Kindergarten - Science

Kindergarten students in SFUSD do, talk, read, and write to figure out how the world works. They engage in 45 minutes of science instruction four times a week, starting with a five-lesson launch unit, then three 22-lesson content units. Alternate with history/social studies units throughout the year.

Students begin to develop their science identities and foundational skills in Launch Unit 0, and then build on them and their content knowledge in the life science, physical science, and earth & space science units that follow.

Prioritize using science to model a sense of awe and wonder about the natural and designed world, and guide students to ask questions, design simple investigations, and use their observations, data, and text to construct explanations and design solutions to problems. 

SEPs are behaviors scientists and engineers engage in to figure out and deepen their understanding of content. Kindergarteners predominantly practice:

• Asking questions based on observations about the natural or designed world(s)
• Developing and using models to make sense of science concepts
• Planning and carrying out investigations with guidance and peer collaboration
• Analyzing and interpreting data to describe patterns
• Designing solutions to solve specific engineering problems

DCIs are the fundamental scientific ideas in the four domains: Life, Physical, Earth & Space Science, and Engineering.

(Click right to view the disciplinary core ideas students figure out through the four kindergarten science units.)

Scientists observe, wonder, and record their thinking through drawing and writing in science notebooks (a 4-lesson launch unit for the first 2 weeks of school).

All living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and live in places that have the things they need. Plants also need light and animals need food. Humans can make choices that reduce their impact on the world around them.

Different strengths and directions of pushes and pulls affect the motion of an object.

There are patterns and variations in local weather, and forecasting the weather can help us prepare for and respond to severe weather.

CCCs are themes that apply across all domains of science and engineering that help students develop a scientifically based view of the world:

• Patterns: Patterns in the natural and human-designed world can help to describe phenomena.
• Cause and Effect: Events have causes that generate observable patterns. 
• Systems and System Models: Objects and organisms can be described in terms of their parts, which work together.
• Structure and Function: The structures of natural and designed objects are related to their function(s)

• Engage in a Real World Problem
• Collect Evidence from multiple sources (through doing, talking, reading, writing, and visualizing)
• Construct Increasingly Complex Explanations
• Apply Knowledge to Solve a Different Problem
   

• Mistakes help us grow
• We talk to each other about science
• We can show science and engineering ideas in different ways

Science notebooks are a valuable thinking tool. They allow students to construct their understanding over time through drawing and writing, share their thinking with others, and develop language skills. They act as a storehouse for student observations, questions, and ideas throughout the year!

As scientists and engineers, kindergarteners work with others while doing science. They carry out investigations, read and talk about science in pairs so that they can construct knowledge and develop language collaboratively.