Connecticut Content Standard 2: History Of Science

Students will learn the evolution of scientific thought, how science has influenced culture and society, and how groups from many countries have contributed to the history of science.

Grades K - 4


Educational experiences in Grades K - 4 will assure that students:

  • recognize (in Grades K-2) that science is an adventure that people every-where can take part in, as they have for many centuries;
  • recognize (in Grades K-2) that scientists usually work in groups, but important discoveries often have been made by individuals;
  • understand (in Grades K-2) that scientists study different things because they have different interests;
  • recognize that, although men and women doing scientific inquiry have learned much about the objects, events and phenomena in nature, there is still much more to be understood;
  • recognize that scientific ideas have changed over time;
  • understand that scientific investigations often raise questions which lead to new investigations;
  • recognize that a knowledge of the history of science can help scientists decide what needs to be studied next; and
  • understand that new technologies (a new instrument or device) allow scientists to conduct investigations that were not previously possible.

Grades 5 - 8

Educational experiences in Grades 5 - 8 will assure that students:

  • recognize important contributions to the advancement of science, mathematics and technology that have been made by men and women in different cultures at different times;
  • understand that scientific discoveries are influenced by technological demands, competition, controversy, world events, personalities and societal issues;
  • recognize that, throughout history, scientists and engineers have been considered valued contributors to society; and
  • recognize that, throughout history, it has been difficult for scientific innovators to break through the preconceptions of their time to reach conclusions which today seem obvious.

Grades 9 - 12

Educational experiences in Grades 9 - 12 will assure that students:

  • recognize that many Western as well as non-Western cultures (e.g., Egyptian, Chinese, Hindu, Arabic, Mayan) have developed scientific ideas and solved human problems through technology;
  • recognize that changes in science usually occur as small modifications in existing knowledge and result in incremental advances in our under-standing of the world and our ability to meet human needs and aspirations;
  • recognize that occasion-ally there are advances in science and technology that have important and long-lasting effects on science and society (e.g., the Copernican revolution; plate tectonics; bio-logical evolution; germ theory; industrial revolution; technological revolution); and
  • recognize that the study of scientific explanations throughout history demonstrates how scientific knowledge changes and evolves over time, building on earlier knowledge.

 

All GEMS guides use photos and illustrations which represent the cultural diversity of our nation.
Names used throughout guides also represent the rich diversity of our nation.

All GEMS guides demonstrate the cooperative nature of science.

The following guides give particular emphasis to this:

Treasure Boxes Grades K-3

Terrarium Habitats
Grades K-6

Secret Formulas Grades 1-3

Ant Homes Under the Ground
Grades PreK-1

Quadice
Grades 4-8

Schoolyard Ecology
Grades 3-6

Frog Math
Grades K-3

Group Solutions Grades K-4

The concept of the scientific community is emphasized in the following guides:

Mystery Festival Grades 2-8

More Than Magnifiers
Grades 6-9

Liquid Explorations
Grades 1-3

Hot Water and Warm Homes From Sunlight
Grades 4-8

Build it Festival
Grades K-6

Environmental Detectives
Grades 5-8

Earth, Moon, and Stars
Grades 5-8

Height-O-Meters
Grades 6-8

Bubble Festival Grades K-6

Acid Rain
Grades 6-8

Involving Dissolving
Grades 1-3

Fingerprinting
Grades 4-8

Of Cabbages & Chemistry

Grades 4-8

Crime Lab Chemistry
Grades 4-8

Convection: A Current Event Grades 6-8

Color Analyzers Grades 5-8

Global Warming & the Greenhouse Effect
Grades 7-8

Bubble-ology
Grades 5-8

Discovering Density
Grades 6-8

On Sandy Shores Grades 2-4

Dry Ice Investigations
Grades 6-8

River Cutters
Grades 6-8

Cultural Diversity is particularly emphasized in the following:

Investigating Artifacts
Grades K-6

Math on the Menu
Grades 3-5

The concept of the international nature of science and math is especially emphasized in:

Oobleck: What Do Scientists Do?
Grades 4-8

Math Around the World
Grades 5-8

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