Grade 6 Earth Science

Course Overview

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

1. What is Earth's place in the Universe?
2. What makes up our Solar System and how can the motion of Earth explain seasons and eclipses?
3. How do people figure out that Earth and life on Earth have changed over time?
4. How does the movement of tectonic plates impact the surface of the Earth?

The middle school Performance Expectations (PEs) in the earth sciences address these essential questions and build on PK-5 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 and space 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 storyline Download NGSS storyline for Earth science.

The learning sequence in Earth Science is organized around a series of driving questions that provide the context and motivation for learning.  Within each driving question, students engage in a series of 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.

Middle School Earth Science Grade 6 is comprised of four Driving Questions:

1. How do scientists work together to solve problems?
2. How might individuals and communities understand and mitigate the impacts of severe weather caused by climate change in our region?
3. How do scientists analyze the processes within the Earth that cause geologic activity?
4. How do scientists collect and analyze data that helps them understand the movement of space objects

Unit OVERVIEW

This unit on light and matter begins with a perplexing phenomenon of one-way mirrors and how this material can act as both a mirror and a window at the same time. Students directly observe and investigate the one-way mirror phenomenon using a scaled box model built from two combined boxes with a flashlight in one box, darkness in the other box, and a one-way mirror in between the two. Through this initial investigation, students figure out that the one-way mirror acts like a mirror on the light side of the system and a window on the dark side of the system. This experience prompts students to wonder: Why do we sometimes see different things when looking at the same object?

Students articulate a set of classroom norms to promote a safe and equitable classroom culture that they will use as they investigate and explain phenomena. They learn how to ask different kinds of questions about the phenomenon and how to model what they figure out to explain the phenomenon. Through their investigations, students figure out that the one-way mirror transmits about half the light and reflects about half the light that shines on it due to its microscale structures. Students engage in productive dialogue with their peers to come to consensus about how to model the unseen light interactions with the people and one-way mirror. Students then convince themselves that on the light side of the system, the one-way mirror reflects light as the strongest input to the eye, which is why a person sees their own reflection on this side. On the dark side of the system, the transmitted light from the light side is the strongest input to the eye, therefore why a person can see through to the light side. Using these ideas, students explain how light on either side of a material changes the light input entering the eyes, which affects what we see. Students apply these science ideas to explain why window glass can act like a one-way mirror in certain light conditions.

Through these investigations, students will do the following:

• Develop a shared set of classroom norms to guide their work together.
• Ask questions about the one-way mirror phenomenon that they investigate in the classroom by (1) manipulating light in the scaled box model, (2) measuring transmitted and reflected light off different materials, and (3) obtaining information from readings and videos. 
• Agree upon and develop models to explain how light interacts with the one-way mirror, glass, regular mirrors, the eye, and the brain.
• Use a model to explain how the one-way mirror acts like a mirror on the light side of the system and acts like a window on the dark side of the system.
• Apply to an everyday phenomenon the science ideas and models developed for explaining the one-way mirror.

Unit OVERVIEW

Students construct meaning by familiarizing themselves with a particular Earth structure that represents one or more of the constructive forces of different Earth processes. Students build their knowledge about Earth and the processes that shape it through models, data collection, analysis, and information sharing throughout the Unit. They look at earthquake and volcano data in real time, using the Internet and firsthand descriptions of the events. They observe and describe multiple years of data, and data using the visualization tool Google Earth. Students use this data to explain the processes making the plates move and changing Earth’s crust. They uncover patterns in the earthquake and volcano data and identify the plates and the ways they are moving. Students think about how these movements lead to different kinds of changes to the crust, how earthquakes happen in different places, how volcanoes are shaped in different ways, and how the topography of the land is different. By connecting all of the information gathered through readings, investigations, and information sharing, students are able to ultimately create an explanation for the changes happening in the region of their Earth structures. This will help students to answer the Big Question of the unit, How do scientists analyze the processes within the Earth that cause geologic activity?".The third unit of the year addresses, "How do scientists analyze the processes within the Earth that cause geologic activity?" and engages students in unique learning experiences which help them to understand disciplinary core ideas within ESS1: Earth's Place in the Universe, ESS2: Earth's Systems  and ESS3: Earth & Human Activity.

Students engage in the practices of science and engineering as they work to answer the big question throughout the unit. They use topographic maps and Earth-imaging software to explore the regions of their Earth structures. Students use computer-generated data maps from Google Earth to explore their region and to compare and contrast their Earth structure to others. Students read about and explore different models of Earth to compare its layers and come to conclusions about interactions between the layers. Students model plate interactions with clay and interpret their observations, preparing them to make inferences between the relationship of plate movements and earthquakes. They analyze real-time earthquake data to find patterns. They make these observations using data covering different time intervals, building the knowledge base needed until they have enough data to identify the plate boundaries in their Earth structure region. They engage in the processes used by scientists to observe and measure earthquakes. From the data and models, students begin to describe and explain the processes changing the crust in their region. They make connections between all that they have observed and learned about earthquakes and volcanoes. They refine their descriptions as they look at patterns in earthquake, volcano, and topographic data. They use this to finalize their explanation for the processes causing geologic activity in the region of their Earth structure and globally.

Decorative Image Source: NASA Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Unit OVERVIEW

During this unit, students pursue the driving question: How might individuals and communities understand and mitigate the impacts of severe weather caused by climate change in our region? and engage in unique learning experiences which help them to understand disciplinary core ideas within ESS2: Earth's Systems: How and why is the Earth constantly changing? and ESS3 : Earth and Human Activity.

Howard County residents recently experienced two major flooding events in 2016 and 2018 that destroyed much of Main Street Ellicott City. Flooding was caused by two events: extreme intense rainfall in a short time period and an increase in impervious surface in the county. Many school system families live and/or work in downtown Ellicott City. A third of our students live in or near the watershed that is impacted. All of our students live in a geographic region that is under continual development where human choices impact the environment. These choices and events have elevated climate change as a serious threat to our way of life.

Collaborative teams work to examine local data and understand types of severe weather impacting the Howard County region, such as the phenomenon of flooding and extreme heat. Students identify human activities that impact weather and how extreme weather impacts humans and communities. Students identify the stakeholders that are most impacted and who can improve the issue. Students investigate solutions for communities to prepare for or mitigate the impacts of these events and create recommendations to combat climate change.

Decorative Image Source: The Howard County Conservancy

Unit OVERVIEW

The fourth unit of the year addresses Driving Question 4: How do scientists collect and analyze data that helps them understand the movement of space objects? and engages students in unique learning experiences which help them to understand disciplinary core ideas within ESS1: Earth's Place in the Universe, PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and interactions and PS4 Waves & Their Applications. Students are introduced to the Big Question: How can you know if objects in space will collide? After being introduced to the question, students explore an  example of a meteorite falling throughout Earth’s atmosphere and hitting objects. This story begins the engagement of students into the Big Question and is followed by a short video of various collisions. Through each of these examples, students begin to identify evidence of collisions. In small groups, students share what they have seen and begin to identify patterns related to size and mass of objects and the damage they do when they collide. They also begin to consider how knowing the motion of objects in space can help predict collisions and share their current questions and ideas with the class. Students make observations, collect data around the predictability of collisions when the path and destination are known compared to when they are unknown and share their results. In this initial activity, students begin to create additional questions about collisions

Decorative Image Source: NASA Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons