Topics for the year:
Insects
Cycles in Nature
Simple Machines
Magnetism
Scientists and their jobs



Insects
By the end of this domain, students will be able to:

1. Explain that insects are the largest group of animals on Earth;
2. Explain that there are many different types of insects;
3. Explain that most insects live solitary lives, but some, such as honeybees, paper wasps, ants, and termites, are social;
4. Explain that insects live in virtually every habitat on Earth, with the exception of the oceans;
5. Classify and identify particular insects as small, six-legged animals with three main body parts;
6. Identify and describe the three main body parts of insects: head, thorax, and abdomen;
7. Identify the placement and/or purpose of an insects body parts;
8. Describe an insect’s exoskeleton;
9. Explain why spiders are not insects;
10. Describe insect life cycles and the processes of complete and incomplete metamorphosis;
11. Describe how some insects look like miniature versions of adults when they are born from eggs;
12. Explain why some insects molt;
13. Describe how some insects go through four distinct stages of development, including egg, larva, pupa, and adult;
14. Distinguish between social and solitary insects;
15. Describe how all members of a social insect colony come from one queen;
16. Describe the roles of honeybee workers, drones, and queens;
17. Describe how honeybees communicate with one another through “dances”;
18. Describe the social behavior of ants and ant colonies;
19. Describe the roles of worker ants, males, and queens;
20. Compare and contrast grasshoppers and crickets;
21. Identify ways in which insects can be helpful to people;
22. Identify ways in which insects can be harmful to people;
23. Ask and answer questions (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how), orally or in writing, requiring literal recall and understanding of the details and/or facts of a nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
24. Answer questions that require making interpretations, judgments, or giving opinions about what is heard in a nonfiction/informational read-aloud, including answering why questions that require recognizing cause/effect relationships;
25. Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph nonfiction/informational read-aloud as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text;
26. Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
27. Determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases in nonfiction/informational read-alouds and discussions;
28. Identify the main purpose of a nonfiction/informational read-aloud, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe;
29. Describe how reasons or facts support specific points the author makes in a nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
30. Compare and contrast (orally or in writing) similarities and differences within a single nonfiction/informational read-aloud or between two or more nonfiction/informational read-alouds;
31. Listen to and demonstrate understanding of nonfiction/informational read-alouds of appropriate complexity for grades 2–4;
32. Plan and/or draft, and edit an informative/explanatory text that presents information from a nonfiction/informational read-aloud that introduces a topic, uses facts and definitions to develop points, and provides a concluding statement or section;
33. With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing;
34. Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., after listening to several read-alouds, produce a report on a single topic);
35. Make personal connections (orally or in writing) to events or experiences in a fiction or nonfiction/informational read-aloud and/or make connections among several read-alouds;
36. With assistance, categorize and organize facts and information within a given domain to answer questions;
37. Generate questions and gather information from multiple sources to answer questions;
38. Use agreed-upon rules for group discussion (e.g., look at and listen to the speaker, raise hand to speak, take turns, say “excuse me” or “please,” etc.);
39. Carry on and participate in a conversation over at least six turns, staying on topic, linking their comments to the remarks of others, with either an adult or another child of the same age;
40. Ask questions to clarify information about the topic in a fiction or nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
41. Retell (orally or in writing) important facts and information from a fiction or nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
42. Ask questions to clarify directions, exercises, classroom routines, and/or what a speaker says about a topic to gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue;
43. Recount a personal experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences;
44. Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings;
45. Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification;
46. Identify real-life connections between words and their use (e.g., describe foods that are spicy or juicy);
47. Provide synonyms and antonyms of selected core vocabulary words;
48. Determine the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases in fiction or nonfiction/informational read-alouds and discussions;
49. Learn the meaning of common sayings and phrases;
50. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy);
51. Prior to listening to a read-aloud, identify (orally or in writing) what they know and have learned that may be related to the specific story or topic to be read aloud;
52. Make predictions (orally or in writing) prior to and during a read-aloud, based on the title, pictures, and/or text heard thus far, and then compare the actual outcomes to predictions;
53. Share writing with others; and
54. Use adverbs correctly in oral language.

Cycles in Nature
By the end of this domain, students will be able to:

1. Explain that a cycle is a sequence of events that repeats itself again and again;
2. Recognize that the rotation of the earth causes daytime and nighttime;
3. Explain that it takes twenty-four hours for the earth to rotate once on its axis;
4. Recognize that living things have a life cycle;
5. Demonstrate familiarity with the poem “Bed in Summer”;
6. Recognize that Earth orbits the sun;
7. Explain that it takes one year for Earth to orbit the sun;
8. Describe the seasonal cycle: spring, summer, autumn, winter;
9. Identify that the tilt of Earth’s axis in relation to the sun causes the seasons;
10. Explain effects of seasonal changes on plants and animals;
11. Demonstrate familiarity with the poem “Bee! I’m expecting you”;
12. Describe animal processes in spring, summer, autumn, winter;
13. Define the term life cycle;
14. Identify the stages of the life cycle of a flowering plant (seed to seed);
15. Identify the stages of the life cycle of a tree (seed to seed);
16. Identify the stages of the life cycle of a chicken (egg to egg);
17. Identify the stages of the life cycle of a frog (egg to egg);
18. Explain metamorphosis;
19. Identify the stages of the life cycle of a butterfly (egg to egg);
20. Define the term water cycle;
21. Explain that there is a limited amount of water on Earth;
22. Describe evaporation and condensation;
23. Identify forms and importance of precipitation;
24. Describe the formation of clouds;
25. Identify three types of clouds: cirrus, cumulus, and stratus;
26. Ask and answer questions (e.g., who, what, where, when, why, how), orally or in writing, requiring literal recall and understanding of the details and/or facts of a nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
27. Answer questions that require making interpretations, judgments, or giving opinions about what is heard in a nonfiction/informational read-aloud, including answering why questions that require recognizing cause/effect relationships;
28. Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph nonfiction/informational read-aloud as well as the focus of specific paragraphs within the text;
29. Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
30. Determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases in nonfiction/informational read-alouds and discussions;
31. Interpret information from diagrams, charts, timelines, graphs, or other organizers associated with a nonfiction/informational read-aloud and explain how these graphics clarify the meaning of the read-aloud;
32. Compare and contrast (orally or in writing) similarities and differences within a single nonfiction/informational read-aloud or between two or more nonfiction/informational read-alouds;
33. Listen to and demonstrate understanding of nonfiction/informational read-alouds of appropriate complexity for grades 2–4;
34. Plan and/or draft, and edit an informative/explanatory text that presents information from a nonfiction/informational read-aloud that introduces a topic, uses facts and definitions to develop points, and provides a concluding statement or section;
35. With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing;
36. With assistance, categorize and organize facts and information within a given domain to answer questions;
37. Use agreed-upon rules for group discussions (e.g., look at and listen to the speaker, raise hand to speak, take turns, say “excuse me” or “please,” etc.)
38. Carry on and participate in a conversation over at least six turns, staying on topic, linking their comments to the remarks of others, with either an adult or another child of the same age;
39. Ask questions to clarify information about the topic in a fiction or nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
40. Retell (orally or in writing) important facts and information from a fiction or nonfiction/informational read-aloud;
41. Summarize (orally or in writing) text content and/or oral information presented by others;
42. Ask questions to clarify directions, exercises, classroom routines, and/or what a speaker says about a topic to gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue;
43. Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings;
44. Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification
45. Determine the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases in fiction or nonfiction/informational read-alouds and discussions;
46. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy);
47. Prior to listening to a read-aloud, identify orally what students know and have learned about a given topic;
48. Identify and express whether they are able to feel the rotation of the earth;
49. Discuss personal connections to given topics;
50. Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meanings of compound words;
51. Sequence four to six pictures illustrating events from a nonfiction read-aloud;
52. Prior to listening to a read-aloud, make a prediction and then compare the actual outcome to the prediction; and
53. Share writing with others.