Search the California Content Standards

Title: K-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Performance Expectation: Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive. [Clarification Statement: Examples of patterns could include that animals need to take in food but plants do not; the different kinds of food needed by different types of animals; the requirement of plants to have light; and, that all living things need water.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms All animals need food in order to live and grow. They obtain their food from plants or from other animals. Plants need water and light to live and grow.

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. Connections to Nature of Science:: Scientific Knowledge is Based on Empirical Evidence Scientists look for patterns and order when making observations about the world.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Patterns in the natural and human designed world can be observed and used as evidence.

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 W.K.7: Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of books by a favorite author and express opinions about them). Mathematics K.MD.2: Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has “more of”/”less of” the attribute, and describe the difference. For example, directly compare the heights of two children and describe one child as taller/ shorter.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in kindergarten: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 1.LS1.A; 2.LS2.A; 3.LS2.C; 3.LS4.B; 5.LS1.C; 5.LS2.A

Title: 3-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Performance Expectation: Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death. [Clarification Statement: Changes organisms go through during their life form a pattern.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment of plant life cycles is limited to those of flowering plants. Assessment does not include details of human reproduction.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms Reproduction is essential to the continued existence of every kind of organism. Plants and animals have unique and diverse life cycles.

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models Develop models to describe phenomena. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge is Based on Empirical Evidence Science findings are based on recognizing patterns.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Patterns of change can be used to make predictions.

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 RI.3.7: Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur). SL.3.5: Create engaging audio recordings of stories or poems that demonstrate fluid reading at an understandable pace; add visual displays when appropriate to emphasize or enhance certain facts or details. Mathematics MP.4: Model with mathematics. 3.NBT.1-3: Use place value understanding and properties of operations to perform multi-digit arithmetic. 3.NF.1-3: Develop understanding of fractions as numbers.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in third grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: MS.LS1.B

Title: 3-LS3 Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Performance Expectation: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms. [Clarification Statement: Patterns are the similarities and differences in traits shared between offspring and their parents, or among siblings. Emphasis is on organisms other than humans.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include genetic mechanisms of inheritance and prediction of traits. Assessment is limited to non-human examples.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits Many characteristics of organisms are inherited from their parents. LS3.B: Variation of Traits Different organisms vary in how they look and function because they have different inherited information.

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

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Similarities and differences in patterns can be used to sort and classify natural phenomena.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
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.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. RI.3.2: Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea. RI.3.3: Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect. W.3.2.a–d: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. SL.3.4: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace. a. Plan and deliver an informative/explanatory presentation on a topic that: organizes ideas around major points of information, follows a logical sequence, includes supporting details, uses clear and specific vocabulary, and provides a strong conclusion. Mathematics MP.4: Model with mathematics. MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 3.MD.4: Generate measurement data by measuring lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch. Show the data by making a line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked off in appropriate units—whole numbers, halves, or quarters.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in third grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 1.LS3.A; 1.LS3.B; MS.LS3.A; MS.LS3.B

Title: 3-PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Performance Expectation: Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion. [Clarification Statement: Examples of motion with a predictable pattern could include a child swinging in a swing, a ball rolling back and forth in a bowl, and two children on a see-saw.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include technical terms such as period and frequency.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS2.A: Forces and Motion The patterns of an object’s motion in various situations can be observed and measured; when that past motion exhibits a regular pattern, future motion can be predicted from it. (Boundary: Technical terms, such as magnitude, velocity, momentum, and vector quantity, are not introduced at this level, but the concept that some quantities need both size and direction to be described is developed.)

Science & Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Make observations and/or measurements to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence for an explanation of a phenomenon or test a design solution. Connections to Nature of Science: Science Knowledge is Based on Empirical Evidence Science findings are based on recognizing patterns.

Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Patterns of change can be used to make predictions.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy W.3.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic. W.3.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in third grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 1.ESS1.A; 4.PS4.A; MS.PS2.A; MS.ESS1.B

Title: 5-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact. [Clarification Statement: The geosphere, hydrosphere (including ice), atmosphere, and biosphere are each system is a part of the whole Earth System. Examples could include the influence of the ocean on ecosystems, landform shape, and climate; the influence of the atmosphere on landforms and ecosystems through weather and climate; and the influence of mountain ranges on winds and clouds in the atmosphere. The geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere are each a system.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to the interactions of two systems at a time.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems Earth’s major systems are the geosphere (solid and molten rock, soil, and sediments), the hydrosphere (water and ice), the atmosphere (air), and the biosphere (living things, including humans). These systems interact in multiple ways to affect Earth’s surface materials and processes. The ocean supports a variety of ecosystems and organisms, shapes landforms, and influences climate. Winds and clouds in the atmosphere interact with the landforms to determine patterns of weather.

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models Develop a model using an example to describe a scientific principle.

Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.

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 RI.5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently. 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: 2.ESS2.A; 3.ESS2.D; 4.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.C; MS.ESS2.D

Title: MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the processes of melting, crystallization, weathering, deformation, and sedimentation, which act together to form minerals and rocks through the cycling of Earth’s materials.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the identification and naming of minerals.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems All Earth processes are the result of energy flowing and matter cycling within and among the planet’s systems. This energy is derived from the sun and Earth’s hot interior. The energy that flows and matter that cycles produce chemical and physical changes in Earth’s materials and living organisms.

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models Develop and use a model to describe phenomena.

Crosscutting Concepts: Stability and Change Explanations of stability and change in natural or designed systems can be constructed by examining the changes over time and processes at different scales, including the atomic scale.

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 SL.8.5: Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.PS1.A; MS.PS1.B; MS.PS3.B; MS.LS2.B; MS.LS2.C; MS.ESS1.B; MS.ESS3.C Articulation across grade-bands: 4.PS3.B; 4.ESS2.A; 5.ESS2.A; HS.PS1.B; HS.PS3.B; HS.LS1.C; HS.LS2.B; HS.ESS2.A; HS.ESS2.C; HS.ESS2.E

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: MS-PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Performance Expectation: Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on balanced (Newton’s First Law) and unbalanced forces in a system, qualitative comparisons of forces, mass and changes in motion (Newton’s Second Law), frame of reference, and specification of units.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to forces and changes in motion in one-dimension in an inertial reference frame and to change in one variable at a time. Assessment does not include the use of trigonometry.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS2.A: Forces and Motion The motion of an object is determined by the sum of the forces acting on it; if the total force on the object is not zero, its motion will change. The greater the mass of the object, the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion. For any given object, a larger force causes a larger change in motion. All positions of objects and the directions of forces and motions must be described in an arbitrarily chosen reference frame and arbitrarily chosen units of size. In order to share information with other people, these choices must also be shared.

Science & Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Plan an investigation individually and collaboratively, and in the design: identify independent and dependent variables and controls, what tools are needed to do the gathering, how measurements will be recorded, and how many data are needed to support a claim. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge is Based on Empirical Evidence Science knowledge is based upon logical and conceptual connections between evidence and explanations.

Crosscutting Concepts: Stability and Change Explanations of stability and change in natural or designed systems can be constructed by examining the changes over time and forces at different scales.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

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. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 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.A; MS.PS3.B; MS.ESS2.C Articulation across grade-bands: 3.PS2.A; HS.PS2.A; HS.PS3.B; HS.ESS1.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