In Your Child's Classroom

Learning science thinking skills
Science is not just a body of knowledge. It is also a way of acquiring knowledge. From the earliest years, elementary science should involve children in investigating the material and living world around them.

What to look for when you visit Books about the seasons, plants, animals, the earth and human body Hands-on areas that encourage experimentation and might include water tables, models and skeletons Safety glasses, thermometer, magnifying glass, mirror, bar magnets and rulers An area where children can learn the life cycle of animals and plants, such as plant tables and aquariums Posted examples of student work such as lists of observations, questions and drawings Experts invited into the classroom from museums, zoos and botanical gardens to share their knowledge

While children learn concepts and vocabulary from investigations, they also develop the ability to ask a scientific question, plan experiments to try to answer the question and develop reasonable explanations based on their observations.

The topics children investigate at a particular grade level differ widely across the country, but the science thinking skills are universal. While a student will study sound, electricity, plants, animals, and solids, liquids and gases during their elementary years, each state has its own sequence of topics for each grade level. The National Science Education Standards — the jumping-off point states use to develop their standards — lists important topics and thinking skills for grades K-4.

The lists of topics below are examples taken from many states, and your state may require a different list in your child's grade. What's important is that the topics are used to develop scientific thinking. To learn topics your state does include at each grade level, you can look up your state's science education standards.

What science concepts will my first-grader learn?
Your first-grader will learn about the world around him both by observation and experimentation. He will be encouraged to use his five senses to observe and describe changes in living and non-living objects. Some or all of the following concepts will be introduced:

• Living things and their habitats: Living things need food, water, space and shelter to survive. Plants and animals live in particular habitats.
• Oceans and sea life: Waves, currents, coral reefs, sea animals and sea plants.
• The human body: The systems that make up the body —circulatory, muscular, skeletal, nervous and digestive — and how to take care of the body.
• Matter: Materials come in solid, liquid and gas forms, and matter can change states.
• Measurement: Temperature and how it is measured.
• Introduction to electricity and magnetism: Electric currents and circuits. Learns how batteries work and the push and pull of magnets.
• Sound: Vibrating objects produce sound, and sound travels.

What types of science instruction will my first-grader get?
First-grade teachers typically teach students to do experiments and record observations. A teacher might help the class understand that for electric circuits to work, there needs to be a circular path, from a battery to a light bulb and back to the battery. The teacher might ask students to find as many arrangements as they can to light a bulb with a battery and wires, and compile the class results. Throughout the experiments, children should be encouraged to observe, ask questions and communicate changes that they notice.

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Students might also be exposed to the work and lives of famous scientists, such as Louis Pasteur and Thomas Edison.

Getting acquainted with the physical world
A first-grader might learn that air is matter and has weight by comparing the weights of a full and an empty balloon on a balance. A teacher might introduce life cycles by setting up an area where students watch caterpillars spin cocoons and become butterflies.

Emphasizing skills over facts
More important than the scientific facts at this stage, is the ability of children to observe, ask questions, record and communicate what they experience. For example, a first-grade teacher might introduce the concept that sound is caused by vibration by asking students to explore with rubber bands, tuning forks and other sound makers what they can see, hear and feel.

Fred Stein, our science consultant, notes: "In first grade, students can be expected to record in words as well as drawings what they've done and what they think."

Updated August 2007