New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards


The standards that are addressed by this unit are listed below, along with how they are addressed, broken down by individual lesson where appropriate.

At this point, only those standards addressed directly by the content delineated in the Teacher’s Guide are listed here. However, there are many opportunities to extend the lesson plans just a little bit further which would address additional standards. These activities would typically be considered as extensions of the kit. As they are developed, they will be referred to both in this section, and in the upcoming Extensions section.

As in life, nothing stands isolated in little boxes called "science" or "mathematics" or "language arts" or any particular subject. While science may be the main focus of the unit, it is truly interdisciplinary which will be relfected in the a future expansion to show where this kit impacts other areas of the core curriculum.

Your comments and input are welcome and most appreciated.




5. Science

  1. All students will learn to identify systems of interacting components and understand how their interactions combine to produce the overall behavior of the system.

    1. Recognize that most things are made of components that, when assembled can do things that they could not do separately.

      Activity 1, 2, 3

    2. Recognize that since components of a system usually influence one another, a system may not work if a component is missing.

      Activity 1, 2, 3, 4

    3. Diagram the components of a system.

      Activity 1, 3

    4. Describe components of a system and how they influence one another.

      Activity 1, 3, 4

    5. Recognize that most systems are components of larger systems and that the output of one component can become the input to other components.

      Activity 3, 4

    6. Disassemble and reassemble the components of a system, analyzing how they interact with each other.

      Activity 3

  2. All students will develop problem solving, decision-making and inquiry skills, reflected by formulating usable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting systematic observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating results.

    1. State a problem about the natural world in the form of a question.

      Activity 1, 4

    2. Develop stratgies and skills for information-gathering and problem solving, using appropriate tools and technologies.

      Activity 1, 2, 4

    3. Keep a journal record of observations, recognizing patterns of observations and summarizing findings.

      Activity 1, 4

    4. Learn what constitutes evidence and evaluate the data and information used to make explanations.

      Activity 4

  3. All students will develop an understanding of technology as an application of scientific principles.

    1. Design and build simple mechanical devices to demonstrate scientific principles.

      Activity 3

  4. All students will integrate mathematics as a tool for problem-solving in science, and as a means of expressing and/or modeling scientific theories.

    1. Judge whether estimates, measurements, and computations of quantities are reasonable.

      Activity 1, 4

    2. Use a variety of measuring instruments, emphasizing appropriate units.

      Activity 4

    3. Use mathematical skills and concepts in ordering, counting, identifying, measuring, and describing.

      Activity 1, 4

    4. Use tables and graphs to represent and interpret data.

      Activity 1, 4

  5. All students will gain an understanding of the structure, characteristics, and basic needs of organisms.

    1. Show that living things have different levels of organization.

      Activity 3

    2. Show that plants and animals are composed of different parts serving different purposes and working together for the well-being of the organism.

      Activity 1, 3, 4

    3. Identify the major systems of the human body and explain how their functions are interrelated.

      Activity 1, 3, 4

  6. All students will investigate the diversity of life.

    1. Identify and describe external features of plants and animals that help them survive in varied habitats.

      Activity 4

  7. All students will gain an understanding of natural laws as they apply to motion, forces, and energy transformations.

    1. Demonstrate that the position and motion of an object can be changed by pushing or pulling and that the change is related to the strength of the push or pull.

      Activity 3