Ollie Saves the Planet
CD Rom and Website Program
Minnesota Science Standards for Grade 1-8 That Are Supported by Ollie Saves the Planet

GRADE 1
I. HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE
B. Scientific Inquiry The student will raise questions about the natural world, make careful observations, and seek answers.
1. The student will observe, describe, measure, compare and contrast common objects, using simple tools including but not limited to ruler, thermometer and balance.

IV. LIFE SCIENCE
B. Organisms The student will observe plant and animal life cycles.
1. The student will observe and describe how plants and animals grow and change.
D. Heredity The student will understand that there is variation among individuals of one kind within a population.
1. The student will describe ways in which many plants and animals closely resemble but are not identical to their parents.
2. The student will match adult animals and plants to their offspring.
F. Flow of Matter and Energy The student will understand that organisms have basic needs.
1. The student will know that animals need air, water and food and that plants require air, water, nutrients and light.

GRADE 2
I. HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE
A. Scientific World View The student will understand that science is a human endeavor practiced throughout the world.
1. The student will recognize that repeating a scientific investigation will lead to very similar results.
2. The student will recognize that scientific investigations generally work the same way in different places.
3. The student will give examples of scientific advances throughout history.
4. The student will recognize that everyone can do science and invent things and ideas.

B. Scientific Inquiry The student will raise questions about the natural world, make careful observations and seek answers.
1. The student will use appropriate tools to gather and organize data.
2. The student will recognize and describe patterns in data.

III. EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
A. Earth Structure and Processes The student will recognize basic Earth materials.
1. The student will observe and describe rocks, soils, water and air.

IV. LIFE SCIENCE
B. Diversity of Organisms The student will recognize that plants and animals have life cycles.
1. The student will describe life cycles of plants and animals. GRADE 2 IV. LIFE SCIENCE C. Interdependence of Life The student will understand that organisms live in different environments.
1. The student will observe and describe some features of plants and animals that allow them to live in specific environments.

G. Human Organism The student will recognize that people have basic needs.
1. The student will know that people need water, food, air, waste removal and a particular range of temperature in their environment, just like other animals.

GRADE 3
IV. LIFE SCIENCE
B. Diversity of Organisms The student will recognize that plants and animals have different structures that serve various functions.
1. The student will describe the structures that serve different functions in growth, survival and reproduction for plants and animals.
2. The student will know that plants have different structures from animals that serve the same necessary functions in growth, survival and reproduction.

IV. LIFE SCIENCE
C. Interdependence of Life The student will understand that an organism’s patterns of behavior are related to the nature of its environment.
1. The student will know that organisms interact with one another in various ways besides providing food.
2. The student will know that changes in a habitat can be beneficial or harmful to an organism.

D. Heredity The student will understand that many characteristics of an organism are inherited from its parents, but that other characteristics result from an individual’s interactions with the environment.
1. The student will observe and differentiate between characteristics of organisms that are inherited and characteristics that are acquired.
2. The student will identify similarities and differences between parent and offspring.

GRADE 4
I. HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE
A. Scientific World View The student will understand how science is used to investigate interactions between people and the natural world.
1. The student will explore the uses and effects of science in our interaction with the natural world.
2. The student will discuss the responsible use of science.
3. The student will recognize the impact of scientific and technological activities on the natural world.

III. EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
A. Earth Structure and Processes The student will investigate the impact humans have on the environment.
1. The student will identify and investigate environmental issues and potential solutions.

B. The Water Cycle, Weather and Climate The student will recognize that water on Earth cycles and exists in many forms.
1. The student will describe the water cycle involving the processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection.
2. The student will identify where water exists on Earth.

GRADE 5
IV. LIFE SCIENCE
E. Biological Populations Change Over Time The student will know that biological populations change over time.
1. The student will recognize that individuals of the same species differ in their characteristics and that sometimes the differences give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.
2. The student will recognize that extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and the adaptive characteristics of a species are insufficient to allow its survival.
3. The student will compare the structure of fossils to one another and to living organisms.

F. Flow of Matter and Energy The student will know that matter and energy flow into, out of, and within a biological system.
1. The student will recognize that organisms need energy to stay alive and grow, and that this energy originates from the sun.
2. The student will use food webs to describe the relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem in Minnesota.
3. The student will recognize that organisms are growing, dying and decaying, and that their matter is recycled.

GRADE 7
IV. LIFE SCIENCE
B. Diversity of Organisms The student will understand that living systems, at every level of organization, demonstrate the complementary nature of structure and function.
1. The student will explain that individuals are composed of specialized cells, tissues, organs and organ systems that perform specialized functions.
2. The student will recognize that an organism’s body plan and its ability to regulate its internal environment enable it to make or find food, grow and reproduce in a constantly changing environment.
3. The student will recognize that behavioral responses of organisms may be determined by heredity and past experience.
4. The student will use and create dichotomous keys.
5. The student will use the characteristics of an organism to identify the kingdom to which it belongs.

C. Interdependence of Life The student will understand that within ecosystems, complex interactions exist between organisms and the physical environment.
1. The student will provide examples of the potentially irreversible effects of human activity on ecosystems.
2. The student will define a population as all individuals of a species that exist together at a given place and time.
3. The student will define an ecosystem as all populations living together and the physical factors with which they interact.
4. The student will explain the factors that affect the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support, including available resources, abiotic and biotic factors and disease.

D. Heredity The student will understand that heredity information is contained in genes which are inherited through both sexual and asexual reproduction.
1. The student will recognize that inherited traits result from information contained in genes, which are located on chromosomes of each cell.
2. The student will recognize that each gene carries a single unit of information and can influence more than one trait.
3. The student will explain how inherited traits can be determined by one or many genes.
4. The student will comprehend that interactions with the environment affect some inherited traits.
5. The student will comprehend that reproduction is essential for the continuation of a species.
6. The student will compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of sexual and asexual reproduction.

E. Biological Populations Change Over Time The student will understand how biological evolution provides a scientific explanation for the fossil record of ancient life forms, as well as for the striking similarities observed among the diverse species of living organisms.
1. The student will recognize extinction is a common event.
2. The student will describe how the fossil record documents the appearance and diversification of many life forms.
3. The student will explain how biological adaptations in structure, function and behavior enhance the reproductive success and survival of a species in a particular environment.
4. The student will recognize that scientific evidence can be used to infer common ancestry among some organisms.
5. The student will explain how diversity of species develops through gradual processes over generations.

F. Flow of Matter and Energy The student will understand how the flow of energy and the recycling of matter contribute to a stable ecosystem.
1. The student will know that plants use the energy in light to make sugars out of carbon dioxide and water.
2. The student will explain how energy is transferred through food chains and food webs in an ecosystem.
3. The student will explain how the amount of useable energy available to organisms decreases as it passes through a food chain and/or food web.
4. The student will know that the total amount of matter in a closed system remains the same as it is transferred between organisms and the physical environment even though its location or form changes.
5. The student will compare and contrast predator/prey, parasite/host and producer/consumer/decomposer relationships.

GRADE 8
III EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
A. Earth Structure and Processes The student will investigate the impact humans have on the environment.
1. The student will identify and research an environmental issue and evaluate its impact.