Scope and sequence · Science
Grade 1 Earth Science: Rocks, Water and Weather
A year of true stories about the ground under our feet and the sky over our heads, from Mary Anning hunting fossils on the beach at Lyme Regis and Luke Howard giving the clouds their names to Wilson Bentley photographing a snowflake and Apollo 11 landing on the Moon, each one read aloud, looked at closely and then tried at home with an egg carton, a jar of water, a ruler and a field notebook.
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What to cover
32 of 36 lessons are MUST COVER. They are tested on the unit tests and exams, or are skills the SAT/ACT relies on. OPTIONAL lessons are enrichment. Do them if time allows. The course is complete when the MUST COVER lessons are done.
Unit 1: Rock Collecting
- MUST COVER 1.1 Mary Anning’s Beach (Lyme Regis, 1811) ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 1.2 Egg-Carton Rock Collection · unit test
- MUST COVER 1.3 Sorting by Size: Boulder, Cobble, Pebble, Sand · unit test
- MUST COVER 1.4 Labeling a Collection · unit test
Unit 2: Sand and Soil
- MUST COVER 2.1 Sand under a magnifier ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 2.2 Clay you can mold · unit test
- MUST COVER 2.3 Which soil holds water? · unit test
- MUST COVER 2.4 The wise man built upon a rock (Matthew 7:24–27) · unit test
Unit 3: Rivers and Puddles
- MUST COVER 3.1 Where a River Starts ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 3.2 A Gutter River after Rain ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 3.3 River Stones Are Rounded · unit test
- MUST COVER 3.4 The Jordan River (Joshua 3) · unit test
Unit 4: Clouds and Rain
- MUST COVER 4.1 Luke Howard Names the Clouds (1802) ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 4.2 Cloud in a Jar · unit test
- MUST COVER 4.3 A Rain Gauge · unit test
- MUST COVER 4.4 Elijah’s Little Cloud (1 Kings 18:44) · unit test
Unit 5: Wind
- MUST COVER 5.1 A Windsock ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 5.2 Which Way? Wind Vanes and Wind Direction ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 5.3 Windmills · unit test
- MUST COVER 5.4 Jesus Calms the Wind (Mark 4:39) · unit test
Unit 6: The Moon
- MUST COVER 6.1 Moon Phases Calendar ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 6.2 Oreo Moon Phases · unit test
- MUST COVER 6.3 Apollo 11 (July 20, 1969) · unit test
- MUST COVER 6.4 Craters with Flour and Pebbles · unit test
Unit 7: Fossil Hunters
- MUST COVER 7.1 Mary Anning’s Ichthyosaur ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 7.2 Make a Fossil Print in Clay · unit test
- MUST COVER 7.3 Shells Far from the Sea · unit test
- MUST COVER 7.4 Dinosaur Eggs in the Gobi Desert · unit test
Unit 8: Weather Watchers
- MUST COVER 8.1 A Thermometer ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 8.2 Dress for the Weather · unit test
- MUST COVER 8.3 Snowflakes (Wilson Bentley, 1885) · unit test
- MUST COVER 8.4 A Month of Weather · unit test
Unit 9: Bonus: Field Lab OPTIONAL unit
- OPTIONAL 9.1 Backyard Rock Walk
- OPTIONAL 9.2 Rain Gauge Week
- OPTIONAL 9.3 Wind Watch
- OPTIONAL 9.4 Moon Watch Night
36-week pacing calendar
From the course’s own 36-week pacing guide, with catch-up and review weeks added to fill a 36-week (180-day) year.
| Week | Plan | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | Session 1: Lesson 1.1 Mary Anning’s Beach (Lyme Regis, 1811): warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 2 | Session 1: Lesson 1.2 Egg-Carton Rock Collection: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 3 | Session 1: Lesson 1.3 Sorting by Size: Boulder, Cobble, Pebble, Sand: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 4 | Session 1: Lesson 1.4 Labeling a Collection: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 1 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 5 | Session 1: Lesson 2.1 Sand under a magnifier: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 6 | Session 1: Lesson 2.2 Clay you can mold: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 7 | Session 1: Lesson 2.3 Which soil holds water?: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 8 | Session 1: Lesson 2.4 The wise man built upon a rock (Matthew 7:24–27): warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 2 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 9 | Session 1: Lesson 3.1 Where a River Starts: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 10 | Session 1: Lesson 3.2 A Gutter River after Rain: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 11 | Session 1: Lesson 3.3 River Stones Are Rounded: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 12 | Session 1: Lesson 3.4 The Jordan River (Joshua 3): warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 3 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 13 | Session 1: Lesson 4.1 Luke Howard Names the Clouds (1802): warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 14 | Session 1: Lesson 4.2 Cloud in a Jar: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 15 | Session 1: Lesson 4.3 A Rain Gauge: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 16 | Session 1: Lesson 4.4 Elijah’s Little Cloud (1 Kings 18:44): warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 4 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 17 | Session 1: Lesson 5.1 A Windsock: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 18 | Session 1: Lesson 5.2 Which Way? Wind Vanes and Wind Direction: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 19 | Session 1: Lesson 5.3 Windmills: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 20 | Session 1: Lesson 5.4 Jesus Calms the Wind (Mark 4:39): warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 5 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 21 | Session 1: Lesson 6.1 Moon Phases Calendar: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 22 | Session 1: Lesson 6.2 Oreo Moon Phases: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 23 | Session 1: Lesson 6.3 Apollo 11 (July 20, 1969): warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 24 | Session 1: Lesson 6.4 Craters with Flour and Pebbles: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 6 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 25 | Session 1: Lesson 7.1 Mary Anning’s Ichthyosaur: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 26 | Session 1: Lesson 7.2 Make a Fossil Print in Clay: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 27 | Session 1: Lesson 7.3 Shells Far from the Sea: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 28 | Session 1: Lesson 7.4 Dinosaur Eggs in the Gobi Desert: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 7 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 29 | Session 1: Lesson 8.1 A Thermometer: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 30 | Session 1: Lesson 8.2 Dress for the Weather: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 31 | Session 1: Lesson 8.3 Snowflakes (Wilson Bentley, 1885): warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 32 | Session 1: Lesson 8.4 A Month of Weather: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 8 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 33 | Session 1: Lesson 9.1 Backyard Rock Walk: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 34 | Session 1: Lesson 9.2 Rain Gauge Week: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 35 | Session 1: Lesson 9.3 Wind Watch: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 36 | Session 1: Lesson 9.4 Moon Watch Night: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 9 review and unit project |
Grading: Oral narration (telling back the story and the picture study) 30%, Make-and-do activities (taking part, careful looking and measuring) 30%, Field notebook (a dated drawing for each lesson) 20%, Unit reviews and unit projects (asked aloud) 20%. Scale: No grades. Mark each checklist item Not yet, Growing or Got it. A unit is finished when most items read Got it; anything marked Not yet is simply tried again another week.