## 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

You may choose a different domain, go back, or click on a skill below for more information.

### Describes characteristics of living things

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

While walking, the adult encourages the child to stop and look at different things in nature. Ask the child “Is this a living thing?” When the child answers ask, “How do you know?”

Behavior Observed

Children’s understanding of living and non-living things is now more sophisticated. The child can elaborate several details.

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/.