Standards Reflection — Grades 3–5

Connecting what you learned in FCCS to the 2026 Iowa PK–12 CS Standards

What This Activity Is For

You have spent seven weeks building a foundation in computer science. This activity asks you to look at the 2026 Iowa PK–12 Computer Science Standards for your grade band and consider two questions for each cluster of standards:

Did the FCCS course prepare you for this? If so, which competencies?
How ready do you feel to actually teach these standards to your students?

There are no wrong answers here. Some clusters will map clearly to FCCS content. Others will not — and that is important to notice. The standards you feel least prepared for are exactly what your CS Methods course (coming in about nine months) will help you address. This activity is a first look, not a final evaluation.

Expect this to take 15–25 minutes. Work through it on your own before your small group meeting. You will discuss your results briefly with your group.

Save this page or your responses. When you begin the CS Methods course, you will return to standards work in much greater depth. What you notice now — including the gaps — will give you a useful starting point for that course.

Your name (for your submission):

Quick reference — FCCS Competencies:
C1 Binary & Numerical Encodings • C2 Data Representation • C3 Logic Gates • C4 Hardware Components • C5 Memory & Storage • C6 Fetch-Decode-Execute Cycle • C7 OS Components • C8 OS Processes • C9 OS Security • C10 Network Communication • C11 Internet Transactions • C12 Cybersecurity • C13 Data & the PPDAC Cycle • C14 Databases & SQL • C15 Data Mining • C16 AI Agents & Search • C17 AI Techniques: Learning & Optimization • C18 Neural Networks & Deep Learning • C19 Large Language Models

The Standards Clusters

The standards below are organized into 11 clusters, following the subconcept structure of the 2026 Iowa CS Standards. Each cluster shows the standards for Grades 3–5. Read each standard, then respond to the three questions.

Cluster 1 Systems &Security Hardware &Software

Identifier	Grade	Standard
`E3-SAS-12`	Grade 3	Describe the role of software in a computing system to accomplish tasks or solve problems.
`E4-SAS-12`	Grade 4	Apply basic troubleshooting processes to identify and fix common hardware and software issues.
`E5-SAS-12`	Grade 5	Explain how hardware and software components of a computing system work together to perform input and output (I/O), processing, and storage.

1. Coverage: Which FCCS competency or competencies prepared you for this cluster? Name them specifically (e.g., "C10 — Network Communication"). If none did, write "Not directly addressed in FCCS."

2. Readiness: How prepared do you feel to teach the standards in this cluster?

3. What's still missing: If you are not fully prepared, what would help? (One or two sentences. Skip if you selected "Prepared.")

Cluster 2 Systems &Security Security

Identifier	Grade	Standard
`E3-SAS-13`	Grade 3	Evaluate how sharing information online might reveal personally identifiable information (PII) and other details.
`E4-SAS-13`	Grade 4	Distinguish between authentication and authorization in protecting devices and private information.
`E5-SAS-13`	Grade 5	Describe the concepts of the CIA (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability) Triad and how each part is important in protecting information.

1. Coverage: Which FCCS competency or competencies prepared you for this cluster? Name them specifically (e.g., "C10 — Network Communication"). If none did, write "Not directly addressed in FCCS."

2. Readiness: How prepared do you feel to teach the standards in this cluster?

3. What's still missing: If you are not fully prepared, what would help? (One or two sentences. Skip if you selected "Prepared.")

Cluster 3 Systems &Security Networks

Identifier	Grade	Standard
`E3-SAS-14`	Grade 3	Explain how people access the Internet to gain information and communicate with each other.
`E4-SAS-14`	Grade 4	Compare wired and wireless methods that computing devices use to connect to the Internet.
`E5-SAS-14`	Grade 5	Distinguish between the components of wired and wireless networks.

1. Coverage: Which FCCS competency or competencies prepared you for this cluster? Name them specifically (e.g., "C10 — Network Communication"). If none did, write "Not directly addressed in FCCS."

2. Readiness: How prepared do you feel to teach the standards in this cluster?

3. What's still missing: If you are not fully prepared, what would help? (One or two sentences. Skip if you selected "Prepared.")

Cluster 4 Systems &Security Impacts of Computing Systems

Identifier	Grade	Standard
`E3-SAS-15`	Grade 3	Describe how widely used computing systems may impact an individual’s life and community.
`E4-SAS-15`	Grade 4	Investigate the impacts of widely used computing systems on natural resources and the environment.
`E5-SAS-15`	Grade 5	Examine how computing systems impact culture and the ways people live and work.

1. Coverage: Which FCCS competency or competencies prepared you for this cluster? Name them specifically (e.g., "C10 — Network Communication"). If none did, write "Not directly addressed in FCCS."

2. Readiness: How prepared do you feel to teach the standards in this cluster?

3. What's still missing: If you are not fully prepared, what would help? (One or two sentences. Skip if you selected "Prepared.")

Cluster 5 Data Analysis Data Collection and Processing

Identifier	Grade	Standard
`E3-DAA-09`	Grade 3	Evaluate numeric and non-numeric data for accuracy and completeness.
`E4-DAA-09`	Grade 4	Organize collected data into tables using digital tools, with rows representing records and columns representing attributes.
`E5-DAA-09`	Grade 5	Use digital tools to collect and organize different types of data.

1. Coverage: Which FCCS competency or competencies prepared you for this cluster? Name them specifically (e.g., "C10 — Network Communication"). If none did, write "Not directly addressed in FCCS."

2. Readiness: How prepared do you feel to teach the standards in this cluster?

3. What's still missing: If you are not fully prepared, what would help? (One or two sentences. Skip if you selected "Prepared.")

Cluster 6 Data Analysis Data Investigation

Identifier	Grade	Standard
`E3-DAA-10`	Grade 3	Investigate a data question involving relationships between multiple attributes.
`E4-DAA-10`	Grade 4	Create an explanation that includes at least one data visualization to report the process and results of a data investigation, using computing tools.
`E5-DAA-10`	Grade 5	Analyze a dataset to identify the nature and possible sources of variability in the data.

1. Coverage: Which FCCS competency or competencies prepared you for this cluster? Name them specifically (e.g., "C10 — Network Communication"). If none did, write "Not directly addressed in FCCS."

2. Readiness: How prepared do you feel to teach the standards in this cluster?

3. What's still missing: If you are not fully prepared, what would help? (One or two sentences. Skip if you selected "Prepared.")

Cluster 7 Data Analysis Impacts of Data Science

Identifier	Grade	Standard
`E3-DAA-11`	Grade 3	Design a data collection process that addresses the needs of people from different backgrounds or groups.
`E4-DAA-11`	Grade 4	Investigate how data collected about people may affect individuals and groups.
`E5-DAA-11`	Grade 5	Analyze the benefits and risks of computing technology that uses collected data.

1. Coverage: Which FCCS competency or competencies prepared you for this cluster? Name them specifically (e.g., "C10 — Network Communication"). If none did, write "Not directly addressed in FCCS."

2. Readiness: How prepared do you feel to teach the standards in this cluster?

3. What's still missing: If you are not fully prepared, what would help? (One or two sentences. Skip if you selected "Prepared.")

Cluster 8 Computing &Society History of Computing

Identifier	Grade	Standard
`E3-CAS-16`	Grade 3	Examine how computing innovations have changed the ways people live, work, or communicate over time.
`E4-CAS-16`	Grade 4	Investigate the contributions of diverse individuals and communities in the history of computing.
`E5-CAS-16`	Grade 5	Analyze how the inclusion or exclusion of diverse individuals and communities has shaped the design, development, and societal impact of computing technologies.

1. Coverage: Which FCCS competency or competencies prepared you for this cluster? Name them specifically (e.g., "C10 — Network Communication"). If none did, write "Not directly addressed in FCCS."

2. Readiness: How prepared do you feel to teach the standards in this cluster?

3. What's still missing: If you are not fully prepared, what would help? (One or two sentences. Skip if you selected "Prepared.")

Cluster 9 Computing &Society Emerging Technologies

Identifier	Grade	Standard
`E3-CAS-17`	Grade 3	Describe how new technologies create both benefits and risks in personal and family life.
`E4-CAS-17`	Grade 4	Analyze how the limitations of existing technologies can lead to emerging technologies.
`E5-CAS-17`	Grade 5	Examine how people decide whether or not to use emerging technologies.

1. Coverage: Which FCCS competency or competencies prepared you for this cluster? Name them specifically (e.g., "C10 — Network Communication"). If none did, write "Not directly addressed in FCCS."

2. Readiness: How prepared do you feel to teach the standards in this cluster?

3. What's still missing: If you are not fully prepared, what would help? (One or two sentences. Skip if you selected "Prepared.")

Cluster 10 Computing &Society Humans &Computing

Identifier	Grade	Standard
`E3-CAS-18`	Grade 3	Examine why people design and build computing technologies.
`E4-CAS-18`	Grade 4	Distinguish between the ways humans learn and the ways computing technologies learn.
`E5-CAS-18`	Grade 5	Evaluate when it is appropriate to use or not use computing technologies to solve a problem.

1. Coverage: Which FCCS competency or competencies prepared you for this cluster? Name them specifically (e.g., "C10 — Network Communication"). If none did, write "Not directly addressed in FCCS."

2. Readiness: How prepared do you feel to teach the standards in this cluster?

3. What's still missing: If you are not fully prepared, what would help? (One or two sentences. Skip if you selected "Prepared.")

Cluster 11 Computing &Society Career Exploration

Identifier	Grade	Standard
`E3-CAS-19`	Grade 3	Explain how people in different industries use computing technologies and skills to accomplish their work.
`E4-CAS-19`	Grade 4	Investigate how the workforce adopts new computing technologies and continues to update their computing skills.
`E5-CAS-19`	Grade 5	Examine how professionals collaborate while using computing technologies to solve problems.

1. Coverage: Which FCCS competency or competencies prepared you for this cluster? Name them specifically (e.g., "C10 — Network Communication"). If none did, write "Not directly addressed in FCCS."

2. Readiness: How prepared do you feel to teach the standards in this cluster?

3. What's still missing: If you are not fully prepared, what would help? (One or two sentences. Skip if you selected "Prepared.")

For your small group discussion: Come prepared to share one cluster where you felt most prepared and one where you felt least prepared. Be specific about why. Notice where your group agrees and where they land differently — that variation is worth talking about.

Prepare Your Submission

When you have finished responding to all clusters, click the button below. Your responses will be compiled into a text block that you can copy and paste into a Word document or email to submit on Blackboard.

Copy the text above and paste it into a Word document. Save the document and upload it to Blackboard. Keep your own copy for reference in the CS Methods course.