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

      Activity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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

      Activity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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

    1. Compare and contrast living and nonliving things.

      Activity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

    2. Determine the basic needs of organisms.

      Activity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

    3. 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, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

    4. Describe life cycles of organisms.

      Activity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  3. All students will investigate the diversity of life.

    1. Recognize that individuals vary within every species.

      Activity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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

      Activity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  4. All students will gain an understanding of the structure and behavior of matter.

    1. Investigate matter by observing materials under magnification.

      Activity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  5. All students will develop an understanding of the environment as a system of interdependent components affected by human activity and natural phenomena.

    1. Investigate the interdependence of living things and their environment.

      Activity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6