Search the California Content Standards

Title: K-PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Performance Expectation: Analyze data to determine if a design solution works as intended to change the speed or direction of an object with a push or a pull.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of problems requiring a solution could include having a marble or other object move a certain distance, follow a particular path, and knock down other objects. Examples of solutions could include tools such as a ramp to increase the speed of the object and a structure that would cause an object such as a marble or ball to turn.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include friction as a mechanism for change in speed.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS2.A: Forces and Motion Pushes and pulls can have different strengths and directions. Pushing or pulling on an object can change the speed or direction of its motion and can start or stop it. PS2.B: Types of Interactions When objects touch or collide, they push on one another and can change motion. ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems A situation that people want to change or create can be approached as a problem to be solved through engineering. Such problems may have many acceptable solutions. (secondary to K-PS2-2)

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data Analyze data from tests of an object or tool to determine if it works as intended.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Simple tests can be designed to gather evidence to support or refute student ideas about causes.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

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.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in kindergarten: K.ETS1.A; K.ETS1.B Articulation across grade-levels: 2.ETS1.B; 3.PS2.A; 4.ETS1.A

Title: 1-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe

Performance Expectation: Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted. [Clarification Statement: Examples of patterns could include that the sun and moon appear to rise in one part of the sky, move across the sky, and set; and stars other than our sun are visible at night but not during the day.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment of star patterns is limited to stars being seen at night and not during the day.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.A: The Universe and its Stars Patterns of the motion of the sun, moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, and predicted.

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data Use observations (firsthand or from media) to describe patterns in the natural world in order to answer scientific questions.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Patterns in the natural world can be observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems Science assumes natural events happen today as they happened in the past. Many events are repeated.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy W.1.7: Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of “how-to” books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions). W.1.8: With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in first grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 3.PS2.A; 5.PS2.B; 5-ESS1.B

Title: 1-PS4 Waves and their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

Performance Expectation: Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that objects can be seen only when illuminated. [Clarification Statement: Examples of observations could include those made in a completely dark room, a pinhole box, and a video of a cave explorer with a flashlight. Illumination could be from an external light source or by an object giving off its own light.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation Objects can be seen if light is available to illuminate them or if they give off their own light.

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Make observations (firsthand or from media) to construct an evidence-based account for natural phenomena.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Simple tests can be designed to gather evidence to support or refute student ideas about causes.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy W.1.2: Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure. W.1.7: Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of “how-to” books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions). W.1.8: With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. SL.1.1.a–c: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in first grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 4.PS4.B

Title: 4-PS3 Energy

Performance Expectation: Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of devices could include electric circuits that convert electrical energy into motion energy of a vehicle, light, or sound; and, a passive solar heater that converts light into heat. Examples of constraints could include the materials, cost, or time to design the device.] [Assessment Boundary: Devices should be limited to those that convert motion energy to electric energy or use stored energy to cause motion or produce light or sound.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer Energy can also be transferred from place to place by electric currents, which can then be used locally to produce motion, sound, heat, or light. The currents may have been produced to begin with by transforming the energy of motion into electrical energy. PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes The expression “produce energy” typically refers to the conversion of stored energy into a desired form for practical use. ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems Possible solutions to a problem are limited by available materials and resources (constraints). The success of a designed solution is determined by considering the desired features of a solution (criteria). Different proposals for solutions can be compared on the basis of how well each one meets the specified criteria for success or how well each takes the constraints into account. (secondary to 4-PS3-4)

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Apply scientific ideas to solve design problems.

Crosscutting Concepts: Energy and Matter Energy can be transferred in various ways and between objects. 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. Connections to Nature of Science: Science is a Human Endeavor Most scientists and engineers work in teams. Science affects everyday life.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy W.4.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. W.4.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes, paraphrase, and categorize information, and provide a list of sources. Mathematics 4.OA.3: Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four operations, including problems in which remainders must be interpreted. Represent these problems using equations with a letter standing for the unknown quantity. Assess the reasonableness of answers using mental computation and estimation strategies including rounding.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fourth grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: K.ETS1.A; 2.ETS1.B; 5.PS3.D; 5.LS1.C; MS.PS3.A; MS.PS3.B; MS.ETS1.B; MS.ETS1.C

Title: 5-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe

Performance Expectation: Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky. [Clarification Statement: Examples of patterns could include the position and motion of Earth with respect to the sun and selected stars that are visible only in particular months.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include causes of seasons.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System The orbits of Earth around the sun and of the moon around Earth, together with the rotation of Earth about an axis between its North and South poles, cause observable patterns. These include day and night; daily changes in the length and direction of shadows; and different positions of the sun, moon, and stars at different times of the day, month, and year.

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data Represent data in graphical displays (bar graphs, pictographs and/or pie charts) to reveal patterns that indicate relationships.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Similarities and differences in patterns can be used to sort, classify, communicate and analyze simple rates of change for natural phenomena.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy SL.5.5: Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. 5.G.2: Represent real world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in the context of the situation.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fifth grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 1.ESS1.A; 1.ESS1.B; 3.PS2.A; MS.ESS1.A; MS.ESS1.B

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

Performance Expectation: Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the analysis of data from Earth-based instruments, space-based telescopes, and spacecraft to determine similarities and differences among solar system objects. Examples of scale properties include the sizes of an object’s layers (such as crust and atmosphere), surface features (such as volcanoes), and orbital radius. Examples of data include statistical information, drawings and photographs, and models.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include recalling facts about properties of the planets and other solar system bodies.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System The solar system consists of the sun and a collection of objects, including planets, their moons, and asteroids that are held in orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them.

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

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity Time, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology Engineering advances have led to important discoveries in virtually every field of science and scientific discoveries have led to the development of entire industries and engineered systems.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

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.RP.1: Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. For example, "The ratio of wings to beaks in the bird house at the zoo was 2:1, because for every 2 wings there was one beak." "For every vote candidate A received, candidate C received nearly three votes." 7.RP.2.a-d: Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.ESS2.A Articulation across grade-bands: 5.ESS1.B; HS.ESS1.B; HS.ESS2.A

Title: MS-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

Performance Expectation: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how these resources are limited and typically non-renewable, and how their distributions are significantly changing as a result of removal by humans. Examples of uneven distributions of resources as a result of past processes include but are not limited to petroleum (locations of the burial of organic marine sediments and subsequent geologic traps), metal ores (locations of past volcanic and hydrothermal activity associated with subduction zones), and soil (locations of active weathering and/or deposition of rock).]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS3.A: Natural Resources Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources. Minerals, fresh water, and biosphere resources are limited, and many are not renewable or replaceable over human lifetimes. These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes.

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Construct a scientific explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from sources (including the students’ own experiments) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World All human activity draws on natural resources and has both short and long-term consequences, positive as well as negative, for the health of people and the natural environment.

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. WHST.6-8.2.a-f: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. WHST.6-8.9: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Mathematics 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.PS1.A; MS.PS1.B; MS.ESS2.D Articulation across grade-bands: 4.PS3.D; 4.ESS3.A; HS.PS3.B; HS.LS1.C; HS.ESS2.A; HS.ESS2.B; HS.ESS2.C; HS.ESS3.A

Title: MS-PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Performance Expectation: Apply Newton’s Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of practical problems could include the impact of collisions between two cars, between a car and stationary objects, and between a meteor and a space vehicle.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to vertical or horizontal interactions in one dimension.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS2.A: Forces and Motion For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (Newton’s third law).

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Apply scientific ideas or principles to design an object, tool, process or system.

Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions—such as inputs, processes and outputs—and energy and matter flows within systems. 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.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy RST.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions. RST.6-8.3: Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks. WHST.6-8.7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 6.NS.5: Understand that positive and negative numbers are used together to describe quantities having opposite directions or values; use positive and negative numbers to represent quantities in real-world contexts, explaining the meaning of 0 in each situation. 6.EE.2.a-c: Write, read, and evaluate expressions in which letters stand for numbers. 7.EE.3-4: Solve real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.PS3.C Articulation across grade-bands: 3.PS2.A; HS.PS2.A

Title: MS-PS3 Energy

Performance Expectation: Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of devices could include an insulated box, a solar cooker, and a Styrofoam cup.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include calculating the total amount of thermal energy transferred.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS3.A: Definitions of Energy Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles of matter. The relationship between the temperature and the total energy of a system depends on the types, states, and amounts of matter present. PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer Energy is spontaneously transferred out of hotter regions or objects and into colder ones. ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems The more precisely a design task’s criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specification of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that is likely to limit possible solutions. (secondary to MS-PS3-3) ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions A solution needs to be tested, and then modified on the basis of the test results in order to improve it. There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet criteria and constraints of a problem. (secondary to MS-PS3-3)

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Apply scientific ideas or principles to design, construct, and test a design of an object, tool, process or system.

Crosscutting Concepts: Energy and Matter The transfer of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a designed or natural system.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
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 RST.6-8.3: Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks. WHST.6-8.7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.PS1.B; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.C; MS.ESS2.D Articulation across grade-bands: 4.PS3.B; HS.PS3.B

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

Performance Expectation: Construct an explanation of the Big Bang theory based on astronomical evidence of light spectra, motion of distant galaxies, and composition of matter in the universe. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the astronomical evidence of the red shift of light from galaxies as an indication that the universe is currently expanding, the cosmic microwave background as the remnant radiation from the Big Bang, and the observed composition of ordinary matter of the universe, primarily found in stars and interstellar gases (from the spectra of electromagnetic radiation from stars), which matches that predicted by the Big Bang theory (3/4 hydrogen and 1/4 helium).]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.A: The Universe and its Stars The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth. The Big Bang theory is supported by observations of distant galaxies receding from our own, of the measured composition of stars and non-stellar gases, and of the maps of spectra of the primordial radiation (cosmic microwave background) that still fills the universe. Other than the hydrogen and helium formed at the time of the Big Bang, nuclear fusion within stars produces all atomic nuclei lighter than and including iron, and the process releases electromagnetic energy. Heavier elements are produced when certain massive stars achieve a supernova stage and explode. PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation Atoms of each element emit and absorb characteristic frequencies of light. These characteristics allow identification of the presence of an element, even in microscopic quantities. (secondary to HS-ESS1-2)

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Construct an explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from a variety of sources (including students’ own investigations, theories, simulations, peer review) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future. 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.

Crosscutting Concepts: Energy and Matter Energy cannot be created or destroyed–only moved between one place and another place, between objects and/or fields, or between systems. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology Science and engineering complement each other in the cycle known as research and development (R&D). Many R&D projects may involve scientists, engineers, and others with wide ranges of expertise. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems Scientific knowledge is based on the assumption that natural laws operate today as they did in the past and they will continue to do so in the future. Science assumes the universe is a vast single system in which basic laws are consistent.

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. 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. A-SSE.1.a-b: Interpret expressions that represent a quantity in terms of its context. A-CED.2: Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities; graph equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales. A-CED.4: Rearrange formulas to highlight a quantity of interest, using the same reasoning as in solving equations.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS1.A; HS.PS1.C; HS.PS3.A; HS.PS3.B; HS.PS4.A Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS1.A; MS.PS4.B; MS.ESS1.A