A student expectation is directly related to the knowledge and skills statement, is more specific about how students demonstrate their learning, and always begins with a verb. Student expectations are further broken down into their component parts, often referred to as “breakouts.”
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Breakouts are the component parts that make up a student expectation. A breakout shows a distinct concept a student should know or a distinct skill that a student should be able to demonstrate.
The student is expected to
identify the changes from seed, seedling, plant, flower, and fruit in a simple plant life cycle
record the changes from seed, seedling, plant, flower, and fruit in a simple plant life cycle
Recurring themes and concepts — Connections to the content
Recurring themes and concepts provide a connective structure for scientific ideas across disciplines. The connection(s) below show some ways that teachers can help students understand how the content they are learning fits into the broader understanding of science. These connections do not represent all possible connections that might be made but highlight some that are appropriate for this grade level.
Patterns
Patterns are regular sequences that can be found throughout nature.
The life cycle of a plant is a pattern of repeating stages.
Relationship between structure and function
A structure is an organized arrangement of particles, parts, or elements in a substance, body, or entity. A function is the purpose or reason for something to exist in a system. The function of a structure depends on the shapes of and relationships among its essential parts. It is important to note that in kindergarten – grade 2, students focus on structures as an organized arrangement of parts within an organism or object.
Plant structures have specific functions. For example, a seed has a hard shell (structure) to protect the baby plant when the season is not right for it to grow (function); a flower is bright and has nectar (structure) to attract pollinators (function).
Stability and Change
Stability describes a system that does not change at the observed scale. In a stable system, a small disturbance will die out and the system will return to a stable state. Change in the system can come from modifying a factor or condition.
A plant's life cycle is stable when the plant's needs (weather, pollinators, soil fertility, sunlight, water) are met. Slight changes to the system might not have immediate effects; however, significant changes or slight changes over longer periods of time will disrupt the life cycle (change), and changes to the life cycle will occur.
Cross-curricular Connections
The cross-curricular connections are designed to help educators make content connections between the science TEKS and math, English language arts and reading, social studies, and technology applications. The standards below illustrate alignment between grade level content areas which may help educators develop cross-curricular lessons. These connections do not represent all possible connections that might be made.
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Math
Math.K.1.E create and use representations to organize, record, and communicate mathematical ideas
English Language Arts and Reading
ELAR.K.5.G evaluate details to determine what is most important with adult assistance
ELAR.K.5.H synthesize information to create new understanding with adult assistance
ELAR.K.12.E use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results