Iowa Core Curriculum - ..Science as Inquiry

Please select a Grade Span

Thanks for visiting the Iowa Department of Education's Iowa Core Curriculum website! Here are a few tips about the site and how to make your visit easier.

Left-hand Side: Navigation
One way users can navigate the site is by using the menu on the left side of the page. This menu includes the five content areas (literacy, mathematics, science, social studies and 21st century skills) included in the Iowa Core Curriculum.

Select a content area from the menu on the left side of the page.
Select a choice from the second level of navigation, which will automatically appear.
Choose a "grade " or "grade span" to see the specific results for that "grade" or "grade span."

The essential concepts and skills of the Iowa Core Curriculum are presented in grade spans, while the content standards and performance standards are listed for selected individual grades. Only the "grades" or "grade spans" where information is available will be listed in the dropdown menu on the left side of the page. Once a "grade" or grade span" is selected the results of the request will be listed in the center of the page.

If the resulting items have additional details available an icon will appear next to the items in the list. Click on the icon to reveal the details for individual items listed or select "View All" to see all of the details for the whole list. It is also possible to "Collapse All" the list items.

The site also provides breadcrumb navigation at the top of the central area of each page. The purpose of the breadcrumb is to show how pages are categorized on the site allowing users to retrace their steps.

Right-hand Side: Search
The right side of the page is devoted to searching the site content in a way the user determines. The content of the site can be searched in one of two ways

a combination of content areas, disciplines, and grades or
keyword(s).

The content filter and the keyword search functions work independent of each other. Users cannot use the two ways of searching the site at the same time. If a user enters any information into the keyword search box it will disable the content filter fields. To re-enable the user needs to delete the content in the keyword text field.

Printing

To print individual pages of the site, select the print button located in the upper right side of the page.
For the content areas of literacy, mathematics, and science, a complete document containing all of the information is available by clicking the download button in the upper right side of the page. Documents for social studies and 21st century skills will be added as they become available.

Questions about the Iowa Core Curriculum
Use the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page for a listing of Department and AEA contacts working with the Iowa Core Curriculum.

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Use the Website Feedback link at the bottom of the page to provide feedback or report problems experienced fining information on the Iowa Core Curriculum website.

Still need help?
Email Lisa Albers at lisa.albers@iowa.gov for additional help.

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Science

Science as Inquiry

Essential Feature	Variations
1. Learner engages in scientifically oriented questions	Learner poses a question	Learner selects among questions, poses new questions	Learner sharpens or clarifies question provided by teacher, materials, or other source	Learner engages in question provided by teacher, materials, or other source
2. Learner gives priority to evidence in responding to questions	Learner determines what constitutes evidence and collects it	Learner directed to collect certain data	Learner given data and asked to analyze	Learner given data and told how to analyze
3. Learner formulate explanations from evidence	Learner formulates explanation after summarizing evidence	Learner guided in process of formulating explanations from evidence	Learner given possible ways to use evidence to formulate explanation	Learner provided with evidence and how to use evidence to formulate explanation
4. Learner connects explanations to scientific knowledge	Learner independently examines other resources and forms the links to explanations	Learner directed toward areas and sources of scientific knowledge	Learner given possible connections
5. Learner communicates and justifies explanations	Learner forms reasonable and logical argument to communicate explanations	Learner coached in development of communication	Learner provided broad guidelines to use sharpen communication	Learner given steps and procedures for communication
More <== Amount of Learner Self-Direction ==> Less Less <== Amount of Direction from Teacher or Material ==> More

Select a grade span from the dropdown located on the left side of the page.