Search the California Content Standards

Title: 3-LS4 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

Performance Expectation: Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago. [Clarification Statement: Examples of data could include type, size, and distributions of fossil organisms. Examples of fossils and environments could include marine fossils found on dry land, tropical plant fossils found in Arctic areas, and fossils of extinct organisms.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include identification of specific fossils or present plants and animals. Assessment is limited to major fossil types and relative ages.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity Some kinds of plants and animals that once lived on Earth are no longer found anywhere. (Note: moved from K-2) Fossils provide evidence about the types of organisms that lived long ago and also about the nature of their environments.

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

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity Observable phenomena exist from very short to very long time periods. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems Science assumes consistent patterns in natural systems.

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. 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. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. MP.5: Use appropriate tools strategically. 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: 4.ESS1.C; MS.LS2.A; MS.LS4.A; MS.ESS1.C; MS.ESS2.B

Title: 5-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions

Performance Expectation: Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties. [Clarification Statement: Examples of materials to be identified could include baking soda and other powders, metals, minerals, and liquids. Examples of properties could include color, hardness, reflectivity, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, response to magnetic forces, and solubility; density is not intended as an identifiable property.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include density or distinguishing mass and weight.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter Measurements of a variety of properties can be used to identify materials. (Boundary: At this grade level, mass and weight are not distinguished, and no attempt is made to define the unseen particles or explain the atomic-scale mechanism of evaporation and condensation.)

Science & Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Make observations and measurements to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence for an explanation of a phenomenon.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity Standard units are used to measure and describe physical quantities such as weight, time, temperature, and volume.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy W.5.7: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. W.5.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources. W.5.9.a-b: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. MP.5: Use appropriate tools strategically.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fifth grade: N/A Articulation across grade-levels: 2.PS1.A; MS.PS1.A

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-LS1 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Performance Expectation: Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many different numbers and types of cells. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on developing evidence that living things are made of cells, distinguishing between living and non-living things, and understanding that living things may be made of one cell or many and varied cells. Viruses, while not cells, have features that are both common with, and distinct from, cellular life.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS1.A: Structure and Function All living things are made up of cells, which is the smallest unit that can be said to be alive. An organism may consist of one single cell (unicellular) or many different numbers and types of cells (multicellular).

Science & Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations Conduct an investigation to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence that meet the goals of an investigation.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity Phenomena that can be observed at one scale may not be observable at another scale. 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:
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:
ELA/Literacy 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 6.EE.9: Use variables to represent two quantities in a real-world problem that change in relationship to one another; write an equation to express one quantity, thought of as the dependent variable, in terms of the other quantity, thought of as the independent variable. Analyze the relationship between the dependent and independent variables using graphs and tables, and relate these to the equation.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: N/A Articulation across grade-bands: HS.LS1.A

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: MS-PS3 Energy

Performance Expectation: Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on descriptive relationships between kinetic energy and mass separately from kinetic energy and speed. Examples could include riding a bicycle at different speeds, rolling different sizes of rocks downhill, and getting hit by a whiffle ball versus a tennis ball.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS3.A: Definitions of Energy Motion energy is properly called kinetic energy; it is proportional to the mass of the moving object and grows with the square of its speed.

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to identify linear and nonlinear relationships.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity Proportional relationships (e.g. speed as the ratio of distance traveled to time taken) among different types of quantities provide information about the magnitude of properties and processes.

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.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions. RST.6-8.7: 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. 6.RP.2: Understand the concept of a unit rate a/b associated with a ratio a:b with b ≠ 0, and use rate language in the context of a ratio relationship. 7.RP.2.a-d: Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities. 8.EE.1: Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. 8.EE.2: Use square root and cube root symbols to represent solutions to equations of the form x2 = p and x3 = p, where p is a positive rational number. Evaluate square roots of small perfect squares and cube roots of small perfect cubes. Know that √2 is irrational. 8.F.3: Interpret the equation y = mx + b as defining a linear function, whose graph is a straight line; give examples of functions that are not linear.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.PS2.A Articulation across grade-bands: 4.PS3.B; HS.PS3.A; HS.PS3.B

Title: MS-PS3 Energy

Performance Expectation: Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample. [Clarification Statement: Examples of experiments could include comparing final water temperatures after different masses of ice melted in the same volume of water with the same initial temperature, the temperature change of samples of different materials with the same mass as they cool or heat in the environment, or the same material with different masses when a specific amount of energy is added.] [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 The amount of energy transfer needed to change the temperature of a matter sample by a given amount depends on the nature of the matter, the size of the sample, and the environment.

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: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity Proportional relationships (e.g. speed as the ratio of distance traveled to time taken) among different types of quantities provide information about the magnitude of properties and processes.

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. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. 6.SP.5.a-d: Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.PS1.A; MS.PS2.A; MS.ESS2.C; MS.ESS2.D; MS.ESS3.D Articulation across grade-bands: 4.PS3.C; HS.PS1.B; HS.PS3.A; HS.PS3.B

Title: HS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems. [Clarification Statement: Examples should include climate feedbacks, such as how an increase in greenhouse gases causes a rise in global temperatures that melts glacial ice, which reduces the amount of sunlight reflected from Earth’s surface, increasing surface temperatures and further reducing the amount of ice. Examples could also be taken from other system interactions, such as how the loss of ground vegetation causes an increase in water runoff and soil erosion; how dammed rivers increase groundwater recharge, decrease sediment transport, and increase coastal erosion; or how the loss of wetlands causes a decrease in local humidity that further reduces the wetland extent.]

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.D: Weather and Climate The foundation for Earth’s global climate systems is the electromagnetic radiation from the sun, as well as its reflection, absorption, storage, and redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and land systems, and this energy’s re-radiation into space.

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g., computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution.

Crosscutting Concepts: Stability and Change Feedback (negative or positive) can stabilize or destabilize a system. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science: Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World New technologies can have deep impacts on society and the environment, including some that were not anticipated. Analysis of costs and benefits is a critical aspect of decisions about technology.

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 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.11-12.2: Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms. 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.PS4.B; HS.LS2.B; HS.LS2.C; HS.LS4.D; HS.ESS3.C; HS.ESS3.D Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS3.D; MS.PS4.B; MS.LS2.B; MS.LS2.C; MS.LS4.C; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.B; MS.ESS2.C; MS.ESS2.D; MS.ESS3.D

Title: HS-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity

Performance Expectation: Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth's systems. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence, for both data and climate model outputs, are for climate changes (such as precipitation and temperature) and their associated impacts (such as on sea level, glacial ice volumes, or atmosphere and ocean composition).] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to one example of a climate change and its associated impacts.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS3.D: Global Climate Change Though the magnitudes of human impacts are greater than they have ever been, so too are human abilities to model, predict, and manage current and future impacts.

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting Data Analyze data using computational models in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Investigations Use a Variety of Methods Science investigations use diverse methods and do not always use the same set of procedures to obtain data. New technologies advance scientific knowledge. Scientific Knowledge is Based on Empirical Evidence Science knowledge is based on empirical evidence. Science arguments are strengthened by multiple lines of evidence supporting a single explanation.

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 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. 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. Principle V Decisions affecting resources and natural systems are based on a wide range of considerations and decision-making processes.

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.11-12.2: Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms. RST.11-12.7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem. 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.PS3.D; HS.LS1.C; HS.ESS2.D Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS3.B; MS.PS3.D; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.D; MS.ESS3.B; MS.ESS3.C; MS.ESS3.D

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

Performance Expectation: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis. [Clarification Statement: Examples of investigations could include heart rate response to exercise, stomach response to moisture and temperature, and root development in response to water levels.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the cellular processes involved in the feedback mechanism.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
LS1.A: Structure and Function Feedback mechanisms maintain a living system’s internal conditions within certain limits and mediate behaviors, allowing it to remain alive and functional even as external conditions change within some range. Feedback mechanisms can encourage (through positive feedback) or discourage (negative feedback) what is going on inside the living system.

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. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Investigations Use a Variety of Methods Scientific inquiry is characterized by a common set of values that include: logical thinking, precision, open-mindedness, objectivity, skepticism, replicability of results, and honest and ethical reporting of findings.

Crosscutting Concepts: Stability and Change Feedback (negative or positive) can stabilize or destabilize a system.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy 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.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 and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

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