Search the California Content Standards

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: 5-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions

Performance Expectation: Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence supporting a model could include adding air to expand a basketball, compressing air in a syringe, dissolving sugar in water, and evaporating salt water.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the atomic-scale mechanism of evaporation and condensation or defining the unseen particles.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter Matter of any type can be subdivided into particles that are too small to see, but even then the matter still exists and can be detected by other means. A model showing that gases are made from matter particles that are too small to see and are moving freely around in space can explain many observations, including the inflation and shape of a balloon and the effects of air on larger particles or objects.

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

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity Natural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

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. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. 5.NBT.2: Explain patterns in the number of zeros of the product when multiplying a number by powers of 10, and explain patterns in the placement of the decimal point when a decimal is multiplied or divided by a power of 10. Use whole-number exponents to denote powers of 10. 5.NF.7.a-c: Apply and extend previous understandings of division to divide unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions. 5.MD.3.a-b: Recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement. 5.MD.4: Measure volumes by counting unit cubes, using cubic cm, cubic in, cubic ft, and improvised units.

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

Title: 5-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions

Performance Expectation: Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved. [Clarification Statement: Examples of reactions or changes could include phase changes, dissolving, and mixing that form new substances.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include distinguishing mass and weight.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter The amount (weight) of matter is conserved when it changes form, even in transitions in which it seems to vanish. PS1.B: Chemical Reactions No matter what reaction or change in properties occurs, the total weight of the substances does not change. (Boundary: Mass and weight are not distinguished at this grade level.)

Science & Engineering Practices: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking Measure and graph quantities such as weight to address scientific and engineering questions and problems.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity Standard units are used to measure and describe physical quantities such as weight, time, temperature, and volume. 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:
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. 5.MD.1: Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real-world problems.

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

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: Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis for the model is on gravity as the force that holds together the solar system and Milky Way galaxy and controls orbital motions within them. Examples of models can be physical (such as the analogy of distance along a football field or computer visualizations of elliptical orbits) or conceptual (such as mathematical proportions relative to the size of familiar objects such as students’ school or state).] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include Kepler’s Laws of orbital motion or the apparent retrograde motion of the planets as viewed from Earth.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.A: The Universe and its Stars Earth and its solar system are part of the Milky Way galaxy, which is one of many galaxies in the universe. 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. The solar system appears to have formed from a disk of dust and gas, drawn together by gravity.

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. Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems Science assumes that objects and events in natural systems occur in consistent patterns that are understandable through measurement and observation.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

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. Mathematics MP.4: Model with mathematics. 6.RP.1: Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. 7.RP.2.a-d: Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities. 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-d: 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.PS2.A; MS.PS2.B; Articulation across grade-bands: 3.PS2.A; 5.PS2.B; 5.ESS1.A; 5.ESS1.B; HS.PS2.A; HS.PS2.B; HS.ESS1.A; HS.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-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe

Performance Expectation: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s 4.6-billion-year-old history. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how analyses of rock formations and the fossils they contain are used to establish relative ages of major events in Earth’s history. Examples of Earth’s major events could range from being very recent (such as the last Ice Age or the earliest fossils of homo sapiens) to very old (such as the formation of Earth or the earliest evidence of life). Examples can include the formation of mountain chains and ocean basins, the evolution or extinction of particular living organisms, or significant volcanic eruptions.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include recalling the names of specific periods or epochs and events within them.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth The geologic time scale interpreted from rock strata provides a way to organize Earth’s history. Analyses of rock strata and the fossil record provide only relative dates, not an absolute scale.

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: 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.

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. WHST.6-8.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. 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.LS4.A; MS.LS4.C Articulation across grade-bands: 3.LS4.A; 3.LS4.C; 4.ESS1.C; HS.PS1.C; HS.LS4.A; HS.LS4.C; HS.ESS1.C; HS.ESS2.A

Title: MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how processes change Earth’s surface at time and spatial scales that can be large (such as slow plate motions or the uplift of large mountain ranges) or small (such as rapid landslides or microscopic geochemical reactions), and how many geoscience processes (such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and meteor impacts) usually behave gradually but are punctuated by catastrophic events. Examples of geoscience processes include surface weathering and deposition by the movements of water, ice, and wind. Emphasis is on geoscience processes that shape local geographic features, where appropriate.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems The planet’s systems interact over scales that range from microscopic to global in size, and they operate over fractions of a second to billions of years. These interactions have shaped Earth’s history and will determine its future. ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes Water’s movements—both on the land and underground—cause weathering and erosion, which change the land’s surface features and create underground formations.

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 nature operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

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.

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. 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. SL.8.5: Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest. 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.PS1.B; MS.LS2.B Articulation across grade-bands: 4.ESS1.C; 4.ESS2.A; 4.ESS2.E; 5.ESS2.A; HS.PS3.D; HS.LS2.B; HS.ESS1.C; HS.ESS2.A; HS.ESS2.B; HS.ESS2.C; HS.ESS2.D; HS.ESS2.E; HS.ESS3.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: 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