First Grade

Waves and their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Earth’s Place in the Universe

Wave Properties

Electromagnetic Radiation

Information Technologies and Instrumentation

Structure and Function

Growth and Development of Organisms

Information Processing

Inheritance of Traits

Variation of Traits

The Universe and its Stars

Earth and the Solar System

Sound can make matter vibrate, and vibrating matter can make sound.

Objects can be seen if light is available to illuminate them or if they give off their own light.

Some materials allow light to pass through them, others allow only some light through and others block all the light and create a dark shadow on any surface beyond them, where the light cannot reach. Mirrors can be used to redirect a light beam. (Boundary: The idea that light travels from place to place is developed through experiences with light sources, mirrors, and shadows, but no attempt is made to discuss the speed of light.) 

People also use a variety of devices to communicate (send and receive information) over long distances.

All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air. Plants also have different parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits) that help them survive and grow.

Adult plants and animals can have young. In many kinds of animals, parents and the offspring themselves engage in behaviors that help the offspring to survive.

Animals have body parts that capture and convey different kinds of information needed for growth and survival. Animals respond to these inputs with behaviors that help them survive. Plants also respond to some external inputs.

Young animals are very much, but not exactly like, their parents. Plants also are very much, but not exactly, like their parents.

Individuals of the same kind of plant or animal are recognizable as similar but can also vary in many ways.

Patterns of the motion of the sun, moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, and predicted.

Seasonal patterns of sunrise and sunset can be observed, described, and predicted.