2016-2017 Kit Information
State Updates:
A) New York State continues to move towards adopting new science standards
(http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/sci/nys-p12-science-ls-intro.html). At the elementary level the
draft standards released in December 2015 correlate very closely with the Next Generation Science
Standards. (http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/sci/nys-p12-science-ls.html)
B) A March 2016 memo updates on Science does not place a timeline for implementation of draft standards,
rather continued evaluation of survey and feedback.
(http://www.regents.nysed.gov/common/regents/files/316p12d1.pdf)
C) The NYS Elementary and Intermediate Science exams will not change for the 2017 testing cycle.
Oneida Herkimer Madison Updates:
A) OHM BOCES developed and released a new K-5 science kit strand for Physical Science (September 2015)
and Earth Science Strand (February 2016) that reflect the draft NYS Science Learning Standards. A Life
Science Strand will be released this upcoming school year (September2016.)
B) All new kits a cross referenced to currently tested NYS Elementary and Intermediate Science standards.
Impact on 2016-2017 Science Kit Offerings.
A) All teachers will be afforded the opportunity to order four kits per year on a quarterly delivery model.
Dates are defined on the attached schedule of offerings
B) Course offerings will modify as described:
a. Grades K-2:
i. All New kit titles will be available for access
ii. Existing Life Science Strands will be available for one more year as an option, but will be
eliminated in 2017-2018.
iii. As described last year, the physical and earth science strands traditionally offered will not
be offered in 2016-2017.
b. Grades 3-4
i. All New Kit titles will be available for access
ii. Since the 4th grade exam will not change, teachers will be able to still order the existing
physical, earth, and life science kit titles in place of the newly developed kits. We will
reevaluate the phasing out cycle with updates from the State.
c. Grade 5
i. All New kit titles will be available for access
ii. Existing Life Science Strands will be available for one more year as an option, but will be
eliminated in 2017-2018.
iii. As described last year, the physical and earth science strands traditionally offered will not
be offered in 2016-2017.
d. Grade 6
i. For those in the program prior to 2014, the grade 6 kits can continue to be ordered
Future K-5 Curriculum Offerings, OHM BOCES Science Center
1. The following new kits will be offered beginning in 2016-2017. Current Kit titles that are not included on this
document will be phased out with implementation:
2. The team is also currently working on a new 6-8 strand. At this time, we will continue to support our 6th grade kit
titles, and as our development cycle continues, we will announce the next path for our Grade 6-8 offerings. We
are working with the current NGSS standards to define project based kit titles across all three disciplines.
Description of Kits:
SK078 - Changes In Plants; Students observe the life cycles of living things. They will be able to determine if an object
is living or non-living, and how living things change and grow. The students will use simple tools such as a magnifying
lens and a tape measure.
SK080 -Changes In Frogs; in this kit the children observe the life cycle of frogs, and understand how living things
change and grow. They will be able to determine if an object is living or non-living. In this kit the students will use
simple tools such as a magnifying lens and a tape measure.
SK081 – Nutrition; Students learn about the different food groups and proper names of fruits and vegetables, and
how good nutrition helps them to grow and keep healthy.
SK087 - Health and Safety; The Health and Safety kit teaches children good health habits: proper hand washing,
dental health, getting enough sleep, and exercising. In addition, the students study fire and poison safety.
Grade level descriptions: (Maximum four titles per teacher)
New NGSS Aligned Kits;
o SKK.1 Gravity & Motion:
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In Forces and Motion, students will explore concepts about resting, motion, and forces. Activities will allow students to see
that height and angles influences speed and distance travelled. Students will be engaged through play with inclined planes.
As a cumulating project, students will be challenged to use an inclined plane to hit a target at a certain distance away. This
will demonstrate to the teacher that there is understanding of position and mass in relationship to distance traveled.
SKK.2 Weather & Climate;
In this unit, the students will have an introduction to some weather basics. They will learn about simple weather condition
measurements and simple weather instruments. They will also learn about seasonal variations in weather and some simple
description of extreme weather.
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SKK.3 Relationships in an Ecosystem;
Through direct observation of a mini ecosystem, students will investigate the basic needs of all living organism as well as
how they meet those need by interacting with their environment. Students will be challenged to identify and communicate
solutions to reduce human impact on the environment.
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SKK.4 The Five Senses:
Students will gain an understanding of the five senses, their anatomical structures, and their functions. A series of hands on
activities, having students use and isolate their own senses, will develop within each student a functional understanding of
how their own senses operate. The loss of one or more of the senses in humans, as well as highly developed senses in the
animal kingdom, will be examined to demonstrate the concept of heighted sensorial sensitivity. A culminating challenge will
require students to probe and understand material objects using their five senses.
Existing OHM BOCES Kindergarten titles that will be phased out
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SK022 Hermit Crabs Plus Plants: Students study hermit crabs by feeding, observing and caring for them. Also, in this kit
students grow and care for several plants.
SK204 Plants, Students will be engaged through teacher led instruction, hands on manipulatives, as well as real time
experimentation and inquiry. Students will gain an understanding of the life cycle of a plant, the structures and associated
functions of a plant, and what external factors and conditions impact plant growth. Observational skills, measurement, and
the scientific method will be introduced.
Grade level descriptions: (Maximum four titles per teacher)
New NGSS Aligned Kits;
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SK1.1 Light, Sound, and Communication;
Energy is important for our everyday lives. In this kit, students will learn about various types of energy, with an emphasis
on light and sound, through demonstrations, presentations, reading, and free play. Students will come away with an
understanding of energy and how it can be transmitted, as well as how it can be useful in communication
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SK1.2 Our Sun & Night Sky;
In this kit, Students will learn about various aspects of space in relation to the Earth. Students will develop an
understanding of the concept of the universe, the importance of describing direction and the role of the sun, day-to-day
as well as seasonally. Students will also receive an introduction to stars and constellations and simple moon phases.
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SK1.3 Animals and Survival
Students will study the internal and external structures of the hermit crab and relate those structures to those of other
organisms including humans. They will be challenged to use what they have learned about other animal adaptations to
identify and solve a human problem.
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SK1.4 The Human Body;
In this CC ELA aligned unit, students will learn about basic human needs and how those needs are met through the
function of the major human body systems. Students will conduct hands on activities to model the actions of the
digestive system, skeletal system, muscular system, cardiovascular system, nervous system, respiratory system, and the
immune system. Students will build a take home model of the human body and its systems.
Exisiting OHM BOCES 1st grade titles that will be phased out
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SK206 Habitats; Student inquiry and curiosity will be cultivated through a series of teacher guided lessons and
accompanying activities employing live hermit crabs. (Hermit Crabs traditionally have been used in the Kindergarten
kits.) Focusing on the conditions encountered in Earth's various habitats, students will be asked to apply what they learn
about hermit crab attributes and needs to the survival of a hermit crab in a non-native habitat. A culminating
engineering & design activity will draw on student innovation and creativity.
SK046 Goldfish ; Using the Goldfish kit, the students learn proper care of pets and other animals. They also learn how
living things respond to stimuli.
SK064 Plant Characteristics ; Students study how plants grow, and how they differ from other living things and how
they respond to stimuli.
Grade level descriptions: (Maximum four titles per teacher)
New NGSS Aligned Kits;
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SK2.1 The Nature of Matter;
Students will explore the properties of matter in this kit. Lessons will incorporate many hands on activities and
demonstrations. At the conclusion of the kit, students will be challenged to build a boat that is capable of transporting
toy monkeys across a river.
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SK2.2 The Dynamic Earth;
In this kit, students will study landforms and bodies of water. Then they will take a close look at various ways that
erosion and deposition of weathered material can occur. Finally, they will study soil composition and formation and
ways to prevent soil erosion.
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SK2.3 The Diversity of Life;
Students will study the diversity of live as it presents itself across a variety of habitats. First hand observation of several
different organisms set up in their own classroom habitats will allow students to see how animals and plants have
evolved differently according to their environmental conditions. Given a specific habitat, students will need to design
and build their own model animal to survive in that habitat.
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SK2.4 Plants;
Students will study plants as producers and the foundation for nearly all life on earth. A close examination of how plants
grow and reproduce will culminate in a controlled study to determine what plants need to survive and thrive.
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Exisiting OHM BOCES 2nd grade titles that will be phased out
SK028 Life Stages (Mealworms) ; Students raise their own mealworms and pea plants. They learn humane treatment
of living things, and record data on the stages of growth and development of both plant and animal life cycles.
SK205 Beetles and Butterflies; Students will explore the organization of life through an examination of the
characteristics, structures, and life cycles of insects. Live mealworms will allow students to observe and record the
growth and development of an organism. Students will be introduced to principles of sorting organisms through the use
of a dichotomous key, social behavior of insects, and organisms as invasive species. A culminating activity will draw on
student innovation through an inquiry and engineering challenge.
Grade level descriptions: (Maximum four titles per teacher)
New NGSS Aligned Kits;
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SK3.1 Forces, Motion & MagnetismIn Forces and Motion, students will be learning about forces and how they affect objects. Students will be engaged with
many hands-on activities to allow them to gain better understanding of forces. At the conclusion of the kit, students will
be challenged to use their knowledge and understanding of forces to build a magnetic vehicle that can not only travel
along a track, but to carry weight as well.
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SK3.1 Global ClimateIn this kit, students will delve more deeply into weather and climate. Students will learn more about weather variables,
how these are measured, and what causes wind, how weather data is collected and recorded. Students will also learn
about extreme weather, relating seasonal variability in various climate zones to the likelihood of experience particular
types of extreme conditions.
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SK3.3 Life Cycles of a FrogIn this ELA Module 2A Aligned kit, students will be able to explore life cycles in nature and how they are similar across
many different organisms. The focus of the students’ observations will be on the “Xenopus laevis” or the African clawed
frog. Students will be able to observe the five stages of the frog’s life cycle simultaneously. The kit will culminate with
the students performing a formal inquiry pertaining to the frogs and their behavior.
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SK3.4 Adaptation and SurvivalStudents will gain an understanding of the processes that have, and continue to, shape organisms on this earth. An
examination of the fossil record will open students to the concept that life changes over time to eventually become
different organisms. Students will look at how environmental changes are currently affecting earth’s living organisms
and design solutions to problems caused when the environment changes.
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Exisiting OHM BOCES 3rd grade titles that will be phased out
SK031 Life Cycles in Nature (Butterfly); Students observe the process of metamorphosis and learn to care for and
feed butterflies. Students practice humane treatment of animals and learn about how various types of plants have
adapted to our environment.
SK053 Sound; Using simple machines, students investigate many basic sound-making devices. They explore the ways in
which the pitch and the loudness of sounds can be affected by the physical characteristics of the materials and the way
they are manipulated. They also make sound instruments.
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SK032 Exploring Changes In Our World; In physical science, students study the long-term effects of seasonal
changes in the weather cycle. To emphasize technical design, students construct simple electrical circuits and/or
musical instruments. In addition, the properties of sound are studied.
SK209 Circuits; Students will explore the concept of electrical energy and its conversion into other forms of energy.
Lessons will guide students to a discovery and understanding of the basic components and various types of circuits. Real
world applications, including electrical safety, and modern innovations in energy efficiency will be examined. A
culminating activity will draw on student innovation through an inquiry and engineering challenge.
SK030 Gather, Graph and the Weather; Students learn how to obtain and organize scientific information, and are
introduced to collecting and processing data. Students learn important math skills of gathering and then graphing that
information on a chart or pictograph. Also, a unit of the study of weather has been added.
Grade level descriptions: (Maximum four titles per teacher)
New NGSS Aligned Kits;
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SK4.1 Understanding Energy
In the 4th grade Energy kit, students will learning about types of energy and the origin of all of the energy on Earth.
Through a series of demonstrations and hands-on activities, supported by presentations, reading, and writing activities,
students will understand that all energy originates from stars and is converted in many different ways into energy we
can use to power our homes and vehicles. Students will learn about energy efficiency and different types of power
plants. Ultimately, students will engineer a device that showcases their knowledge of the origins of energy and its
conversion.
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SK4.2 Simple Machines and Simple Circuits;
In Simple Machines, students will examine the six classical machines and how they reduce the amount of effort required
to complete work. Students will be able to use all six machines as they investigate force, work, and effort. In a
cumulating project, students will take their knowledge of simple machines and design a compound machine. Simple
Circuits is a kit designed to help students better understand the flow of electricity. In this kit, students will make and
manipulate electrical circuits to clarify the roles of the components in the circuits. A cumulating activity will allow
students to demonstrate their knowledge of electrical circuits.
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SK4.3 Shaping Our Earth;
In this kit, students will take a more in-depth look at erosion and erosion prevention. Then they will look at layering of
deposited material (rock layers), fossils evidence and plate tectonics. Finally, they will study and model plate tectonics
and work on the design of an earthquake-proof building.
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SK4.3 Structures and Functions of Life;
Students will study the internal and external structures of the fiddler crab and relate those structures to those of other
organisms including humans. The will examine how these structures allow organisms to survive, grow, and reproduce. A
controlled study of the fiddler crab as it relates to survival and growth will complete the unit.
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Existing OHM BOCES 4th grade titles that will be phased out
SK034 Plants, Prey and Predators; In this kit, the concept that plants and animals consist of structures with specific
functions is explored by the students. Students will study and plant tulip bulbs as an example of a plant's adaptation to
our winters. Teachers will receive owl pellets to help students learn more about the food chain while introducing food
webs.
SK067 Buoyancy; Students investigate the properties of water. They learn that buoyancy is a very important property
of water since liquid covers so much of our Earth's surface. The children construct boats of clay, and apply basic
geometry concepts of three dimensional shapes as they design and build their own bubble makers.
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SK034 Energy in Our World; Students study the long-term effects of seasonal changes in the weather cycle. To
emphasize technical design, students construct simple electrical circuits.
SK068 Landforms and Boulders; Students investigate the properties of landforms, fossils, and the non-living
materials which make up the Earth's surface. They will understand the physical and chemical changes which occur in
nature
SK033 Data, Data, Plus Astronomy; In this skills unit, students learn to read graphs and charts, while learning the
process of predicting and inferring and applying these skills to astronomy.
Grade level descriptions: (Maximum four titles per teacher)
New NGSS Aligned Kits;
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SK5.1 Chemistry in Our World;
In Chemistry in Our World, students will learn about the structure of the atom, physical and chemical changes, and
properties of matter. Students will experience direct and indirect measurement methods, and they will understand how
scientists can learn about atoms when they are too small to be seen. With this information, students will be challenged to
identify properties of mystery substances and then they will be challenged further to separate a mixture and then determine
if a change was physical or chemical, and to justify their reasoning.
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SK5.2 Earth Systems;
In Science Kit 5.2 students will be learning about the Earth’s atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere and how all three
interact to support life on earth. Teacher directed instruction will be supported by student inquiry activities that reinforce
the scientific method. Students will gain an understanding of how the water cycle influences weather and climate, and thus
determines the patterns of human population around the world.
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SK5.3 Space Systems;
In this kit, students will study latitude and longitude as they relate to location on earth and time of day. Students will also
relate cyclical variations to changes in angle of insolation and seasonal changes. Next, students will take a closer look at the
solar system with attention paid to the organization of the planets and the effect of gravity on their paths. Finally, they will
study constellations and their motion relative to earth as well as the moon and associated tides.
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SK5.4 Energy of Life;
Students will gain an understanding for the cycle of energy and matter through an ecosystem through the direct observation
of organisms in a food chain. A controlled study looking at the decomposition of various materials will complete the unit.
Existing OHM BOCES 5th grade title that will be phased out
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SK037 Classifying Plants and Animals; Students study responses of seeds and seedlings to different variables
such as water, light, gravity and nutrients. Students also learn about the structure and behavior of crayfish and
other animals and plants that live in a pond environment. Students are introduced to the triple beam balance
while using this kit to weigh objects: a needed skill for the NYS 8th Grade Performance Assessment.
Grade level descriptions: (Maximum four titles per teacher)
Existing OHM BOCES 6th grade options for Districts part of the program prior to 2014.
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SK066 - Rocks and Minerals; Students will build on previously developed skills of observation, classification,
measurement and the collection of data. These skills will be applied to the development of concepts about the physical
and Earth science systems which occur in our natural world. Also, students become familiar with ways to compare one
rock to another and develop topography mapping skills.
SK070 Weather; Studies in this kit involve long-term data collecting involving direct student use of several weather
instruments, and the plotting and summarizing of the data collected from these instruments. Some discussion of energy
and the energy transfers and changes which occur within weather systems may result from studying the local data.
Students will design and construct their own weather instruments to use, and will compare them to commercial ones.
SK069 Outer Space; Building on previously developed skills of classifying, observing, and collecting data, students will
study and observe the solar system, orbital velocity, gravity and inertia. They will study various constellations using
Polaris and latitude as a guide.
SK039 Experimenting ; Students carry out studies by following a scientific procedure and develop their technical
writing skills. They learn how to use various scientific materials, including a microscope. The kit reinforces their
knowledge of both the English and Metric systems of measurement.
SK040 Environmental Factors ; Students learn about scientific inquiry by studying the sensory systems of mealworms.
They become familiar with the use of identification keys in field guides.
SK062 Brine Shrimp ; Students experiment using a controlled study. This requires that the student understand the
need to control and identify variables so conclusions drawn are substantiated and valid. In addition, students will
sharpen their observation skills as they work with intermediate level microscopes while studying animal responses, in
particular brine shrimp. Students learn about fresh water and water food chains and webs.
SK071 Simple Machines; To be used with M.S.T. Links students will learn about six simple machines; the lever,
inclined plane, screw, wedge, pulley, and the wheel and axle.
SK063 M.S.T. Links ; This kit enhances the goals of integrating math, science and technology. Students create a winddriven land vehicle. To complete this project, students conduct research to build their vehicles to teacher specifications.
They gain experience in measuring, using tools to cut wood, and in the final assembly of the vehicle.
SK201 Heat Transfer; This kit explores the forms of heat transfer (conduction, convection and radiation) with focus
on real world application and STEM. This kit ends with a performance assessment.
SK041 Energy ; Students will understand energy transfer within a system. They study solar and light energy, plus
electromagnetism. Students test the strength of an electromagnet, and build motors and buzzers. In light energy, they
perform experiments to demonstrate reflection, refraction and dispersion.