 Use consistent terminology and content in vertical alignment of the standards  Update standards to include references to additional energy sources  Move examples and details to the Curriculum Framework  The.1 stem for the K-12 SOL changed to include the “nature of science.”  Real world applications added to.1 SOL

THE NATURAL WORLD IS

SCIENCE DEMANDS

SCIENCE IS A BLEND OF

SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IS

SCIENTISTS ATTEMPT TO AVOID

SCIENCE IS A COMPLEX

THE NATURAL WORLD IS

SCIENCE DEMANDS

SCIENCE IS A BLEND OF

SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IS

SCIENTISTS ATTEMPT TO AVOID

SCIENCE IS A COMPLEX

 Comments  Additional descriptive text was included to clarify and expand the intent of the stem ( demonstrate an understanding of scientific reasoning, logic and the nature of science by planning and conducting).  2.1a New content was added ( observations and predictions are made and questions are formed).  2.1b 2.1a New Content was added (observation is differentiated from personal interpretation  2.1f New content was added ( time is measured using the proper tools).  2.1g 2.1d Additional content (conditions are identified and inferences are made).  2.1h 2.1f Additional content ( data are collected and recorded) and (no more picture graphs)  2.1i 2.1g Additional text was added ( data are analyzed)  2.1k New Content ( observations and data are communicated).  2.1m New Content ( current applications are used to reinforce science concepts).  2.3a New Content ( identification of distinguishing characteristics of solids, liquids, and gases).

A content was clarified (in their life cycles changed to as they mature and grow). 2.4a 2.4a More inclusive terminology ( animal life cycles) replaced specific content examples, which were moved to the Curriculum Framework (some animals, frogs and butterflies, undergo distinct stages during their lives, while others generally resemble their parents). 2.4b 2.4b More inclusive terminology ( plant life cycles) replaced specific content examples, which were moved to the Curriculum Framework (flowering plants undergo many changes, from the formation of the flower to the development of the fruit). 2.5b New content was added ( an animal’s habitat includes adequate food, water, shelter or cover, and space). 2.5dNew content was added ( fossils provide information about living systems that were on Earth years ago). 2.6b 2.6b Additional clarifying text was included (recording and interpreting ―weather data). 2.6c New content was added ( the importance and uses of tracking weather data over time). 2.8d Text from (2003) 2.8c was reworded (prevent soil from washing away changed to plants can help reduce erosion).

  Additional descriptive text was included to clarify and expand the intent of the stem ( demonstrate an understanding of scientific reasoning, logic and the nature of science by planning and conducting).  3.1b. Additional action was included ( and repeated to ensure accuracy)  3.1b The content of this bullet expanded ( predictions are formulated using a variety of sources of information).  3.1f 3.1i Additional clarifying text related to the measurement of time was included ( using proper tools and techniques).  3.1h 3.1g An additional action ( analyze) was included with the existing treatment of data  3.1i New content was added ( unexpected or unusual quantitative data are recognized  3.1k New Content ( data are communicated).  3.1l New Content ( models are designed and built)  3.1m New Content ( current applications are used to reinforce science concepts). Moved to Grade Five 3.3b (materials are composed of parts that are too small to be seen without magnification) Terminology was modified (environments changed to ecosystems).  3.7a 3.6a Terminology was modified (water-related environments changed to aquatic ecosystem  3.6b 3.6b Terminology was modified (dry-land environments changed to terrestrial ecosystems)  3.6d 3.6d New content was added ( the human role in conserving limited resources).  3.9a New Content ( there are many sources of water on Earth).

Spring 2012 Division Summary of Science SOL 796 Students Tested % Passing Mean Scale Score (out of 50) Scientific Investigation40.0 Force, Motion, Energy & Matter38.3 Life Processes and Living Systems38.6 Earth/Space Systems and Cycles37.3

Areas of Strength: Yeah! 93-95% correct in division  Analyzing a table for data  Interpreting bar graphs  Properties of objects changing as size changes  Recognizing simple machines within a complex machine  Survival adaptations of animals  Recycling of natural resources  Seasonal variation in plants  Measuring time to the minute  The process of evaporation

 Areas of Growth (Can you help?) 50-70% correct in division Purpose of simple machines Magnetism in a magnetic compass What mixes with water The interdependency of plants and animals Producers and consumers in our environment Unlimited energy resources Methods of data collection to understand weather patterns

 Fossils  2.5The student will investigate and understand that living things are part of a system. Key concepts include  a)living organisms are interdependent with their living and nonliving surroundings;  b)an animal’s habitat includes adequate food, water, shelter or cover, and space;  c)habitats change over time due to many influences; and  d)fossils provide information about living systems that were on Earth years ago.  Fossils found provide scientists with information about plants and animals that lived on Earth many years ago. (e.g., The rise and fall of sea level is recorded in the richly fossiliferous rocks of Virginia’s coastal plain. An abundance of marine fossils – fossil clams, snails, sand dollars, shark’s teeth, and whalebones – can be found in Virginia’s coastal plains.)  Virginia’s state fossil, Chesapecten jeffersonius, is a large extinct species of scallop that dates to approximately 4.5 million years ago. It was the first fossil ever described in North America and is named after Thomas Jefferson, one of our founding fathers, and an amateur paleontologist.

 How could you expand upon and develop a rigorous lesson/lab activity from this simple exercise?

 Producer, Consumer, Decomposer BINGO The student will investigate and understand relationships among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food chains. Key concepts include  a)producer, consumer, decomposer;  b)herbivore, carnivore, omnivore; and  c)predator and prey.

 How could you expand upon and develop a rigorous lesson/lab activity from this simple exercise?