Elementary (K-5)

Standards Pages (K)

Grade K standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (K)

Highlighted Phenomena from Kindergarten

• A squirrel on the schoolyard digs in the ground to hide a nut.
• Students need a jacket at recess some days but not on other days.
• Rabbits spend most of their time in the shade on sunny days.
• Flappers in a cardboard pinball machine make the marble bounce off at different speeds and directions.

Introduction to Kindergarten

Kindergarten introduces several phenomena that students will revisit in later grades. At this level, students focus on observing what happens and asking questions that build their curiosity. As their language develops, they describe what they see and notice patterns that recur. In later grades, they will use these patterns as evidence to explain how or why events occur. 

In IS1 (Plant and Animal Needs), students take a walk around their schoolyard and a virtual field trip down a river to observe different living things. They sort these living things into two categories (which might include plants versus animals) and describe the similarities and differences. In a snapshot, students notice that certain plants and animals live in certain environments. These experiences help students develop a mental model of what plants and animals need to survive.

In IS2 (Animals and Plants Can Change Their Environment), students make detailed observations of how plants and animals change their environment to meet their needs. A snapshot highlights that humans also modify our environment when we consume resources to produce the objects we use every day.

In IS3 (Weather Patterns), students record weather patterns and consider how those patterns affect them and other living things. In a vignette, students plan for a new class pet, a rabbit. They read about how native California jackrabbits stay cool in the wild, and then they engineer a shade structure to protect their pet (including designing, building, and testing the structure using a rabbit made of ultraviolet-sensitive beads).

In IS4 (Pushes and Pulls), they focus on physical interactions beginning with seemingly unstructured play with marbles and ramps. In reality, the students are both playing and engaging with real-world phenomena using the three dimensions of the CA NGSS. The framework describes opportunities for teachers to invite students to make predictions, test them, and explain the observed outcomes. Eventually, students make pictorial models in which they draw how pushes and pulls affect the motion of objects. A snapshot focuses on developing language using a strategy called “classroom talk.” An engineering connection challenges students to build a structure out of blocks and then design a solution that protects their structure from a heavy ball rolling towards it. 

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 3 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Kindergarten Instructional Segment 1: Plant and Animal Needs

Kindergarten Snapshot 3.1: Matching Environment and Needs

Kindergarten Instructional Segment 2: Animals and Plants Can Change Their Environment

Kindergarten Snapshot 3.2: Resource Systems

Kindergarten Instructional Segment 3: Weather Patterns

Kindergarten Vignette 3.1: Made for the Shade

Kindergarten Instructional Segment 4: Pushes and Pulls

Kindergarten Snapshot 3.3: Classroom Talk about Pushes and Pulls

Standards Pages (Grade 1)

Grade 1 standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Grade 1)

Highlighted Phenomena from Grade One

• Some plants in the school garden climb like beans, others grow underground like radishes, and others are low on the ground like lettuce.
• When two pieces of sandpaper rub together, they make a sound.
• During a game of shadow tag, everyone’s shadow points the same direction.
• The Moon is sometimes visible during the day.

Introduction to Grade 1

The grade one section in the framework builds on what students learned in kindergarten about how plants and animals meet their needs. The CCC of patterns is a major theme throughout the year.

The anchoring phenomena in IS1 (Plant Shapes) come from a schoolyard nature hunt. Students ask a variety of questions about objects they collect: Why is some bark smooth and other bark rough? Why do plants have leaves with different shapes? What’s inside an acorn? Neither the students nor the teachers will answer these questions in grade one, but the framework shows teachers how they can help students refine their questions to focus on how specific plant structures serve functions that help the plant meet its needs. In an engineering connection, students design a structure inspired by structures in nature that will solve a problem their school faces. For example, after deciding that they need a better place to put their jackets, they design a coat rack that has enough hooks for all their jackets. Their design mimics the shape of a tree with branches and roots.

In IS2 (Animal Sounds), students learn about behaviors that animals use to meet their needs. They focus first on how animals form families. In a snapshot, students use picture cards to match animal offspring to their parents, developing their language skills as they use sentence frames and graphic organizers to describe how the parent and the children are similar and how they are different. In an engineering challenge that helps students understand social interactions in animals and the physical nature of sound, they create a musical device that mimics the communication of a baby animal and its parent.

Students notice consistent patterns in their shadow’s shape and size by beginning IS3 (Shadows and Light) with a game of shadow tag in which their shadow always points the same direction on the schoolyard. Students then investigate how light interacts with different materials. Why does light pass through a glass window but cast a shadow when a person blocks it? 

By returning to the schoolyard at different times to play shadow tag, students notice that their shadow points in different directions at different times of day. In IS4 (Patterns of Motion of Objects in the Sky), they use this anchoring phenomenon as the basis for an in-depth vignette to track their shadows. The framework places this experience in its developmental context—students are not yet expected to develop models of Earth rotating but instead document the pattern and use it to make predictions.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 California Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 3 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Grade 1 Instructional Segment 1: Plant Shapes

Grade 1 Instructional Segment 2: Animal Sounds

Grade 1 Snapshot 3.4: "Sounds Wild" Engineering Challenge

Grade 1 Instructional Segment 3: Shadows and Light

Grade 1 Instructional Segment 4: Patterns of Motion of Objects in the Sky

Grade 1 Vignette 3.2: Patterns of Motion of the Sun

Standards Pages (Grade 2)

Grade 2 standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Grade 2)

Highlighted Phenomena from Grade Two

• On a map of their town, students notice that some areas are city, some are farm fields, and some are natural environments.
• Water soaks into the sandbox quickly but makes a puddle on the blacktop.
• When you pour a lot of water in the sandbox, it starts to carve a river.
• Different numbers of organisms and types of organisms live in different locations on the schoolyard.

Introduction to Grade 2

The theme of grade two in framework is landforms—students look out at the landscape around them and ask questions such as, How did it get to look the way it does? How does the landscape affect people and other living organisms?

Setting the stage for more advanced study of landforms in future grades, students begin by developing tools to describe and represent landscapes. Students start IS1 (Landscape Shapes) by digging in a sandbox to create a landscape and then represent it with maps. Students describe their landscape using words and simple geometric shapes. 

Instructional segment 2 (Landscape Materials) begins with students observing and describing everyday materials on their schoolyard. The chapter shows teachers how to help students use these verbal descriptions to categorize a range of material by their properties. In an engineering connection, students play the role of agricultural engineers, combining materials to create a soil that retains moisture to help plants grow in their school garden. Students link other schoolyard materials to objects with specific uses. How do the properties of the material make it well suited to be used in that object? In another engineering connection, students dismantle small appliances to see what parts they have and what materials are used.

In IS3 (Landscape Changes), students investigate erosion in a hands-on stream table. Students describe how some landscape changes are rapid while others occur slowly. In an engineering challenge, they use their knowledge of landscape materials to design a solution that minimizes erosion in the stream table. 

In IS4 (Biodiversity in Landscapes), students revisit the idea from kindergarten that different plants and animals live in different habitats. In a vignette, students map biodiversity in their schoolyard, count different organisms they observe, and represent their data using graphs. They also document how landscapes are changing (both the physical landforms and the living things) and develop solutions that can improve the habitat.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 3 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Grade 2 Instructional Segment 1: Landscape Shapes

Grade 2 Instructional Segment 2: Landscape Materials

Grade 2 Instructional Segment 3: Landscape Changes

Grade 2 Instructional Segment 4: Biodiversity in Landscapes

Grade 2 Vignette 3.3: Biodiversity in Changing Environments

Standards Pages (Grade 3)

Grade 3 standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Grade 3)

Highlighted Phenomena from Grade Three

• A ball sometimes rises off the ground when kicked but other times rolls along the ground.
• As students observe a caterpillar in their classroom, they learn that the largest moths in the world never eat once they turn into a moth (they get all their food when they are caterpillars).
• Lupine species that grow in the California foothills look different from lupine species that live in the desert.
• The temperature suddenly jumped 10°F in one day.

Introduction to Grade 3

In grade three, students revisit many activities from earlier grades with a focus on measurement (weight, length, distance) and analysis of data.

In IS1 (Playground Forces), students investigate forces they experience during regular play on the schoolyard. In a snapshot, they create diagrams that model the relationship between the force of their kick and the motion of the ball. The Engineering Connection in IS1 calls for students to use magnets to invent a more exciting swing for their playground.

Students can observe lifecycles at very early ages (e.g., seeds or butterflies), but the framework describes how to go beyond simply describing the sequences and patterns. In IS2 (Life Cycles for Survival), students address the question, How do animals’ lifecycles help them survive? Students build on their prior learning about the needs of organisms and tie these lifecycles to reproduction. In a snapshot, students hatch caterpillar eggs so that they can measure the variation in the growth rates of caterpillars and interpret the data in terms of which caterpillars are more likely to survive. 

Students measure growth rates again in IS3 (Surviving in Different Environments) as they investigate how different environmental conditions affect classroom or garden plants. In a snapshot, students take a walking trip around their neighborhood and compare the habitat of their schoolyard, the neighborhood streets, and a local park. In an engineering connection in IS2, students design solutions to a local environmental problem, such as the possibility of harmful pesticides polluting a local river during a levy breach.

While students monitored weather conditions in kindergarten, the vignette in IS4 (Weather Impacts) includes precise measurements. Students analyze the data to discover seasonal patterns and extreme deviations from those patterns that might be weather hazards. Students then propose possible solutions to their school site council that could reduce the risk of weather hazards on their schoolyard, such as anti-slip strips on a ramp or planting trees near the blacktop.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 4 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Grade 3 Instructional Segment 1: Playground Forces

Grade 3 Snapshot 4.1: Pictorial Models of Forces

Grade 3 Snapshot 4.2: Probing Students' Initial Ideas on Forces

Grade 3 Instructional Segment 2: Life Cycles for Survival

Grade 3 Snapshot 4.3: Graphing Variation

Grade 3 Instructional Segment 3: Surviving in Different Environments

Grade 3 Snapshot 4.4: Living Things in Changing Environments

Grade 3 Instructional Segment 4: Weather Impacts

Grade 3 Vignette 4.1: How Does Weather Impact My Community?

Standards Pages (Grade 4)

Grade 4 standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Grade 4)

Highlighted Phenomena from Grade Four

• When a big toy car collides with a small toy car, the small car moves farther than when two small cars collide.
• In a plastic tub that models a river, water erodes more material when the slope is steeper.
• The amplitude of shaking varies during an earthquake.
• Some animals have eyes on the sides of their heads, but others have eyes that face forward.

Introduction to Grade 4

The framework provides example phenomena for science that connect to the focus on California in fourth grade history–social science. California’s history is intimately intertwined with its geography, and grade-four students ask questions about the forces shaping California’s landscape. In IS3 (Sculpting Landscapes), students observe weathering and erosion on their schoolyard and then create a physical model of a river that they can observe. They use this physical model to develop a conceptual model of how rocks form at Earth’s surface, including the deposits of gold that were so important to California history. Students use their model in an engineering connection to design solutions that minimize erosion and protect property today.

California’s historical earthquakes provide a tangible phenomenon for studying the energy of waves. In IS4 (Earthquake Engineering), students describe the shaking in terms of wave motion. In an engineering connection, they design an earthquake-resistant structure and test it on a shake table.

A vignette in IS5 (Animal Senses) allows students to obtain information about California’s diverse habitats and then explain how different living things have specific body parts that help them survive in each habitat. Students then focus on how animals sense their environment (including a snapshot investigating how termites use scents to follow paths).

The framework also prepares students to meet California’s future energy challenges. In grade four, students develop the abstract concept of energy through hands-on investigations with toy cars in IS1 (Car Crashes). Students revisit the phenomena of objects colliding in every grade span during the CA NGSS, building more detailed understanding each time. By tracking the flow of energy in a collision, students recognize that energy is never created but is simply transferred from one object to another. In IS2 (Renewable Energy), they recognize that energy for electricity and fuel must come from somewhere and that obtaining that energy can impact the environment. In an engineering connection, students design a renewable energy device such as a windmill or solar heater. They describe how their device converts energy from one form to another while reducing the environmental impact. 

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 4 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Grade 4 Instructional Segment 1: Car Crashes

Grade 4 Instructional Segment 2: Renewable Energy

Grade 4 Instructional Segment 3: Sculpting Landscapes

Grade 4 Instructional Segment 4: Earthquake Engineering

Grade 4 Instructional Segment 5: Animal Senses

Grade 4 Vignette 4.2: Structures for Survival in a Healthy Ecosystem

Grade 4 Snapshot 4.5: Investigating Termite Sensory Systems

Standards Pages (Grade 5)

Grade 5 standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Grade 5)

Highlighted Phenomena from Grade Five

• Pancakes do not turn brown unless the batter has some sort of fruit or sugar in it.
• The bottom part of a head of lettuce can regrow new leaves when placed in a cup of water without any soil.
• All the water that flows down the drain in the community goes to a local wastewater treatment plant.
• The length of daylight varies systematically throughout the year.

Introduction to Grade 5

By grade five, students are ready to think more abstractly about the world around them. In IS1, they develop models of matter that is too small to see, and in IS2, they begin to think about these tiny pieces as building blocks of living beings. In IS3, they recall and categorize their knowledge from previous grades about processes that shape Earth into categories so that they can think about Earth as a system. In IS4, they contemplate stars and galaxies that are inconceivably far away.

The investigations in IS1 (What Is Matter Made of?) have a materials science and engineering focus. Students begin with engineering connections to select the most appropriate material for different purposes (e.g., a tall tower versus a decorative sculpture for a summer birthday). They use these hands-on investigations to develop a model that shows matter is made of particles too small to be seen. A vignette illustrates how students can apply this model to a chemical engineering problem: how do you create the perfect pancake? 

In IS2 (From Matter to Organisms), students use their model of matter to explain patterns they observed in previous grades about the needs of living things. They explain the observation that plants can grow without soil and trace the cycling of matter within an ecosystem. In a snapshot, students observe decomposition in nature and design a compost system for their school garden and home.

Instructional segment 3 (Interacting Earth Systems) describes how to use direct investigation of a small ecosystem on the schoolyard to introduce the idea that the planet itself can be thought of as a system made of smaller, interconnected subsystems. Students explore interactions between Earth’s people (anthrosphere), land (geosphere), and water (hydrosphere) as they map the runoff of rain falling on their schoolyard as it picks up trash and pollutants. They then investigate how pollutants are naturally filtered out as water soaks through layers of earth. Students engage in an engineering connection to design their own water filtration system. 

In IS4 (Patterns in the Night Sky), students turn their eyes skyward to ask questions such as, How far away are the stars, and how can we tell? They begin to answer these questions using a flashlight on their schoolyard or in their classroom as a physical model of the star. They make careful measurements of the patterns of the motion of the stars and discover that, like the Sun, their motion follows a consistent pattern every day and throughout the year. Students will build on this experience when they explain these patterns in the middle grades.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 4 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Grade 5 Instructional Segment 1: What is Matter Made of?

Grade 5 Vignette 4.3: Pancake Engineering

Grade 5 Instructional Segment 2: From Matter to Organisms

Grade 4 Snapshot 4.6: Cycles of Decomposition

Grade 5 Instructional Segment 3: Interacting Earth Systems

Grade 5 Instructional Segment 4: Patterns in the Night Sky