Section 389.2936 - ScienceBy the beginning of the fourth grade, pupils must know and be able to do everything required in the previous grades for science offered in public schools. Instruction in the fourth grade in science must be designed so that pupils meet the following performance standards by the completion of the fourth grade:
1. For the area of physical science, understand: (a) Energy, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to: (1) Use evidence to explain the relationship between the speed of an object and the energy of that object. (2) Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from one place to another by sound, light, heat and electrical currents. (3) Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide. (4) Apply scientific concepts to design, test and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another. (b) Waves and their application in technology for the transfer of information, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to: (1) Develop a model of waves to demonstrate patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength and that waves can cause objects to move. (2) Develop a model to demonstrate that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen. (3) Generate and compare multiple solutions that use patterns to transfer information. 2. For the area of life science, understand the structures and processes from molecules to organisms, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to: (a) Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior and reproduction. (b) Use a model to demonstrate that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brains and respond to the information in different ways. 3. For the area of earth science, understand: (a) The earth's place in the universe, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to identify evidence of change in the earth from patterns in rock formations and fossils in layers of rock to support an explanation for changes that have occurred in a landscape over time. (b) The earth's systems, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to: (1) Make observations or measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering on the earth or the rate of its erosion by water, ice, wind or vegetation. (2) Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of the earth's features. (c) The earth and human activity on earth, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to: (1) Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and that their uses affect the environment. (2) Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural earth processes on humans. 4. For the area of engineering technology, understand design, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to: (a) Define a simple design problem which reflects a need or desire and includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time or cost. (b) Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each solution is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. (c) Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that may be improved.Nev. Admin. Code § 389.2936
Added to NAC by Bd. of Education by R084-13, eff. 6-23-2014; A by R141-14, eff. 10/27/2015NRS 385.080, 385.110, 389.0185, 389.520