Grade 6 Science Iowa Standards

Asking questions and defining problems.

Planning and carrying out investigations.

Analyzing and interpreting data.

Using mathematical and computational thinking.

Engaging in argument from evidence.

Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information.

Constructing explanations and designing solutions.

Developing and using models.

Student Sensemaking of phenomena

Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s history.

Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.

Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.

Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.

Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.

Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.

Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, considering relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.

Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.

Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many, different numbers and types of cells.

Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function.

Use arguments supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.

Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories.

Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.

Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.

Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.

Use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.

Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.

Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals.