Earth & Space Systems Science G/T

Course Overview

In this course, students will use the Science and Engineering Practices and Crosscutting Concepts of Science to build an understanding of: the universe and Earth’s place in it (stars, planets, and Earth’s history); the dynamic and interrelated systems of the Earth (Earth materials, plate tectonics and other large scale system interaction, water and Earth’s surface processes, weather, and climate), and the interactions between Earth’s surface processes and human activities (natural resources, natural hazards, human impact on Earth systems, and global climate change). Earth and Space Systems Science G/T is an enriched course with additional opportunities to dig deeper into content. Engineering design is incorporated as students consider technological solutions to real-world problems. This course supports environmental literacy and fulfills the Earth Science graduation requirement.

High school Earth science learning is intended to equip students to address the following essential questions as identified within the Next Generation Science Standards. 

1. What is the universe, and what is Earth’s place in it?
2. How and why is Earth constantly changing?
3. How do Earth’s surface processes and human activities affect each other?

The high school Performance Expectations (PEs) in the Earth sciences address these essential questions and build on 6-8 ideas and experiences.  They blend Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) with Scientific and Engineering Practices (SEP) and Crosscutting Concepts (CCC) to support students in developing usable knowledge to explain real-world phenomena in the Earth sciences.  In Earth Science, students regularly engage in asking scientific questions that drive their investigations and lead to increasingly sophisticated evaluation of data and their presentation.  Students also have opportunities to learn and apply engineering-specific practices such as designing solutions to identified problems. Read the full NGSS storylineLinks to an external site. for high school Earth science.

The learning sequence in Earth Science is organized around a series of driving questions that provide the context and motivation for learning.  While exploring each driving question, students engage in unique learning experiences that are carefully designed to immerse them in the SEPs as they construct their understanding of important concepts. These experiences are carefully sequenced so that students encounter ideas that are developmentally and cognitively appropriate.  By the end of the learning experiences,  students will be able to meet the NGSS performance expectations and address the driving questions.

Unit OVERVIEW

Students will independently use their learning to answer the questions, “What makes Earth ideal for life? Are there other Earth-like planets out in space?” For almost 12,000 years, Earth has been an ideal place for humans and other living things to evolve. But a once very livable Earth is becoming less livable due to human-caused stresses to Earth’s systems. After brainstorming possible solutions, students investigate the possibility of finding another Earth-like home in our galaxy. Students develop a model to explain what makes Earth an ideal place for us to live based on patterns observed at different scales in data from simulations related to the stability of stars, planet formation, and planetary motion. They then use their models and explanations to consider other solar systems and to argue from evidence about which exoplanet is most Earth-like. This unit is from New Visions and has received the NGSS Design Badge Links to an external site. for high-quality instructional materials. 

Unit OVERVIEW

Students will independently use their learning to answer the questions, “How have Earth's atmosphere and surface conditions evolved over its history, and what might occur in the future of Earth's lifespan?”  Students will gather evidence from events in Earth’s history to construct a geologic timeline. Through this timeline, students develop an understanding of how Earth’s habitability has changed over time due to mass extinctions and atmospheric concentrations. Students then make a prediction for Earth’s future based on their knowledge of extinction events and their effects.Students develop models and explanations for the ways that feedback between different Earth systems control the appearance of Earth’s surface. Central to this is the tension between internal systems, which are largely responsible for creating land at Earth’s surface. The crosscutting concepts of cause and effect, energy and matter, structure and function and stability and change are called out as organizing concepts for these disciplinary core ideas.  In the ESS2 performance expectations, students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, and engaging in argument; and to use these practices to demonstrate understanding of the core ideas.  

Unit OVERVIEW

Students will be able to independently use their learning to formulate an answer to the question:  “Where on Earth is the next natural disaster (volcanic eruption, earthquake, tsunami) most likely to occur, and how might these disasters be mitigated?”  At the beginning of the unit, students will examine various different eruptions in order to make observations and inferences about the risks posed by natural disasters.  The unit performance task is to use evidence to develop an argument about a location on Earth where a natural disaster is most likely to occur, and conduct a risk assessment with an emergency management plan to determine how to safely construct a home.The ESS2 Disciplinary Core Idea from the NRC Framework includes: Earth materials and systems, plate tectonics and large-scale system interactions, and the roles of water in Earth’s surface processes.  Students develop models and explanations for the ways that feedback between different Earth systems control the appearance of Earth’s surface. Central to this is the tension between internal systems, which are largely responsible for creating land at Earth’s surface, and the sun-driven surface systems that tear down the land through weathering and erosion. Students begin to examine the ways that human activities cause feedback that create changes to other systems.  The crosscutting concepts of cause and effect, energy and matter, and stability and change are called out as organizing concepts for these disciplinary core ideas.  In the ESS2 performance expectations, students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in developing and using models, constructing explanations, and engaging in argument; and to use these practices to demonstrate understanding of the core ideas.  

Unit OVERVIEW

In development 

Unit OVERVIEW

Students will be able to independently use their learning to answer the question, “Will there be more frequent and more intense severe storms in the future?” In this unit, students figure out the processes that cause weather phenomena, and they make qualitative claims about how climate change can affect storm frequency and intensity. To do this, they use a variety of physical and computer models related to these weather phenomena to explore the cause and effect relationships among variables such as temperature, water vapor, and air pressure; analyze and interpret national and global weather and climate data to find spatial and temporal patterns; construct explanations about what causes these types of storms; and engage in argument based on evidence from models and the data about what might happen in the future.

The 2015 and 2017 hurricane and blizzard seasons tell a story about changes to climate. While the occurrence of hurricanes increased, blizzards stayed about the same although there has been more snow. Blizzards are getting more intense. In this performance task students make a prediction, based on evidence, about the frequency and intensity of hurricanes and blizzards over the next decade.

Unit OVERVIEW

In development