Bedminster Township School District
Kindergarten Science Curriculum
The alignment of the Kindergarten Science curriculum is in compliance with
the State Board adopted 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content
Standards for implementation September 1, 2012.
.
2009 New Jersey Curriculum Project
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
Curriculum Document
Content Area: Science
Course Title: Kindergarten Science
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Balls and Ramps
Pacing Guide
Animals Two by Two
Pacing Guide
From Seed to Plant
Pacing Guide
Date Created:
Summer 2010; Created by J. Kolodziejski
Board Approved on:
November 18, 2010
Created for New Jersey school districts through a project of the New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Academic Standards,
in partnership with the N.J Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the N.J. Principals and Supervisors Association.
2009 New Jersey Curriculum Project
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
Unit Overview
Content Area: Science
Unit Title: Balls and Ramps
Target Course/Grade Level: Kindergarten
Unit Summary
This module builds on children's prior experiences with balls and how they move. Children focus
on two themes: the properties and characteristics of balls and some of the factors that affect the
way balls behave. Children begin by comparing how a wide variety of balls roll and bounce; next
make their own balls out of clay and many other materials; and then explore the movement of
different balls as the balls roll down ramps, through tubes, and around bends.
Primary interdisciplinary connections: Reading, Math, Technology
21st century themes: Global Awareness
Unit Rationale
In the Balls and Ramps unit the students will have opportunities to explore various balls and their
properties. The relationship between the physical properties of balls and their motion is explored.
Learning Targets
Standards
5.1 Science Practices: All students will understand that science is both a body of knowledge and an
evidence-based, model-building enterprise that continually extends, refines, and revises knowledge. The
four Science Practices strands encompass the knowledge and reasoning skills that students must acquire to
be proficient in science.
A. Understand Scientific Explanations : Students understand core concepts and principles of science
and use measurement and observation tools to assist in categorizing, representing, and interpreting the
natural and designed world
B. Generate Scientific Evidence Through Active Investigations : Students master the conceptual,
mathematical, physical, and computational tools that need to be applied when constructing and evaluating
claims.
C. Reflect on Scientific Knowledge : Scientific knowledge builds on itself over time.
D. Participate Productively in Science : The growth of scientific knowledge involves critique and
communication, which are social practices that are governed by a core set of values and norms.
5.2 Physical Science: All students will understand that physical science principles, including fundamental
ideas about matter, energy, and motion, are powerful conceptual tools for making sense of phenomena in
physical, living, and Earth systems science.
A. Properties of Matter : All objects and substances in the natural world are composed of matter. Matter
has two fundamental properties: matter takes up space, and matter has inertia.
E. Forces and Motion : It takes energy to change the motion of objects. The energy change is understood
in terms of forces.
Content Statements
5.1
4.A.2 Connections developed between fundamental concepts are used to explain, interpret, build, and
refine explanations, models, and theories.
Created for New Jersey school districts through a project of the New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Academic Standards,
in partnership with the N.J Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the N.J. Principals and Supervisors Association.
2009 New Jersey Curriculum Project
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
4.A.3 Outcomes of investigations are used to build and refine questions, models, and explanations.
4.B.1 Building and refining models and explanations requires generation and evaluation of evidence.
4.B.2 Tools and technology are used to gather, analyze, and communicate results.
4.B.3 Evidence is used to construct and defend arguments.
4.B.4 Reasoning is used to support scientific conclusions.
4.C.2 Revisions of predictions and explanations occur when new arguments emerge that account more
completely for available evidence.
4.C.3 Scientific knowledge is a particular kind of knowledge with its own sources, justifications, and
uncertainties.
4.D.1 Science has unique norms for participation. These include adopting a critical stance, demonstrating a
willingness to ask questions and seek help, and developing a sense of trust and skepticism.
4.D.2 In order to determine which arguments and explanations are most persuasive, communities of
learners work collaboratively to pose, refine, and evaluate questions, investigations, models, and theories
(e.g., scientific argumentation and representation).
4.D.3 Instruments of measurement can be used to safely gather accurate information for making scientific
comparisons of objects and events.
5.2
2.A.1 Living and nonliving things are made of parts and can be described in terms of the materials of
which they are made and their physical properties.
2.E.1 Objects can move in many different ways (fast and slow, in a straight line, in a circular path, zigzag,
and back and forth).
2.E.2 A force is a push or a pull. Pushing or pulling can move an object. The speed an object moves is
related to how strongly it is pushed or pulled. When an object does not move in response to a push or a
pull, it is because another push or pull (friction) is being applied by the environment.
4.E.1 Motion can be described as a change in position over a period of time.
4.E.2 There is always a force involved when something starts moving or changes its speed or direction of
motion. A greater force can make an object move faster and farther
4.E.4 Earth pulls down on all objects with a force called gravity. Weight is a measure of how strongly an
object is pulled down toward the ground by gravity. With a few exceptions, objects fall to the ground no
matter where they are on Earth.
6.E.1 An object’s position can be described by locating the object relative to other objects or a
background. The description of an object’s motion from one observer’s view may be different from that
reported from a different observer’s view.
6.E.3 Friction is a force that acts to slow or stop the motion of objects
CPI #
Cumulative Progress Indicator (CPI)
5.1.4.A.2
Use outcomes of investigations to build and refine questions, models, and explanations.
5.1.4.A.3
Use scientific facts, measurements, observations, and patterns in nature to build and
critique scientific arguments.
5.1.4.B.1
Design and follow simple plans using systematic observations to explore questions and
predictions.
5.1.4.B.2
Measure, gather, evaluate, and share evidence using tools and technologies.
5.1.4.B.3
Formulate explanations from evidence.
5.1.4.B.4
Communicate and justify explanations with reasonable and logical arguments.
5.1.4.C.2
Revise predictions or explanations on the basis of learning new information.
Created for New Jersey school districts through a project of the New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Academic Standards,
in partnership with the N.J Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the N.J. Principals and Supervisors Association.
2009 New Jersey Curriculum Project
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
5.1.4.C.3
Present evidence to interpret and/or predict cause-and-effect outcomes of investigations.
5.1.4.D.1
Actively participate in discussions about student data, questions, and understandings
5.1.4.D.2
Work collaboratively to pose, refine, and evaluate questions, investigations, models, and
theories.
5.1.4.D.3
5.2.2.A.1
Demonstrate how to safely use tools, instruments, and supplies.
Sort and describe objects based on the materials of which they are made and their physical
properties
5.2.2.E.1
Investigate and model the various ways that inanimate objects can move
5.2.2.E.2
Predict an object’s relative speed, path, or how far it will travel using various forces and
surfaces.
5.2.4.E.1
Demonstrate through modeling that motion is a change in position over a period of time.
5.2.4.E.2
Identify the force that starts something moving or changes its speed or direction of motion
5.2.4.E.4
Investigate, construct, and generalize rules for the effect that force of gravity has on balls
of different sizes and weights
5.2.6.E.1
Model and explain how the description of an object’s motion from one observer’s view
may be different from a different observer’s view.
5.2.6.E.3
Demonstrate and explain the frictional force acting on an object with the use of a physical
model.
Unit Essential Questions
Unit Enduring Understandings
 How does gravity affect objects and people?
 Balls have different characteristics such as
weight, size, and composition.
 How do ramps help people?
 Gravity causes balls to fall.
 How the properties of balls affect how they
 Inertia, momentum, friction, velocity, and
move?
acceleration affect the movement of balls.
 The size and weight of a ball and the steepness
of a ramp affect the movement of a ball on an
inclines plane.
Unit Learning Targets
Students will ...
 Learn that balls have properties by which they can be described
 Develop a growing curiosity and interest in the world around them
 Compare structures and behaviors of balls with different properties
 Acquire the vocabulary associated with the unit
 Communicate observations and comparisons
Evidence of Learning
Summative Assessment
Final Assessment
Science Journal
Equipment needed: Insights Balls and Ramps Kit
Teacher Resources:
Teacher Guide,
www.brainpopjr.com,
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=88E01774-B211-4235-9D3F93249C470460&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US
Created for New Jersey school districts through a project of the New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Academic Standards,
in partnership with the N.J Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the N.J. Principals and Supervisors Association.
2009 New Jersey Curriculum Project
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00002266.shtml
http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/story.php?itemID=11129
http://www.fi.edu/htlc/teachers/davis/davis03.htm
Formative Assessments
 Teacher Observations
 Student drawings
 Class Discussions
 Hands on performance


Lesson Plans
Lesson
Lesson 1
Introducing Balls
Students share their experiences with balls and
what they know about them. Describe balls in
classroom, in what ways they are alike, and in
what ways they are different. The class will make
a list of the balls the children discuss.
Lesson 2
Differences
Students focus on some of the differences among
balls. First in large groups and then in pairs, the
children explore two very different balls and
record what they find.
Lesson 3
Comparing Balls
Students compare the size and weight of different
balls and how well they bounce and roll. The
students compare specific characteristics and
record what they find.
Lesson 4
Straws and Balls
Students use straws to make balls move,
exploring such things as which balls are easy to
move and hard to stop.
Lesson 5
Bouncers
Students share their knowledge about bounciness.
Students explore and compare the bounciness of
several balls.
Lesson 6 and 7
Comparing Bounciness
Students measure the bounciness of different balls
and develop a graph.
Students test, record and graph the bounces of
different balls. The class discusses what makes a
ball bounce. The students predict and test
bounciness of unknown balls.
Timeframe
45 minutes
45 minutes
45 minutes
45 minutes
45 minutes
90 minutes
Created for New Jersey school districts through a project of the New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Academic Standards,
in partnership with the N.J Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the N.J. Principals and Supervisors Association.
2009 New Jersey Curriculum Project
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
Lesson 8
Making Balls
Students make their own balls out of plasticene.
Children explore what make a ball a ball.
Children explore the effect of shape on movement
and the importance of substance for bounciness.
Lesson 9
Making More Balls
(Embedded Assessment)
Students make balls out of different materials and
explore the motion of their balls. The class shares
ideas about why they move as they do. Children
explore the insides of commercially made balls.
Lesson 10
Balls, Ramps, and Roadways
Students creatively explore what balls do on
inclined planes such as ramps and roadways. The
children explore the materials, creating hills,
bends, and roadways for their balls. Discussions
focus on describing, observations and
experiences, answering questions, and comparing
motion.
Lesson 11
Exploring Different Ramps
Students roll balls down ramps, making
connections between height and steepness of
the ramp and speed of the ball. Children explore
the relationship between the height of the starting
point and the energy of a ball when it leaves the
ramp.
Lesson 12
Ramps and Balls of Different Weight
Students focus on weight of balls and whether or
not weight affects how fast the balls reach
the bottom of the ramp.
Lesson 13
Ramps and Balls of Different Sizes
Children explore the relationship between the size
of a ball and its action on an inclined ramp.
Children will use two balls of different sizes on
ramps of the same height.
Lesson 14
Building Complex Systems
Students work together to build ramp systems
using all their prior experiences to inform their
work.
Teacher Notes:
45 minutes
45 minutes
135 minutes/ 3 sessions
45 minutes
45 minutes
45 minutes
45 minutes
Created for New Jersey school districts through a project of the New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Academic Standards,
in partnership with the N.J Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the N.J. Principals and Supervisors Association.
2009 New Jersey Curriculum Project
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
Curriculum Development Resources
Click the links below to access additional resources used to design this unit: http://eca.bz/programs.htm,
Insights Balls and Ramps Kit
Created for New Jersey school districts through a project of the New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Academic Standards,
in partnership with the N.J Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the N.J. Principals and Supervisors Association.
2009 New Jersey Curriculum Project
Aligned to the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards
ENGAGING STUDENTS • FOSTERING ACHIEVEMENT • CULTIVATING 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL SKILLS
LESSON REFLECTION
Reflect on the lesson you have developed and rate the degree to which the lesson Strongly,
Moderately or Weakly meets the criteria below.
Lesson Activities:
Strongly Moderately Weakly
Are challenging and require higher order thinking and
problem solving skills
Allow for student choice
Provide scaffolding for acquiring targeted knowledge/skills
Integrate global perspectives
Integrate 21st century skills
Provide opportunities for interdisciplinary connection and
transfer of knowledge and skills
Foster student use of technology as a tool to develop
critical thinking, creativity and innovation skills
Are varied to address different student learning styles and
preferences
Are differentiated based on student needs
Are student-centered with teacher acting as a facilitator and
co-learner during the teaching and learning process
Provide means for students to demonstrate knowledge and
skills and progress in meeting learning goals and objectives
Provide opportunities for student reflection and selfassessment
Provide data to inform and adjust instruction to better meet
the varying needs of learners
Created for New Jersey school districts through a project of the New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Academic Standards,
in partnership with the N.J Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the N.J. Principals and Supervisors Association.