Reasoning and Problem-Solving

Goal P-SCI 4. Child asks a question, gathers information, and makes predictions.

• Asks questions that can be answered through an investigation, such as "What do plants need to grow?" or "What countries do the children in our class come from?"

• Gathers information about a question by looking at books or discussing prior knowledge and observations.

• Makes predictions and brainstorms solutions based on background knowledge and experiences, such as "I think that plants need water to grow," or "I think adding yellow paint to purple will make brown.

Goal P-SCI 5. Child plans and conducts investigations and experiments.

• Articulates steps to be taken and lists materials needed for an investigation or experiment.

• Implements steps and uses materials to explore testable questions, such as "Do plants need water to grow?" by planting seeds and giving water to some but not to others.

• Uses senses and simple tools to observe, gather, and record data, such as gathering data on where children's families are from and creating a graph that shows the number of children from different countries.

Goal P-SCI 6. Child analyzes results, draws conclusions, and communicates results.

• Analyzes and interprets data and summarizes results of investigation.

• Draws conclusions, constructs explanations, and verbalizes cause and effect relationships.

• With adult support, compares results to initial prediction and offers evidence as to why they do or do not work. Generates new testable questions based on results.

• Communicates results, solutions, and conclusions through a variety of methods, such as telling an adult that plants need water to grow or putting dots on a map that show the number of children from each country.