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Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

This is the year science moves from noticing the world to looking for patterns in it. Students watch how sunlight warms sand and water, how light makes things visible or casts shadows, and how plants grow when they get air, water, and sun. They also track the sun, moon, and stars across days and seasons. By spring, students can draw a plant and name what each part does.

  • Light and shadows
  • Plant parts
  • How plants grow
  • Sun and moon patterns
  • Seasons
  • Simple design projects
Source: Tennessee Tennessee Academic Standards
Year at a glance
How the year usually goes. Every school and district set their own curriculum, so treat this as a guide, not official pacing.
  1. 1

    Light and what we can see

    Students figure out why some things are easy to see and others are hard to see. They notice that light needs to shine on an object, or the object has to glow on its own.

  2. 2

    Shadows and bending light

    Students play with flashlights and everyday materials to see what light can pass through and what it cannot. They learn how shadows form and how a mirror or water can change where light goes.

  3. 3

    Sun, moon, and seasons

    Students watch the sky and track patterns they can predict, like the sun rising and setting and the moon changing shape. They notice how the seasons shift through the year and how the sun warms sand, water, and rocks.

  4. 4

    Plants and how they grow

    Students study the parts of a plant and what each part does. They run simple experiments with water, soil, and light to see what plants need, and they watch leaves turn toward a sunny window.

  5. 5

    Living things and their homes

    Students sort plants by where they grow and look at how animals and plants depend on each other. They build models that show how a pond, a forest, or a backyard meets the needs of the things living there.

  6. 6

    Solving problems like an engineer

    Students pick a small everyday problem and try to fix it. They ask questions, sketch an idea, build a simple model, and share what they made with the class.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 1.

  • Energy

    1.PS3

    Students explore how energy makes things move, heat up, or make sound. They observe everyday examples like a rolling ball, a warm lamp, or a ringing bell.

  • Waves and Their Application in Technologies for Information Transfer

    1.PS4

    Students learn how light and sound move and how those ideas show up in phones, radios, and other everyday tools that send information from one place to another.

  • From Molecules to Organisms

    1.LS1

    Students learn how living things are built and how they work. They look at the parts of plants and animals and figure out what each part does to keep the living thing alive.

  • Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy

    1.LS2

    Students learn how living things depend on each other and their surroundings to survive. They look at how animals find food, where plants get energy, and what happens when something in a habitat changes.

  • Earth’s Place in the Universe

    1.ESS1

    Students learn why the sky looks different at different times: the sun during the day, the moon and stars at night, and how seasons change the world outside their window.

  • Engineering Design

    1.ETS1

    Students learn to ask questions, spot problems, and test simple ideas to build or fix something. This is the thinking behind every tool or invention ever made.

Energy

  • Make observations to determine how sunlight warms Earth’s surfaces

    1.PS3.1

    Students observe how sunlight heats sand, soil, rocks, and water. They compare which surfaces warm up faster when placed in the sun.

Waves and Their Application in Technologies for Information Transfer

  • Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that objects are…

    1.PS4.1

    Objects are visible because light hits them or because they make their own light. Students observe how a dark room, a flashlight, or sunlight changes how well they can see things around them.

  • Conduct an investigation to describe how the path of a beam of light can be…

    1.PS4.2

    Shine a light on different materials and watch what happens. Some materials let light pass through, some bend it in a new direction, and others block it completely and make a shadow.

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

  • Develop and use a model to explain the structure of plants

    1.LS1.1

    Plants have roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, and each part does a job. Roots drink up water, leaves make food from sunlight, and flowers help the plant grow new seeds.

  • Observe and analyze how living organisms grow and change over time

    1.LS1.2

    Students watch how plants and animals change as they grow, noticing patterns like a seed becoming a sprout or a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.

  • Analyze and interpret data from observations to describe how plants respond to…

    1.LS1.3

    Plants react when their environment changes. Students observe and describe what happens, like how a plant turns its leaves toward sunlight or droops when it needs water.

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

  • Conduct an experiment to show how plants depend on air, water, minerals from…

    1.LS2.1

    Plants need more than just water to grow. Students run a simple experiment to find out what happens when a plant gets air, water, soil, and light, and what happens when it goes without one of them.

  • Obtain and communicate information to classify plants by where they grow

    1.LS2.2

    Students sort plants into groups based on where they live and what they look like. A water lily and a cactus both count as plants, but they grow in very different places and have very different features.

  • Develop and use models to show how plants and animals depend on their…

    1.LS2.3

    Students draw or build simple models showing how a plant or animal gets what it needs from its home: food, water, shelter, and other living things nearby.

Earth’s Place in the Universe

  • Use observations or models of the sun, moon

    1.ESS1.1

    Students watch the sun, moon, and stars and look for patterns, like the moon changing shape each night or the sun rising and setting at the same time each day. Those patterns repeat, so students learn to predict what comes next.

  • Observe natural objects in the sky that can be seen from Earth with the naked…

    1.ESS1.2

    Students look at the sun, moon, and stars and talk about what they see. A telescope can show those same objects up close with much more detail.

  • Make observations to predict patterns between sunrise and sunset

    1.ESS1.3

    Students watch how the sky changes each day and across the year, then predict what comes next. They notice when the sun rises and sets, and how the seasons follow a regular order.

Engineering Design

  • Apply an engineering design approach to identify and solve practical problems

    1.ETS1.1

    Students spot a real problem and work through a plan to fix it, testing ideas and adjusting until their solution works.

  • Ask questions, make observations

    1.ETS1.2

    Students look closely at something that isn't working well, ask questions about it, and collect information. That work helps them name a real problem they can try to fix.

  • Develop a simple sketch, drawing

    1.ETS1.3

    Students draw or build a simple model to show how their idea solves a problem. The sketch or model helps others understand what the solution looks like before it's built.

Common Questions
  • What does science look like this year?

    Students spend the year noticing how the world works. They watch how sunlight warms a rock or a puddle, how plants grow toward a window, and how the moon changes shape. Most learning happens through hands-on observation, not reading from a textbook.

  • How can I help with science at home?

    Go outside together and ask what students notice. Touch the sidewalk in the sun and in the shade. Watch the moon for a week and draw it each night. Plant a bean in a cup and check it daily. Five minutes of looking and talking is plenty.

  • Does a first grader really need to know all this?

    Students are not memorizing facts. They are learning to observe carefully, ask questions, and notice patterns. If a child can describe what happens to a shadow when they move closer to a lamp, that is the kind of thinking the year is building.

  • How should I sequence the year?

    Plants and the sky reward long observation, so start those early and let them run for months. Light and shadows fit well in winter when days are shorter. Engineering design works best woven through other units rather than taught as a separate block.

  • What does mastery look like by the end of the year?

    Students can describe a plant's parts and what each one does, predict where a shadow will fall, and notice patterns in the sun and moon. They can also sketch a simple solution to a problem and explain their thinking out loud.

  • My child asks a lot of why questions. Is that science?

    Yes. Asking questions and looking for answers is the heart of the work this year. When a question comes up, try saying let's find out together rather than giving the answer. Looking, guessing, and checking is exactly what students practice in class.

  • Which topics usually need the most reteaching?

    Light behavior trips students up, especially the difference between blocking light, bending it, and passing through. Plant parts and their functions also need repeated practice, since students often know the names but not the jobs. Plan to revisit both across several short lessons.

  • How do I know if a child is ready for second grade science?

    A ready student watches closely, describes what they see in their own words, and offers a guess about why. They can sort plants by where they grow, explain that the sun warms things, and notice that the moon and sun follow patterns.