Kindergarten Science Scope and Sequence
Kindergarten students may have little experience with science study, but each module in the Kindergarten scope and sequence begins with concepts familiar to Kindergarteners and moves on to expand their understanding of the topic. For example, the study of energy can be difficult for young students because energy cannot be seen directly. The kindergarten Scope and Sequence begins with the Energy Sources module and an exploration of where energy comes from and how we know that it is there. Kindergarteners continue their study with Heat Energy, a form of energy with a very concrete manifestation.
Animals
Scaly swimming fish, high-jumping frogs, soft and furry bunnies, slithering snakes, feathery birds and fluttering butterflies–animals come in many different shapes and sizes. This module allows students to explore the many different types of animals and the characteristics that they all share.
Core Concept
Animals are living things that have needs, reproduce, respond to their environment, and are made up of different parts.
Essential Vocabulary
behavior, energy, hibernate, invertebrate, life cycle, migrate, needs, offspring, reproduce, respond, shelter, vertebrate
Eco Awareness
All of the living things that make up the environment depend on each other to meet their needs–even people! When changes happen in the environment, living things respond. In this module, students see how changes in an environment can affect the natural world as they learn the the importance of being eco aware.
Core Concept
We can show that we are eco aware by practicing the three Rs of reduce, reuse, and recycle as well as being sensitive to the needs of the other living things that share the environment with us.
Essential Vocabulary
eco awareness, endangered, environment, fragile, habitat, invasive, litter, natural, pollution, recycle, reduce, reuse
Energy Sources
Energy is available for plants and animals from many different sources. Even people need energy to live, work, grow, and play. This module guides students as they begin to identify energy. It also introduces three familiar sources of energy used every day: electricity, food, and sunlight.
Core Concept
Energy, from a variety of sources, is used every day in many different ways.
Essential Vocabulary
energy, battery, electricity, generate, manmade, natural, rechargeable, renewable, source, sun
Energy Transformations
Energy is everywhere, and it is used to accomplish many different things, while transforming from sunlight to food and from electricity to heat, light and sound. This module guides students through an exploration of energy transformations in living and nonliving systems.
Core Concept
Energy can be transformed from one form to another as it is used by living and nonliving things.
Essential Vocabulary
transformation, transform, convert, electrical energy, energy flow, generate, heat energy, light energy, nonrenewable, renewable, sound energy
Force
Opening a door, closing a lid, or skipping to school – each action requires just the right push or pull. This module guides students as they explore force, a push or a pull. It includes gravity and how much of a push or a pull is needed to move various objects over a distance.
Core Concept
Force, a push or a pull, is needed to change the position of an object.
Essential Vocabulary
force, attract, friction, gravity, mass, pull, push, surface, work
Heat Energy
Heat energy is energy that can be felt. Heat energy can be natural, like the heat we get from the sun, or manmade. In this module students explore the properties and characteristics of heat energy, its uses, and various sources of manmade and natural heat.
Core Concept
Heat energy is energy that can be felt and moves from hot to cold by conduction and radiation.
Essential Vocabulary
heat energy, conduction, conductor, contact, degree, insulator, radiate, radiation, temperature, thermometer, transfer, wave
Light Energy
Light energy is energy that can be seen and used to see the matter around us. It can be manmade or natural, like the light from the sun. In this module students are introduced to the characteristics and properties of light energy, its uses, and various sources of manmade and natural light.
Core Concept
Light energy is energy that can be seen and is generated by natural and manmade sources.
Essential Vocabulary
light energy, generate, manmade, natural, opaque, reflect, reflection, shadow, surface, transparent, wave
Living/Nonliving
All living things need food, water, air, and a place to live and grow. This module explains the needs and characteristics that all living things share and guides students as they discover the differences between living and nonliving things.
Core Concept
Living things have four specific characteristics: they are made up of parts, they use energy to grow, they respond to their environment, and they reproduce.
Essential Vocabulary
animal, characteristic, energy, environment, extinct, living, needs, nonliving, offspring, plant, reproduce, resemble, respond, shelter, wants
Location and Perspective
Describing the location of an object accurately is an important skill for effective communication. In this module students explore spatial relationships and the vocabulary used to describe the location of items from multiple perspectives.
Core Concept
The location of an object can be identified from multiple perspectives to determine motion.
Essential Vocabulary
location, perspective, around, left, middle, over, right, under
Magnets
Magnets of all shapes, sizes and strength are used every day – holding up art projects on the fridge, sorting debris in landfills, and keeping high fashion jewelry fastened. In this module students explore the characteristics of magnets and the different materials they attract.
Core Concept
Magnets come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be used to move objects made of iron.
Essential Vocabulary
magnet, magnetic, attract, bar magnet, ring magnet, horseshoe magnet, force, iron, poles, repel
Materials
Everything is made up of different materials – even the Earth. Earth is made up of rock, water, and soil. This module provides students with the opportunity to explore Earth’s different materials and how living things utilize them.
Core Concept
Rocks, water, and soil are some of the materials that make up Earth.
Essential Vocabulary
crust, humus, manmade, material, natural, rock, sand, soil, texture, water
Materials and Mixtures
Everything around us is made up of something, often a collection of different things. This module guides students as they begin to identify the different materials everyday objects are made of–specifically wood, plastic, metal and cloth–and how mixtures can be made by combining different objects and materials.
Core Concept
Everything around us is made up of different materials and can be combined to make mixtures.
Essential Vocabulary
mixture, substance, texture, unchanged, combine, sorting, separate, characteristics, material, composition
Motion
Fast or slow, objects, people, animals, liquids, and even gases move. In this module students begin to describe and learn to measure motion, a change in position.
Core Concept
Motion is a change in position and can be measured by distance and time.
Essential Vocabulary
motion, circular, distance, friction, measure, position, surface, time, zigzag
Plants
Giant redwood trees, soft green blades of grass, bright tulips blooming in spring — plants are living things. This module introduces students to the world of plants as they discover that the needs of plants are much like their own needs.
Core Concept
Plants are living things that have needs, reproduce, respond to their environment, and are made up of different parts.
Essential Vocabulary
absorb, characteristic, flower, fruit, germinate, leaves, life cycle, nutrients, photosynthesis, produce, reproduce, respond, root, seed, seedling, stem
Science Tools
Tools are used to collect information. Some tools, like rulers, are used to measure or to find out how big something is. Other tools, like hand lenses, are used to observe and study things carefully. This module introduces students to the different types of tools used in science and how they help us study the world around us.
Core Concept
In science, a tool is something you use to collect data, or information. Scientists use tools to help them observe, describe, compare, measure, and communicate.
Essential Vocabulary
balance scale, beaker, data, equal, hand lens, mass, measurement, microscope, record, ruler, senses, telescope, temperature, thermometer, tool, volume
Simple Machines
Work is made easy with simple machines; they reduce the force needed to move an object over a distance. This module introduces the six types of simple machines — lever, pulley, wheel and axle, wedge, screw, and inclined plane — as students explore what a simple machine is and how simple machines work.
Core Concept
Simple machines are used every day to make work easier by reducing the force needed to move an object over a distance.
Essential Vocabulary
simple machine, work, force, motion, reduce, inclined plane, lever, pulley, screw, wedge, wheel and axle
Sound Energy
Sound energy is energy that can be heard, but only when matter is present to carry the vibration. This module introduces students to the properties and characteristics of sound energy, how it is generated, and why sounds are different.
Core Concept
Sound energy travels in waves and can be described by volume and pitch.
Essential Vocabulary
sound energy, generate, matter, particles, pitch, require, vibrate, volume, wave
Weather
Whether rainy, sunny, cloudy, or windy, the weather describes what it’s like outside every day. Knowing the patterns of weather can help you to be prepared. In this module students explore the different types of weather and the tools needed to observe, measure and record it.
Core Concept
Weather is how hot or cold, or wet or dry, it is outside from day to day. Weather can be observed and measured using tools.
Essential Vocabulary
data, forecast, hail, measure, meteorologist, observe, precipitation, rain, rain gauge, record, severe weather, snow, temperature, thermometer, weather, wind
As kindergarten students continue through the Scope and Sequence, each module begins with what they know and continues on to introduce new science concepts. The kindergarten year begins a spiral of science study and exploration, introducing new concepts that students will revisit and build on as they learn and grow. As students revisit topics that they have explored before, their previous experiences and growing abilities will allow them to develop new and more complex understandings of each topic.
