Organisms and environments. The student knows that organisms resemble their parents and have structures and processes that help them survive within their environments. The student is expected to:

(A)  investigate how the external characteristics of an animal are related to where it lives, how it moves, and what it eats;

 

  In life science, students recognize the interdependence of organisms in the natural world. They understand that all organisms have basic needs that can be satisfied through interactions with living and nonliving things. Students will investigate life cycles of animals and identify likenesses between parents and offspring.

 

Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student develops abilities to ask questions and seek answers in classroom and outdoor investigations. The student is expected to:

(A)  ask questions about organisms, objects, and events observed in the natural world;

 

  Research/Research Plan. Students ask open-ended research questions and develop a plan for answering them. Students (with adult assistance) are expected to:

(A)  generate a list of topics of class-wide interest and formulate open-ended questions about one or two of the topics; and

(B)  decide what sources of information might be relevant to answer these questions.

 

Research/Gathering Sources. Students determine, locate, and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the information they gather. Students (with adult assistance) are expected to:

(A)  gather evidence from available sources (natural and personal) as well as from interviews with local experts;

(B)  use text features (e.g., table of contents, alphabetized index) in age-appropriate reference works (e.g., picture dictionaries) to locate information; and

(C)  record basic information in simple visual formats (e.g., notes, charts, picture graphs, diagrams).