Children of the River
Correlation of the Discovery Activity to Benchmarks
Students should learn about the forces that shape the earth. "Teachers
should start with students' immediate interests and work toward the science.
...Students can start in the early grades with the ways in which organisms,
themselves included, modify their surroundings. ...Students can gradually
come to realize how human behavior affects the earth's capacity to sustain
life...Critical thinking based on scientific concepts is the primary goal
for science education." p.71
- By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that change is something
that happens to many things.
- By the end of the 5th grade, students should know that waves wind water
and ice shape and reshape the earth's land surface by eroding rock and soil
in some areas and depositing them in other areas, sometimes in seasonal
layers.
- By the end of the 8th grade, students should know that some changes
in the earth's surface are abrupt (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions)
while other changes happen very slowly (such as uplift and wearing down
of mountains). The earth's surface is shaped in part by the motion of water
and wind over very long times, which act to level mountain ranges.
"Career information can be introduced to acquaint students with science
as an occupation in which there is a wide variety of different kinds and
levels of work. ...Teachers should emphasize the diversity to be found in
the scientific community." p. 16
- By the end of the 5th grade, students should know that doing science
involves many different kinds of work and engages men and women of all ages
and backgrounds.
Return to Children of the River
Return to Chicago Science Explorers
Return to The Chicago Academy of Sciences