WCSD 7Th Grade Integrated Storyline

WCSD 7th Grade Integrated Storyline:

Natural processes and human activities cause energy to flow and matter to cycle through Earth’s systems.

Unit / Life Science / Earth & Space Sciences / Physical Science / Engineering, Technology, and applications to Science
1 / Organisms and nonliving things are made of matter; matter is made of atoms.
Life connection (not addressed by standards):
Organisms are made of molecules of mostly six different elements (atoms). / MS-ESS3-1*
Earth materials are mostly made of eight different elements (atoms).
Earth’s matter is unevenly distributed due to geologic processes. / MS-PS1-1,MS-PS1-3*, MS-PS1-4
Earth’s natural resources are used to make synthetic resources.
The organization and interaction of matter defines how matter will act and the properties it will have.
Thermal energy affects particle motion and physical state.
2 / Matter cycles and energy flows in organisms and rocks.
MS-LS2-3*, MS-LS1-6, MS-LS1-7
An overview of food webs and other life cycles introduce the idea of matter cycling through organisms
Photosynthesis plays a role in the cycling of matter.
Organisms grow and get energy by rearranging atoms in food molecules. / MS-ESS2-1
Earth’s cycles of matter (rock, wind, and water) are driven by solar energy, Earth’s internal thermal energy, and gravity. / MS-PS1-2*, MS-PS1-5*, MS-PS1-6
Mass is conserved in physical changes and chemical reactions.
Chemical reactions recycle matter to make new substances – and they can release or absorb thermal energy. / MS-ETS1-1 Design Criteria
MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate Solutions
MS-ETS1-3 Analyze data
MS-ETS1-4 Iteratively test and modify
Construct, test, and modify a device that releases or absorbs thermal energy.
3 / Natural processes and human activities shape Earth’s resources and ecosystems.
MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-3*
Resource availability affects organisms and ecosystem populations.
Ecosystems naturally have common patterns of organism interactions including mutualism and predator- prey relationships. Disruption to any part affects the whole. / MS-ESS2-3, MS-ESS3-1*
Fossils, rocks, continental shape, and seafloor structures provide evidence of plate motion.
Geoscience processes unevenly distribute Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources. / MS-PS1-2*, MS-PS1-3*, MS-PS1-5*
Most physics content is a review in this section to remind students that chemical reactions are occurring in Earth’s ecosystems and within the Earth itself.
Synthetic materials come from natural resources.
4 / Sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem services in a changing world.
MS-LS2-4, MS-LS2-5
Biotic and abiotic changes affect ecosystem populations.
Humans can help sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services. / MS-ESS2-2, MS-ESS3-2
Geoscience processes change Earth’s surface.
Damage from natural hazards can be reduced. / MS-PS1-3*
Synthetic materials impact society. / MS-ETS1-1 Design Criteria
MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate Solutions
Design solutions can help maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services.
WCSD 7th Grade Curriculum Guide
Unit 1: Organisms and Nonliving Things Are Made of Matter; Matter is made of Atoms
Narrative Summary:
The biosphere includes living and non-living things that are all made of matter. The biosphere’s non-living factors include mineral, energy, and groundwater resources. These natural resources are unevenly distributed on Earth due to geologic processes over time. Humans refine and use resources in their natural form and also combine/change them to create synthetic materials.
Whether natural resources or synthetic materials, all matter is made up of atoms. The way atoms on the periodic table combine and interact determines the properties of observable substances. Models of atomic structures (e.g. physical, kinesthetic, pictorial, or stop motion animation) will be developed and used to describe the behavior of matter in its different forms. Particle diagrams of the states of matter will combine phase changes, thermal energy, and particle motion and be used to describe observable phenomena such as the water cycle.
Essential Question: What makes up the world around me?
Sub-Questions:

How do elements on the periodic table combine to form matter in living versus nonliving things?
How does adding or removing thermal energy affect states of matter?
How do interactions at the atomic level help us understand the observable properties of organisms and nonliving matter?

Performance Expectations / Core Concepts (Key topics) / Resources
MS-ESS3-1*.(Introduction) Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s minerals, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.
MS-ESS3-1 Evidence Statements / Natural resources: mineral, energy, groundwater
●Unevenly formed and distributed due to geologic processes in the past and present
●Most are limited/nonrenewable /

Environmental diagrams Students observe matter/organisms in the environment around them, group matter into categories (living, non-living, or once living; solid, liquid, or gas), and then compare their observations to environmental diagrams. Use water cycle to connect to prior knowledge.
Earth and Human Activity(NGSS.nsta)
Earth Science Week

MS-PS1-3*.(Introduction) Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
MS-PS1-3 Evidence Statements / Natural resources exist and are used to create synthetic resources (ex: oil-> plastic)
Examples:
●oil  plastic
●burning limestone  concrete /

Matter and Its Interactions (NGSS.nsta)

MS-PS1-1. Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.
MS-PS1-1 Evidence Statements / Atomic models (e.g. physical, kinesthetic, pictorial, or stop motion animation)
●individual atoms
●molecules
●extended structures
Students use atomic models to describe behavior and properties of bulk substances /

Matter and Its Interactions (NGSS.nsta)

MS-PS1-4. Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
MS-PS1-4 Evidence Statements / ●Diagrams (solid, liquid, gas) with phase changes, thermal energy, and particle motion /

States of Matter Simulation (PhET)

Particle Motion: Middle School Chemistry

WCSD 7th Grade Curriculum Guide
Unit 2:Matter Cycles and Energy Flows through Organisms and Rocks
Narrative Summary:
Matter and energy are constantly being cycled in the world around us and within us. The flow of matter is tied to the flow of energy. As matter and energy flow, each is conserved. This unit focuses on two major cycles through the lens of chemical and physical changes and conservation of matter:

the cycling of rock material through the geosphere (and the thermal energy flow that accompanies it)
the cycling of matter and energy between organisms (following light energy to potential and kinetic energies)

Chemical reactions explain how matter and energy move. By looking at physical and chemical properties and changes, you can determine if a chemical reaction has occurred. In chemical reactions, matter and energy are conserved.
We can see evidence of chemical reactions and cycling of matter in abiotic things. The sun provides energy that drives the movement of water and wind. Movement of water and wind lead to weathering, erosion, deposition of earth’s materials. Matter is moved around through the water cycle (review) and rock cycle. Thermal energy from earth’s interior contributes to the rock cycle. The rock cycle examines cycling of abiotic matter through various stages. Chemical and physical changes can be observed through all stages of the cycle. Water, wind, and rock cycling are all responsible for the different land formations that can be seen on our planet.
We can see evidence of chemical reactions and cycling of matter in biotic things. The sun provides the first source of energy for life on earth. This energy is cycled through organisms by chemical processes. A food chain model demonstrates the cycling of energy and matter. Upon deeper investigation into the food chain model, the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration can be observed and further used to provide evidence for cycling of matter and energy. Carbon and nitrogen cycles also show the conservation and cycling of matter through the environment.
Essential Question: How do matter and energy cycle through ecosystems?
Sub Questions:

How is matter conserved through chemical reactions?
How do rocks and minerals record the flow of energy and cycling of matter in the Earth?
What are examples of cycling of matter in organisms?

Performance Expectations / Core Concepts (Key topics) / Resources
MS-LS2-3*. (Introduce flow of energy and cycling of matter) Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-3 Evidence Statements / ●Food webs and energy flow (Trophic levels)
●Carbon and nitrogen cycle (cycling of atoms) /

Ecosystems, Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (NGSS.nsta)

MS-LS1-6. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
MS-LS1-6 Evidence Statements / ●Photosynthesis is cycling of matter
●Autotrophs, heterotrophs and levels of consumers
●Food webs /

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (NGSS.nsta)

MS-LS1-7. Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism.
MS-LS1-7 Evidence Statements / ●Cycling of matter

Food molecules
Oxygen
Energy

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (NGSS.nsta)

MS-ESS2-1. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
MS-ESS2-1 Evidence Statements / ●Rock cycle driven by earth’s hot interior
●Observable chemical/physical changes
●Sun energy drives movement of wind/water leads to weathering, erosion, and deposition.
●Land formations
●Review water cycle /

Earth’s Systems (NGSS.nsta)
Video Series: How the Earth was Made (Grand Canyon, Yosemite)

MS-PS1-2*(main emphasis here). Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
MS-PS1-2 Evidence Statements / ●Chemical and physical properties, changes / reactions
●Evidence of rearrangement of atoms
●Chemical/Physical properties and reactions of rocks
●Chemical/Physical weathering /

Matter and Its Interactions (NGSS.nsta)

MS-PS1-5*(main emphasis here). Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.
MS-PS1-5 Evidence Statements / ●Reactants and products
●Balancing equations
●Law of conservation of mass /

Matter and Its Interactions (NGSS.nsta)

MS-PS1-6. Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.
MS-PS1-6 Evidence Statements / ●Exothermic/Endothermic reactions
●Transfer of thermal energy between devices /

Matter and Its Interactions (NGSS.nsta)

MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
MS-ETS1-1 Evidence Statements / ●Apply engineering design standards to MS-PS-1-6 /

Engineering Design 1
Engineering Design 2
Engineering Design 3
Engineering Design 4

MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
MS-ETS1-2 Evidence Statements
MS-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
MS-ETS1-3 Evidence Statements
MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to general data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
MS-ETS1-4 Evidence Statements
WCSD 7th Grade Curriculum Guide
Unit 3:Natural Process and Human Activities Shape Earth’s Resources and Ecosystems
Narrative Summary:
When students look out a landscape, they might see trees in some places but not others and a gold mine on one hill but not another. In this unit, students focus on explaining why things are located where they are, both organisms within an ecosystem and resources and landforms on the planet.
Resources are distributed differently throughout the Earth because of past geoscience processes. This affects what we see in the fossil record, and in existing ecosystems. Looking at fossil distribution, as well as rock types and continent shapes leads us to infer that Earth’s crustal plates have moved in the past and continue to move. More evidence of this can be found in the differing ages of the parts of the sea floor, and the distribution of landforms like rift valleys and mountain ranges. This plate movement is one of the biggest reasons that resources are distributed where they are today.
Resource availability affects organism distribution, as well as growth and reproduction rate of populations within an ecosystem. No matter where you are on Earth, there are patterns of interactions among organisms in an ecosystem, such as competitive, predator-prey, and mutually beneficial interactions. In any ecosystem, matter (carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen) and energy flow through the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem. This can be modeled through the carbon and nitrogen cycles and food webs.
Essential Question: How do natural processes and human activities shape Earth’s resources and ecosystems?
Sub Questions:

How can we use interactions between individual rocks or individual organisms to understand systems as big as the whole geosphere or the whole ecosystem?
How can we use patterns in geosphere interactions to predict the location of resources?
How can we use patterns in ecosystem interactions to predict how organisms compete and share resources?

Performance Expectations / Core Concepts (Key topics) / Resources
MS-LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-1 Evidence Statements / ●Limited resources
●Competition
●Prediction of effect on populations based on change in resources /

Ecosystems, Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (NGSS.nsta)

MS-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
MS-LS2-2 Evidence Statements / ●Competition for shared resources
●Predation
●Mutualism
●Resource availability affects interactions between organisms
●These interactions occur across multiple, different ecosystem /

Ecosystems, Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (NGSS.nsta)

MS-LS2-3*(Make connections to the ecosystem). Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-3 Evidence Statements / ●Food webs and energy flow
●Carbon and nitrogen cycle (resources and how their use affects these cycles) /

Ecosystems, Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (NGSS.nsta)

MS-ESS2-3. Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.
MS-ESS2-3 Evidence Statements / ●Plate Motion
●Distribution of fossils and rock types
●Continental shapes
●Age of the oceanic crust
●Seafloor structures
●Landform distribution /

Earth’s Systems (NGSS.nsta)
Data sets for fossil distribution, geological formations (Landforms, trenches, ridgelines)
HHMI Biointeractive: EarthViewer
HHMI Biointeractive: Animated Life: Pangea
AMNH: A Plate Tectonics Puzzle
Video series: How the Earth was Made (The Deepest Place on Earth, The Rockies, Everest)

MS-ESS3-1*(main emphasis here). Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s minerals, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.
MS-ESS3-1 Evidence Statements / ●Distribution of minerals, energy and groundwater resulting from geologic process.
●Extraction of natural resources
●Renewable versus nonrenewable resources /

Earth and Human Activity (NGSS.nsta)
Video: How the Earth was Made: America’s Gold
What is being mined in NV? Nevada Mining Association FAQ
Nevada Mining Association Classroom Activities

MS-PS1-2*(review). Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.
MS-PS1-2 Evidence Statements / ●Reactions that create synthetic materials /

Matter and Its Interactions (NGSS.nsta)

MS-PS1-3*(emphasize how synthetic materials come from natural resources). Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
MS-PS1-3 Evidence Statements / ●Synthetic resources come from natural resources /

(NGSS.nsta)
Adventures in Energy: An Interactive Look at Oil and Natural Gas

MS-PS1-5*(review). Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.
MS-PS1-5 Evidence Statements / ●Review conservation of mass /

Matter and Its Interactions (NGSS.nsta)

WCSD 7th Grade Curriculum Guide
Unit 4:Sustaining Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing World
Narrative Summary:
Human activities help sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services in a changing world. Both natural and human related activities impact the environment and the resources available within ecosystems. Natural phenomena that affect populations and resource availability include: prolonged drought, severe flooding, erosion, earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes. Scientists collect and use data to decrease the catastrophic impact of these events. All of these examples have an impact the on Earth’s cycles of matter, flow of energy, and web of life. Populations of organisms are not only affected by naturally occurring phenomena, but also by humans. People can affect ecosystems both positively and negatively. Local ecosystems are often impacted by pollution. In many cases, the pollution includes adding synthetic materials to the natural system. Humans alter earth’s natural cycles by chemical processes that can harm ecosystems and in turn harm humans. Ecosystem services (such as controlled burn, erosion control, regulation and removal of invasive species) help to improve the overall ecosystem by reducing human impact.
Essential Question: What natural processes and human activities affect (especially threaten) biodiversity and ecosystem services?
Summary:

What services do ecosystems provide?
What is biodiversity and why is it important?
How can people help sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services in a changing world?

Performance Expectations / Core Concepts (Key topics) / Resources
MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical data that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
MS-LS2-4 Evidence Statements / ●Shifts in Populations
●Resource availability /

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (NGSS.nsta)
FOSS Kit: Populations and Ecosystems

MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
MS-LS2-5 Evidence Statements / ●Ecosystems services
●Minimizing impact on ecosystems
●Maintaining biodiversity /

Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems (NGSS.nsta)
FOSS Kit: Populations and Ecosystems

MS-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
MS-ESS2-2 Evidence Statements / ●Geoscience processes
●Earth’s plate movement
●Erosion and weathering
●Rapid catastrophic events /

History of the Earth (NGSS.nsta)
FOSS Kit: Earth History
Earth Science Week

MS-ESS3-2. Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.
MS-ESS3-2 Evidence Statements / ●Forecasting Catastrophic Events

Location
Frequency
Severity
Damage

Earth and Human Activity (NGSS.nsta)
FOSS kit: Earth’s History
Earth Science Week

MS-PS1-3* (emphasize impact on society) Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
MS-PS1-3 Evidence Statements / ●Synthetic Materials and Humans
●Impact on society /

Matter and Its Interactions (NGSS.nsta)
FOSS Kit: Chemical Interactions

Engineering Design (NGSS.nsta)

Engineering Design (NGSS.nsta)

* This Performance Expectations is covered in multiple units; mastery is expected at the end of the semester or year.2016- 2017