6th grade student's drawing of a guppy. 

The Hawaii State Content and Performance Standards provide a definition of what students are expected to learn. The K-12 content standards for science describe what students should "know, be able to do, and care about". The science standards are dedicated to the principle that "Science is for all students", and are geared toward developing a scientifically literate society.

The Science Standards are structured as two Domains. Domain I is about scientific thinking and processes of knowledge. Domain II is about the knowledge that has been gained through science. 

The GK-12 fellows are trained in the use of National and State Standards. Inclusion of a fellow in a scholastic program includes use of standards- based education.

Strand

Content Standard

Science As Inquiry

1. DOING SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY: Students demonstrate the skills necessary to engage in scientific inquiry

Habits Of Mind

2. LIVING THE VALUES, ATTITUDES, AND COMMITMENTS OF THE INQUIRING MIND. Students apply the values, attitudes, and commitments characteristic of an inquiring mind.

3. USING UNIFYING CONCEPTS AND THEMES. Students use concepts and themes such as system, change, scale, and model to unify the disciplines and help them understand and explain the natural world.

Safety

4. DOING SAFETY. Students demonstrate the importance of safety by applying safety skills in all activities.

Science And Technology In Society

5. RELATING THE NATURE OF TECHNOLOGY TO SCIENCE. Students use the problem solving process to address current issues involving human adaptation in the environment.

Strand

Content Standard

Historical Perspectives

1. UNDERSTANDING SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY AND THE CHARACTER OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE. Students explain the process of how scientific knowledge is generated by scientific inquiry and are able to critique a scientific investigation.

2. INTERDEPENDENCE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY. Students analyze and evaluate the interdependence of science, technology and society.

3. MALAMA I KA AINA: SUSTAINABILITY. Students make decisions needed to sustain life on Earth now and for future generations by considering the limited resources and fragile environmental conditions.

Organisms And Development

4. UNITY AND DIVERSITY. Students examine the unity and diversity of organisms and how they can be compared scientifically.

5. INTERDEPENDENCE. Students describe, analyze, and give examples of how organisms are dependent on one another and their environments.

6. CYCLE OF MATTER AND ENERGY FLOW. Students trace the cycling of matter and the flow of energy through systems of living things.

7. BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION. Students examine evidence for the evolution of life on Earth and assess the arguments for natural selection as a scientific explanation of biological evolution.

8. HEREDITY. Students describe how variations in biological traits are passed on to successive generations.

9. CELLS, TISSUES, AND ORGANS. Students explain the structure, functions, and reproduction of living cells.

10. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. Students explain the important aspects of human development from fertilization to death, and compare it with other organisms.

Understanding Ourselves And The World Around Us.

11. WELLNESS. Students appraise the relationships between their bodily functions and their physical and mental well being.

12. LEARNING AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR. Students explain what influences learning and human behavior.

The Physical Environment

13. THE NATURE OF MATTER. Students examine the scientific view of the nature of matter and how that view evolved.

14. ENERGY, ITS TRANSFORMATION AND MATTER. Students identify the different forms of energy and explain transformation of energy and its significance in understanding the structure of matter and the Universe.

15. FORCES, MOTION, SOUND, AND LIGHT. Students explain the relationship between forces, mass and motion of objects; they analyze the nature of sound and electromagnetic radiation.

Earth Systems And The Universe

16. UNIVERSE. Students discuss current scientific views of the Universe.

17. FORCES OF THE UNIVERSE. Students explain the major forces in nature: gravitational, electrical, and magnetic.

18. EARTH IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM. Students discuss how the Earth-moon-sun system causes seasons, moon phases, climate, weather, and global changes.

19. FORCES THAT SHAPE THE EARTH. Students analyze the scientific view of how the Earth’s surface is formed.