Search the California Content Standards

Title: 1-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Performance Expectation: Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive. [Clarification Statement: Examples of patterns of behaviors could include the signals that offspring make (such as crying, cheeping, and other vocalizations) and the responses of the parents (such as feeding, comforting, and protecting the offspring).]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms Adult plants and animals can have young. In many kinds of animals, parents and the offspring themselves engage in behaviors that help the offspring to survive.

Science & Engineering Practices: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information Read grade-appropriate texts and use media to obtain scientific information to determine patterns in the natural world. 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 world can be observed, used to describe phenomena, and used as evidence.

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.1.1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. RI.1.2: Identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. RI.1.10: With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade. a. Activate prior knowledge related to the information and events in a text. b. Confirm predictions about what will happen next in a text. Mathematics 1.NBT.3: Compare two two-digit numbers based on the meanings of the tens and one digits, recording the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, and <. 1.NBT.4-6: Use place value understanding and properties of operations to add and subtract.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in first grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 3.LS2.D

Title: 2-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid.

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes Water is found in the ocean, rivers, lakes, and ponds. Water exists as solid ice and in liquid form.

Science & Engineering Practices: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information Obtain information using various texts, text features (e.g., headings, tables of contents, glossaries, electronic menus, icons), and other media that will be useful in answering a scientific question.

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 W.2.6: With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. W.2.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in second grade: 2.PS1.A Articulation across grade-levels: 5.ESS2.C

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-LS4 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

Performance Expectation: Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of environmental changes could include changes in land characteristics, water distribution, temperature, food, and other organisms.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to a single environmental change. Assessment does not include the greenhouse effect or climate change.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans Populations live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affects the organisms living there.

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: Systems and System Models A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology Knowledge of relevant scientific concepts and research findings is important in engineering.

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.a–d: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. RI.3.2.a–d: 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.3.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons. W.3.2: 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.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in third grade: 3.ESS3.B Articulation across grade-levels: K.ESS3.A; K.ETS1.A; 2.LS2.A; 2.LS4.D; 4.ESS3.B; 4.ETS1.A; MS.LS2.A; MS.LS2.C; MS.LS4.C; MS.ESS1.C; MS.ESS3.C

Title: 5-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Performance Expectation: Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the idea that matter that is not food (air, water, decomposed materials in soil) is changed by plants into matter that is food. Examples of systems could include organisms, ecosystems, and the Earth.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include molecular explanations.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plants parts and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. A healthy ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs in a relatively stable web of life. Newly introduced species can damage the balance of an ecosystem. LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems Matter cycles between the air and soil and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live and die. Organisms obtain gases, and water, from the environment, and release waste matter (gas, liquid, or solid) back into the environment.

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models Develop a model to describe phenomena. Connections to Nature of Science: Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena Science explanations describe the mechanisms for natural events.

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. 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 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.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fifth grade: 5.PS1.A; 5.ESS2.A Articulation across grade-levels: 2.PS1.A; 2.LS4.D; 4.ESS2.E; MS.LS1.C; MS.LS2.A; MS.LS2.B; MS.PS3.D

Title: MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how patterns vary by latitude, altitude, and geographic land distribution. Emphasis of atmospheric circulation is on the sunlight-driven latitudinal banding, the Coriolis effect, and resulting prevailing winds; emphasis of ocean circulation is on the transfer of heat by the global ocean convection cycle, which is constrained by the Coriolis effect and the outlines of continents. Examples of models can be diagrams, maps and globes, or digital representations.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the dynamics of the Coriolis effect.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes Variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents. ESS2.D: Weather and Climate Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things. These interactions vary with latitude, altitude, and local and regional geography, all of which can affect oceanic and atmospheric flow patterns. The ocean exerts a major influence on weather and climate by absorbing energy from the sun, releasing it over time, and globally redistributing it through ocean currents.

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

Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions—such as inputs, processes and outputs—and energy, matter, and information flows within 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 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.PS2.A; MS.PS3.B; MS.PS4.B Articulation across grade-bands: 3.PS2.A; 3.ESS2.D; 5.ESS2.A; HS.PS2.B; HS.PS3.B; HS.ESS1.B; HS.ESS2.A; HS.ESS2.D

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

Performance Expectation: Use a model to illustrate the role of cellular division (mitosis) and differentiation in producing and maintaining complex organisms. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include specific gene control mechanisms or rote memorization of the steps of mitosis.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms In multicellular organisms individual cells grow and then divide via a process called mitosis, thereby allowing the organism to grow. The organism begins as a single cell (fertilized egg) that divides successively to produce many cells, with each parent cell passing identical genetic material (two variants of each chromosome pair) to both daughter cells. Cellular division and differentiation produce and maintain a complex organism, composed of systems of tissues and organs that work together to meet the needs of the whole organism.

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

Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models Models (e.g., physical, mathematical, computer models) can be used to simulate systems and interactions—including energy, matter, and information flows—within and between systems at different scales.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

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.4: Model with mathematics. F-IF.7.a-e: Graph functions expressed symbolically and show key features of the graph, by hand in simple cases and using technology for more complicated cases. F-BF.1.a-c: Write a function that describes a relationship between two quantities.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: N/A Articulation across grade-bands: MS.LS1.A; MS.LS1.B; MS.LS3.A

Title: HS-LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Performance Expectation: Develop a model to illustrate the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of carbon among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere. [Clarification Statement: Examples of models could include simulations and mathematical models.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the specific chemical steps of photosynthesis and respiration.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are important components of the carbon cycle, in which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere through chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes. PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes The main way that solar energy is captured and stored on Earth is through the complex chemical process known as photosynthesis. (secondary to HS-LS2-5)

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

Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models Models (e.g., physical, mathematical, computer models) can be used to simulate systems and interactions—including energy, matter, and information flows—within and between systems at different scales.

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. 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:
N/A

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

Title: HS-PS3 Energy

Performance Expectation: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that the transfer of thermal energy when two components of different temperature are combined within a closed system results in a more uniform energy distribution among the components in the system (second law of thermodynamics). [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on analyzing data from student investigations and using mathematical thinking to describe the energy changes both quantitatively and conceptually. Examples of investigations could include mixing liquids at different initial temperatures or adding objects at different temperatures to water.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to investigations based on materials and tools provided to students.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transported from one place to another and transferred between systems. Uncontrolled systems always evolve toward more stable states—that is, toward more uniform energy distribution (e.g., water flows downhill, objects hotter than their surrounding environment cool down). PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes Although energy cannot be destroyed, it can be converted to less useful forms—for example, to thermal energy in the surrounding environment.

Science & Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design: decide on types, how much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g., number of trials, cost, risk, time), and refine the design accordingly.

Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models When investigating or describing a system, the boundaries and initial conditions of the system need to be defined and their inputs and outputs analyzed and described using models.

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.9-12.7: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. WHST.9-10.8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital resources (primary and secondary), using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. WHST.11-12.8: Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation. WHST.9-12.9: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics.

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