Section 389.284 - ScienceBy the beginning of the third grade, pupils must know and be able to do everything required in the previous grades for science offered in public schools. Instruction in the third grade in science must be designed so that pupils meet the following performance standards by the completion of the third grade:
1. For the area of physical science, understand the forces and interactions which affect motion and stability, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to: (a) Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.(b) Make observations or measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.(c) Ask questions to determine the cause and effect of electrical or magnetic interactions between two objects that do not make contact.(d) Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific concepts about magnets.2. For the area of life science, understand: (a) The structures and processes from molecules to organisms, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to develop models to illustrate that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but that each organism experiences birth, growth, reproduction and death.(b) The interactions, energy and dynamics of ecosystems, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to construct arguments that some animals form groups that help members of the same species survive.(c) The inheritance and variation of traits of heredity, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to: (1) Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals, including humans, have traits inherited from their parents and that variations of these traits exist in a group of similar organisms.(2) Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.(d) The unity and diversity of biological evolution, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to: (1) Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the existence of organisms and the environments in which they lived.(2) Use evidence to explain how the variations in characteristics among members of the same species may provide advantages to their ability to survive, find mates and reproduce.(3) Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms are able to survive better than others and some are not able to survive.(4) Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem that is caused by a change in the environment that may cause the types of plants and animals that live in that environment to change.3. For the area of earth science, understand: (a) The earth's systems, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to: (1) Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.(2) Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.(b) The earth and human activity on earth, as demonstrated by the ability of the pupil to make claims about the merits of design solutions that reduce the impact of weather-related hazards.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 the likelihood that each solution meets 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 § 389.284
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