P-2

The New York State Science Learning Standards (NYSSLS) for pre-K, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade are made up of 43 performance expectations. New York State's first science test is the Grade 5 test, which assesses the grades 3–5 standards.

P. Physical Sciences

P-PS1-1 | Solids and Liquids
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.

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P-PS2-1 | Forces: Push and Pull
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)

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P-PS4-1 | Sound
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.

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P. Life Sciences

P-LS1-1 | Survival Needs
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.

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P-LS1-2 | External Parts for Survival
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.

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P-LS3-1 | Similarity to Parents
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.

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P. Earth and Space Sciences

P-ESS1-1 | Sun, Moon, and Stars: Predictable Patterns
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.

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P-ESS2-1 | Weather Patterns
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.

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P-PS3-1 | Sunlight Effects
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.

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K. Matter and Its Interactions

K-PS1-1 | Solids, Liquids, and Temperature
Plan and conduct an investigation to test the claim that different kinds of matter exist as either solid or liquid, depending on temperature.

Clarification statement: Emphasis should be on solids and liquids at a given temperature and that a solid may be a liquid at higher temperature and a liquid may be a solid at a lower temperature.

Assessment boundary: Only a qualitative description of temperature, such as hot, warm, and cool, is expected

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K. Forces and Interactions: Pushes and Pulls

K-PS2-1 | Motion: Pushes and Pulls
Plan and conduct an investigation to compare the effects of different strengths or different directions of pushes and pulls on the motion of an object.

Clarification statement: Examples of pushes or pulls could include a string attached to an object being pulled, a person pushing an object, a person stopping a rolling ball, and two objects colliding and pushing on each other.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to different relative strengths or different directions, but not both at the same time. Assessment does not include non-contact pushes or pulls such as those produced by magnets.

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K-PS2-2 | Design Solution: Motion
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.

Clarification statement: Examples of problems requiring a solution could include having a marble or other object move a certain distance, follow a particular path, and knock down other objects. Examples of solutions could include tools such as a ramp to increase the speed of the object and a structure that would cause an object such as a marble or ball to turn.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include friction as a mechanism for change in speed.

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K. Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems: Animals, Plants, and Their Environment

K-LS1-1 | Survival Needs
Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.

Clarification statement: Examples of patterns could include that animals need to take in food but plants do not; the different kinds of food needed by different types of animals; the requirement of plants to have light; and that all living things need water and other materials to live, grow, and thrive.

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K-ESS2-2 | Modifying the Environment
Construct an argument supported by evidence for how plants and animals (including humans) can change the environment to meet their needs.

Clarification statement: Examples of plants and animals changing their environment could include a squirrel digs in the ground to hide its food and tree roots can break concrete.

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K-ESS3-1 | Needs and Location
Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals (including humans) and the places they live.

Clarification statement: Examples of relationships could include that deer eat buds and leaves, therefore, they usually live in forested areas, and grasses need sunlight so they often grow in meadows. Plants, animals, and their surroundings make up a system.

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K-ESS3-3 | Impact of Humans
Communicate solutions that will reduce the impact of humans on living organisms and non-living things in the local environment.

Clarification statement: Examples of human impact on the environment (land, water, air, plants, and animals) could include cutting trees to produce paper and using resources to produce bottles. Examples of solutions could include reusing paper and recycling cans and bottles.

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K. Weather and Climate

K-ESS2-1 | Weather Patterns
Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.

Clarification statement: Examples of qualitative observations could include descriptions of the weather (such as sunny, cloudy, rainy, and warm); examples of quantitative observations could include numbers of sunny, windy, and rainy days in a month. Examples of patterns could include that it is usually cooler in the morning than in the afternoon and the number of sunny days versus cloudy days in different months.

Assessment boundary: Assessment of quantitative observations limited to whole numbers and relative measures such as warmer/cooler.

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K-ESS3-2 | Weather Forecasting
Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on local forms of severe weather and local resources available for preparedness measures.

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K-PS3-1 | Sunlight Effects
Make observations to determine the effect of sunlight on Earth’s surface.

Clarification statement: Examples of Earth’s surface could include sand, soil, rocks, and water

Assessment boundary: Assessment of temperature is limited to relative measures such as warmer/cooler.

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K-PS3-2 | Design Solution: Reducing Sunlight Warming
Use tools and materials to design and build a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area.

Clarification statement: Examples of structures could include umbrellas, canopies, and tents that minimize the warming effect of the sun.

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1. Waves: Light and Sound

1-PS4-1 | Sound and Vibration
Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate.

Clarification statement: Examples of vibrating materials that make sound could include tuning forks and plucking a stretched string. Examples of how sound can make matter vibrate could include holding a piece of paper near a speaker making sound and holding an object near a vibrating tuning fork.

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1-PS4-2 | Illumination
Make observations (firsthand or from media) to construct an evidence-based account that objects can be seen only when illuminated.

Clarification statement: Examples of observations could include those made in a completely dark room, a pinhole box, and a video of a cave explorer with a flashlight. Illumination could be from an external light source or by an object giving off its own light.

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1-PS4-3 | Separating and Reflecting Light
Plan and conduct an investigation to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light.

Clarification statement: Examples of materials could include those that are transparent (such as clear plastic), translucent (such as wax paper), opaque (such as cardboard), and reflective (such as a mirror).

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include the speed of light.

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1-PS4-4 | Light and Sound for Communication
Use tools and materials to design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance.

Clarification statement: Examples of devices could include a light source to send signals, paper cup and string “telephones,” and a pattern of drum beats.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include technological details for how communication devices work.

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1. Structure, Function, and Information Processing

1-LS1-1 | Using Nature's Designs
Use materials to 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.

Clarification statement: Examples of human problems that can be solved by mimicking plant or animal solutions could include designing clothing or equipment to protect bicyclists by mimicking turtle shells, acorn shells, and animal scales; stabilizing structures by mimicking animal tails and roots on plants; keeping out intruders by mimicking thorns on branches and animal quills; and, detecting intruders by mimicking eyes and ears.

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1-LS1-2 | Offspring Survival Behavior
Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive.

Clarification statement: Examples of patterns of behaviors could include the signals that offspring make (such as crying, cheeping, and other vocalizations) and the responses of the parents (such as feeding, comforting, and protecting the offspring).

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1-LS3-1 | Similarity to Parents
Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that some young plants and animals are similar to, but not exactly like, their parents.

Clarification statement: Examples of patterns could include features plants or animals share. Examples of observations could include leaves from the same kind of plant are the same shape but can differ in size; and, a particular breed of dog looks like its parents but is not exactly the same.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include inheritance or animals that undergo metamorphosis or hybrids.

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1. Space Systems: Patterns and Cycles

1-ESS1-1 | Patterns: Sun, Moon, and Stars
Use observations of the Sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted.

Clarification statement: Examples of patterns could include that the Sun and moon appear to rise along the eastern horizon, move in a predictable pathway across the sky, and set along the western horizon; and stars other than our Sun are visible at night depending on weather and other conditions such as light pollution but not visible during the day.

Assessment boundary: Assessment of star patterns is limited to stars being seen at night and not during the day.

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1-ESS1-2 | Amount of Daylight
Make observations at different times of year to relate the amount of daylight to the time of year.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on relative comparisons of the amount of daylight in the winter to the amount in the spring or fall.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to relative amounts of daylight, not quantifying the hours or time of daylight.

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2. Structure and Properties of Matter

2-PS1-1 | Properties of Materials
Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties.

Clarification statement: Observations could include color, texture, hardness, and flexibility. Patterns could include the similar properties that different materials share.

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2-PS1-2 | Choosing a Suitable Material
Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.

Clarification statement: Examples of properties could include, strength, flexibility, hardness, texture, and absorbency.

Assessment boundary: Assessment of quantitative measurements is limited to length.

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2-PS1-3 | Object Assembly
Make observations to 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.

Clarification statement: Examples of pieces could include blocks, building bricks, or other assorted small objects.

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2-PS1-4 | Reversibility and Irreversibility
Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.

Clarification statement: An example of a reversible change could include freezing and melting. An example of an irreversible change could include cooking an egg.

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2. Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

2-LS2-1 | Plant Needs
Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow.

Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to testing one variable at a time.

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2-LS2-2 | Plant-Animal Relationships
Develop a simple model that illustrates how plants and animals depend on each other for survival.

Clarification statement: Examples could include animals dispersing seeds or pollinating plants, and plants providing food, shelter, and other materials for animals.

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2-LS4-1 | Diversity of Life
Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on the diversity of living things in each of a variety of different habitats.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include specific animal and plant names in specific habitats.

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2. Earth’s Systems: Processes that Shape the Earth

2-ESS1-1 | Timescales
Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.

Clarification statement: Examples of events and timescales could include volcanic explosions and earthquakes, which happen quickly and weathering and erosion of rocks, which may occur slowly.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of timescales.

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2-ESS2-1 | Compare Solutions
Compare multiple solutions designed to slow or prevent wind or water from changing the shape of the land.

Clarification statement: Examples of solutions could include different designs for using rocks, shrubs, grass, and trees to hold back wind, water, and land.

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2-ESS2-2 | Bodies of Water
Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.

Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative scaling in models.

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2-ESS2-3 | Water Distribution
Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.

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K-2.Engineering Design

K-2-ETS1-1 | Defining a Simple Problem
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.

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K-2-ETS1-2 | Sketching and Modeling Solutions
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.

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K-2-ETS1-3 | Comparing Two Solutions
Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.

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