines the procedures needed. (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Choose the appropriate tools or instruments and use relevant safety procedures to complete scientific investigations. (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Distinguish between observation and inference. (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Explain that a single example can never prove that something is always correct, but sometimes a single example can disprove something. (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 7 |
| 1. | Explain that variables and controls can affect the results of an investigation and that ideally one variable should be tested at a time; however it is not always possible to control all variables. (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Identify simple independent and dependent variables. (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Formulate and identify questions to guide scientific investigations that connect to science concepts and can be answered through scientific investigations. (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Choose the appropriate tools and instruments and use relevant safety procedures to complete scientific investigations. (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Analyze alternative scientific explanations and predictions and recognize that there may be more than one good way to interpret a given set of data. (ORC Resources) | | 6. | Identify faulty reasoning and statements that go beyond the evidence or misinterpret the evidence. (ORC Resources) | | 7. | Use graphs, tables and charts to study physical phenomena and infer mathematical relationships between variables (e.g., speed, density). (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 8 |
| 1. | Choose the appropriate tools or instruments and use relevant safety procedures to complete scientific investigations. (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Describe the concepts of sample size and control and explain how these affect scientific investigations. (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Read, construct and interpret data in various forms produced by self and others in both written and oral form (e.g., tables, charts, maps, graphs, diagrams, symbols). (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Apply appropriate math skills to interpret quantitative data (e.g., mean, median, mode). (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 9 |
| 1. | Distinguish between observations and inferences given a scientific situation. (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Research and apply appropriate safety precautions when designing and conducting scientific investigations (e.g., OSHA, Material Safety Data Sheets [MSDS], eyewash, goggles, ventilation). (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Construct, interpret and apply physical and conceptual models that represent or explain systems, objects, events or concepts. (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Decide what degree of precision based on the data is adequate and round off the results of calculator operations to the proper number of significant figures to reasonably reflect those of the inputs. (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Develop oral and written presentations using clear language, accurate data, appropriate graphs, tables, maps and available technology. (ORC Resources) | | 6. | Draw logical conclusions based on scientific knowledge and evidence from investigations. (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 10 |
| 1. | Research and apply appropriate safety precautions when designing and conducting scientific investigations (e.g. OSHA, MSDS, eyewash, goggles, ventilation). (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Present scientific findings using clear language, accurate data, appropriate graphs, tables, maps and available technology. (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Use mathematical models to predict and analyze natural phenomena. (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Draw conclusions from inquiries based on scientific knowledge and principles, the use of logic and evidence (data) from investigations. (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Explain how new scientific data can cause any existing scientific explanation to be supported, revised or rejected. (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 11 |
| 1. | Formulate testable hypotheses. Develop and explain the appropriate procedures, controls and variables (dependent and independent) in scientific experimentation. (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Evaluate assumptions that have been used in reaching scientific conclusions. (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Design and carry out scientific inquiry (investigation), communicate and critique results through peer review. (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Explain why the methods of an investigation are based on the questions being asked. (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Summarize data and construct a reasonable argument based on those data and other known information. (ORC Resources) |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
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| Grade 12 |
| 1. | Formulate testable hypotheses. Develop and explain the appropriate procedures, controls and variables (dependent and independent) in scientific experimentation. (ORC Resources) | | 2. | Derive simple mathematical relationships that have predictive power from experimental data (e.g., derive an equation from a graph and vice versa, determine whether a linear or exponential relationship exists among the data in a table). (ORC Resources) | | 3. | Research and apply appropriate safety precautions when designing and/or conducting scientific investigations (e.g., OSHA, MSDS, eyewash, goggles, ventilation). (ORC Resources) | | 4. | Create and clarify the method, procedures, controls and variables in complex scientific investigations. (ORC Resources) | | 5. | Use appropriate summary statistics to analyze and describe data. (ORC Resources) |
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