Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards Alignment | Orbit Earth Expo

Kindergarten First GradeSecond GradeThird Grade Fourth GradeFifth Grade ♦ Sixth Grade Eighth Grade


Kindergarten Standards: ”understand that…”

0.1.1.2 Scientific inquiry is a set of interrelated processes used to pose questions about the natural world and investigate phenomena.
0.2.1.1 Objects can be described in terms of the materials they are made of and their physical properties.
0.3.2.2 Weather can be described in measurable quantities and changes from day to day and with the seasons.
0.4.2.1 Natural systems have many components that interact to maintain the system.
Benchmark:
0.1.1.2.1 Use observations to develop an accurate description of a natural phenomenon and compare one’s observations and descriptions with those of others.

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First Grade Standards: ”understand that…”

1.3.1.3 Earth materials include solid rocks, sand, soil and water. These materials have different observable physical properties that make them useful.
Observe, record, and recognize that water can be a solid or a liquid and can change from one state to another.

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Second Grade Standards: ”understand that…”

2.2.2.1 The motion of an object can be described by a change in its position over time.
2.3.2.2 Weather can be described in measurable quantities and changes from day to day and with the seasons.
2.4.2.1 Natural systems have many components that interact to maintain the system
Benchmark:
2.2.2.2.2 Describe how things near Earth fall to the ground unless something holds them up.

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Third Grade Standards: ”understand that…”

3.2.3.1 Energy appears in different forms, including sound and light.
3.3.3.1 The sun and moon have locations and movements that can be observed and described.
3.3.3.2 Objects in the solar system as seen from Earth have various sizes and distinctive patterns of motion.
Benchmarks:
3.3.3.1.1 Observe and describe the daily and seasonal changes in the position of the sun and compare observations.
3.3.3.1.2 Recognize the pattern of apparent changes in the moon’s shape and position.
3.3.3.2.2 Recognize that the Earth is one of several planets that orbit the sun, and that the moon orbits the Earth.

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Fourth Grade Standards: ”understand that…”

4.2.1.2 Solids, liquids and gases are states of matter that each have unique properties.
4.2.3.1 Energy appears in different forms, including heat and electromagnetism.
4.3.2.3 Water circulates through the Earth’s crust, oceans and atmosphere in what is known as the water cycle.
Benchmark:
4.3.2.3.1 Identify where water collects on Earth, including atmosphere, ground, and surface water, and describe how water moves through the Earth system using the processes of evaporation, condensation and precipitation.

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Fifth Grade Standards: ”understand that…”

5.1.1.1 Science is a way of knowing about the natural world, is done by individuals and groups, and is characterized by empirical criteria, logical argument and skeptical review.
5.3.1.2 The surface of the Earth changes. Some changes are due to slow processes and some changes are due to rapid processes.
Benchmarks:
5.1.1.1.4 Understand that different models can be used to represent natural phenomena and these models have limitations about what they can explain.
5.1.1.2.2 Identify and collect relevant evidence, make systematic observations and accurate measurements, and identify variables in a scientific investigation.
5.3.1.2.2 Explain how slow processes, such as water erosion, and rapid processes, such as landslides and volcanic eruptions, form features of the Earth’s surface.

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Sixth Grade Standards: ”understand that…”

6.2.3.1 Waves involve the transfer of energy without the transfer of matter.
6.2.3.2 Energy can be transformed within a system or transferred to other systems or the environment.
Benchmarks:
6.2.3.1.3 Use wave properties of light to explain reflection, refraction and the color spectrum.
6.2.3.2.3 Describe how heat energy is transferred in conduction, convection and radiation.
6.2.3.1.2 Explain how the vibration of particles in air and other materials results in the transfer of energy through sound waves.

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Eighth Grade Standards: ”understand that…”

8.3.1.1 The movement of tectonic plates results from interactions among the lithosphere, mantle, and core.
8.3.1.2 Landforms are the result of the combination of constructive and destructive processes.
8.3.2.1 The sun is the principal external energy source for the Earth.
8.3.2.2 Patterns of atmospheric movement influence global climate and local weather.
8.3.3.1 The Earth is the third planet from the sun in a system that includes the moon, the sun seven other planets and their moons and smaller objects.
Benchmarks:
8.3.1.1.2 Correlate the distribution of ocean trenches, mid-ocean ridges and mountain ranges to volcanic and seismic activity.
8.3.1.1.3 Recognize that major geological events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and mountain building, result from the slow movement of tectonic plates.
8.3.1.2.1 Explain how landforms result from the processes of crustal deformation, volcanic eruptions, weathering, erosion and deposition of sediment.
8.3.1.2.2 Explain the role of weathering, erosion and glacial activity in shaping Minnesota’s current landscape.
8.3.2.1.1 Explain how the combination of the Earth’s tilted axis and revolution around the sun causes the progression of seasons.
8.3.2.1.2 Recognize that oceans have a major effect on global climate because water in the oceans holds a large amount of heat.
8.3.2.1.3 Explain how heating of Earth’s surface and atmosphere by the sun drives convection within the atmosphere and hydrosphere producing winds, ocean currents and the water cycle, as well as influencing global climate.
8.3.2.2.1 Describe how the composition and structure of the Earth’s atmosphere affects energy absorption, climate, and the distribution of particulates and gases. For example: Certain gases contribute to the greenhouse effect.
8.3.2.2.3 Relate global weather patterns to patterns in regional and local weather.
8.3.3.1.1 Recognize that the sun is a medium sized star, one of billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and the closest star to Earth.
8.3.3.1.2 Describe how gravity and inertia keep most objects in the solar system in regular and predictable motion.
8.3.3.1.3 Recognize that gravitational force exists between any two objects and describe how the masses of the objects and distance between them affect the force.
8.3.3.1.4 Compare and contrast the sizes, locations, and compositions of the planets and moons in our solar system.
8.3.3.1.5 Use the predictable motions of the Earth around its own axis and around the sun, and of the moon around the Earth, to explain day length, the phases of the moon, and eclipses.

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