One goal of S.C.O.R.E. is to create curriculum or curriculum aids that are aligned with the current California educational standards. Although this site is appropriate for all elementary students who wish to learn about Luther Burbank and the two nationally registered historical sites connected with him, the site is designed primarily for 3rd and 4th grade students. The related standards provided here are in the areas of Langauge Arts, Social Studies, and Science.
3rd Grade California Social Studies Standards
Students in grade three learn more about our connections to the past and the ways in which particularly local, but also regional and national, government and traditions have developed and left their marks on current society, providing common memories.
3.3 Students draw from historical and community resources to organize
the sequence of events in local history and describe how each
period of settlement left its mark on the land, in terms of: 1.
the explorers who visited here, the newcomers who settled here,
and the people who continue to come to the region, including the
cultural and religious traditions of the different groups
2. the economies established by settlers and their influence on the present-day economy, with emphasis on the importance of private property and entrepreneurship
3. why their community was established, how individuals and families contributed to its founding and development, and how the community has changed over time, drawing upon primary sources (e.g., maps, photographs, oral histories, letters, newspapers)
3.4 Students understand the role of rules and laws in our daily lives, and the basic structure of the United States government, in terms of:
3. the stories behind important local and national landmarks
3rd Grade Language Arts
2.0. SPEAKING APPLICATIONS (GENRES AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS):
Students deliver brief recitations and oral presentations about
familiar experiences or interests that are organized around a
coherent thesis statement. Student speaking demonstrates a command
of standard English and the organization and delivery strategies
outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.
Using the Grade 3 speaking strategies outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0, students:
2.1. make brief narrative presentations on an incident that
(1) provide a context within which an incident occurs
(2) provide insight into why the selected incident is memorable
(3) include well-chosen details to develop character, setting, and/or plot
2.2. plan and present dramatic interpretations of experiences, stories, poems, or plays with clear diction, pitch, tempo, and tone
2.3. make descriptive presentations that use concrete sensory details to set forth and support unified impressions of people, places, things, or experiences.
3rd Grade Proposed Science Standards
3. Adaptations in physical structure or behavior may improve an organism's chance for survival. As a basis for understanding this concept, students know:
a. plants and animals have structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.
Investigation and Experimentation
5. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
a. repeat observations to improve accuracy, and know that the results of similar scientific investigations seldom turn out exactly the same (whether due to unexpected differences in the things being investigated, methods being used, or areas of uncertainty in the observation.).
b. differentiate observation from opinion, and know that scientists do not pay much attention to claims about how something works unless the claims are backed up with evidence that can be confirmed.
d. use numerical data in describing and comparing objects, events and measurements.
e. predict the outcome of a simple investigation, and compare the result to the prediction.
f. students will collect data in an investigation and analyze them to develop a logical conclusion
4th Grade California Social Studies Standards
4.4 Students explain how California became an industrial power by tracing the transformation of the California economy and its political and cultural development since the 1850's, in terms of:
8. the impact of 20th century Californians on the nation's artistic, cultural and development, including the rise of the entertainment industry (e.g., biographies of John Steinbeck, Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, Walt Disney).
4th Grade California Language Arts Standards
In addition to their regular school reading, by grade 4, students
read one-half million words annually, including a good representation
of narrative (i.e., classic and contemporary literature) and expository
(e.g., magazines, newspapers, on-line information) text appropriate
for each grade.
Structural Features of Informational Materials:
2.1. identify structural patterns found in informational text (e.g., compare and contrast, cause and effect, sequential-chronological order, proposition and support) to strengthen comprehension
Research and Technology:
1.5. quote or paraphrase information sources, citing them appropriately
1.6. locate information in reference texts by using organizational features (e.g., prefaces, appendices)
1.7. use various reference materials as an aid to writing (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus, card catalog, encyclopedia, on-line information)
1.8. understand the structure and organization of (and use) almanacs, newspapers, and periodicals
1.9. demonstrate basic keyboarding skills and familiarity with the vocabulary of technology (e.g., cursor, software, memory, disk drive, hard drive)
2.3. write information reports that
(1) frame a key question about an issue or situation
(2) include facts and details for focus
(3) draw from more than one source of information (e.g., speakers, books, newspapers, media sources)
2.2. make informational presentations that
(1) frame a key question
(2) contain facts and details that help listeners focus
(3) incorporate more than one source of information (e.g., speakers, books, newspapers, television or radio reports)
4th Grade Proposed Science Standards
3. Living things depend on one another and their environment for
survival. As a basis for understanding this concept, students
a. ecosystems can be characterized in terms of their living and nonliving components.
b. for any particular environment, some kinds of plants and animals survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
Investigation and Experimentation
6. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept, and to address the content the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
a. differentiate observation from inference (interpretation), and know that scientists' explanations about what happens in the world come partly from what they observe and partly from what they think about their observations.
b. measure and estimate weight, length, or volume of objects.
c. formulate predictions and justify predictions based on cause and effect relationships.
d. conduct multiple trials to test a prediction and draw conclusions about the relationships between results and predictions.
e. construct and interpret graphs from measurements.
f. follow a set of written instructions for a scientific investigation.