NY Science Standards (PreKindergarten)

Observe and describe the apparent motions of the Sun, moon, and stars to recognize predictable patterns. [Clarification Statement: Examples of patterns could include that the Sun and moon appear to move across the sky in a predictable pathway; day and night follow predictable patterns; seasons change in a cyclical pattern (e.g. summer follows spring, autumn follows summer); the moon's shape appears to change in a cyclical pattern; and stars other than our Sun can be visible at night depending on local weather conditions.]

Ask questions, make observations, and collect and record data using simple instruments to recognize patterns about how local weather conditions change daily and seasonally. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on daily weather conditions recorded over a period of time and how those conditions impact student activities and what clothes they wear. Examples of local weather conditions could include cloud cover (sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy, foggy), precipitation (no precipitation, snow, hail, rain), wind (no wind, some wind, strong wind), and temperature (cold, cool, warm, hot).] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to qualitative measures of local weather conditions.]

Plan and conduct an investigation to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth's surface. [Clarification Statement: Examples of effects could include illumination, shadows casted, and the warming effect on living organisms and nonliving things.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment of effects is limited to relative measures: e.g. warm/cool, bright/dark.]

Observe familiar plants and animals (including humans) and describe what they need to survive. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis should be on determining what a variety of living organisms need to live and grow.]

Plan and conduct an investigation to determine how familiar plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive in the environment. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis should be on the relationships between the physical and living environment. Examples of external parts could include roots, stems, leaves for plants and eyes, ears, mouth, arms, legs for animals.]

Develop a model to describe that some young plants and animals are similar to, but not exactly like, their parents. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on observation and pictorial representations of familiar plants and animals.]

Ask questions and use observations to test the claim that different kinds of matter exist as either solid or liquid. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis should be on observing and describing similarities and differences between solids and liquids based on their physical properties. Solids and liquids can be compared and categorized (sorted) based on those properties.]

Use tools and materials to design and build a device that causes an object to move faster with a push or a pull.* [Clarification Statement: Emphasis should be on developing an interest in investigating forces (pushes or pulls). Examples of forces could include a string attached to an object being pulled or a ramp to increase the speed of an object.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to relative measures of speed (slower, faster)]

Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that sound is produced by vibrating materials. [Clarification Statement: Examples of vibrating materials could include percussion instruments (e.g. drum, triangle), string instruments (e.g. guitar, piano), wind instruments (e.g. recorder, whistle), and audio speakers.]