other children, by considering how well a product or design met the challenge to solve a problem. When possible, students should use measurements and include constraints and other criteria in their evaluations. They should modify designs based on the results of evaluations.

COMMUNICATE A PROBLEM, DESIGN, AND SOLUTION. Student abilities should include oral, written, and pictorial communication of the design process and product. The communication might be show and tell, group discussions, short written reports, or pictures, depending on the students' abilities and the design project.

UNDERSTANDING ABOUT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• People have always had questions about their world. Science is one way of answering questions and explaining the natural world.

• People have always had problems and invented tools and techniques (ways of doing something) to solve problems. Trying to determine the effects of solutions helps people avoid some new problems.

• Scientists and engineers often work in teams with different individuals doing different things that contribute to the results. This understanding focuses primarily on teams working together and secondarily, on the combination of scientist and engineer teams.

• Women and men of all ages, backgrounds, and groups engage in a variety of scientific and technological work.

• Tools help scientists make better observations, measurements, and equipment for investigations. They help scientists see, measure, and do things that they could not otherwise see, measure, and do.

ABILITIES TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN NATURAL OBJECTS AND OBJECTS MADE BY HUMANS

• Some objects occur in nature; others have been designed and made by people to solve human problems and enhance the quality of life.

• Objects can be categorized into two groups, natural and designed.

As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop understanding of

• Personal health

• Characteristics and changes in populations

• Types of resources

• Changes in environments

• Science and technology in local challenges

Students in elementary school should have a variety of experiences that provide initial understandings for various science-related personal and societal challenges. Central ideas related to health, populations, resources, and environments provide the foundations for students' eventual understandings

Front Matter (R1-R10)

National Science Education Standards: An Overview (1-10)

1 Introduction (11-18)

2 Principles and Definitions (19-26)

3 Science Teaching Standards (27-54)

4 Standards for Professional Development for Teachers of Science (55-74)

5 Assessment in Science Education (75-102)

6 Science Content Standards (103-208)

7 Science Education Program Standards (209-226)

8 Science Education System Standards (227-242)

Epilogue (243-246)

Appendix (247-253)

Index (254-260)

Credits (261-262)