North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Cognitive Development (CD)

Subdomain: Scientific Exploration and Knowledge

Goal: Children observe and describe characteristics of living things and the physical world

Skill Progression: Observe and describe characteristics of living things and the physical world

Age: 54-60 Months

Click here to go to all skills for ages 54-60 Months.

Talks about the similarities and differences among different animals, insects, and plants

Situations for Observation of Skill

Go to the park or on a nature walk. Bring along a nature book with pictures of different animals, environments, etc.

Elicitation Strategy

Talk about the various physical properties of what you see in nature and compare them.

Behavior Observed

Children now understand more about how animals and insects in nature need different things and why certain animals need similar environments.

Routines-based Intervention (Embedded Instruction)

Actual engagement with aspects of nature is important. Books illustrate nature, but experiencing nature helps children understand and apply principles at a deeper level of understanding. Field trips and outings make learning come alive!

 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015

©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.