P-ESS2-1
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.
Note: this is a NYSED-specific performance expectation that is different from the Next Generation Science Standards.
Resources
Examples and discussion of resources for the learning, teaching, and assessment of P-ESS2-1.

Assessment
What assessment of P-ESS2-1 might look like on a NY state exam.

NGSS Dimensions
Performance expectation P-ESS2-1 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:
- Asking Questions and Defining Problems
- Ask questions based on observations to find more information about the designed world.
- Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
- Make observations (firsthand or from media) to collect data that can be used to make comparisons.
- Analyzing and Interpreting Data
- Analyze data from tests of an object or tool to determine if it works as intended.
- ESS2.D: Weather and Climate
- Weather is the combination of sunlight, wind, snow or rain, and temperature in a particular region at a particular time. People measure these conditions to describe and record the weather and to notice patterns over time.
- ESS3.B: Natural Hazards
- Some kinds of severe weather are more likely than others in a given region. Weather scientists forecast severe weather so that the communities can prepare for and respond to these events.
- Patterns
- Patterns in the natural world can be observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence.
- Cause and Effect
- Simple tests can be designed to gather evidence to support or refute student ideas about causes.
Connections to Other Standards
P-ESS2-1 connections to ELA, math, and other science standards as outlined by the NYS Education Department: