Kindergarten to Grade 4 Science
Manitoba Curriculum Framework of Outcomes
Foundation E:
Unifying Concepts
An effective way to create linkages within and among science disciplines is to use unifying concepts; these are key ideas that underlie and integrate all science knowledge and extend into areas such as mathematics and social studies. Consequently, unifying concepts help students to construct a holistic understanding of science and its role in society. The following four unifying concepts were used in the development of this Science Framework.
Similarity and Diversity
The concepts of similarity and diversity provide tools for organizing our experiences with the world. Beginning with informal experiences, students learn to recognize attributes of materials, organisms, and events that help to make useful distinctions between and among them. Over time, students adopt accepted procedures and protocols for describing and classifying objects, organisms, and events they encounter, thus enabling them to share ideas with others and to reflect on their own experiences.
Systems and Interactions
An important part of understanding and interpreting the world is the ability to think about the whole in terms of its parts and, alternately, about parts in terms of how they relate to one another and to the whole. A system is a collection of components that interact with one another so that the overall effect is often greater than that of the individual parts, even when these are considered together. Students will study both natural and technological systems.
Change, Constancy, and Equilibrium
The concepts of constancy and change underlie most understandings of the natural and technological world. Through observations, students learn that some characteristics of living things, materials, and systems remain constant over time, whereas others change. Through formal and informal studies, students develop an understanding of the processes and conditions in which change, constancy, and equilibrium take place.
Energy
The concept of energy provides a conceptual tool that brings together many understandings about natural phenomena, materials, and the processes of change. Energy, whether transmitted or transformed, is the driving force of both movement and change. Students learn to describe energy in terms of its effects and, over time, develop a concept of energy as something inherent within the interactions of materials, the processes of life, and the functioning of systems.
The following General Learning Outcomes (GLOs) have been developed to further define expectations related to this foundation area. (For a complete listing of Manitoba's GLOs see the Appendix.)
Unifying Concepts General Learning Outcomes
As a result of their Early, Middle, and Senior Years science education, students will...
| E1. | describe and appreciate the similarity and diversity of forms, functions, and patterns within the natural and constructed world |
| E2. | describe and appreciate how the natural and constructed world is made up of systems and how interactions take place within and among these systems |
| E3. | recognize that characteristics of materials and systems can remain constant or change over time, and describe the conditions and processes involved |
| E4. | recognize that energy, whether transmitted or transformed, is the driving force of both movement and change, and is inherent within materials and in the interactions among them |
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