OpenSciEd Elem K.2 (Kindergarten weather) - pronounced practices/foundation split. 100% practices (tied with 5.2 for highest) + 0% Foundation. Maximum K-level inquiry pedagogy + maximum atomic deferral, both by explicit design. K-4 pattern consistent on Foundation.
| Program | OpenSciEd Elementary |
| Unit | Grade K, Unit K.2: How can we be prepared for the weather? (Weather) |
| Publisher | OpenSciEd |
| Author | OpenSciEd Curriculum Development Team |
| Grade Band | Kindergarten (K-5 calibration applied) |
| NGSS Alignment | K-ESS2-1, K-ESS3-2 |
OpenSciEd Elementary Unit K.2 scores Foundation 0% AND Practices 100% green - this is a pronounced practices-vs-foundation split observed. Maximum K-level inquiry pedagogy paired with maximum atomic deferral, both by explicit design.
Why Foundation 0%: Zero atomic, molecular, or particulate content. About the Science explicitly defers the deeper mechanism in author voice: "These ideas are not developed in this unit; students attend to energy transfer in fourth grade and particle movement in middle school." Plus five more deferrals: climate change ("beyond scope"), weather prediction ("complex"), seasons ("third grade"), data-type distinction ("not yet"), and causal connections across weather conditions ("not part of NGSS").
Why Practices 100%: K-ESS2-1 explicitly invites quantitative observations. The unit builds and uses three measurement tools (thermometer L2, rain gauge L4, wind gauge L5), produces picture graphs L6, uses tally charts, and culminates in Community Service Announcements L9-10. Mathematics & Computational Thinking is PRESENT (not PARTIAL like K.1) - substantively more quantitative work than K.1's relative-scale-only approach.
Corpus context: K.2 is the second OpenSciEd Elementary unit to score 100% Practices. The other was OpenSciEd 5.2 (Foundation 82.4%, Recommended). The same Practices ceiling is now reached at both ends of the Foundation scale - once with maximal grounding (5.2, particles introduced per NGSS 5-PS1-1) and once with maximal deferral (K.2, NGSS K-ESS2 observational-only). K.2 is an K-4 OpenSciEd unit to achieve 100% practices.
The unit is organized as a single linear 10-lesson sequence.
Lessons 1-5 (Building Weather Observation Tools): Students make initial schoolyard observations (L1), then introduce one weather condition per lesson with a measurement tool: temperature with thermometer (L2), sunny/cloudy categorical observation (L3), rain with rain gauge (L4), wind with wind gauge (L5).
Lesson 6 (Synthesis): "Weather is the combination of temperature, cloud cover, rain or snow, and wind where we live at a certain time." Picture graphs introduced for pattern identification.
Lessons 7-10 (Forecasting, Severe Weather, Communication): Meteorologists use patterns to forecast (L7). Severe weather types and safety (L8). How to prepare for severe weather (L9). Community Service Announcements (L10) - students communicate weather-preparation guidance to invited guests.
Central science model: Weather has measurable conditions. Patterns over time describe usual weather. Meteorologists use patterns to forecast. People prepare. Why weather happens is all explicitly deferred to later grades.
"K-ESS2-1: Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time. (Assessment Boundary: Assessment of quantitative observations limited to whole numbers and relative measures such as warmer/cooler.)" (Unit Overview, p. 13)
NGSS K-ESS2-1 verbatim - pattern-finding and quantitative observation at K-level.
The teacher background acknowledges that energy transfer "causes particles to increase in speed" but states "these ideas are not developed in this unit" — deferred to fourth grade (energy transfer) and middle school (particle movement). (About the Science, p. 39)
⭐ Dual explicit deferral. Author voice names both electromagnetic energy and air particles; both excluded from student content. The deferred mechanism is precisely the atomic-level grounding the framework looks for.
"In this unit, students themselves do not engage in weather prediction due to the complex nature of weather forecasting." (About the Science, p. 39)
Weather forecasting mechanism deferred.
"Causal connections across different types of weather conditions - for example, that windiness causes us to feel cooler (temperature) - are not part of the NGSS performance expectations addressed in this unit." (About the Science, p. 40)
Even macroscopic cross-condition causal mechanism is explicitly deferred.
"Weather is the combination of temperature, cloud cover, rain or snow, and wind where we live at a certain time." (Lesson 6)
Central unit synthesis. Weather defined as a combination of observable conditions; no mechanism for why weather happens.
"Wind is moving air; it can be measured with a wind gauge." (Lesson 5)
The unit's closest approach to atomic-level content. Air named as a substance that can move; deeper mechanism (air molecules) explicitly deferred to middle school.
Practices: 100% green - tied with OpenSciEd 5.2 for HIGHEST. All seven K-level NGSS practices Present or higher. Asking Questions and Analyzing/Interpreting Data are Intentionally Developed (explicit per Unit Overview). Critical difference from K.1: Math is PRESENT (not PARTIAL) because the unit uses thermometer numbers, tally charts, and picture graphs - substantively more quantitative work than K.1. K-level Intentionally Developed Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns, Cause and Effect.
Option A (Rewrite, ~30-50%): Add one teacher's note in L2 (temperature): "Air is made of tiny pieces called air molecules. When the air is warm, the air molecules are moving faster."
Option B (Conditional, ~60-70%): Add a teacher's note in L5 (wind) explaining wind at the particulate level.
Option C (Recommended, ~80%+): Anticipate NGSS particle introduction at K - introduce air molecules at L2 and water molecules at L4.
| Total Passages Scored | 25 |
| Raw Gap Error | 100.0% (zero atomic content in unit) FALSE = atoms/molecules not present before students are asked to explain. The student is navigating without a starting point. |
| Adjusted Gap Error | 100.0% (all 8 mechanism passages UNSCAFFOLDED - six explicit deferrals in About the Science) UNSCAFFOLDED = no atomic grounding at all. LESSON_ATOMS = atoms mentioned elsewhere in lesson but not connected to this concept. |
| Substance-Model Errors (REI) | 0 Curriculum treats a process or outcome as a substance - "heat flows," "energy is stored," "electricity flows like water." Student builds a substance ontology. |
| Label-as-Explanation (LAE) | 0 Curriculum provides a name and treats it as an explanation - "this happens because of gravity." Student believes knowing the name IS understanding the concept. |
| Vague-Entity Errors (AEC) | 0 Curriculum uses vague entities ("tiny particles," "building blocks") without specifying atoms or molecules. Student invents their own model with macroscopic properties. |
| Factual Science Errors (FSE) | 0 Statements that are scientifically incorrect - not imprecise framing, but wrong. Any confirmed FSE = Not Recommended. |
| Practices | 100% - Deep Seven practices scored PRESENT, PARTIAL, or ABSENT and averaged: asking questions, developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics, constructing explanations and designing solutions, and argument from evidence. Higher is better, the opposite direction from gap and map errors. Reported but not part of the Foundation Score or the verdict. |
OpenSciEd Elementary K.2 is an OpenSciEd unit and another K-4 unit at 0% Foundation. The K-4 Foundation pattern is consistent. K.2 is a K-4 OpenSciEd unit to achieve 100% practices. The framework treats Earth science observational content the same way as physical science, confirming the K-4 pattern is not discipline-specific.
K-level inquiry pedagogy at maximum. All seven K-level NGSS practices Present or higher. Stronger math practice than K.1 (thermometer numbers, tally charts, picture graphs vs. K.1's relative scale only). Three measurement tools built and used. Community Service Announcements as K-level communication capstone. Two Intentionally Developed Crosscutting Concepts (Patterns, Cause and Effect).
shallow by design - Zero MISCONCEPTION_BY_DESIGN flags. Wind correctly defined as moving air. Weather correctly framed as a combination of observable conditions. Temperature/thermometer correctly framed. Six explicit boundaries: energy transfer + particle movement, climate change, weather prediction mechanism, seasons, qualitative/quantitative data distinction, causal cross-condition connections - all consistent with NGSS K-ESS2 scope.
Evidence for every entry is published at three levels. Each level states what it contains and what it leaves out.
Scores, verdict, and the full pattern count for this unit are above: adjusted gap, REI / LAE / AEC counts, FSE status, and the seven-practice score. The analysis quotes 6 passages verbatim from the curriculum.
This file covers the unit scored on this page.
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