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MS-ESS3

SCI-MS.ESS3

BPSS-SCI logo DCI Earth Space Science ESS3

Earth and Human Activity

Performance Expectations

ESS3 help students formulate an answer to questions such as:

  • How is the availability of needed natural resources related to naturally occurring processes?
  • How can natural hazards be predicted?
  • How do human activities affect Earth systems?
  • How do we know our global climate is changing?

The ESS3 Disciplinary Core Idea is broken down into four sub - ideas: natural resources, natural hazards, human impact on Earth systems, and global climate change. Students understand the ways that human activities impacts Earth’s other systems. Students use many different practices to understand the significant and complex issues surrounding human uses of land, energy, mineral, and water resources and the resulting impacts of their development.
In the ESS 3 performance expectations, students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in asking questions, developing and using models, analyzing and interpreting data, constructing explanations and designing solutions and engaging in argument ; and to use these practices to demonstrate understanding of the core ideas.

Calculation Method for DCI

Disciplinary Core Ideas are larger groups of related Performance Expectations. So the Disciplinary Core Idea Grade is a calculation of all the related Performance Expectations. So click on the Performance Expectation name below each Disciplinary Core Idea to access the learning targets and proficiency scales for each Disciplinary Core Idea's related Performance Expectations.

SCI-MS.ESS3.01

Earth Space Science Logo8th Grade (SCI) Earth Space Science Standards
[ESS3] Earth and Human Activity

SCI-MS.ESS3.01 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how these resources are limited and typically non-renewable, and how their distributions are significantly changing as a result of removal by humans. Examples of uneven distributions of resources as a result of past processes include but are not limited to petroleum (locations of the burial of organic marine sediments and subsequent geologic traps), metal ores (locations of past volcanic and hydrothermal activity associated with subduction zones), and soil (locations of active weathering and/or deposition of rock).
Disciplinary Core Ideas
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 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.

Student Learning Targets:

Knowledge Targets

  • I can

Reasoning Targets

  • I can

Skills (Performance) Targets

  • I can

Product Targets

  • I can

Proficiency Scale

The Student can ...
1 Beginning
... with help, demonstrate a partial understanding of some of the simpler details and processes (Score 2.0 content) and some of the more complex ideas and processes (Score 3.0 content).
  • descriptors
2 Developing
... demonstrate no major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes but exhibits major errors or omissions regarding the more complex ideas and processes (Score 3.0 content).
  • descriptors
3 Proficient
“The Standard.”
... demonstrate no major errors or omissions regarding any of the information and processes that were end of instruction expectations.
  • descriptors
4 Advanced
... demonstrate in-depth inferences and applications regarding more complex material that go beyond end of instruction expectations.
  • descriptors

Resources

Vocabulary

  • words
  • list

Websites

  • Title of website with a URL to open in a new window

SCI-MS.ESS3.02

Earth Space Science Logo8th Grade (SCI) Earth Space Science Standards
[ESS3] Earth and Human Activity

SCI-MS.ESS3.02 Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events that necessitate the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how some natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions and severe weather, are preceded by phenomena that allow for reliable predictions, but others, such as earthquakes, occur suddenly and with no notice, and thus are not yet predictable. Examples of natural hazards can be taken from interior processes (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions), surface processes (such as mass wasting and tsunamis), or severe weather events (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods). Examples of data can include the locations, magnitudes, and frequencies of the natural hazards. Examples of technologies can be global (such as satellite systems to monitor hurricanes or forest fires) or local (such as building basements in tornado-prone regions or reservoirs to mitigate droughts).
Disciplinary Core Ideas
ESS3.B: Natural Hazards Mapping the history of natural hazards in a region, combined with an understanding of related geologic forces can help forecast the locations and likelihoods of future events.

Student Learning Targets:

Knowledge Targets

  • I can identify the three types of faults and state the strength of the earthquake produced. (Earthquakes)
  • I can differentiate between a p-wave and a s-wave. (Earthquakes)
  • I can identify the three different types of volcanoes based on the type of eruption. (Volcanoes)
  • I can identify different methods of predicting volcanic eruptions. (Volcanoes)
  • I can explain the the tectonic activity present at the Ring of Fire and Mid-Atlantic Ridge. (Volcanoes)

Reasoning Targets

  • I can explain how energy is stored and then later released during an earthquake. (Earthquakes)
  • I can explain how scientists use the gap hypothesis to predict the location and strength of future earthquakes. (Earthquakes)
  • I can explain how the composition of magma (silica content, ability to trap gases) influences the type of eruption. (Volcanoes)
  • Skills (Performance) Targets
  • I can use a seismogram and the S-P time method to determine the distance from the epicenter. (Earthquakes)

Skills (Performance) Targets

  • I can

Product Targets

  • I can

Proficiency Scale

The Student can ...
1 Beginning
... with help, demonstrate a partial understanding of some of the simpler details and processes (Score 2.0 content) and some of the more complex ideas and processes (Score 3.0 content).
  • descriptors
2 Developing
... demonstrate no major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes but exhibits major errors or omissions regarding the more complex ideas and processes (Score 3.0 content).
  • identify the three types of faults and state the strength of the earthquake produced. (Earthquakes)
  • differentiate between a p-wave and s-wave. (Earthquakes)
  • identify the three types of volcanoes based on the type of eruption. (Volcanoes)
  • identify different methods of predicting volcanic eruptions. (Volcanoes)
3 Proficient
“The Standard.”
... demonstrate no major errors or omissions regarding any of the information and processes that were end of instruction expectations.
  • explain how energy is stored and then later released during an earthquake. (Earthquakes)
  • use a seismogram and the S-P time method to determine the distance from the epicenter. (Earthquakes)
  • explain how scientists use the gap hypothesis to predict the location and strength of future earthquakes. (Earthquakes)
  • explain how the composition of magma (silica content, ability to trap gases) influences the type of eruption. (Volcanoes)
  • explain the tectonic activity present at the Ring of Fire and Mid-Atlantic Ridge. (Volcanoes)
4 Advanced
... demonstrate in-depth inferences and applications regarding more complex material that go beyond end of instruction expectations.
  • descriptors

Resources

Vocabulary

  • words
  • list

Websites

  • Title of website with a URL to open in a new window

SCI-MS.ESS3.03

Earth Space Science Logo8th Grade (SCI) Earth Space Science Standards
[ESS3] Earth and Human Activity

SCI-MS.ESS3.03 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.

Clarification Statement: Examples of the design process include examining human environmental impacts, assessing the kinds of solutions that are feasible, and designing and evaluating solutions that could reduce that impact. Examples of human impacts can include water usage (such as the withdrawal of water from streams and aquifers or the construction of dams and levees), land usage (such as urban development, agriculture, or the removal of wetlands), and pollution (such as of the air, water, or land).
Disciplinary Core Ideas
ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems Human activities have significantly altered the biosphere, sometimes damaging or destroying natural habitats and causing the extinction of other species. But changes to Earth’s environments can have different impacts (negative and positive) for different living things. Typically, as human populations and per-capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise

Student Learning Targets:

Knowledge Targets

  • I can

Reasoning Targets

  • I can

Skills (Performance) Targets

  • I can

Product Targets

  • I can

Proficiency Scale

The Student can ...
1 Beginning
... with help, demonstrate a partial understanding of some of the simpler details and processes (Score 2.0 content) and some of the more complex ideas and processes (Score 3.0 content).
  • descriptors
2 Developing
... demonstrate no major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes but exhibits major errors or omissions regarding the more complex ideas and processes (Score 3.0 content).
  • descriptors
3 Proficient
“The Standard.”
... demonstrate no major errors or omissions regarding any of the information and processes that were end of instruction expectations.
  • descriptors
4 Advanced
... demonstrate in-depth inferences and applications regarding more complex material that go beyond end of instruction expectations.
  • descriptors

Resources

Vocabulary

  • words
  • list

Websites

  • Title of website with a URL to open in a new window

SCI-MS.ESS3.04

Earth Space Science Logo8th Grade (SCI) Earth Space Science Standards
[ESS3] Earth and Human Activity 

SCI-MS.ESS3.04 Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems.

Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence include grade-appropriate databases on human populations and the rates of consumption of food and natural resources (such as freshwater, mineral, and energy). Examples of impacts can include changes to the appearance, composition, and structure of Earth’s systems as well as the rates at which they change. The consequences of increases in human populations and consumption of natural resources are described by science, but science does not make the decisions for the actions society takes.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems Typically, as human populations and per capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise.

Student Learning Targets:

Knowledge Targets

  • I can

Reasoning Targets

  • I can

Skills (Performance) Targets

  • I can

Product Targets

  • I can

Proficiency Scale

The Student can ...
1 Beginning
... with help, demonstrate a partial understanding of some of the simpler details and processes (Score 2.0 content) and some of the more complex ideas and processes (Score 3.0 content).
  • descriptors
2 Developing
... demonstrate no major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes but exhibits major errors or omissions regarding the more complex ideas and processes (Score 3.0 content).
  • descriptors
3 Proficient
“The Standard.”
... demonstrate no major errors or omissions regarding any of the information and processes that were end of instruction expectations.
  • descriptors
4 Advanced
... demonstrate in-depth inferences and applications regarding more complex material that go beyond end of instruction expectations.
  • descriptors

Resources

Vocabulary

  • words
  • list

Websites

  • Title of website with a URL to open in a new window

SCI-MS.ESS3.05

Earth Space Science Logo8th Grade (SCI) Earth Space Science Standards
[ESS3] Earth and Human Activity

SCI-MS.ESS3.05 Investigate factors that have caused changes in global temperatures over time.

Clarification Statement: Examples of factors include natural processes (such as changes in incoming solar radiation or volcanic activity) and human activities (such as fossil fuel combustion, cement production, and agricultural activity). Examples of evidence can include tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures, atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and the rates of human activities.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
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 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

Student Learning Targets:

Knowledge Targets

  • I can

Reasoning Targets

  • I can

Skills (Performance) Targets

  • I can

Product Targets

  • I can

Proficiency Scale

The Student can ...
1 Beginning
... with help, demonstrate a partial understanding of some of the simpler details and processes (Score 2.0 content) and some of the more complex ideas and processes (Score 3.0 content).
  • descriptors
2 Developing
... demonstrate no major errors or omissions regarding the simpler details and processes but exhibits major errors or omissions regarding the more complex ideas and processes (Score 3.0 content).
  • can describe factors that may contribute to the rise in global temperatures.
  • Human: fossil fuels, cement production, deforestation, agricultural activity
  • Natural: incoming solar radiation, volcanic activity
3 Proficient
“The Standard.”
... demonstrate no major errors or omissions regarding any of the information and processes that were end of instruction expectations.
  • can explain the change in radiation balance that occurs due to the greenhouse effect.
4 Advanced
... demonstrate in-depth inferences and applications regarding more complex material that go beyond end of instruction expectations.
  • descriptors

Resources

Vocabulary

  • words
  • list

Websites

  • Title of website with a URL to open in a new window