Maine Parameters of Essential Instruction for Science & Technology

Maine Department of Education

Grades 6-8 Science & Technology Parameters of Essential Instruction

A. Unifying Themes
B. Scientific Inquiry
C. Understanding Science & Technology
D. Physical Science
E. Life Science

A.  Unifying Themes: Students apply the principles of systems, models, constancy and change, and scale in science and technology.

A1 Systems: Students describe and apply principles of systems in man-made things, natural things, and processes.

a. Explain how individual parts working together in a system (including organisms, Earth systems, solar systems, or man-made structures) can do more than each part individually.

b. Explain how the output of one part of a system, including waste products from manufacturing or organisms, can become the input of another part of a system.

c. Describe how systems are nested and that systems may be thought of as containing subsystems (as well as being a subsystem of a larger system) and apply the understanding to analyze systems.

A2 Models: Students use models to examine a variety of real-world phenomena from the physical setting, the living environment, and the technological world and compare advantages and disadvantages of various models.

a. Compare different types of models that can be used to represent the same thing (including models of chemical reactions, motion, or cells) in order to match the purpose and complexity of a model to its use.

b. Propose changes to models and explain how those changes may better reflect the real thing.

A3 Constancy and Change: Students describe how patterns of change vary in physical, biological, and technological  systems.

a. Describe systems that are changing including ecosystems, Earth systems, and technologies.

b. Give examples of systems including ecosystems, Earth systems, and technologies that appear to be unchanging (even though things may be changing within the system) and identify any feedback mechanisms that may be modifying the changes.

c. Describe rates of change and cyclic patterns using appropriate grade-level mathematics.

A4 Scale: Students use scale to describe objects, phenomena, or processes related to Earth, space, matter, and mechanical and living systems.

a. Describe how some things change or work differently at different scales.

b. Use proportions, averages, and ranges to describe small and large extremes of scale.

B.  The Skills and Traits of Scientific Inquiry and Technological Design: Students plan, conduct, analyze data from and communicate results of in-depth scientific investigations; and they use a systematic process, tools, equipment, and variety of materials to create technological design and produce a solution or product to meet a specified need.

B1 Skills and Traits of Scientific Inquiry: Students plan, conduct, analyze data from, and communicate results of investigations, including simple experiments.

a. Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.

b. Design and safely conduct scientific investigations including experiments with controlled variables.

c. Use appropriate tools, metric units, and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.

d. Use mathematics to gather, organize, and present data and structure convincing explanations.

e. Use logic, critical reasoning and evidence to develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models.

f. Communicate, critique, and analyze their own scientific work and the work of other students.

B2 Skills and Traits of Technological Design: Students use a systematic process, tools, equipment, and a variety of materials to design and produce a solution or product to meet a specified need, using established criteria.

a. Identify appropriate problems for technological design.

b. Design a solution or product.

c. Communicate a proposed design using drawings and simple models.

d. Implement a proposed design.

e. Evaluate a completed design or product.

f. Suggest improvements for their own and others’ designs and try out proposed modifications.

g. Explain the design process including the stages of problem identification, solution design, implementation, and evaluation.