Search the California Content Standards

Title: K-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

Performance Expectation: Ask questions to obtain information about the purpose of weather forecasting to prepare for, and respond to, severe weather.* [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on local forms of severe weather.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS3.B: Natural Hazards Some kinds of severe weather are more likely than others in a given region. Weather scientists forecast severe weather so that the communities can prepare for and respond to these events. ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems Asking questions, making observations, and gathering information are helpful in thinking about problems. (secondary to K-ESS3-2)

Science & Engineering Practices: Asking Questions and Defining Problems Ask questions based on observations to find more information about the designed world.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Events have causes that generate observable patterns. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology People encounter questions about the natural world every day. Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World People depend on various technologies in their lives; human life would be very different without technology.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle I The continuation and health of individual human lives and of human communities and societies depend on the health of the natural systems that provide essential goods and ecosystem services. Principle II The long-term functioning and health of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems are influenced by their relationships with human societies.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RI.K.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. SL.K.3: Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood. Mathematics MP.4: Model with mathematics. K.CC.1-3: Know number names and the count sequence. K.CC.4-5: Count to tell the number of objects. K.CC.6-7: Compare numbers.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: K.ETS1.A Articulation across grade-bands: 2.ESS1.C; 3.ESS3.B; 4.ESS3.B

Title: 2-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative scaling in models.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions Maps show where things are located. One can map the shapes and kinds of land and water in any area.

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models Develop a model to represent patterns in the natural world.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Patterns in the natural world can be observed.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy SL.2.5: Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. 2.NBT.3: Read and write numbers to 1000 using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in second grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 4.ESS2.B; 5.ESS2.C

Title: 3-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

Performance Expectation: Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of design solutions to weather-related hazards could include barriers to prevent flooding, wind resistant roofs, and lightning rods.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS3.B: Natural Hazards A variety of natural hazards result from natural processes. Humans cannot eliminate natural hazards but can take steps to reduce their impacts. (Note: This Disciplinary Core Idea is also addressed by 4-ESS3-2.)

Science & Engineering Practices: Engaging in Argument from Evidence Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem by citing relevant evidence about how it meets the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified, tested, and used to explain change. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World Engineers improve existing technologies or develop new ones to increase their benefits (e.g., better artificial limbs), decrease known risks (e.g., seatbelts in cars), and meet societal demands (e.g., cell phones). Connections to Nature of Science: Science is a Human Endeavor Science affects everyday life.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy W.3.1.a–d: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons. W.3.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in third grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: K.ESS3.B; K.ETS1.A; 4.ESS3.B; 4.ETS1.A; MS.ESS3.B

Title: 4-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features. [Clarification Statement: Maps can include topographic maps of Earth’s land and ocean floor, as well as maps of the locations of mountains, continental boundaries, volcanoes, and earthquakes.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions The locations of mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, ocean floor structures, earthquakes, and volcanoes occur in patterns. Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur in bands that are often along the boundaries between continents and oceans. Major mountain chains form inside continents or near their edges. Maps can help locate the different land and water features areas of Earth.

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena using logical reasoning.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Patterns can be used as evidence to support an explanation.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RI.4.7: Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears. Mathematics 4.MD.2: Use the four operations to solve word problems involving distances, intervals of time, liquid volumes, masses of objects, and money, including problems involving simple fractions or decimals, and problems that require expressing measurements given in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Represent measurement quantities using diagrams such as number line diagrams that feature a measurement scale.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fourth grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 2.ESS2.B; 2.ESS2.C; 5.ESS2.C; MS.ESS1.C; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.B

Title: 4-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

Performance Expectation: Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of solutions could include designing an earthquake resistant building and improving monitoring of volcanic activity.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS3.B: Natural Hazards A variety of hazards result from natural processes (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions). Humans cannot eliminate the hazards but can take steps to reduce their impacts. (Note: This Disciplinary Core Idea can also be found in 3.WC.) ETS1.B: Designing Solutions to Engineering Problems Testing a solution involves investigating how well it performs under a range of likely conditions. (secondary to 4-ESS3-2)

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the design solution.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified, tested, and used to explain change. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Influence of Science, Engineering and Technology on Society and the Natural World Engineers improve existing technologies or develop new ones to increase their benefits, to decrease known risks, and to meet societal demands.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle I The continuation and health of individual human lives and of human communities and societies depend on the health of the natural systems that provide essential goods and ecosystem services.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RI.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. RI.4.9: Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. 4.OA.1: Interpret a multiplication equation as a comparison, e.g., interpret 35 = 5 × 7 as a statement that 35 is 5 times as many as 7 and 7 times as many as 5. Represent verbal statements of multiplicative comparisons as multiplication equations.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fourth grade: 4.ETS1.C Articulation across grade-levels: K.ETS1.A; 2.ETS1.B; 2.ETS1.C; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS3.B; MS.ETS1.B

Title: MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions. [Clarification Statement: Examples of data include similarities of rock and fossil types on different continents, the shapes of the continents (including continental shelves), and the locations of ocean structures (such as ridges, fracture zones, and trenches).] [Assessment Boundary: Paleomagnetic anomalies in oceanic and continental crust are not assessed.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth Tectonic processes continually generate new ocean sea floor at ridges and destroy old sea floor at trenches. (HS.ESS1.C GBE) (secondary to MS-ESS2-3) ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions Maps of ancient land and water patterns, based on investigations of rocks and fossils, make clear how Earth’s plates have moved great distances, collided, and spread apart.

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for phenomena. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge is Open to Revision in Light of New Evidence Science findings are frequently revised and/or reinterpreted based on new evidence.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Patterns in rates of change and other numerical relationships can provide information about natural systems.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle III Natural systems proceed through cycles that humans depend upon, benefit from, and can alter.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RST.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. RST.6-8.7: Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). RST.6-8.9: Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 6.EE.6: Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set. 7.EE.4.a-b: Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.LS4.A Articulation across grade-bands: 3.LS4.A; 3.ESS3.B; 4.ESS1.C; 4.ESS2.B; 4.ESS3.B; HS.LS4.A; HS.LS4.C; HS.ESS1.C; HS.ESS2.A; HS.ESS2.B

Title: MS-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

Performance Expectation: Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how some natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions and severe weather, are preceded by phenomena that allow for reliable predictions, but others, such as earthquakes, occur suddenly and with no notice, and thus are not yet predictable. Examples of natural hazards can be taken from interior processes (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions), surface processes (such as mass wasting and tsunamis), or severe weather events (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods). Examples of data can include the locations, magnitudes, and frequencies of the natural hazards. Examples of technologies can be global (such as satellite systems to monitor hurricanes or forest fires) or local (such as building basements in tornado-prone regions or reservoirs to mitigate droughts).]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS3.B: Natural Hazards Mapping the history of natural hazards in a region, combined with an understanding of related geologic forces can help forecast the locations and likelihoods of future events.

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data Analyze and interpret data to determine similarities and differences in findings.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Graphs, charts, and images can be used to identify patterns in data. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World The uses of technologies and any limitations on their use are driven by individual or societal needs, desires, and values; by the findings of scientific research; and by differences in such factors as climate, natural resources, and economic conditions. Thus technology use varies from region to region and over time.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle I The continuation and health of individual human lives and of human communities and societies depend on the health of the natural systems that provide essential goods and ecosystem services. Principle II The long-term functioning and health of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems are influenced by their relationships with human societies.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RST.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. RST.6-8.7: Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 6.EE.6: Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set. 7.EE.4.a-b: Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.PS3.C Articulation across grade-bands: 3.ESS3.B; 4.ESS3.B; HS.ESS2.B; HS.ESS2.D; HS.ESS3.B; HS.ESS3.D

Title: HS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe

Performance Expectation: Evaluate evidence of the past and current movements of continental and oceanic crust and the theory of plate tectonics to explain the ages of crustal rocks. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the ability of plate tectonics to explain the ages of crustal rocks. Examples include evidence of the ages oceanic crust increasing with distance from mid-ocean ridges (a result of plate spreading) and the ages of North American continental crust decreasing with distance away from a central ancient core of the continental plate (a result of past plate interactions).]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth Continental rocks, which can be older than 4 billion years, are generally much older than the rocks of the ocean floor, which are less than 200 million years old. ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions Plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains the past and current movements of the rocks at Earth’s surface and provides a framework for understanding its geologic history. (ESS2.B Grade 8 GBE) (secondary to HS-ESS1-5) PS1.C: Nuclear Processes Spontaneous radioactive decays follow a characteristic exponential decay law. Nuclear lifetimes allow radiometric dating to be used to determine the ages of rocks and other materials. (secondary to HS-ESS1-5)

Science & Engineering Practices: Engaging in Argument from Evidence Evaluate evidence behind currently accepted explanations or solutions to determine the merits of arguments.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Empirical evidence is needed to identify patterns.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RST.11-12.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account. RST.11-12.8: Evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis, and conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the data when possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other sources of information. WHST.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes. WHST.11-12.2: Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. N-Q.1-3: Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS3.B; HS.ESS2.A Articulation across grade-bands: MS.ESS1.C; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.B

Title: HS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe

Performance Expectation: Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth’s formation and early history. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using available evidence within the solar system to reconstruct the early history of Earth, which formed along with the rest of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Examples of evidence include the absolute ages of ancient materials (obtained by radiometric dating of meteorites, moon rocks, and Earth’s oldest minerals), the sizes and compositions of solar system objects, and the impact cratering record of planetary surfaces.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth Although active geologic processes, such as plate tectonics and erosion, have destroyed or altered most of the very early rock record on Earth, other objects in the solar system, such as lunar rocks, asteroids, and meteorites, have changed little over billions of years. Studying these objects can provide information about Earth’s formation and early history. PS1.C: Nuclear Processes Spontaneous radioactive decays follow a characteristic exponential decay law. Nuclear lifetimes allow radiometric dating to be used to determine the ages of rocks and other materials. (secondary to HS-ESS1-6)

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Apply scientific reasoning to link evidence to the claims to assess the extent to which the reasoning and data support the explanation or conclusion. Connections to Nature of Science: Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena A scientific theory is a substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment and the science community validates each theory before it is accepted. If new evidence is discovered that the theory does not accommodate, the theory is generally modified in light of this new evidence. Models, mechanisms, and explanations collectively serve as tools in the development of a scientific theory.

Crosscutting Concepts: Stability and Change Much of science deals with constructing explanations of how things change and how they remain stable.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RST.11-12.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account. RST.11-12.8: Evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis, and conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the data when possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other sources of information. WHST.9-12.1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. N-Q.1-3: Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems. F-IF.5: Relate the domain of a function to its graph and, where applicable, to the quantitative relationship it describes. S-ID.6.a-c: Represent data on two quantitative variables on a scatter plot, and describe how those variables are related.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS2.A; HS.PS2.B Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS2.B; MS.ESS1.B; MS.ESS1.C; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.B

Title: HS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Develop a model to illustrate how Earth’s internal and surface processes operate at different spatial and temporal scales to form continental and ocean-floor features. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how the appearance of land features (such as mountains, valleys, and plateaus) and sea-floor features (such as trenches, ridges, and seamounts) are a result of both constructive forces (such as volcanism, tectonic uplift, and orogeny) and destructive mechanisms (such as weathering, mass wasting, and coastal erosion).] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include memorization of the details of the formation of specific geographic features of Earth’s surface.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems Earth’s systems, being dynamic and interacting, cause feedback effects that can increase or decrease the original changes. ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions Plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains the past and current movements of the rocks at Earth’s surface and provides a framework for understanding its geologic history. Plate movements are responsible for most continental and ocean-floor features and for the distribution of most rocks and minerals within Earth’s crust. (ESS2.B Grade 8 GBE)

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the relationships between systems or between components of a system.

Crosscutting Concepts: Stability and Change Change and rates of change can be quantified and modeled over very short or very long periods of time. Some system changes are irreversible.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle III Natural systems proceed through cycles that humans depend upon, benefit from, and can alter. Principle IV The exchange of matter between natural systems and human societies affects the long-term functioning of both.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy SL.11-12.5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. N-Q.1-3: Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS2.B Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS2.B; MS.LS2.B; MS.ESS1.C; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.B; MS.ESS2.C; MS.ESS2.D