K-5++Structures+and+Functions+of+Living+Things

K-5 Structures and Functions of Living Things

Tania Simmons - Thomasville City Schools - simmonst@tcs.k12.nc.us Keith Flynn - DPI - keith.flynn@dpi.nc.gov Becky Henritze - Mountain Discovery Charter School - bhenritze@mountaindiscovery.org Antoinette Smith - Durham County Schools - asmithteacher@ymail.com

What would a student need to know to answer the question: Where does all of the extra material a maple tree has come from? +What a plant needs to grow +life cycle of a seed +know something about (molecular) biology +how a tree grows +understand the concept of time- how long a tree takes to mature +parts of a tree +surrounding environment +plants make their own food (with what is in their surroundings) +Identify "what extra material" actually is +Growth over time +link to prior knowlege (how a baby grows, growing a plant from a seed in a cup, gardening experience, etc) Science is built on facts like a house is built of bricks: There has to be a plan in place to organize the pile of bricks to form a house, foundation, walls, room for doors, windows, and it then becomes a home. Like a set of facts need to be built upon those already laid to form the structure "Scienetific understanding/literacy", one would have to start with some basic understanding "the foundation" and then continue to move upwards to complete the house. Each year teachers would acknowledge what has been taught and build upon or fill in the gaps prior to adding the next layer. So at the end of the K-12 educaiton, they would have a complete house. Afterwards they can add to that structure, make it larger, add landscaping, pool, other buildings, a second house maybe?

What is science literacy? a comprehensive understanding about how things interact in the natural world (physical, biological, chemical, etc.) and the interplay of thier interations together and separately