Scientific hypotheses and theories. Students are expected to know that:

Reading/Comprehension of Informational Text/Procedural Texts. Students understand how to glean and use information in procedural texts and documents. Students are expected to:

evaluate text for the clarity of its graphics and its visual appeal; and

synthesize information from multiple graphical sources to draw conclusions about the ideas presented (e.g., maps, charts, schematics).

Scientific inquiry. Scientific inquiry is the planned and deliberate investigation of the natural world using scientific and engineering practices. Scientific methods of investigation are descriptive, comparative, or experimental. The method chosen should be appropriate to the question being asked. Student learning for different types of investigations include descriptive investigations, which involve collecting data and recording observations without making comparisons; comparative investigations, which involve collecting data with variables that are manipulated to compare results; and experimental investigations, which involve processes similar to comparative investigations but in which a control is identified.

Reading/Media Literacy. Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts. Students are expected to:

evaluate how messages presented in media reflect social and cultural views in ways different from traditional texts;

analyze how messages in media are conveyed through visual and sound techniques (e.g., editing, reaction shots, sequencing, background music);

examine how individual perception or bias in coverage of the same event influences the audience; and

Science and social ethics. Scientific decision making is a way of answering questions about the natural world involving its own set of ethical standards about how the process of science should be carried out. Students should be able to distinguish between scientific decision-making methods (scientific methods) and ethical and social decisions that involve science (the application of scientific information).

evaluate changes in formality and tone within the same medium for specific audiences and purposes.

Science consists of recurring themes and making connections between overarching concepts. Recurring themes include systems, models, and patterns. All systems have basic properties that can be described in space, time, energy, and matter. Change and constancy occur in systems as patterns and can be observed, measured, and modeled. These patterns help to make predictions that can be scientifically tested, while models allow for boundary specification and provide a tool for understanding the ideas presented. Students should analyze a system in terms of its components and how these components relate to each other, to the whole, and to the external environment.

Statements containing the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.

Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to:

Scientific and engineering practices. The student, for at least 40% of instructional time, asks questions, identifies problems, and plans and safely conducts classroom, laboratory, and field investigations to answer questions, explain phenomena, or design solutions using appropriate tools and models. The student is expected to:

plan a first draft by selecting the correct genre for conveying the intended meaning to multiple audiences, determining appropriate topics through a range of strategies (e.g., discussion, background reading, personal interests, interviews), and developing a thesis or controlling idea;

ask questions and define problems based on observations or information from text, phenomena, models, or investigations;

structure ideas in a sustained and persuasive way (e.g., using outlines, note taking, graphic organizers, lists) and develop drafts in timed and open-ended situations that include transitions and rhetorical devices used to convey meaning;

apply scientific practices to plan and conduct descriptive, comparative, and experimental investigations and use engineering practices to design solutions to problems;

revise drafts to improve style, word choice, figurative language, sentence variety, and subtlety of meaning after rethinking how well questions of purpose, audience, and genre have been addressed;

edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling; and

use appropriate safety equipment and practices during laboratory, classroom, and field investigations as outlined in Texas Education Agency-approved safety standards;

revise final draft in response to feedback from peers and teacher and publish written work for appropriate audiences.

use appropriate tools such as data-collecting probes, software applications, the internet, standard laboratory glassware, metric rulers, meter sticks, spring scales, multimeters, Gauss meters, wires, batteries, light bulbs, switches, magnets, electronic balances, mass sets, Celsius thermometers, hot plates, an adequate supply of consumable chemicals, lab notebooks or journals, timing devices, models, and diagrams;

Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are responsible for at least two forms of literary writing. Students are expected to:

collect quantitative data using the International System of Units (SI) and qualitative data as evidence;

write an engaging story with a well-developed conflict and resolution, interesting and believable characters, a range of literary strategies (e.g., dialogue, suspense) and devices to enhance the plot, and sensory details that define the mood or tone;

organize quantitative and qualitative data using labeled drawings and diagrams, graphic organizers, charts, tables, and graphs;

develop and use models to represent phenomena, systems, processes, or solutions to engineering problems; and

write a poem using a variety of poetic techniques (e.g., structural elements, figurative language) and a variety of poetic forms (e.g., sonnets, ballads); and

distinguish between scientific hypotheses, theories, and laws.

write a script with an explicit or implicit theme and details that contribute to a definite mood or tone.

Scientific and engineering practices. The student analyzes and interprets data to derive meaning, identify features and patterns, and discover relationships or correlations to develop evidence-based arguments or evaluate designs. The student is expected to:

Writing/Expository and Procedural Texts. Students write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Students are expected to:

identify advantages and limitations of models such as their size, scale, properties, and materials;

write an analytical essay of sufficient length that includes:

effective introductory and concluding paragraphs and a variety of sentence structures;

analyze data by identifying significant statistical features, patterns, sources of error, and limitations;

rhetorical devices, and transitions between paragraphs;

use mathematical calculations to assess quantitative relationships in data; and

a thesis or controlling idea;

evaluate experimental and engineering designs.

an organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context;

Scientific and engineering practices. The student develops evidence-based explanations and communicates findings, conclusions, and proposed solutions. The student is expected to:

develop explanations and propose solutions supported by data and models and consistent with scientific ideas, principles, and theories;

relevant evidence and well-chosen details; and

communicate explanations and solutions individually and collaboratively in a variety of settings and formats; and

distinctions about the relative value of specific data, facts, and ideas that support the thesis statement;

engage respectfully in scientific argumentation using applied scientific explanations and empirical evidence.

write procedural or work-related documents (e.g., instructions, e-mails, correspondence, memos, project plans) that include: