K-8 Science Core with Geological Connections
Kindergarten
* Observe and record that big rocks break down into small rocks, e.g., boulders, rocks, pebbles, sand.
* Describe how parts are used to build things and how things can be taken apart.
* Explain why things may not work the same if some of the parts are missing.
1st Grade
* Observe, compare, describe, and sort components of soil by size, texture, and color.
* Gather evidence about the uses of rocks, soil, and water.
2nd Grade
* Explain how smaller rocks come from the breakage and weathering of larger rocks.
* Describe rocks in terms of their parts (e.g. crystals, grains, cement).
* Sort rocks based upon color, hardness, texture, layering, particle size and type (i.e. igneous,
metamorphic, sedimentary).
* Investigate and provide evidence that matter is not destroyed or created through changes.
3rd Grade
* Classify living and nonliving things in an environment.
* Identify living and nonliving things in a small environment (e.g., terrarium, aquarium, flowerbed)
composed of living and nonliving things.
* Pose a question about the interaction between living and nonliving things in the environment that
could be investigated by observation.
4th Grade
* Describe the differences between minerals and rocks.
* Observe rocks using a magnifying glass and draw shapes and colors of the minerals.
* Sort rocks by appearance according to the three basic types: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic
(e.g., sedimentary-rounded-appearing mineral and rock particles that are cemented together, often in
layers; igneous-with or without observable crystals that are not in layers or with or without air holes or
glass like; metamorphic -crystals/minerals, often in layers).
* Classify common rocks found in Utah as sedimentary (i.e., sandstone, conglomerate, shale), igneous
(i.e., basalt, granite, obsidian, pumice) and metamorphic (i.e., marble, gneiss, schist).
Identify the processes of physical weathering that break down rocks at Earth's surface (i.e., water
movement, freezing, plant growth, wind).
* Distinguish between weathering (i.e., wearing down and breaking of rock surfaces) and erosion (i.e.,
the movement of materials).
* Model erosion of Earth materials and collection of these materials as part of the process that leads to
soil (e.g., water moving sand in a playground area and depositing this sand in another area).
* Investigate layers of soil in the local area and predict the sources of the sand and rocks in the soil.
* Observe and list the components of soil (i.e., minerals, rocks, air, water, living and dead organisms)
and distinguish between the living, nonliving, and once living components of soil.
* Diagram or model a soil profile showing topsoil, subsoil, and bedrock, and how the layers differ in
composition.
* Relate the components of soils to the growth of plants in soil (e.g., mineral nutrients, water). *
Explain how plants may help control the erosion of soil.
* Research and investigate ways to provide mineral nutrients for plants to grow without soil (e.g., grow
plants in wet towels, grow plants in wet gravel, grow plants in water).
* Identify features of fossils that can be used to compare them to living organisms that are familiar
(e.g., shape, size and structure of skeleton, patterns of leaves).
K-8 Science Core with Geological Connections
* Describe three ways fossils are formed in sedimentary rock (i.e., preserved organisms, mineral
replacement of organisms, impressions or tracks).
* Research locations where fossils are found in Utah and construct a simple fossil map.
* Explain why fossils are usually found in sedimentary rock.
* Based on the fossils found in various locations, infer how Utah environments have changed over time
(e.g., trilobite fossils indicate that Millard County was once covered by a large shallow ocean; dinosaur
fossils and coal indicate that Emery and Uintah County were once tropical and swampy).
* Research information on two scientific explanations for the extinction of dinosaurs and other
prehistoric organisms.
* Formulate questions that can be answered using information gathered on the extinction of dinosaurs.
5th Grade
* Compare changes in substances that indicate a physical change has occurred.
* Describe the appearance of a substance before and after a physical change.
* Describe how geological features (e.g., valleys, canyons, buttes, arches) are changed through erosion
(e.g., waves, wind, glaciers, gravity, running water).
* Describe the role of deposition in the processes that change Earth’s surface.
6th Grade
* Research and report on the use of manmade satellites orbiting Earth and various planets.
* Describe the use of instruments to observe and explore the moon and planets.
* Describe the role of computers in understanding the solar system (e.g., collecting and interpreting
data from observations, predicting motion of objects, operating space probes).
* Relate science's understanding of the solar system to the technology used to investigate it.
* Find and report on ways technology has been and is being used to investigate the solar system.
7th Grade
* Describe the structure of matter in terms of atoms and molecules.
* Use observations to predict the relative density of various solids and liquids.
* Describe the relationship between mass and volume as it relates to density.
8th grade
* Recognize that most rocks are composed of minerals.
* Observe and describe the minerals found in rocks (e.g., shape, color, luster, texture, hardness).
* Categorize rock samples as sedimentary, metamorphic, or igneous.
*Diagram and explain the rock cycle.
* Describe the role of energy in the processes that change rock materials over time.
* Use a model to demonstrate how erosion changes the surface of Earth.
* Relate gravity to changes in Earth’s surface.
* Identify the role of weathering of rocks in soil formation.
* Describe and model the processes of fossil formation.
* Describe how the deposition of rock materials produces layering of sedimentary rocks over time.
* Identify the assumptions scientists make to determine relative ages of rock layers.
* Explain why some sedimentary rock layers may not always appear with youngest rock on top and
older rocks below (i.e., folding, faulting).
* Research how fossils show evidence of the changing surface of the Earth.
* Propose why more recently deposited rock layers are more likely to contain fossils resembling existing
species than older rock layers.