The majority of lessons and hands-on investigations in T.R.A.C.S. use simple, readily available materials that do not require elaborate storage or classroom space. The kits contain all those materials not readily available in the classroom or from students' homes. For example, the kits do not contain common classroom items, such as construction paper, glue, scissors and rulers, nor common household items, such as empty jars and shoeboxes, old newspapers and magazines, or scraps of fabric, that would be cumbersome and expensive to ship in a kit. As a result, the program will allow students to meet the majority of state and district guidelines if those guidelines are based, at least in part, on the national standards. Because grade-level placement of topics and concepts vary from state to state and district to district, this curriculum framework might not match local frameworks exactly, but the major concepts and skills will be addressed within the grade spans of kindergarten through grade 5.
Many investigations have procedures and directions written for students to follow.
However, on closer examination, the reader will find that the procedures help students determine what to do but not how to accomplish a task. The procedures in the student guide include the same types of instructions usually provided by the teacher in most hands-on programs. By having these procedures available in written form, teams of students can work independently from the teacher on a clearly identified task. The sets of procedures also ensure that students have common experiences from which they can compare results and the ways they arrived at their results. Each Teacher's Edition provides professional development for teachers by incorporating examples of appropriate questions to ask, possible student responses and complete teaching and assessment strategies.