Here is an overview of the Units from The New York City Department of Education: K–5 Science Scope & Sequence;

 

ANIMAL DIVERSITY

Unit Overview: Students’ ideas about the characteristics of organisms develop from their basic concepts of living and nonliving things. As students investigate the continuity of life, emphasis should be placed on how animals reproduce their own kind. Teachers should lead students to make observations about how the offspring of familiar animals compare to one another and to their parents. Throughout time, animals have changed depending on their environment. In learning how organisms have been successful in their habitats, students should observe and record information about animals. They should begin to recognize how differences among individuals within a species can help an organism or population to survive. Students at this level will identify the behaviors and physical adaptations that allow organisms to survive in their environment. Students describe animal life cycles and life spans.

 

PROPERTIES OF MATTER

Unit Overview: Students observe and describe the three states of matter. Students describe, categorize, compare, and measure observable physical properties of matter and objects. Students’ initial efforts in performing these processes may yield simple descriptions and sketches, which may lead to increasingly more detailed drawings and richer verbal descriptions. Appropriate tools can aid students in their efforts.

 

WEATHER AND SEASONS

Unit Overview: Weather involves interactions among air, water, and land. Students should observe and describe weather conditions that occur during each season. They can observe, measure, record and compare data throughout the year by using science tools. Students should compare temperatures in different locations and compare day and night temperature. Students should illustrate and describe how the sun appears to move during the day. Illustrate and describe how the moon changes appearance over time. Describe the 24-hour day/night cycle. Students should understand that energy exists in a variety of forms. Students should observe and record the changes in the sun’s and other star’s position, and the moon’s appearance relative to time of day and month, and note the pattern of this change. Recognize that the sun’s energy warms the air.