Environmental Science

Family & Community Resources Environmental Science

Acadia National Park

Course Overview

This Maryland Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) aligned elective course builds on the foundations of the earth, life, and physical sciences. It is designed for students to experience the interdisciplinary nature of environmental science. Students will use the Science and Engineering Practices to construct an understanding of the interdependence of organisms, populations, and natural resources; renewable and nonrenewable energy resources; and humans’ impact on the environment. Students will participate in frequent descriptive and field investigations, service projects, and research related to environmental law. Students will also have the opportunity to explore environmental careers. This course features learning that supports the disciplines of Earth/Space Science, Life Science, and Physical Science. 

The high school Performance Expectations (PEs) in Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science build on the previous ideas and skills and allow high school students to explain more in-depth phenomena. 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 across the science disciplines.  In Environmental Science, students regularly engage in asking scientific questions that drive their investigations and lead to increasingly sophisticated evaluation of data and their presentation.

The learning sequence in Environmental 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 below:

  1. How and why do organisms interact with their environment, and what are the effects of these interactions?
  2. How and why is Earth constantly changing?
  3. How is energy transferred and conserved in renewable and nonrenewable resources?
  4. How do Earth’s surface processes and human activities affect each other?

This course content is offered under a  CC Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike Links to an external site. license. Content in this course can be considered under this license unless otherwise noted.