MITC Activities

• questions are developed to formulate hypotheses;
• predictions and observations are made;
• data are gathered, charted, and graphed;
• objects with similar characteristics are classified into at least two sets and two subsets;
• inferences are made and conclusions are drawn;
• natural events are sequenced chronologically;
• length is measured to the nearest centimeter;
• mass is measured to the nearest gram;
• volume is measured to the nearest milliliter and liter;
• temperature is measured to the nearest degree Celsius; and
• time is measured to the nearest minute.

• types of simple machines (lever, screw, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, and wedge);
• how simple machines function; and
• examples of simple machines found in the school, home, and work environment.

• objects are made of smaller parts;
• materials are composed of parts that are too small to be seen without magnification; and
• physical properties remain the same as the material is reduced in size.

• methods of gathering and storing food, finding shelter, defending themselves, and rearing young; and
• hibernation, migration, camouflage, mimicry, instinct, and learned behavior.

• producer, consumer, decomposer;
• herbivore, carnivore, omnivore; and
• predator - prey.

• water-related environments (pond, marshland, swamp, stream, river, and ocean environments);
• dry-land environments (desert, grassland, rainforest, and forest environments); and
• population and community.

• soil provides the support and nutrients necessary for plant growth;
• topsoil is a natural product of subsoil and bedrock;
• rock, clay, silt, sand, and humus are components of soils; and
• soil is a natural resource and should be conserved.

• sequences of natural events (day and night, seasonal changes, phases of the moon, and tides); and
• animal and plant life cycles.

• the origin of energy that drives the water cycle;
• processes involved in the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation); and
• water supply and water conservation.

• the interdependency of plants and animals;
• human effects on the quality of air, water, and habitat;
• the effects of fire, flood, disease, erosion, earthquake, and volcanic eruption on organisms; and
• conservation, resource renewal, habitat management, and species monitoring.

• the sun’s ability to produce light and heat energy;
• natural forms of energy (sunlight, water, wind);
• fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) and wood;
• electricity, nuclear power; and
• renewable and nonrenewable resources.

• distinctions are made among observations, conclusions (inferences), and predictions;
• data are classified to create frequency distributions;
• appropriate metric measures are used to collect, record, and report data;
• appropriate instruments are selected to measure linear distance, volume, mass, and temperature;
• predictions are made based on data from picture graphs, bar graphs, and basic line graphs;
• hypotheses are formulated based on cause and effect relationships;
• variables that must be held constant in an experimental situation are defined; and
• numerical data that are contradictory or unusual in experimental results are recognized.

• energy forms (electrical, mechanical, and chemical energy);
• potential and kinetic energy;
• simple and complex machines; and
• efficiency, friction, and inertia.

• the nature of electricity (voltage, ampere, resistance, conductors, and insulators);
• circuits (open/closed, parallel/series);
• magnetism and magnetic fields;
• static electricity ; and
• historical contributions in understanding electricity.

• the structures of typical plants (leaves, stems, roots, and flowers);
• processes and structures involved with reproduction (pollination, stamen, pistil, sepal, embryo, spore, and seed);
• photosynthesis (chlorophyll, carbon dioxide); and
• dormancy.

• behavioral and structural adaptations;
• organization of communities;
• flow of energy through food webs;
• habitats and niches;
• life cycles; and
• influence of human activity on ecosystems.

• weather factors (temperature, air pressure, fronts, formation and type of clouds, and storms); and
• meteorological tools (barometer, hygrometer, anemometer, rain gauge, and thermometer).

• the motions of the Earth, moon, and sun (revolution and rotation);
• the causes for the Earth’s seasons and phases of the moon;
• the relative size, position, and makeup of the Earth, moon, and sun;
• unique properties of the Earth as a planet and as part of the solar system; and
• historical contributions in understanding the Earth-moon-sun system.

• watershed and water resources;
• animals and plants, both domesticated and wild;
• minerals, rocks, ores, and energy sources; and
• forests, soil, and land.

• appropriate instruments are selected and used for making quantitative observations of length, mass, volume, and elapsed time;
• rocks, minerals, and organisms are identified using a classification key;
• data are collected, recorded, and reported using the appropriate graphical representation (graphs, charts, diagrams);
• accurate measurements are made using basic tools (thermometer, meter stick, balance, graduated cylinder);
• predictions are made using patterns, and simple graphical data are extrapolated; and
• estimations of length, mass, and volume are made.

• frequency, waves, wavelength, resonance, vibration;
• the ability of different media (solids, liquids, gases) to transmit sound; and
• communication tools (voice, Morse code, sonar, animal sounds, musical instruments).

• the visible spectrum, light waves, reflection, refraction, diffraction, opaque, transparent, translucent;
• optical tools (eyeglasses, lenses, flashlight, camera, kaleidoscope, binoculars, microscope, light boxes, telescope, prism, spectroscope, mirrors); and
• historical contributions in understanding light.

• atoms, molecules, elements, and compounds;
• mixtures and solutions; and
• effect of temperature on the states of matter.

• parts of a cell;
• five kingdoms of living things;
• vascular and nonvascular plants; and
• vertebrates and invertebrates.

• geological characteristics (continental shelf, slope, rise);
• physical characteristics (depth, salinity, major currents);
• biological characteristics (ecosystems); and
• public policy decisions related to the ocean environment (assessment of marine organism populations, pollution prevention).

• the rock cycle including the identification of rock types;
• Earth history and fossil evidence;
• the basic structure of the Earth’s interior;
• plate tectonics (earthquakes and volcanoes);
• weathering and erosion; and
• human impact.

• observations are made involving fine discrimination between similar objects and organisms;
• a classification system is developed based on multiple attributes;
• differences in descriptions and working definitions are made;
• precise and approximate measures are recorded;
• scale models are used to estimate distance, volume, and quantity;
• hypotheses are stated in ways that identify the independent (manipulated) and dependent (responding) variables;
• a method is devised to test the validity of predictions and inferences;
• one variable is manipulated over time with many repeated trials;
• data are collected, recorded, analyzed, and reported using appropriate metric measurement;
• data are organized and communicated through graphical representation (graphs, charts, and diagrams); and
• models are designed to explain a sequence.

• ideas are investigated by asking for and actively seeking information;
• multiple tests of ideas are performed before accepting or rejecting them;
• alternative scientific explanations are analyzed; and
• conclusions are based on scientific evidence obtained from a variety of sources.

• potential and kinetic energy;
• energy sources (fossil fuels, wood, wind, water, solar, and nuclear power); and
• energy transformations (mechanical to electrical, electrical to heat/light, chemical to light, and chemical to electrical/light).

• electrical energy can be produced from a variety of energy sources and can be transformed into almost any other form of energy;
• electricity is related to magnetism;
• currents are either alternating or direct;
• circuits can be parallel or series;
• electrical energy can be described in volts and amps; and
• electrical energy consumption is measured using common units (kilowatts/kilowatt hours).

• atoms are made up of electrons, protons, and neutrons;
• atoms of any element are alike but are different from atoms of other elements; and
• historical development and significance of discoveries related to the atom.

• mixtures can be separated by physical processes;
• compounds can only be separated by chemical processes; and
• elements cannot be separated by physical or chemical means.

• physical changes; and
• changes in chemical composition, including oxidation reactions (rusting and burning), photosynthesis, and acid-base neutralization reactions.

• energy transformation (from food or photosynthesis); and
• respiration, movement, waste removal, growth, irritability (response), and reproduction.

• producers, consumers, and decomposers;
• food webs and food pyramids; and
• cycles (water, carbon dioxide/oxygen, nitrogen).

• the, sun, moon, Earth, other planets and their moons, meteors, asteroids, and comets;
• relative size of and distance between planets;
• the role of gravity;
• revolution and rotation;
• the mechanics of day and night and phases of the moon;
• the relationship of the Earth’s tilt and seasons;
• the cause of tides; and
• the history and technology of space exploration.

• management of renewable resources (water, air, plant life, animal life);
• management of nonrenewable resources (coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear power); and
• cost/benefit tradeoffs in conservation policies.