Day: September 19, 2026

Teachers and parents: scroll down to check out the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for this episode!

Squeaks and Jessi have been having fun learning all about Australia. Squeaks wants to know more about marsupials, the special group of animals that lives almost nowhere else. So Jessi introduces him to a special friend: Pinto the opossum!

First Grade Next Generation Science Standards

Disciplinary Core Ideas:

LS1.A: Structure and Function – All organisms have external parts. Different animals use their body parts in different ways to see, hear, grasp objects, protect themselves, move from place to place, and seek, find, and take in food, water and air (1-LS1-1).

LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms – Adult plants and animals can have young. In many kinds of animals, parents and the offspring themselves engage in behaviors that help the offspring to survive (1-LS1-2).

Performance Expectations:

1-LS1-1. Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs.

1-LS1-2 Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive.

Second Grade Next Generation Science Standards

Disciplinary Core Ideas:

LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans – There are many different kinds of living things in any area, and they exist in different places on land and in water (2-LS4-1).

ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth – Some events happen very quickly; others occur very slowly, over a time period much longer than one can observe (2-ESS1-1).

ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions – Maps show where things are located. One can map the shapes and kinds of land and water in any area. (2-ESS2-2)

Performance Expectations:

2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

2-ESS1-1 Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.

2-ESS2-2 Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.
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From the team behind the YouTube series SciShow comes SciShow Kids!

Join Jessi, Mister Brown, Squeaks the Robot Lab Rat, and all their friends at the Fort as they conduct experiments, research new questions, and talk with experts to learn about the science-filled world around us.

There’s always something new to discover with SciShow Kids, no matter what your age!

SciShow Kids is ideal for early-elementary learners, Grades 1-3, and many episodes are structured around the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) curriculum.
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SOURCES:

Marsupials: The Evolution Backstory

https://www.britannica.com/animal/marsupial

Why Do Marsupials Have Pouches? And Other Questions

https://australian.museum/learn/species-identification/ask-an-expert/what-is-a-marsupial/#:~:text=Diprotodonts%20%2D%20these%20are%20the%20largely,%2C%20possums%2C%20koalas%2C%20wombats.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250927274_The_marsupial_pouch_Implications_for_reproductive_success_and_mammalian_evolution

Image Sources:
https://tinyurl.com/4wabv7y6
https://tinyurl.com/2k7ehbh7
https://tinyurl.com/4e5s8ksz
https://tinyurl.com/yutxt7n9
https://tinyurl.com/rza4jt6m
https://tinyurl.com/yc828hwu
https://tinyurl.com/2p8dvdne
https://tinyurl.com/h5dfz6hb
https://tinyurl.com/2h228f8n
https://tinyurl.com/3st9jvz4
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/kangaroos-with-joey-royalty-free-image/174616075?phrase=kangaroo+pouch&adppopup=true
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/feeding-kangaroos-stock-footage/1362609240?adppopup=true
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/a-mother-with-her-joey-koala-royalty-free-image/1130996938?phrase=koala+pouch&adppopup=true
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/baby-opossum-pine-barrens-new-jersey-royalty-free-image/182874101?phrase=opossum&adppopup=true
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/fierce-possum-royalty-free-image/164188559?phrase=opossum&adppopup=true

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