Proposed Irvine Unified School District
Thinking and Reasoning Standards
(by Level)
Upper Elementary Level - Grades 3 through 6
Overarching Standard 1: Constructing Support
Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument |
| 1. Uses facts from books, articles, and databases to support an argument 1 |
| 2. Identifies basic informal fallacies, including appeals to authority, the use of statements such as "everybody knows," and vague references such as "leading doctors say" |
| 3. Understands that reasoning can be distorted by strong feelings |
| 4. Analyzes arguments to determine if they are supported by facts from books, articles, and databases 1 |
| 5. Raises questions about arguments that are based on the assertion that "everybody knows" or "I just know" |
| 6. Seeks reasons for believing things other than the assertion that "everybody agrees" |
| 7. Recognizes when a comparison is not fair because important characteristics are not the same |
Overarching Standard 2: Making Connections
Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences (compares, contrasts, classifies) |
| 1. Understands that one way to make sense of something is to think how it is like something more familiar |
| 2. Recognizes when comparisons might not be fair because some characteristics are not the same |
| 3. Compares people in terms of important ethnic, religious, and cultural characteristics 4 |
| 4. Makes comparisons between countries in terms of relatively concrete characteristics (e.g., size, population, products) 4 |
Overarching Standard 3: Scientific Inquiry
Understands and applies basic principles of hypothesis testing and scientific inquiry |
| 1. Keeps a notebook that describes observations made 3 |
| 2. Attempts to verify the results of experiments done by others 3 |
| 3. Carefully distinguishes between actual observations and ideas or conclusions about what was observed |
| 4. Makes records of observations regarding time and place to formulate hypotheses 3 |
| 5. Keeps systematic records of temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, and other weather information to formulate hypotheses 3 |
Overarching Standard 4: Problem Solving
Applies different trouble-shooting and problem-solving techniques |
| 1. Identifies issues and problems in the school or community that one might help solve |
| 2. Studies problems in the community and how they were solved |
| 3. Analyzes the problems that have confronted people in the past in terms of the major goals and obstacles to those goals 4 |
Overarching Standard 5: Decision Making
Applies decision making techniques |
| 1. Studies decisions that were made in the community in terms of the alternatives that were considered |
| 2. Analyzes important decisions made by people in the past in terms of possible alternatives that were considered |
1 - English Language Arts
2 - Math
3 - Science
4 - Social Studies
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