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Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

This is the year science becomes about looking for patterns and testing ideas. Students explore how sound comes from things that shake, how light lets us see, and how plants and animals use their parts to survive. They also watch the sun and moon to notice what repeats. By spring, students can run a simple test, sketch a design to solve a small problem, and explain what they noticed using what they saw.

  • Light and sound
  • Plant and animal parts
  • Parents and offspring
  • Sun and moon patterns
  • Simple investigations
  • Designing solutions
Source: Alaska Alaska Standards
Year at a glance
How the year usually goes. Every school and district set their own curriculum, so treat this as a guide, not official pacing.
  1. 1

    Sound and light around us

    Students explore how sound is made by things that shake or buzz, and how a room has to be lit before eyes can see anything in it. They test how light passes through different materials like paper, plastic, and foil.

  2. 2

    Designing tools to communicate

    Students use what they learned about light and sound to build a simple device that sends a message across the room. Think flashlight signals, string phones, or homemade shakers with a purpose.

  3. 3

    How plants and animals survive

    Students look at how animals use parts like claws, ears, and shells to stay safe and find food. They then design something for people that copies a useful feature from nature, such as a gripper modeled on an animal foot.

  4. 4

    Parents and their young

    Students notice how baby animals act like their parents and how young plants and animals look similar to, but not the same as, the adults they came from. Expect lots of comparing pictures of grown-ups and babies.

  5. 5

    Sun, moon, and seasons

    Students watch the sky over time and find patterns in the sun, moon, and stars. They track how daylight gets longer or shorter through the year and graph what they see, which feels especially real in Alaska.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 1.
Waves: Light and Sound

  • Plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials…

    1-PS4-1

    Students shake, tap, and pluck objects to discover that vibrations make sound. They also test whether sound can make other objects move or shake in return.

  • Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that objects in…

    1-PS4-2

    Students test what happens when they turn off the light: objects disappear. Then they shine a light on those same objects and watch them reappear. The lesson is that we only see things because light hits them.

  • Plan and conduct investigations to determine the effect of placing objects made…

    1-PS4-3

    Students shine a light beam at objects made of different materials and observe what happens. They find out whether each material lets light pass through, blocks it, or bends it.

  • Use tools and materials to design and build a device that uses light or sound…

    1-PS4-4

    Students build a device that sends a message using light or sound, like a flashlight signal or a simple drum, to communicate with someone too far away to hear a normal voice.

Structure, Function, and Information Processing

  • Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants…

    1-LS1-1

    Students pick a problem (staying warm, grabbing food, staying safe) and build something that works the way an animal body part or plant structure does. A glove modeled on a bear's fur is one example.

  • Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and…

    1-LS1-2

    Students look at books and videos to find patterns in how animal parents care for their young. The goal is to understand which of those behaviors help the babies survive.

  • Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and…

    1-LS3-1

    Students look at pictures or real plants and animals to explain how offspring resemble their parents but also differ from them. A puppy looks like its mother but not exactly like her.

Space Systems: Patterns and Cycles

  • Use observations of the sun, moon, stars

    1-ESS1-1

    Students watch the sky over days and weeks, then describe patterns they notice, like where the sun rises or how the moon's shape seems to change. The goal is to see that those patterns repeat and can be predicted.

  • Make and graph observations at different times of year to relate the amount of…

    1-ESS1-2

    Students track how many hours of daylight each season gets and put those numbers on a graph. Over time, the graph shows a pattern: summer days are long, winter days are short.

Engineering Design

  • Ask questions, make observations

    K-2-ETS1-1

    Students look at something that isn't working well, ask questions about it, and gather information to describe the problem clearly enough that a new or better tool could fix it.

  • Develop a simple sketch, drawing

    K-2-ETS1-2

    Students draw or build a simple model to show how an object's shape helps it do its job. A flat blade moves air; a curved bowl holds soup. The shape is the solution.

  • Analyze and discuss data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same…

    K-2-ETS1-3

    Students test two different solutions to the same problem, then compare what each one does well and where it falls short.

Common Questions
  • What science will students learn this year?

    Students explore four big areas: how light and sound work, how plants and animals use their body parts to survive, patterns in the sun and moon, and how to design simple tools to solve problems. Most of the learning happens through hands-on investigations, not reading about science.

  • How can I help with science at home?

    Look at the moon together a few nights in a row and notice how it changes. Talk about why some days feel longer than others. When something breaks, ask how it could be fixed. These small conversations build the habits students use in class.

  • What does a good investigation look like at this age?

    Students ask a question, try something out, and notice what happened. A good first-grade investigation might be shining a flashlight through wax paper, foil, and clear plastic, then talking about what the light did. The thinking matters more than the write-up.

  • My child says they cannot see in the dark. Is that science?

    Yes. One of the year's ideas is that objects can only be seen when light hits them. Try sitting in a dark room and slowly turning on a light. Talk about what becomes visible and why. That conversation is the science.

  • How should I sequence these units across the year?

    Many teachers start with light and sound in fall, move to space patterns in winter when daylight changes are easy to graph, and save plants and animals for spring when things are growing outside. Engineering design fits inside every unit, not as its own block.

  • Does my child need to memorize science facts?

    Not really. First grade science is about noticing patterns and asking questions, not memorizing terms. If students can explain what they saw and what they think it means, they are doing the work.

  • Which skills usually need the most reteaching?

    Two areas tend to need a second pass: the idea that we see objects because light reflects off them, and the difference between a young animal looking like its parent versus being identical to it. Both benefit from repeated hands-on examples.

  • How do I know students are ready for second grade science?

    By spring, students should be able to plan a simple test, record what they saw with a drawing or short sentence, and spot a pattern across a few observations. They should also be able to sketch a design idea and explain how the shape helps it work.