Earth Science

District Course # 1205

Course Description: Open to: Grade 8 One-Year Course Prerequisite: None Content: Students will study the interfaces among the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of our planet, and Earth’s relationship to other bodies in space. Students will also learn and practice earth science laboratory methods and skills, using technology to create and/or complete projects. Textbook: Title: Earth Science Authors: Borrero, et al. Publisher: Glencoe Grades: The grade that a student receives in this course will be a reflection of how well the student understands the content and acquires laboratory and technology skills. The course grade will be calculated from scores obtained on tests, projects, laboratory activities and a semester final. The semester final is also called the End of Course Exam (EOC), which will count as 10% of the student’s final grade. Course Scope and Sequence:

Semester 1: Earth Spheres Minerals, Rocks, and Rock Cycle Erosion and Deposition Geologic Time Plate Tectonics Earthquakes Volcanoes

1 week 3 weeks 3 weeks 2 weeks 4 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks

Semester 2: The Atmosphere & Meteorology Climate & Oceans Global Climate Changes Earth, Moon, and Sun Solar System Stars, Galaxies and the Universe

4 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks 3 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks

NGSS SCIENCE and ENGINEERING PRACTICES EXPLAINED: Practice 1 Asking Questions and Defining Problems: Students should be able to ask questions of each other about the texts they read, the features of the phenomena they observe, and the conclusions they draw from their models or scientific investigations. For engineering, they should ask questions to define the problem to be solved and to elicit ideas that lead to the constraints and specifications for its solution. Practice 2 Developing and Using Models: Modeling can begin in the earliest grades, with students’ models progressing from concrete “pictures” and/or physical scale models (e.g., a toy car) to more abstract representations of relevant relationships in later grades, such as a diagram representing forces on a particular object in a system. Practice 3 Planning and Carrying Out Investigations: Students should have opportunities to plan and carry out several different kinds of investigations during their K-12 years. At all levels, they should engage in investigations that range from those structured by the teacher—in order to expose an issue or question that they would be unlikely to explore on their own (e.g., measuring specific properties of materials)—to those that emerge from students’ own questions. Practice 4 Analyzing and Interpreting Data: Once collected, data must be presented in a form that can reveal any patterns and relationships and that allows results to be communicated to others. Because raw data as such have little meaning, a major practice of scientists is to organize and interpret data through tabulating, graphing, or statistical analysis. Such analysis can bring out the meaning of data—and their relevance—so that they may be used as evidence. Engineers, too, make decisions based on evidence that a given design will work; they rarely rely on trial and error. Engineers often analyze a design by creating a model or prototype and collecting extensive data on how it performs, including under extreme conditions. Analysis of this kind of data not only informs design decisions and enables the prediction or assessment of performance but also helps define or clarify problems, determine economic feasibility, evaluate alternatives, and investigate failures. Practice 5 Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking: Although there are differences in how mathematics and computational thinking are applied in science and in engineering, mathematics often brings these two fields together by enabling engineers to apply the mathematical form of scientific theories and by enabling scientists to use powerful information technologies designed by engineers. Both kinds of professionals can thereby accomplish investigations and analyses and build complex models, which might otherwise be out of the question. Practice 6 Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions: “The goal of science is the construction of theories that provide explanatory accounts of the world. A theory becomes accepted when it has multiple lines of empirical evidence and greater explanatory power of phenomena than previous theories. Asking students to demonstrate their own understanding of the implications of a scientific idea by developing their own explanations of phenomena, whether based on observations they have made or models they have developed, engages them in an essential part of the process by which conceptual change can occur. Practice 7 Engaging in Argument from Evidence: The study of science and engineering should produce a sense of the process of argument necessary for advancing and defending a new idea or an explanation of a phenomenon and the norms for conducting such arguments. In that spirit, students should argue for the explanations they construct, defend their interpretations of the associated data, and advocate for the designs they propose. Practice 8 Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information: Any education in science and engineering needs to develop students’ ability to read and produce domain-specific text. As such, every science or engineering lesson is in part a language lesson, particularly reading and producing the genres of texts that are intrinsic to science and engineering.

Semester 1 – Earth’s Systems and History of the Earth NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas

NGSS Performance Expectations

Resources

ESS2.A: Earth’s Materials and Systems  All Earth processes are the result of energy flowing and matter cycling within and among the planet’s systems. This energy is derived from the sun and Earth’s hot interior. The energy that flows and matter that cycles produce chemical and physical changes in Earth’s materials and living organisms.

MS-ESS2-1 Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.

Text Resources: “Earth Science” Chapters 1, 4, 5, 6, 11, 17, 18, 19

ESS3.A: Natural Resources  Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources. Minerals, fresh water, and biosphere resources are

01 02 03

04

BSD Performance Objectives Describe the main branches of earth science. (geology, oceanography, meteorology, astronomy, environmental science) Distinguish between Earth’s spheres. (atmosphere, geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere) Describe and demonstrate the process of identifying the various properties of minerals. (naturally occurring, inorganic, solid, crystal structure, specific chemical composition, luster, hardness, cleavage, fracture, color, streak) Classify and identify rocks according to their formation and composition. (igneous: intrusive, extrusive, magma, lava / sedimentary: clastic, organic, chemical / metamorphic: contact, regional, foliated, non-foliated)

05 Explain how Earth’s materials move through the rock cycle and develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials. (weathering, erosion, deposition, compaction, cementation, heat and pressure, melting, cooling)

Online resources: Earth Science Internet Sources

limited, and many are not renewable or replaceable over human lifetimes. These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes.

ESS2.A: Earth’s 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— cause weathering and erosion, which change the land’s surface features and create underground formations.

06 Research and explain the consequences of mining.

MS-ESS2-2 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.

BSD Performance Objectives 01 Compare the two major types of weathering. (chemical, mechanical) 02 Identify the erosional and depositional processes that create various landforms. (examples may include: root growth, animal actions, exfoliation, oxidation, water: rain, rivers, v-shaped valley, meander, waves, alluvial fan, delta, ice wedging / wind: sand dunes, loess, abrasion / glaciers: horn, cirque, arête, moraine, till, u-shaped valley / mass movement: slump, creep, landslide, avalanche, gravity) 03 Explain the interactions of weathering and erosion on human populations.

Text Resources: “Earth Science” Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10

Online resources: Earth Science Internet Sources

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.

MS-ESS1-4 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s 4.6-Billionyear-old history.

ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions  Maps of ancient land and water patterns, based on investigations of rocks and fossils, make clear how Earth’s plates have moved great distances, collided, and spread apart.  Tectonic processes continually generate new ocean sea floor at ridges and destroy old sea floor at trenches.

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.

Text Resources: “Earth Science” Chapters 17, 21

BSD Performance Objectives 01 Interpret the methods that scientists use to determine the relative ages of rocks. (Law of Superposition, index fossils, intrusion, extrusion, fault, unconformity)

Online resources: Earth Science Internet Sources

BSD Performance Objectives 01 Interpret the geologic time scale. (eon, era, period, epoch) 02 Summarize how the geologic time scale is used to explain the evolution and extinction of living organisms. (evolution, fossils, mass extinctions)

02 Describe the methods that scientists use to determine the absolute ages of rocks. (igneous rocks, radiometric dating, radioactive decay, half-life, Carbon-14 dating) 03 Compare and contrast the different formations of fossils. (sedimentary rocks, petrified, molds and casts, carbon film, trace fossils, preserved remains) 04 Use correlation methods to estimate geologic time. (Alfred Wegener, continental drift, matching coastlines, mountain ranges, fossil correlation, past climate evidence)

Text Resources: “Earth Science” Chapters 21,22,23

Online resources: Earth Science Internet Sources

MS-ESS3-1 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral and energy resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes. 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. 01 Compare and contrast the different layers of the Earth. (crust / lithosphere, asthenosphere, mantle, outer core, inner core) 02 Investigate evidence to support the theory of plate tectonics. (internal heat: radioactive decay and residual heat, sea floor spreading, convection currents, patterns of earthquake epicenters and volcanoes) 03 Model how convection currents transfer heat from Earth’s interior to the surface. (density, convection) 04 Distinguish between the three types of plate boundaries. (convergent, divergent, transform) 05 Identify patterns in global earthquake distribution. (seismograph, epicenter, focus, P-wave, S-wave, surface waves, triangulation, wave travel time graph) 06 Model the three types of earthquake faults that result from various types of stress. (shearing = strike-slip, tension = normal, compression = reverse) 07 Explain volcanic activity at various types of plate boundaries. (Ring of Fire, fissure eruptions, composite / stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, cinder cone, hot spots, silica content and explosiveness) 08 Explain why mineral and energy resources are finite and how their uneven distribution affects human population.

Text Resources: “Earth Science” Chapters 17, 18, 19 ,20

Online resources: Earth Science Internet Sources

Common Core State Standards Connections ELA/Literacy RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. (MS-ESS3-1) 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. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS1-4),(MS-ESS2-2) WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (MS-ESS3-1) SL.8.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest. (MS-ESS2-1) 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). (MS-ESS2-3) RST.6-8.9 Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic. (MS-ESS2-3) WHST.6-8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources. (MS-ESS2-5) SL.8.5 Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest. (MS-ESS2-1),(MS-ESS2-2),(MS-ESS2-6) Mathematics 6.EE.B.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. (MS-ESS3-1) 7.EE.B.4 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. (MS-ESS3-1), (MS-ESS1-4),(MS-ESS2-2),(MS-ESS2-3) 6.EE.B.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. (MS-ESS1-4),(MS-ESS2-2),(MS-ESS2-3)

Semester 2 – Weather & Climate and Space Systems NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth's Processes  Water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and precipitation. (MSESS2-4)  The complex patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns. (MS-ESS2-5)  Variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents. (MS-ESS2-6)

NGSS Performance Expectations MS-ESS2-5 Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions. BSD Performance Objectives 01 Diagram the water cycle. (transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and precipitation) 02 Compare the composition of gases within Earth’s atmosphere. (water vapor, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, ozone) 03 Identify the characteristics of the different layers of the atmosphere. (troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere) 04 Investigate and explain energy transfer in the atmosphere. (radiation, conduction, convection) 05 Relate how changes air temperature and pressure affect weather. (weather, density, temperature inversion, wind, humidity) 06 Distinguish the characteristics of the four types of air masses. (air mass, tropical, polar, maritime, continental) 07 Identify and describe interactions of air masses along various fronts. (cold front, warm front, low pressure, high pressure)

Resources Text Resources: “Earth Science” Chapters 11, 12, 14, 26 Online resources: Earth Science Internet Sources

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. (MS-ESS2-6)  Because these patterns are so complex, weather can only be predicted probabilistically. (MS-ESS2-5)  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. (MS-ESS2-6)

MS-ESS2-6 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. BSD Performance Objectives 01 Identify patterns in causes of various climate regions. (climate, latitude, altitude, distance from oceans, rain shadow, air masses)

ESS3.D: Global Climate Change  Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend

MS-ESS3-5 Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century. BSD Performance Objectives 01 Examine long-term and short-term natural climate changes. (ice age, seasons, El Nino, La Nina, solar activity, Earth’s orbit, Earth’s tilt, Earth’s wobble)

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Text Resources: “Earth Science” Chapters 11, 12, 14, 15, 26

Online resources:

Interpret how the Coriolis effect influences global weather and climate patterns. (Coriolis effect, polar easterlies, prevailing westerlies, trade winds, jet stream) Investigate how global heat transfer and ocean circulation influence climate regions. (ocean-atmospheric interactions, surface currents, gyres, upwelling, density)

Text Resources: “Earth Science” Chapters 11, 12, 14, 26 Online resources:

on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities.

ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars  Patterns of the apparent motion of the sun, the moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, predicted, and explained with models.  This model of the solar system can explain eclipses of the sun and the moon. Earth’s spin axis is fixed in direction over the short-term but tilted relative to its orbit around the sun. The seasons are a result of that tilt and are caused by the differential intensity of sunlight on different areas of Earth across the year. 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

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Identify sources of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. (volcanic activity, fossils fuels, deforestation, greenhouse effect, global warming) 03 Analyze the potential effects of climate change on human populations. (drought, flooding, rising sea levels, migration, food production, etc.) MS-ESS1-1 Develop and use a model of the Earth, Sun, Moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the Sun and Moon, and seasons. BSD Performance Objectives 01 Analyze the cause and effect of Earth and Sun motions in terms of occurrences like days, years and seasons. (rotation, revolution, day, year, seasons, tilt, solstice, equinox) 02 Create a model that demonstrates the phases of the moon and the differences between a lunar and solar eclipse. (solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, waxing, waning, full moon, new moon) MS-ESS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.

Text Resources: “Earth Science” Chapter 27 Online resources:

Text Resources: “Earth Science” Chapter 30

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in orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them. Earth and its solar system are part of the Milky Way galaxy, which is one of many galaxies in the universe. The solar system appears to have formed from a disk of dust and gas, drawn together by gravity.

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.

BSD Performance Objectives 01 Interpret the current accepted theory of the formation of the universe and galaxies. (Big Bang, cosmic background radiation, redshift, Milky Way, black hole) 02 Develop a model that explains the current scientific theory of the formation of our solar system. (interstellar cloud, planetesimals, retrograde motion, gravity) MS-ESS1-3 Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system. BSD Performance Objectives 01 Compare and contrast the characteristics of the inner and outer planets in our solar system. (terrestrial, gas giants) 02 Describe characteristics of other objects in our solar system besides the planets. (asteroid belt, dwarf planets, Kuiper belt, comets) 03 Summarize the various stages of the life cycle of stars and how they are classified on a H-R Diagram. (nebula, protostar, fusion, red giant, white dwarf, planetary nebula, super giant, neutron star, supernova, black hole, H-R Diagram, main sequence, magnitude, luminosity)

Online resources:

Text Resources: “Earth Science” Chapters 28 and 29 Online resources:

04

Explain the major characteristics of the sun and the role of the sun in our solar system. (nuclear fusion, photosphere, chromosphere, corona, sun spots, solar cycles) 05 Cite evidence to show how Earth’s unique environmental conditions are necessary for life. (liquid water, protective atmosphere) Human Impacts MS-ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing human impact on the environment. MS-ESS3-4 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact earth’s systems. Discuss the various types of space technology humans have developed and the impacts these technologies have had on everyday life. Common Core State Standards Connections ELA/Literacy RST.6-8.1 - Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. (MS-ESS2-5),(MS-ESS3-5)(MS-ESS1-3) RST.6-8.9 - Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic. (MS-ESS2-5) WHST.6-8.8 - Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. (MS-ESS2-5) SL.8.5- Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest. (MS-ESS2-6)(MS-ESS1-1),(MS-ESS1-2) 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). (MS-ESS1-3) Mathematics MP.2 - Reason abstractly and quantitatively. (MS-ESS2-5),(MS-ESS3-5)(MS-ESS1-3) 6.NS.C.5 - Understand that positive and negative numbers are used together to describe quantities having opposite directions or

values (e.g., temperature above/below zero, elevation above/below sea level, credits/debits); use positive and negative numbers to represent quantities in real-world contexts, explaining the meaning of 0 in each situation. (MS-ESS2-5) 6.EE.B.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. (MS-ESS3-5) 7.EE.B.4 - 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. (MS-ESS3-5)(MS-ESS1-2) 6.RP.A.1 - Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. (MSESS1-1),(MS-ESS1-2),(MS-ESS1-3) 7.RP.A.2 - Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities. (MS-ESS1-1),(MS-ESS1-2),(MS-ESS1-3)