Science, Social Studies, and Health

Integrated curriculum learning in Plano ISD is active, challenging, and student-centered. It connects the knowledge, skills, strategies, and vocabulary from the disciplines of science, social studies, and health in the context of a larger overarching concept.

Students are provided many opportunities to apply the integrated curriculum
objectives as well as the reading, writing, and math skills, concepts, and strategies to real life through relevant learning experiences. Integrated curriculum is based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and the scope and sequence of science, social studies, and health objectives.

Social Studies - Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

In Kindergarten social studies, your child will learn:

HISTORY

Students:
· learn about patriotic holidays
· identify contributions of people, such as George Washington
· place events in chronological order

GEOGRAPHY

Students:
· locate and describe the relative location of places
· identify physical and human characteristics of places

ECONOMICS

Students:
· identify basic human needs and explain how they can be met
· identify jobs and why people have them

GOVERNMENT

Students:
· identify rules and reasons for having them
· identify authority figures

CITIZENSHIP

Students:
· identify U.S. and Texas flags
· recite the Pledge of Allegiance

CULTURE

Students:
· identify similarities and differences among people
· identify family and community customs

Science, Technology, and Society

Students:
· identify examples of technology and describe how they meet people's needs

Social Studies Skills

Students:
· obtain information from a variety of oral and visual sources
· sequence and categorize information
· identify main ideas
· express ideas orally and visually
· use problem-solving and decision-making processes

Science - Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

In Kindergarten science, your child will learn:

SAFETY

Students:
· demonstrate safe science practices in the classroom and field experiences
· use and conserve resources

SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY AND CRITICAL THINKING

Students:
· use their senses and common tools such as hand lenses, balances, cups, and
bowls to make observations and collect information by asking questions,
gathering information, communicating findings, and making informed decisions
· use computers and information technology tools to support their investigations

PATTERNS, SYSTEMS, AND CYCLES

Students:
· describe patterns including seasons, growth, day and night, and predict what
happens next, using charts and graphs
· learn how systems have basic properties that can be described in terms of parts,
such as those in toys, vehicles, and construction sets
· understand structures, interactions, and processes found in systems that, when
put together, can do things they cannot do by themselves

CHANGE

Students:
· observe, describe, and record changes in systems, cycles, and models
· record changes in size, mass, color, position, quantity, time, temperature, sound,
and movement by observing weather changes and life cycles of organisms in
their natural environment

LIVING ORGANISMS AND NON-LIVING OBJECTS

Students:
· identify organisms and objects and their parts
· explore the basic needs of living organisms and give examples of their
dependence on each other
· identify how the Earth provides resources for life

UNDERSTANDING THE NATURAL WORLD

Students:
· observe and describe properties of rocks, soil, and water
· give examples of ways rocks, soil, and water are useful