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[HS-ESS1]

SCI-HS.ESS1

BPSS-SCI logo DCI Earth Space Science ESS1

Earth's Place in the Universe

Performance Expectations

ESS1 helps students formulate an answer to questions such as:

  • What is Earth’s place in the universe?
  • What makes up our solar system?
  • How can the motion of Earth explain seasons and eclipses?
  • How do people figure out that the Earth and life on Earth have changed through time?

The ESS1 help students formulate an answer to the question: “What is the universe, and what is Earth’s place in it?” The ESS1 Disciplinary Core Idea from the NRC Framework is broken down into three sub-ideas: the universe and its stars, Earth and the solar system and the history of planet Earth. Students examine the processes governing the formation, evolution, and workings of the solar system and universe. Some concepts studied are fundamental to science, such as understanding how the matter of our world formed during the Big Bang and within the cores of stars. Others concepts are practical, such as understanding how short-term changes in the behavior of our sun directly affect humans. Engineering and technology play a large role here in obtaining and analyzing the data that support the theories of the formation of the solar system and universe. The crosscutting concepts of patterns, scale, proportion, and quantity, energy and matter, and stability and change are called out as organizing concepts for these disciplinary core ideas. In the ESS1 performance expectations, students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in developing and using models, using mathematical and computational thinking, constructing explanations and designing solutions, engaging in argument, and obtaining, evaluating and communicating information; 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-HS.ESS1.01

Earth Space Science LogoHigh School (SCI) Earth Space Science Standards
[ESS1] Earth’s Place in the Universe

SCI-HS.ESS1.01 Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun's core to release energy in the form of radiation.

Clarification Statement: Earth Science: Emphasis is on the energy transfer mechanisms that allow energy from nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to reach Earth. Examples of evidence for the model include observations of the masses and lifetimes of other stars, as well as the ways that the sun’s radiation varies due to sudden solar flares (“space weather”), the 11-year sunspot cycle, and non-cyclic variations over centuries.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
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 years.
PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life -Nuclear fusion processes in the center of the sun release the energy that ultimately reaches Earth as radiation. (secondary)

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-HS.ESS1.02

Earth Space Science LogoHigh School (SCI) Earth Space Science Standards
[ESS1] Earth’s Place in the Universe

SCI-HS.ESS1.02 Construct an explanation for the observed expansion of the known universe based on astronomical evidence of light spectra, motion of distant galaxies, cosmic background radiation, and composition of matter in the universe.

Clarification Statement: Earth Science: Emphasis is on the astronomical evidence of the red shift of light from galaxies as an indication that the universe is currently expanding, which led to the formulation of the Big Bang and other theories
Disciplinary Core Ideas
ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars -The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth. -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.
PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation -Atoms of each element emit and absorb characteristic frequencies of light. These characteristics allow identification of the presence of an element, even in microscopic quantities. (secondary)

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-HS.ESS1.03

Earth Space Science LogoHigh School (SCI) Earth Space Science Standards
[ESS1] Earth’s Place in the Universe

SCI-HS.ESS1.03 Communicate scientific ideas about the way stars, over their life cycle, produce elements.

Clarification Statement: Earth Science: Emphasis is on the way nucleosynthesis, and therefore the different elements created, varies as a function of the mass of a star and the stage of its lifetime.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars -The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth. -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.

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-HS.ESS1.04

Earth Space Science LogoHigh School (SCI) Earth Space Science Standards
[ESS1] Earth’s Place in the Universe

SCI-HS.ESS1.04 Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.

Clarification Statement: Earth Science/Physics: Emphasis is on Newtonian gravitational laws governing orbital motions, which apply to human-made satellites as well as planets and moons
Disciplinary Core Ideas
ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars -The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth. 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

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-HS.ESS1.05

Earth Space Science LogoHigh School (SCI) Earth Space Science Standards
[ESS1] Earth’s Place in the Universe

SCI-HS.ESS1.05 Evaluate evidence of the past and current movements of continental and oceanic crust and the theory of plate tectonics to explain the ages of crustal rocks.

Clarification Statement: Earth Science/Geology: Emphasis is on the ability of plate tectonics to explain the ages of crustal rocks. Examples include evidence of the ages of oceanic crust increasing with distance from mid-ocean ridges (a result of plate spreading) and the ages of North American continental crust decreasing with distance away from a central ancient core of the continental plate (a result of past plate interactions)
Disciplinary Core Ideas
ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth -Continental rocks are generally much older than the rocks of the ocean floor.
ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions -Plate tectonics is the unifying theory that explains the past and current movements of the rocks at Earth’s surface and provides a framework for understanding its geologic history.
PS1.C: Nuclear Processes -Spontaneous radioactive decays follow a characteristic exponential decay law. Nuclear lifetimes allow radiometric dating to be used to determine the ages of rocks and other materials.

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-HS.ESS1.06

Earth Space Science LogoHigh School (SCI) Earth Space Science Standards
[ESS1] Earth’s Place in the Universe

SCI-HS.ESS1.06 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.

Clarification Statement: Earth Science/Geology: Emphasis is on using available evidence within the solar system to reconstruct the early history of Earth. Examples of evidence include the absolute ages of ancient materials (obtained by radiometric dating of meteorites, moon rocks, and Earth’s oldest minerals), the sizes and compositions of solar system objects, and the impact cratering record of planetary surfaces.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth -Although active geologic processes, such as plate tectonics and erosion, have destroyed or altered most of the very early rock record on Earth, other objects in the solar system, such as lunar rocks, asteroids, and meteorites, have changed little. Studying these objects can provide information about Earth’s formation and early history.
PS1.C: Nuclear Processes -Spontaneous radioactive decays follow a characteristic exponential decay law. Nuclear lifetimes allow radiometric dating to be used to determine the ages of rocks and other materials.

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