National Standards

Framework: by Debbie Denise Reese Ph.D.

Components of the Framework for K-12 Science Education Supported by CyGaMEs Selene and MoonGazers Activities

The Moon is the solar system’s Rosetta Stone. Many of the geological processes that can no longer be seen on Earth are preserved on the surface of the Moon and captured by Selene. Selene provides experiential learning about processes that students and their teachers’ can then transfer to their study of the Earth.

Note: Text is directly quoted or excerpted from Framework (see Framework, Committee on Conceptual Framework for the New K-12 Science Education Standards & National Research Council, 2011).

Core Ideas - Earth and Space Sciences

Note:Emphasis (bold) added to identify aligned components.

ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe

By the end of grade 2.Patterns of the motion of the sun, Moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, and predicted. At night one can see the light coming from many stars with the naked eye, but telescopes make it possible to see many more and to observe them and the Moon and planets in greater detail.

By the end of grade 8. Patterns of the apparent motion of the sun, the Moon, and stars in the sky can be observed, described, predicted, and explained with models. The universe began with a period of extreme and rapid expansion known as the Big Bang. Earth and its solar system are part of the Milky Way galaxy, which is one of many galaxies in the universe.

ESS1.B Earth and the Solar system

By the end of grade 5. Some objects in the solar system can be seen with the naked eye.

ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth

How do people reconstruct and date events in Earth’s planetary history? Earth scientists use the structure, sequence, and properties of rocks, sediments, and fossils as well as the locations of current and past ocean basins, lakes, and rivers to reconstruct events in Earth’s planetary history. For example, rock layers show the sequence of geological events. . . . Analyses of rock formations and the fossil record are used to establish relative ages. In an undisturbed column of rock, the youngest rocks are at the top, and the oldest are at the bottom. Rock layers have sometimes been rearranged by tectonic forces; rearrangements can be seen or inferred. . . .

. . .Although active geological processes, such as plate tectonics (link to ESS2.B) and erosion, have destroyed or altered most of the very early rock record on Earth, some other objects in the solar system, such as asteroids and meteorites, have changed little over billions of years. Studying these objects can help scientists deduce the solar system’s age and history, including the formation of planet Earth. Study of other planets and their moons, many of which exhibit such features as volcanism and meteor impacts similar to those found on the Earth, also help to illuminate aspects of Earth’s history and changes.

By the end of grade 2. Some events on Earth occur in cycles, like day and night, and others have a beginning and an end, like a volcanic eruption. Some events, like an earthquake, happen very quickly; others, such as the formation of the Grand Canyon, occur very slowly, over a time much longer than one can observe them.

By the end of grade 8. The geological time scale interpreted from rock strata provides a way to organize Earth’s history. Major historical events include the formation of mountain chains and ocean basins, the evolution and extinction of particular living organisms, volcanic eruptions, periods of massive glaciation, and development of watersheds and rivers through glaciation and water erosion. Analyses of rock strata and the fossil record provide only relative dates, not an absolute scale.

By the end of grade 12. Radioactive-decay lifetimes and isotopic content in rocks provide a way of dating rock formations and thereby fixing the scale of geological time. The continents’ rocks (some as old as 4 billion years or more) are much older than rocks on the ocean floor (less than 200 million years), where tectonic processes continually generate new rocks and remove old ones. Although active geological processes, such as plate tectonics (link to ESS2.B) 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 over billions of years. Studying these objects can provide information about Earth’s formation and early history.

Physical Sciences: Core Components and Ideas

Note: Aligned Box 5-1 core components and ideas and grade level endpoints are listed, but narrative discussion is not included.

PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions - How can one explain and predict interactions between objects and within systems?

PS2.A: Forces and Motion - Grade 5, 8
PS2.B: Types of Interactions - Grades 2, 5, 8
PS2.C. Stability and Instability in Physical Systems - Grades 2, 5, 8

PS3: ENERGY: How is energy transferred and conserved?

PS3.A: Definitions of Energy - Grade 5, 8, 12
PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer - Grade 5, 8, 12
PS3.C: Relationship Between Energy and Forces - Grade 2

PS4: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer

PS4.C: Information Technologies and Instrumentation. Grade 5. (Lenses - telescopes)

Scientific Practices
Note: Entire item applies when no text is in bold.

1. Asking questions.
2. Developing and using models.
3. Planning and carrying out investigations.
4. Analyzing and interpreting data.
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking.
6. Constructing explanations.
7. Engaging in argument from evidence.
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.

Crosscutting Concepts

1. Patterns
2. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity
4. Systems and system models
5. Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation
6. Structure and function
7. Stability and change

Reference

Committee on Conceptual Framework for the New K-12 Science Education Standards, & National Research Council.2011). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Available at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165.