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Author: Capital Region BOCES

  • Life Science – Matter & Energy in Organisms & Ecosystems

    Students explore the organization of matter and energy flow in organisms, interdependent relationships in ecosystems, the cycle of matter and energy transfer that occurs in ecosystems, ecosystem dynamics, functioning, and resilience, and energy in chemical processes and everyday life.

    Download the complete Life Science – Matter & Energy in Organisms & Ecosystems framework to customize for your own planning.

    Standards

    • MS-LS1-6. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
    • MS-LS1-7. Develop a model to describe how food molecules are rearranged through chemical reactions to release energy during cellular respiration and/or form new molecules that support growth as this matter moves through an organism.
    • MS-LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.  
    • MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
    • MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations. 

    Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

    • How do living things depend on each other to grow and survive?
      • Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth or later use. (MS-LS1-6)  
      • Within individual organisms, food moves through a series of chemical reactions in which it is broken down and rearranged to form new molecules, to support growth, or to release energy. (MS-LS1-7)  
      • Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors. (MS-LS2-1)  
      • In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction. (MS-LS2-1)  
      • Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources. (MS-LS2-1) 
      • Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy is transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level. Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem. (MS-LS2-3) 
      • Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations. (MS-LS2-4) 
      • The chemical reaction by which plants produce complex food molecules (sugars) requires an energy input (i.e., from sunlight) to occur. In this reaction, carbon dioxide and water combine to form carbon-based organic molecules and release oxygen. (secondary to MS-LS1-6)
      • Cellular respiration in plants and animals involves chemical reactions with oxygen that release stored energy. In these processes, complex molecules containing carbon react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and other materials. (secondary to MS-LS1-7)

    Download the complete Life Science – Matter & Energy in Organisms & Ecosystems framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Kindergarten ELA Unit 3

    Growing as a Reader and Writer

    Unit description: Using a balance of provided texts, students will identify specific information to support ideas in a text and make connections as readers and writers between self, text and the world. These texts will include but are not limited to picture books, stories, poetry, tall tales, fiction, etc. Students will also begin to become independent readers through engagement in small group, large group and individual activities.

    This unit should be paired with the Reading Foundations which focus on the acquisition of phonological awareness and phonics which are essential foundations for reading and writing. It is essential that these skills are not taught in isolation, but applied within students reading and writing.

    Essential Outcomes

    Reading

    • KR1. Develop and answer questions about a text.
    • KR2. Retell stories or share key details from a text.
    • KR3. Identify characters, settings, major events in a story, or pieces of information in a text.
    • KR5. Identify literary and informational texts.
    • KR8. Identify specific information to support ideas in a text.
    • KR9. Make connections between self, text, and the world.

    Reading Foundations- Print Concepts and Fluency

    • KRF1a, c, e. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
    • KRF4. Will engage with emergent level texts and read-alouds to demonstrate comprehension.
    • Addressed in RF unit:
      • KRF1b, d. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
      • KRF2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
      • KRF3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

    Language

    • KL4. Explore and use new vocabulary and multiple-meaning words and phrases in authentic experiences
    • KL5. Explore and discuss word relationships and word meanings.

    Writing

    • KW1. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, oral expression, and/or emergent writing to state an opinion about a familiar topic or personal experience and state a reason to support that opinion.
    • KW4. Create a response to a text, author, or personal experience (e.g., dramatization, artwork, or poem).

    Speaking and Listening

    • KSL1. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse peers and adults in small and large groups and during play.
    • KSL4. Describe familiar people, places, things, and events with detail.
    • KSL6. Express thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

    All Standards Addressed in this Unit

    • See Reading Foundations Units: KRF 1b, d, KRF2a-e, KRF3a-d
    • KR1, KR2, KR3, KR4, KR5, KR6, KR7, KR8, KR9
    • KRF1a, 1c, 1e, KRF4
    • KL4, KL5, KL6
    • KW1, KW4
    • KSL1, KSL2, KSL3, KSL4, KSL5, KSL6

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    • How can you connect to the stories you read?
      • Readers make connections between self/text/world to help understand the text.
    • How do readers understand what they are reading about?
      • Readers identify specific information to support student ideas to help understand the text.
    • What strategies can I use to help me read and understand a text?
      • Readers identify, model, and practice multiple strategies for reading and understanding a text.
    • How do people share what they think?
      • People share their thoughts and opinions through their writing.
      • People share their thoughts and opinions in conversations with others.

    Download the complete Kindergarten ELA Unit 3 framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Kindergarten Social Studies Unit 3

    Geography, Humans, and the Environment

    Unit description: Maps and globes are representations of Earth’s surface that are used to locate and better understand places and regions. In this unit, students will gain an understanding of this and learn to locate places and regions on a map. Students will also learn to locate physical features and man-made structures on a map (e.g., school, grocery store, train station, hospital), using geographic vocabulary. In addition, students will learn about climate and seasonal weather changes and how people and communities are affected by these changes.

    Download the complete Kindergarten Social Studies Unit 3 framework to customize for your own planning.

    Standards 

    • Standard 3- Geography
    • Standard 5- Civics, Citizenship and Gov’t

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    Big Idea of the Unit: Understanding our physical environment helps us understand how people live. 

    • How do maps and globes help us better understand places?
      • People use maps and gloves to understand where things are in relation to one another.
    • How do we locate places, physical features, and man-made structures on a map or globe?
      •  Map keys, cardinal directions and titles help us to read maps.
    • How do climate, seasonal weather changes, and the physical features associated with the community and region all affect how people live?
      • Climate, seasonal weather changes, and the physical features impact jobs, resources and patterns to peoples daily lives.

    Prerequisite Skills

    In kindergarten, students study “Self and Others.” The course is organized into five units of study—Individual Development and Cultural Identity; Civic Ideals and Practices; Geography, Humans, and the Environment; Time, Continuity, and Change; and Economic Systems. These units represent five of the unifying themes of social studies, and may be presented in any order.

  • Grade 5 Social Studies Unit 3

    European Exploration And Its Effects

    Unit description: Various European powers explored and eventually colonized the Western Hemisphere. This had a profound effect on Native Americans and led to the transatlantic slave trade. In this unit students will study how Europeans traveled to the Americas in search of new trade routes, including a northwest passage. Students will also investigate the interaction between European explorers and Native Americans and how cultural diffusion eventually led to the Colombian Exchange reshaping the lives and beliefs of many people. In addition, students will study the slavery of Africans brought to the Americas during the Middle Passage.

    Standards 

    Standards: 1, 2, 3, 4; Themes: MOV, TCC, GEO, ECO, EXCH

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    Big idea of the Unit:  European Exploration had a profound effect on Native Americans and led to the transatlantic slave trade.

    Why did Europeans travel to the Americas? What were they searching for?

    • Europeans traveled to the Americas in search of new trade routes, including a northwest passage, and resources. They hoped to gain wealth, power, and glory.

    Who were some of the most influential explorers of this time and what geographic areas did they explore? 

    • Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, Pedro Cabral, and Vasco Nunez de Balboa were some of the most influential explorers of the Western Hemisphere.

    How did the interactions between Europeans and Native Americans affect exploration?

    • European interactions with Native Americans resulted in a number of changes, for example Conquests by Cortez and Pizarro resulted in demographic change and the French in Canada impacted the fur trade.

    How did the Colombian Exchange affect people living in the Americas? 

    • Columbian Exchange which reshaped the lives and influenced the beliefs of people.

    What is the Middle Passage and why is it so important to our history? 

    • Americas sold captured Africans as slaves. Their transport across the Atlantic was known as the Middle Passage.
    • Slavery supplied the New World with its major workforce and brought enormous profits to international slave traders at the expense of human lives, causing a separation in America.

    Download the complete Grade 5 Social Studies Unit 3 framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Grade 2 Social Studies Unit 3

    Geography, Humans, and the Environment

    Unit description: In this unit students will study how geography and natural resources shape where and how urban, suburban, and rural communities develop and how they sustain themselves. Students will examine how the location of physical features and natural resources often affects where people settle and may affect how those people sustain themselves. In addition, students will investigate how humans modify the environment of their communities through housing, transportation systems, schools, marketplaces, and recreation areas and how physical features and man-made structures can be described using symbols and specific geography vocabulary.

    Download the complete Grade 2 Social Studies – Geography, Humans, and the Environment framework to customize for your own planning.

    Standards

    • Standard 3- Geography
    • Standard 4- Economics

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    • Big Idea of the Unit: The environment impacts how communities develop and how they grow.
    • How do natural resources and our geography affect our communities?
      • The location of physical features and natural resources often affects where people settle and may affect how those people sustain themselves.
    • What role do humans play in the environment and how they grow and sustain themselves?
      • Humans modify the environment of their communities through housing, transportation systems, schools, marketplaces, and recreation areas.
    • Can we use a map for more than just directions?
      • The location and place of physical features and man-made structures can be described using symbols and specific geography vocabulary.

    Prerequisite Skills

    Grade 2 “My Community and Other Communities” is organized into five units of study—Individual Development and Cultural Identity; Civic Ideals and Practices; Geography, Humans, and the Environment; Time, Continuity, and Change; and Economic Systems. These units represent five of the unifying themes of social studies, and may be presented in any order.

  • Earth Science – Weather & Climate

    Students explore the roles of water in Earth’s surface processes, variables that influence weather and climate, and human activities that cause global climate change.

    Download the complete Earth Science – Weather & Climate framework to customize for your own planning.

    Standards

    • MS-ESS2-5. Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions. 
    • MS-ESS2-6. Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates. 
    • MS-ESS3-5. Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century. 

    Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

    • Why is the weather and climate different around the world?
      • The complex patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns. (MS-ESS2-5)  
      • Variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents. (MS-ESS26)  
      • Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things. These interactions vary with latitude, altitude, and local and regional geography, all of which can affect oceanic and atmospheric flow patterns. (MS-ESS2-6)  
      • Because these patterns are so complex, weather can only be predicted probabilistically. (MS-ESS2-5)  
      • The ocean exerts a major influence on weather and climate by absorbing energy from the sun, releasing it over time, and globally redistributing it through ocean currents. (MS-ESS2-6)
    • How do human activities impact our global climate?
      • Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities. (MS-ESS3-5)

    Download the complete Earth Science – Weather & Climate framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Physical Science – Waves & Electromagnetic Radiation

    Students explore the concepts of wave properties, electromagnetic radiation and the models used to explain how light behaves and travels. Students learn about related information technologies and instrumentation.

    Download the complete Physical Science – Waves & Electromagnetic Radiation framework to customize for your own planning.

    Standards

    • MS-PS4-1. Develop a model and use mathematical representations to describe waves that includes frequency, wavelength, and how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave. 
    • MS-PS4-2. Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.  
    • MS-PS4-3. Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals. 

    Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

    • How do we use what we know about wave properties and light in everyday life?
      • A simple wave has a repeating pattern with a specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. (MS-PS4-1)  
      • A sound wave needs a medium through which it is transmitted. (MS-PS4-2)
      • When light shines on an object, it is reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through the object, depending on the object’s material and the frequency (color) of the light. (MS-PS4-2)  
      • The path that light travels can be traced as straight lines, except when it hits a surface between different transparent materials (e.g., air and water, air and glass) obliquely where the light path bends. (MS-PS4-2)  
      • A wave model of light is useful for explaining brightness, color, and the frequency-dependent bending of light at a surface between media. (MS-PS4-2) 
      • However, because light can travel through space, it cannot be a mechanical wave, like sound or water waves. (MS-PS4-2)
      • Digitized signals (sent as wave pulses) are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information. (MS-PS4-3) 

    Download the complete Physical Science – Waves & Electromagnetic Radiation framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Grade 4 ELA Unit 3

    Using Reasons and Evidence to Support a Claim

    Students will identify and analyze arguments from multiple texts by locating supporting evidence. Students will synthesize multiple viewpoints of the same topic to communicate their argument. Students will create an argumentative piece with a clear claim and relevant supporting evidence.

    Essential Outcomes of the Unit 

    Reading

    • 4R1. Locate and refer to relevant details and evidence when explaining what a text says explicitly/implicitly and make logical inferences.
    • 4R8. Explain how claims in a text are supported by relevant reasons and evidence.

    Reading Foundations- Phonics and Word Recognition and Fluency

    • 4RF3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
    • 4RF4. Read grade-level text with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

    Language

    • 4L1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of academic English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
    • 4L2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of academic English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

    Writing

    • 4W1. Write an argument to support claim(s), using clear reasons and relevant evidence.
    • 4W5. With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1–3 up to and including grade 4.)

    Speaking and Listening

    • 4SL3.  Identify and evaluate the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points.

    All Standards Addressed in this Unit

    • 4R1, 4R4, 4R5, 4R7, 4R8
    • 4RF3, 4RF4
    • 4L1, 4L2, 4L3, 4L4, 4L5, 4L6
    • 4W1, 4W5, 4W7
    • 4SL1, 4SL2, 4SL3, 4SL6

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    • Why is it important to make and support a strong claim?
      • We make claims all the time in life; it’s important to provide valid support for your argument.
      • Authors make claims in their writing; good readers identify them and determine if they are valid by looking at the relevancy of their evidence. 
      • Good writers create their own claims and choose multiple pieces of relevant evidence to support them from different sources.
    • How can I use information from two or more texts to draft my own claim on a topic?
      • Good readers utilize multiple sources to consider various perspectives or view points about a topic.
      • Readers and writers synthesize claims from multiple sources to create their own argument on a topic .
      • Readers and writers must determine the most relevant evidence from each source to support their original claim on a topic. 

    Download the complete Grade 4 ELA Unit 3 framework to customize for your own planning.

  • Grade 2 Science Unit 3

    Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

    Unit description:  Students examine how animals and plants depend on each other for survival. They explore areas where plants and animals live on land and in water, and how each area is made up of many different kinds of living things.

    Download the complete Grade 2 Science Unit 3 framework to customize for your own planning. 

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    How do plants and animals depend on each other to survive?

      • Animals depend on plants or other animals for food. (2-LS2-2)
      • Designs can be conveyed through sketches, drawings, or physical models. These representations are useful in communicating ideas to other people (secondary to 2-LS2-2)
      • Plants depend on water, light and air to grow. (2-LS2-1)
      • Some plants depend on animals for pollination and for dispersal of seeds from one location to another. (2-LS2-2)
      • There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water. (2-LS4-1)

    Prerequisite Skills/Science & Engineering Practices

    Plan and conduct an investigation to make a determination, develop a model to illustrate a concept, make observations to compare.

  • Grade 3 Math Unit 3

    Understand Fractions

    Unit description: Students will deepen their understanding of parts and wholes.  They will begin to learn about unit fractions and non-unit fractions and how to represent them and compare them.  They will also start thinking about equivalent fractions.  

    Download the complete Grade 3 Math Unit 3 framework to customize for your own planning.

    Essential Outcomes

    Number & Operations – Fractions 

    NY-3.NF.1 Understand a unit fraction, 1b, is the quantity formed by 1 part when a whole is partitioned into b equal parts. Understand a fraction abis the quantity formed by a parts of size 1b. Note: Fractions are limited to those with denominators 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8.

    NY-3.NF.2 Understand a fraction as a number on the number line; represent fractions on a number line. Note: Fractions are limited to those with denominators 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8.

    NY-3.NF.2a Represent a fraction 1bon a number line by defining the interval from 0 to 1 as the whole and partitioning it into b equal parts. Recognize that each part has size 1band that the endpoint of the part starting at 0 locates the number 1b on the number line.

    NY-3.NF.2b Represent a fraction ab on a number line by marking off a lengths 1b from 0. Recognize that the resulting interval has size aband that its endpoint locates the number abon the number line.

    NY-3.NF.3 Explain equivalence of fractions and compare fractions by reasoning about their size.

    Note: Fractions are limited to those with denominators 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8.

    NY-3.NF.3a Understand two fractions as equivalent (equal) if they are the same size, or the same point on a number line.

    NY-3.NF.3b Recognize and generate equivalent fractions. e.g., 12= 24; 46= 23. Explain why the fractions are equivalent. e.g., using a visual fraction model.

    NY-3.NF.3c Express whole numbers as fractions, and recognize fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers. e.g., Express 3 in the form 3 = 31, recognize that 63= 2, and locate 44and 1 at the same point on a number line.

    NY-3.NF.3d. Compare two fractions with the same numerator or the same denominator by reasoning about their size. Recognize that comparisons rely on the two fractions referring to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, or <, and justify the conclusions. e.g., using a visual fraction model.

    NY-3.G.2 Partition shapes into parts with equal areas. Express the area of each part as a unit fraction of the whole. e.g., Partition a shape into 4 parts with equal area, and describe the area of each part as 14 of the area of the shape.

    Essential Questions and Big Ideas

    What is a fraction?  What is a unit fraction? 

    • A fraction represents a part of a whole.  
    • A unit fraction represents one part of a whole broken into equal parts.  

    How can a fraction be represented on a number line?  

    • The number one represents one whole.  
    • To represent a fraction on a number line, break the whole (1) into the number of parts.  

    What are equivalent fractions?  

    • Equivalent fractions are equal.  
    • A whole can be broken in different ways that create equal amounts.  

    How can I compare fractions?  

    • Fractions can be compared by comparing the size of the parts.  
    • Fractions can be compared by comparing the number of parts.  
    • Fraction bars can be used to compare fractions.  
    • Number lines can be used to compare fractions.  

    Prerequisite Skills

    • NY-1.G.3 Partition circles and rectangles into two and four equal shares, describe the shares using the words halves, fourths, and quarters, and use the phrases half of, fourth of, and quarter of. Describe the whole as two of, or four of the shares. Understand for these examples that decomposing into more equal shares creates smaller shares.
    • NY-2.MD.6 Represent whole numbers as lengths from 0 on a number line with equally spaced points corresponding to the numbers 0, 1, 2, …, and represent whole-number sums and differences within 100 on a number line.
    • NY-2.G.3 Partition circles and rectangles into two, three, or four equal shares. Describe the shares using the words halves, thirds, half of, a third of, etc. Describe the whole as two halves, three thirds, four fourths.

    Download the complete Grade 3 Math Unit 3 framework to customize for your own planning.