Grade Level: 9-12
Timeframe: 15 days
Essential Questions
- What evidence supports the Big Bang Theory?
- What is the Sun’s life span?
- How does the Sun produce energy?
- How are elements produced?
New Jersey Student Learning Standards
Standards/Cumulative Progress Indicators (Taught and Assessed):
ESS1.A : The Universe and Its Stars
- The star called the sun is changing and will burn out over a lifespan of approximately 10 billion y ears. (HS-ESS1-1)
- The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth. (HS-ESS1- 2) (HS-ESS1-3)
- The Big Bang theory is supported by observations of distant galaxies receding from our own, of the measured composition of stars and non-stellar gases, and of the maps of spectra of the primordial radiation (cosmic microwave background) that still fills the universe. (HSESS1-2)
- Other than the hydrogen and helium formed at the time of the Big Bang, nuclear fusion within stars produces all atomic nuclei lighter than and including iron, and the process releases electromagnetic energy. Heavier elements are produced when certain massive stars achieve a supernova stage and explode. (HS-ESS1- 2) (HS-ESS1-3)
9.1.12.A.1 - Apply critical thinking and problem-solving strategies during structured learning experiences.
9.1.12.B.1 - Present resources and data in a format that effectively communicates the meaning of the data and its implications for solving problems, using
multiple perspectives.
9.1.12.B.2 - Create and respond to a feedback loop when problem solving.
Instructional Plan / Reflection
Pre-Assessment: Unit Essential Questions / Teacher will self create using
SLO / Student Strategies / Formative Assessment / Activities and Resources / Reflection
Construct an explanation ofthe Big Bang theory based onastronomical evidence of light spectra,motion of distant galaxies,and composition of matterin the universe.
HS-ESS1-2 / Argumentative Writing
Research Based Learning / Graphic Organizers / Students will write/type an argumentative essay citing evidence supporting the Big Bang Theory.
EarthComm
/ Teacher will self create using
Develop a model based on evidence to illustratethe life spanof the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy in the form of radiation.
HS-ESS1-1 / Research Based Learning
Cooperative Learning
Creating Models / Peer Assessment
Think-Pair-Share
Individualized Teacher Feedback Based on Rubric / Students will conduct research on the Sun’s lifespan and how it produces energy. They will draw the stages of the sun’s life span and provide written sentences explaining what is going on at each stage. They will then draw the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy in the form of radiation.They will also explain what is happening in complete sentences. Students will then present their models to the class for peer review and peer assessment based upon a rubric.
EarthComm
/ Teacher will self create using
Communicate scientific ideas about the waystars, over their life cycle,produce elements.
HS-ESS1-3 / Research Based Learning
Cooperative Learning / Graphic Organizers
Peer Assessment
Think-Pair-Share
Individualized Teacher Feedback Based on Rubric / Students will choose between writing an essay, doing a PowerPoint Presentation, or making a video answering the following question: How do stars make elements?
EarthComm
/ Teacher will self create using
Summative Performance Assessment
Students write a script for a radio series on the possible effects that objects in space can have on Earth. They will have the option of making their own podcast or digital recording. / Teacher will self create using
Summative Written Assessments
Unit 1 Essential Questions / Teacher will self create using
Unit Title: History of Earth
Grade Level: 9-12
Timeframe: 15 days
Essential Questions
- What stages did the Earth go through in its formation?
- What is the evidence that the Earth went through these stages?
- What constructive forces and destructive mechanisms have shaped the Earth’s features?
- What is the correlation between the geological evolution of the Earth, the biological evolution of the Earth, and the climactic evolution of the Earth?
New Jersey Student Learning Standards
Standards/Cumulative Progress Indicators (Taught and Assessed):
- Continental rocks, which can be older than 4 billionyears, are generally much older than the rocks of theocean floor, which are less than 200 million years old.(HS-ESS1-5)
- Although active geologic processes, such as platetectonics and erosion, have destroyed or altered most ofthe very early rock record on Earth, other objects in thesolar system, such as lunar rocks, asteroids, andmeteorites, have changed little over billions of years.Studying these objects can provide information aboutEarth’s formation and early history. (HS-ESS1-6)
- Gradual atmospheric changes were due to plants and otherorganisms that captured carbon dioxide and released oxygen. (HS-ESS2-6) (HS-ESS2-7)Changes in the atmosphere due
- The many dynamic and delicate feedbacks between the biosphereand other Earth systems cause a continual co-evolution of Earth’ssurface and the life that exists on it. (HS-ESS2-7)
9.1.12.A.1 - Apply critical thinking and problem-solving strategies during structured learning experiences.
9.1.12.B.1 - Present resources and data in a format that effectively communicates the meaning of the data and its implications for solving problems, using
multiple perspectives.
9.1.12.B.2 - Create and respond to a feedback loop when problem solving.
Instructional Plan / Reflection
Pre-Assessment: Unit Essential Questions / Teacher will self create using
SLO / Student Strategies / Formative Assessment / Activities and Resources / Reflection
Apply scientific reasoning and evidence from ancient Earth materials, meteorites, and other planetary surfaces to construct an account of Earth’s formation and early history.
HS-ESS1-6 / Media Analysis
Gallery Walk / Graphic Organizer
Think-Pair-Share / Students will watch the documentary, How the Earth Was Made. They will create a timeline of major events in Earth’s history and document the evidence provided in the video that each major event occurred.
How the Earth was Made Documentary
EarthComm
/ Teacher will self create using
Evaluate evidence of the past and current movementsof continental and oceanic crust and the theory of plate tectonics to explain the ages of crustal rocks.
HS-ESS1-5 / Cooperative Learning
Project Based Learning
Problem Based Learning
Inquiry Based Learning / Peer Assessment
Think-Pair-Share
Individualized Teacher Feedback Based on Rubric / Students will construct a map showing the position of continents 250 million years ago by reversing the direction of plate motion.
EarthComm pages G105-G117.
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Develop a model
to illustrate how Earth’s internal and surface processes operate at different spatial and temporal scales to form continental and ocean-floor features.
HS-ESS2-1
[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how the appearance of land features (suchas mountains, valleys, and plateaus) and sea-floor features (such as trenches, ridges, andseamounts) are a result of both constructive forces (such as volcanism, tectonic uplift, andorogeny) and destructive mechanisms (such as weathering, mass wasting, and coastalerosion).] / Cooperative Learning
Creating Models
Public Speaking / Peer Assessment
Think-Pair-Share
Individualized Teacher Feedback Based on Rubric / Students will draw the different ways that shifting plates change the shape of the Earth and Sea. Next to each drawing, they will explain in complete sentences and then later share with the class.
Students will also create a graphic organizer with three columns. The first column will say features and the following will be listed: mountains; valleys; plateaus; trenches; ridges; and seamounts. The second column will say constructive forces that shape their appearance and how they shape their appearance. The third column will state destructive mechanisms and how they shape their appearance.
Students will then choose one feature and write a 4-5- sentence paragraph explaining how they are shaped by constructive and destructive forces.
EarthComm / Teacher will self create using
Construct an argument based on evidence aboutthe simultaneous coevolutionof Earth's systems and life on Earth.
HS-ESS2-7
Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.
HS-LS4-5 / Cooperative Learning
Interpreting Data
Public Speaking
Argumentative Writing / Timeline #1
Timeline #2 / Students will create a timeline of the evolution on Earth. Students will create a timeline of the evolution of the planet Earth including climate, temperature, continental positions, etc.. They will then compare the data, write a short data of their conclusion using the evidence and present their conclusions to the class.
/ Teacher will self create using
Summative Performance Assessment
Students will write the script and create a documentary of the Earth’s Evolution. / Teacher will self create using
Summative Written Assessments
Unit 2Essential Questions / Teacher will self create using
Unit Title: Earth’s Systems
Grade Level: 9-12
Timeframe: 15 days
Essential Questions
- What are the effects of global warming?
- What causes the cycling of matter by thermal convection?
- How are ocean salinity variations tied to ocean density and circulation?
New Jersey Student Learning Standards
Standards/Cumulative Progress Indicators (Taught and Assessed):
- Earth’s systems, being dynamic and interacting, cause feedback effects that can increase or decrease the original changes. (HSESS2-1),(HS-ESS2-2)
- The abundance of liquid water on Earth’s surface and its unique combination of physical and chemical properties are central to the planet’s dynamics. These properties include water’s exceptional capacity to absorb, store, and release large amounts of energy transmit sunlight, expand upon freezing, dissolve and transport materials, and lower the viscosities and melting points of rocks. (HS-ESS2-5)
- Gradual atmospheric changes were due to plants and other organisms that captured carbon dioxide and released oxygen.
- Changes in the atmosphere due to human activity have increased carbon dioxide concentrations and thus affect climate. (HS-ESS2-
- Current models predict that, although future regional climate changes will be complex and varied, average global temperatures will continue to rise. The outcomes predicted by global climate models strongly depend on the amounts of human-generated greenhouse gases added to the atmosphere each year and by the ways in which these gases are absorbed by the ocean and biosphere. (secondary to HSESS3-6)
- Though the magnitudes of human impacts are greater than they have ever been, so too are human abilities to model,
- Through computer simulations and other studies, important discoveries are still being made about how the ocean, the
21st Century Skills Standard and Progress Indicators:
9.1.12.A.1 - Apply critical thinking and problem-solving strategies during structured learning experiences.
9.1.12.B.1 - Present resources and data in a format that effectively communicates the meaning of the data and its implications for solving problems, using
multiple perspectives.
9.1.12.B.2 - Create and respond to a feedback loop when problem solving.
Instructional Plan / Reflection
Pre-Assessment: Unit Essential Questions / Teacher will self create using
SLO / Student Strategies / Formative Assessment / Activities and Resources / Reflection
Analyze geoscience data to make the claim thatone change to Earth's surfacecan create feedbacksthat cause changes to other Earth systems.
HS-ESS2-2
Construct an explanation based on evidence for howthe availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climatehave influenced human activity.
HS-ESS3-1 / Argumentative Writing
Critical Reading / Graphic Organizers / Students will write an argumentative essay on one of the following two topics: 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; or 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.
/ Teacher will self create using
Develop a model based on evidence ofEarth’s interiorto describethe cycling of matterby thermal convection.
HS-ESS2-3 / Drawing Conclusions from Computer Simulated Models
Cooperative Learning
Inquiry Based Learning / Individualized Teacher Feedback Based on Rubric
Peer Assessment / Phet Virtual Lab on Plate Tectonics
EarthComm G85-104 / Teacher will self create using
Plan and conduct an investigation ofthe properties ofwater and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.
HS-ESS2-5
Develop a quantitative model to describethe cycling ofcarbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.
HS-ESS2-6 / Inquiry Based Learning
Project Based Learning
Problem Based Learning / Individualized Teacher Feedback Based on Rubric
Peer Assessment
WebQuest / Salty Motion
/ Teacher will self create using
Summative Performance Assessment
Students develop a game about volcanoes and earthquakes. / Teacher will self create using
Unit Title: Weather and Climate
Grade Level: 9-12
Timeframe: 15 days
Essential Questions
- What causes weather?
- What causes climate change?
- Based on climate change data, what will the future climate of the Earth be like?
New Jersey Student Learning Standards
Standards/Cumulative Progress Indicators (Taught and Assessed):
- Cyclical changes in the shape of Earth’s orbit around the sun, together with changes in the tilt of the planet’s axis of rotation, both occurring over hundreds of thousands of years, have altered the intensity and distribution of sunlight falling on the earth. These phenomena cause a cycle of ice ages and other gradual climate changes. (secondary to HS-ESS2-4)
- The geological record shows that changes to global and regional climate can be caused by interactions among changes in the sun’s energy output or Earth’s orbit, tectonic events, ocean circulation, volcanic activity, glaciers, vegetation, and human activities. These changes can occur on a variety of time scales from sudden (e.g., volcanic ash clouds) to intermediate (ice ages) to very long-term tectonic cycles. (HS-ESS2-4)
- The abundance of liquid water on Earth’s surface and its unique combination of physical and chemical properties are central to the planet’s dynamics. These properties include water’s exceptional capacity to absorb, store, and release large amounts of energy, transmit sunlight, expand upon freezing, dissolve and transport materials, and lower the viscosities and melting points of rocks. (HS-ESS2-5)
- 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. (HS-ESS2-2),(HS-ESS2-4)
- Changes in the atmosphere due to human activity have increased carbon dioxide concentrations and thus affect climate. (HS-ESS2-
21st Century Skills Standard and Progress Indicators:
9.1.12.A.1 - Apply critical thinking and problem-solving strategies during structured learning experiences.
9.1.12.B.1 - Present resources and data in a format that effectively communicates the meaning of the data and its implications for solving problems, using
multiple perspectives.
9.1.12.B.2 - Create and respond to a feedback loop when problem solving.
Instructional Plan / Reflection
Pre-Assessment: Unit Essential Questions / Teacher will self create using
SLO / Student Strategies / Formative Assessment / Activities and Resources / Reflection
Construct scientific arguments using data to support claims that spatial and temporal patterns in weather and climate found around the Earth are created by complex global, regional, and local interactions involving sunlight, and all of the Earth's spheres. / Argumentative Writing / Graphic Organizer / Students will write an essay based on the learning objective. First, they will read and outline the three articles below and complete the graphic organizers. Then, they will use that information to write an argumentative essay.
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Use a model to describe howvariations in the flow of energy into and out of Earth’s systemsresult inchanges in climate.
HS-ESS2-4 / Drawing Conclusions from Computer Simulated Models
Cooperative Learning
Inquiry Based Learning / Individualized Teacher Feedback Based on Rubric
Peer Assessment / Phet Virtual Lab on Greenhouse Effect
/ Teacher will self create using
Analyze geoscience dataand the results from global climate modelsto make an evidence-based forecast ofthe current rate ofglobal or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.
HS-ESS3-5 / Critical Thinking
Public Speaking
Cooperative Learning / Individualized Teacher Feedback Based on Rubric
Peer Assessment
Think-Pair-Share / Students will read the data below and create a presentation interpreting the data and using it to make predictions for the future of Earth based on the current rate of global climate change.
/ Teacher will self create using
Summative Performance Assessment
Students create a Website for a non-profit educational group on winds, oceans, weather, and climate. / Teacher will self create using
Unit Title: Human Sustainability
Grade Level: 9-12
Timeframe: 15 days
Essential Questions
- How can waste be decreased and recycling be increased?