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1st Grade Next Generation Curriculum

In 1st grade, students become scientists and engineers as they explore different questions about the world around them and use their knowledge to solve real-world problems.

1st Grade STEM Curriculum Next Generation Science Standards

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Unit 1

Unit 2

Unit 3

Unit 4

Unit 5

Unit 6

Unit 7

Unit 8

Unit 9

Unit 1: Patterns in the Sky

In Unit 1 Patterns in the Sky, students investigate patterns in the changing positions of the sun, moon, and stars in the sky. 

  • Students create physical models to explore the causes of day and night and the moon cycle.
  • They use first-hand observations and sundial models to analyze how the position of the sun in the sky resulting and shadows can be predicted.

Standard(s) : 1-ESS1-1

NGSS 1st Grade STEM Curriculum - Patterns in the Sky Lesson Plan - 1-ESS1-1

Unit 2: Changing Seasons

In Unit 2 Changing Seasons, students explore the relationship between Earth’s movement in the solar system and the changing seasons.

  • Students explore seasonal patterns in the changing amounts of daylight, temperature, and the environment.

Standard(s) : 1-ESS1-2

 

NGSS 1st Grade STEM Curriculum - Changing Seasons Lesson Plan - 1-ESS1-2

Unit 3: Seeds and Leaves

In Unit 3 Seeds and Leaves, students explore living things, beginning with an investigation into the differences between living and nonliving things.

  • Students investigate what plants need to grow and develop the structures they need to survive.

Standard(s) : 1-LS1-1, 1-LS3-1

NGSS 1st Grade STEM Curriculum - Seeds and Leaves Lesson Plan - 1-LS1-1, 1-LS3-1

Unit 4: Animals on Earth

In Unit 4 Animals on Earth, students analyze how animals have body parts that help them survive and grow.

  • Students investigate the structures of insects, by building insect models.
  • They observe how ants use their body parts to get what they need to survive.

Standard(s) : 1-LS1-1

 

NGSS 1st Grade STEM Curriculum - Animals on Earth Lesson Plan - 1-LS1-1

Unit 5: Mimicking Plants and Animals

In Unit 5 Mimicking Plants and Animals, students explore how plants and animals have different body parts to help them get what they need to survive and grow.

  • Students apply what they know about plants and animal structures to design a prototype that can pick up litter.

Standard(s) : 1-LS1-1, K-2-ETS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3

NGSS 1st Grade STEM Curriculum - Mimicking Plants and Animals Lesson Plan - 1-LS1-1, K-2-ETS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3

Unit 6: Animal Behaviors

In Unit 6 Animal Behaviors, students investigate how animal parents help their offspring survive by analyzing protecting, feeding and comforting behaviors.

  • Students mimic the beaver’s behavior of building dams to design their own dams that solve the problem of protecting a town from a river’s flood water.

 

NGSS 1st Grade STEM Curriculum - Animal Behaviors Lesson Plan - 1-LS1-1, 1-LS1-2, 1-LS3-1, K-2-ETS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3

Unit 7: Hearing and Sound

In Unit 7 Hearing and Sound, students explore how some animals communicate using sound.

  • Students investigate the cause-and-effect relationship between vibrating materials and sound, using their senses of hearing, touch, and sight.
  • Students build kazoos using different materials for the membrane to see how the sound changes depending on the material used.

Standard(s) : 1-PS4-1

NGSS 1st Grade STEM Curriculum - Hearing and Sound Lesson Plan - 1-PS4-1

Unit 8: Sight and Light

In Unit 8 Sight and Light, students continue to learn about senses, exploring the cause-and-effect relationship between sight and light.

  • Students investigate how objects can only be seen when they are illuminated.
  • They compare objects that produce their own light with objects that need an outside source of light to be illuminated.

Standard(s) :  1-PS4-2, 1-PS4-3

 

NGSS 1st Grade STEM Curriculum - Sight and Light Lesson Plan - 1-PS4-2, 1-PS4-3

Unit 9: Communicating Over Distances

In Unit 9 Communicating Over Distances, students apply sound and light concepts from Unit 8 to design a communication device that uses either light or sound signals to send a message over a long distance.


Standard(s) :  1-PS4-4, K-2-ETS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3

NGSS 1st Grade STEM Curriculum - Communicating Over Distances Lesson Plan - 1-PS4-4, K-2-ETS1-1, K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3

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