South Dakota K–6 science standards

Plan and carry out observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time. (SEP: 4; DCI: ESS2.D; CCC: Patterns)

Engage in argument from evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs. (SEP: 7; DCI: ESS2.E, ESS3.C; CCC: Systems)

Use a model to represent the characteristics of and the relationship between various plants and animals in the places they live. (SEP: 2; DCI: ESS3.A; CCC: Systems)

Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather. (SEP: 1, 8; DCI: ESS3.B, ETS1.A; CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include K-2-ETS1-1

Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on the land, water, air, and living things in the local environment. (SEP: 8; DCI: ESS3.C, ETS1.B; CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include K-2-ETS1-2

Describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive. (SEP: 4; DCI: LS1.C; CCC: Patterns)

Plan and carry out an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object. (SEP: 3; DCI: PS2.A, PS2.B, PS3.C; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull. (SEP: 4; DCI: PS2.A, ETS1.A; CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include K-2-ETS1-1

Make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth’s surface. (SEP: 3; DCI: PS3.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Design and build a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS3.B, ETS1.B; CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include K-2-ETS1-2

Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. Alignment may include K-PS2-2; K-ESS3-2; 1-LS1-1

Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem. Alignment may include K-ESS3-3; 1-PS4-4; 2-LS2-2

Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs. Alignment may include 2-PS1-2; 2-ESS2-1

Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted. (SEP: 4; DCI: ESS1.A; CCC: Patterns)

Make observations and compare the amount of daylight at different times of the year. (SEP: 3; DCI: ESS1.B; CCC: Patterns)

Construct an explanation and design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs. (SEP: 6; DCI: LS1.A, LSI.D, ETS1.A; CCC: Structure/Function) Alignment may include K-2-ETS1-1

Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive. (SEP: 8; DCI: LS1.B; CCC: Patterns)

Construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents. (SEP: 6; DCI: LS3.A, LS3.B; CCC: Patterns)

Plan and carry out an investigation to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate. (SEP: 3; DCI: PS4.A; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Construct an evidence-based account for how objects can be seen only when illuminated. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS4.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Plan and carry out an investigation to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light. (SEP: 3; DCI: PS4.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS4.C, ETS1.B; CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include K-2-ETS1-2

Use information from several sources to construct an explanation that Earth events like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, weather, and erosion can occur quickly or slowly. (SEP: 6; DCI: ESS1.C; CCC: Stability/Change)

Compare multiple solutions to develop a model designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land. (SEP: 6; DCI: ESS2.A, ETS1.C; CCC: Stability/Change) Alignment may include K-2-ETS1-3

Obtain and evaluate information about the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in your local areas. (SEP: 8; DCI: ESS2.B; CCC: Stability/Change)

Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid, liquid, or gas. (SEP: 8; DCI: ESS2.C; CCC: Patterns)

Plan and carry out an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow. (SEP: 3; DCI: LS2.A; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants. (SEP: 2; DCI: LS2.A, ETS1.B; CCC: Structure/Function) Alignment may include K-2ETS1-2

Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. (SEP: 3; DCI: LS4.D; CCC: Systems)

Plan and carry out an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties. (SEP: 3; DCI: PS1.A; CCC: Patterns)

Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose. (SEP: 4; DCI: PS1.A, ETS1.C; CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include K-2-ETS1-3

Construct an evidence-based account of how an object made of a small set of pieces can be disassembled and made into a new object. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS1.A; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Construct an evidenced-based argument using reasoning and evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot. (SEP: 7; DCI: PS1.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe weather conditions during a particular season. (SEP: 4; DCI: ESS2.D; CCC: Patterns)

Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world. (SEP: 8; DCI: ESS2.D; CCC: Patterns)

Make an evidence-based claim about the validity of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard. (SEP: 7; DCI: ESS3.B, ETS1.A; CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include 3-5-ETS1-1

Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles, but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death. (SEP: 1; DCI: LS1.B; CCC: Patterns)

Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive. (SEP: 7; DCI: LS2.D; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variations of these traits exist in a group of similar organisms. (SEP: 4; DCI: LS3.A, LS3.B; CCC: Patterns)

Use evidence and reasoning to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment. (SEP: 6; DCI: LS3.A, LS3.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago. (SEP: 4; DCI: LS4.A; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Use evidence and reasoning to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing. (SEP: 6; DCI: LS4.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Construct an argument with evidence how some organisms thrive, some struggle to survive, and some cannot survive in a particular habitat. (SEP: 7; DCI: LS4.C; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Make an evidence-based claim about the validity of a solution to a change in the environment that affects the types of plants and animals that live there. (SEP: 7; DCI: LS2.C, LS4.D, ETS1.A; CCC: Systems) Alignment may include 3-5-ETS1-1

Plan and carry out an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object. (SEP: 3; DCI: PS2.A, PS2.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence for how a pattern can be used to predict future motion. (SEP: 3; DCI: PS2.A; CCC: Patterns)

Ask questions about cause-and-effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other. (SEP: 1; DCI: PS2.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets. (SEP: 1; DCI: PS2.B, ETS1.A; CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include 3-5-ETS1-1

Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost. Alignment may include 3-PS2-4; 3-LS4-4; 3-ESS3-1; 4-PS3-4

Generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. Alignment may include 4-ESS3-2

Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved. Alignment may include 4-PS4-3

Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time. (SEP: 6; DCI: ESS1.C; CCC: Patterns)

Make observations and/or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation. (SEP: 3; DCI: ESS2.A, ESS2.E; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features. (SEP: 4; DCI: ESS2.B; CCC: Patterns)

Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and how their uses affect the environment. (SEP: 8; DCI: ESS3.A; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans. (SEP: 6; DCI: ESS3.B, ETS1.B; CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include 3-5-ETS1-2

Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. (SEP: 7; DCI: LS1.A; CCC: Systems)

Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways. (SEP: 2; DCI: LS1.D; CCC: Systems)

Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS3.A; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Make observations to provide evidence for how energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents. (SEP: 3; DCI: PS3.A, PS3.B; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide. (SEP: 1; DCI: PS3.A, PS3.B, PS3.C; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS3.B, PS3.D, ETS1.A; CCC: Energy/Matter) Alignment my include 3-5-ETS1-1

Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength and to provide evidence that waves can cause objects to move. (SEP: 2; DCI: PS4.A; CCC: Patterns)

Develop a model to describe how light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen. (SEP: 2; DCI: PS4.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Create and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS4.C, ETS1.C; CCC: Patterns) Alignment may include 3-5-ETS1-3

Support an argument that differences in the apparent brightness of the sun compared to other stars is due to distances from the Earth. (SEP: 7; DCI: ESS1.A; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky. (SEP: 4; DCI: ESS1.B; CCC: Patterns)

Develop a model to describe the interaction of geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. (SEP: 2; DCI: ESS2.A; CCC: Systems)

Describe and graph the amounts and percentages of salt water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth. (SEP: 5; DCI: ESS2.C; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment. (SEP:8; DCI: ESS3.C; CCC: Systems)

Engage in an evidence-based argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water. (SEP: 7; DCI: LS1.C; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Develop a model to describe the movement of matter and energy among producers, consumers, decomposers, and the environment. (SEP: 2; DCI: LS2.A, LS2.B; CCC: Systems)

Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen. (SEP: 2; DCI: PS1.A; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total mass of matter is conserved. (SEP: 5; DCI: PS1.A, PS1.B; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties. (SEP: 3; DCI: PS1.A; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Plan and carry out an investigation to determine if the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances. (SEP: 3; DCI: PS1.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Support an evidence-based argument that the gravitational force exerted on objects is directed toward the center of the Earth. (SEP: 7; DCI: PS2.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Use models to describe that energy in animals’ food (used for body repair, growth, motion, and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun. (SEP: 2; DCI: PS3.D, LSI.C; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons. (SEP: 2; DCI: ESS1.A, ESS1.B; CCC: Patterns)

Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system. (SEP: 2; DCI: ESS1.A, ESS1.B; CCC: Systems)

Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system. (SEP: 4; DCI: ESS1.B; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s 4.6-billion-year-old history. (SEP:6; DCI: ESS1.C; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process. (SEP: 2; DCI: ESS2.A; CCC: Stability/Change)

Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales. (SEP: 6; DCI: ESS2.A, ESS2.C; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Analyze and interpret data on the age of the Earth, distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions. (SEP: 4; DCI: ESS2.B, ESS1.C; CCC: Patterns)

Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity. (SEP: 2; DCI: ESS2.C; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions. (SEP: 3; DCI: ESS2.C, ESS2.D; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates. (SEP: 2; DCI: ESS2.C, ESS2.D; CCC: Systems)

Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes. (SEP: 6; DCI: ESS3.A; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects. (SEP: 4; DCI: ESS3.B; CCC: Patterns)

Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment. (SEP: 6; DCI: ESS3.C, ETS1.B; CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include MS-ETS1-1

Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per- capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems. (SEP: 7; DCI: ESS3.C; CCC: Cause/Effect, Nature Science/Consequence-Actions)

Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that may have caused a change in global temperatures over the past century. (SEP: 1; DCI: ESS3.D; CCC: Stability/Change)

Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, considering relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions. Alignment may include MS-PS2-1; MS-PS3-3; MS-LS4-5

Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. Alignment may include 6-8-PS1-6; MS-PS3-3; MS-LS2-5; MS-ESS3-3

Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success. Alignment may include MS-PS1-6

Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved. Alignment may include MS-PS1-6; MS-LS4-5

Plan and carry out an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many different types and numbers of cells. (SEP: 3; DCI: LS1.A; CCC: Scale/Prop)

Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function. (SEP: 2; DCI: LS1.A; CCC: Structure/Function)

Construct an evidence-based argument for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells, tissues, and organs. (SEP: 7; DCI: LS1.A; CCC: Systems)

Construct an evidence-based argument to support an explanation for a) how characteristic animal behaviors affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals; and b) how specialized structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of plants. (SEP: 7; DCI: LS1.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms. (SEP: 6; DCI: LS1.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms. (SEP: 6, Nature Science/Empirical Evidence; DCI: LS1.C, PS3.D; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism. (SEP: 2; DCI: LS1.C, PS3.D; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem. (SEP: 4; DCI: LS2.A; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Construct an explanation that predicts patterns (relationships) of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems. (SEP: 6; DCI: LS2.A; CCC: Patterns)

Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. (SEP: 2; DCI: LS2.B; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Construct an evidence-based argument that articulates how changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations. (SEP: 7; DCI: LS2.C; CCC: Stability/Change)

Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem preservation practices and services. (SEP: 7; DCI: LS2.C, LS4.D, ETS1.B; CCC: Stability/Change) Alignment may include MS-ETS1-2

Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism. (SEP:2; DCI: LS3.A, LS3.B; CCC: Structure/Function)

Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation. (SEP: 2; DCI: LS1.B, LS3.A, LS3.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth. (SEP: 4; DCI: LS4.A; CCC: Patterns)

Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships. (SEP: 6; DCI: LS4.A; CCC: Patterns)

Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment. (SEP: 6; DCI: LS4.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how technological advances have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms. (SEP: 8; DCI: LS4.B, CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-4

Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time. (SEP: 5; DCI: LS4.C; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures. (SEP:2; DCI: PS1.A; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred. (SEP: 8; DCI: PS1.A, PS1.B; CCC: Patterns)

Obtain and evaluate information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society. (SEP: 8; DCI: PS1.A, PS1.B; CCC: Structure/Function)

Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed. (SEP:2; DCI: PS1.A, PS3.A; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved. (SEP: 2; DCI: PS1.B; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Design, construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS1.B, ETS1.B, ETS1.C; CCC: Energy/Matter) Alignment may include MS-ETS1-2; MS-ETS1-3; MS-ETS1-4

Design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects that illustrates Newton’s Third Law. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS2.A, ETS1.B; CCC: Systems) Alignment may include MS-ETS1-1

Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object. (SEP: 3; DCI: PS2.A; CCC: Stability/Change)

Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces. (SEP: 1; DCI: PS2.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects. (SEP:7; DCI: PS2.B; CCC: Systems)

Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other when objects are not in contact. (SEP:3; DCI: PS2.B; CCC: Cause/Effect)

Construct and analyze graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass and to the speed of an object. (SEP:4; DCI: PS3.A; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system. (SEP:2; DCI: PS3.A, PS3.C; CCC: Systems)

Design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS3.A, PS3.B, ETS1.A, ETS1.B; CCC: Energy/Matter) May include alignment to MS-ETS1-1 and MS-ETS1-2

Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample. (SEP:3; DCI: PS3.A, PS3.B; CCC: Scale/Prop.)

Engage in argument from evidence to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object. (SEP: 7; DCI: PS3.B; CCC: Energy/Matter)

Use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave. (SEP: 5; DCI: PS4.A; CCC: Patterns)

Develop and use a model to describe how waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials. (SEP:2; DCI: PS4.A, PS4.B; CCC: Structure and Function)

Obtain, evaluate and communicate information to support an evidence-based claim for the reliability of digitized signals to encode and transmit information compared to analog signals. (SEP: 8; DCI: PS4.C; CCC: Structure and Function)