Children observe phenomena of their natural world without necessarily connecting those occurrences to science. Preschool students can understand the concepts of "day" and "night" by observable differences. Preschool students should also be able to identify stars, the moon, clouds and the sun by their appropriate terms. Weather observations encourage students to describe tactile relationships with their natural world. Students should be able to describe weather as hot, warm or cold and identify weather features like snow, rain and wind. Geological features like land, oceans, lakes and rivers are also opportunities to affect simple science vocabulary.
Preschool students should be able to categorize objects and items as either living or non-living and use terms to describe why an object belongs in that category. Students should be able to list the needs of living things as food, air and water. Preschoolers should be able to identify parts of living things using proper categories like "person," "animal" or "plant," and proper terms for parts like "leaves," "stem" and "flower." Tactile and sensory development are critical for preschool students, so they should understand how to use words like "see," "hear," "taste" and "smell" as well as know what body parts relate to those senses.
The ability to group similar objects is an important development skill for preschool-aged children. Before students can group items, they must understand scientific concepts and vocabulary to conceptualize grouping. Students should understand terms like "similar" and "different," "like" and "unlike." To describe similarities and differences, students need a science vocabulary that includes shape names, color names and size relationships like "small," "smaller" and "smallest." Students should also be able to describe the difference between a whole object and the parts of the object using position relationships like "bottom," "top," "over" and "under." For example, a student might say, "The bottom of this block is flat but the top is a circle."
A useful science vocabulary for preschoolers includes vocabulary strategies for making their own scientific inquiries. To explore and ask questions about scientific concepts, preschoolers should know the difference between question forms beginning with "why," "how," "when" and "what if." Words like "ask," "show" and "describe" provide students with different ways to explore a concept that they are curious about. To articulate scientific observations, students need a vocabulary that includes numerical estimates and relationships like "some," "many" or "most."