United States · Common Core State Standards
1st Grade Science
A comprehensive first grade science curriculum that invites students to investigate the physical world, living organisms, and celestial patterns. Students engage in hands-on inquiry to understand how light and sound travel, how plants and animals survive, and how the sky changes over time.
01Light and Sound Waves
Students investigate how light and sound travel and interact with different materials to communicate over distances.
Students explore how vibrations create sounds and how those sounds can be changed or stopped through hands-on activities.
Students investigate how the strength and speed of vibrations relate to the pitch and volume of sounds.
Students identify various light sources and investigate how light travels in straight lines.
Students investigate how light interacts with transparent, translucent, or opaque materials to create shadows.
Students explore how different materials reflect or absorb light, affecting what we see.
Students design and build devices that use light to send messages across a distance.
Students design and build devices that use sound to send messages across a distance.
Students explore how light and sound are used in various technologies for communication and information.
02Plant and Animal Survival
An exploration of how living things use their external parts to grow, survive, and meet their basic needs.
Students examine how different animal body parts help them find food, water, and protection.
Students investigate how different plant parts (roots, stems, leaves, flowers) help them grow and survive.
Students compare how young animals are similar to, but not exactly like, their parents.
Students observe and compare how young plants resemble their parent plants.
Students explore how ideas from nature can inspire solutions to human problems.
03Patterns in the Sky
Observing and recording the predictable patterns of the sun, moon, and stars throughout the year.
Students track the sun's movement across the sky to identify daily patterns.
Students observe and record the changing appearance of the moon over a month.
Students observe and describe how the amount of daylight changes with the seasons.
Students identify that stars are always in the sky but are only visible when it is dark.
Students observe and describe predictable weather patterns associated with different seasons.
04Engineering and Design Solutions
Applying scientific knowledge to define problems and develop tools that help people.
Students learn to ask questions and observe situations to identify problems that need engineering solutions.
Students generate multiple possible solutions to a defined problem through brainstorming and discussion.
Students use sketches and physical models to represent their proposed solutions to a problem.
Students test their models or prototypes and evaluate their effectiveness in solving the problem.
Students use test results to identify areas for improvement and redesign their solutions.
05Properties of Materials
Students investigate the observable properties of different materials and how they can be changed.
Students observe and describe the physical properties of various materials (e.g., color, texture, hardness, flexibility).
Students sort and group materials based on shared observable properties.
Students investigate how heating and cooling can change the properties of some materials.
Students explore how mixing different materials can create new substances with new properties.
Students explore simple changes to materials that can be easily undone (like bending paper) and those that are harder to undo (like tearing paper).
06Earth's Systems and Changes
Students explore Earth's landforms, water, and how changes occur over time.
Students identify and describe different types of landforms and bodies of water on Earth.
Students investigate where water is found on Earth and its importance to living things.
Students explore how wind and water can slowly change the shape of the land (erosion).
Students observe how weather (like rain and wind) and moving water can change the land over time.
Students use maps and globes to locate and identify major landforms and bodies of water.
07Living Things and Their Habitats
Students explore how living things interact with their environment and how habitats meet their needs.
Students identify the basic needs of plants and animals for survival (food, water, air, shelter).
Students explore various habitats (forest, desert, ocean) and the living things found there.
Students investigate how animals use their external parts to help them live in specific habitats.
Students explore how plants are adapted to survive in different habitats.
Students discuss how humans can positively and negatively impact animal and plant habitats.
08Weather and Climate
Students observe, describe, and record local weather patterns and understand the difference between weather and climate.
Students observe and record daily weather conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind.
Students learn to use simple tools to measure weather elements like temperature and rainfall.
Students identify and describe patterns in weather over different periods (daily, weekly, seasonally).
Students learn the difference between short-term weather and long-term climate.
Students learn about different types of severe weather and safety measures.