Earth Science Curriculum Notebook.docx

Earth Science Curriculum Notebook
Current as of Aug 2018


Curriculum Notebook Table of Contents
Standards
Standards indicate the broad goals for a student to master in a course. Standards are typically set by a state or district school board.
Content Standards................................................................................................................................. Page 4 Reading standards for literacy in history/social studies........................................................................ Page 9 Writing standards for literacy in history/social studies......................................................................... Page 11
Essential Learning Standards
Particular standards/objectives/indicators that a school/district defines as critical for student learning. In fact, they are so critical that students will receive intervention if they are not learned. Essentials are chosen because they 1. have endurance, 2. have leverage, and 3. are important for future learning.
I Can Statements ........................................................................................................................................... Page 14
Curriculum Resources
The materials teachers use to plan, prepare, and deliver instruction, including materials students use to learn about the subject. Such materials include texts, textbooks, tasks, tools, and media. Sometimes organized into a comprehensive program format, they often provide the standards, units, pacing guides, assessments, supplemental resources, interventions, and student materials for a course. ....................................................................................................................................................................... Page 15
Pacing Guide
The order and timeline of the instruction of standards, objectives, indicators, and Essentials over the span of a course (semester or year). ....................................................................................................................................................................... Page 18
Units
A plan for several weeks of instruction, usually based on a theme, that includes individual lesson plans. Units often also include: Standards, learning targets/goals, skills, formative and summative assessment, student materials, essential questions, big ideas, vocabulary, questions, and instructional methods.
Earth Science Units........................................................................................................................................ Page 19 Understanding by Design .............................................................................................................................. Page 20
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Assessment Standards
A set of criteria to guide the assessment of student learning in a course that is based on Standards/Essentials of the course; this might include formative assessment practices, summative assessments/practices, common assessment plans, feedback practices, and a schedule for testing.
Ethics ..................................................................................................................................................... Page 21
Intervention Standards
A set of criteria to guide teachers to provide additional instruction to students who did not master the content in Tier 1 instruction. This might include: commercial intervention programs, teacher-developed intervention materials, diagnostic testing, RTI/MTSS processes, and a list of essential knowledge/skills that will prompt intervention if the student does not demonstrate mastery.
RTI ......................................................................................................................................................... Page 23 MTSS...................................................................................................................................................... Page 25
Supplemental Resources
Instructional materials, beyond the main curricular materials, used to strategically fill gaps/weaknesses of the core program materials.
Provo Way Instructional Model ............................................................................................................ Page 27
Evidence-based Pedagogical Practices
A list of teaching strategies that are supported by adequate, empirical research as being highly effective.
John Hattie ............................................................................................................................................ Page 31
Glossary
Terms and acronyms used in this document ........................................................................................ Page 32
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Course Standards
Standards indicate the broad goals for a student to master in a course. Standards are typically set by a state or district school board.
Standard 1
Students will understand the scientific evidence that supports theories that explain how the universe and the solar system developed. They will compare Earth to other objects in the solar system.
Objective 1 Describe both the big bang theory of universe formation and the nebular theory of solar system formation and evidence supporting them.
a. Identify the scientific evidence for the age of the solar system (4.6 billion years), including Earth (e.g., radioactive decay).
b. Describe the big bang theory and the evidence that supports this theory (e.g., cosmic background radiation, abundance of elements, distance/redshift relation for galaxies).
c. Describe the nebular theory of solar system formation and the evidence supporting it (e.g., solar system structure due to gravity, motion and temperature; composition and age of meteorites; observations of newly forming stars).
d. Explain that heavy elements found on Earth are formed in stars.
e. Investigate and report how science has changed the accepted ideas regarding the
nature of the universe throughout history.
f. Provide an example of how technology has helped scientists investigate the universe.
Objective 2 Analyze Earth as part of the solar system, which is part of the Milky Way galaxy. a. Relate the composition of objects in the solar system to their distance from the Sun. b. Compare the size of the solar system to the Milky Way galaxy.
c. Compare the size and scale of objects within the solar system.
d. Evaluate the conditions that currently support life on Earth (biosphere) and compare them to the conditions that exist on other planets and moons in the solar system (e.g., atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, amounts of incoming solar energy, habitable zone).
Standard 2
Students will understand Earth's internal structure and the dynamic nature of the tectonic plates that form its surface.
Objective 1 Evaluate the source of Earth's internal heat and the evidence of Earth's internal structure.
a. Identify that radioactive decay and heat of formation are the sources of Earth's internal heat.
b. Trace the lines of scientific evidence (e.g., seismic studies, composition of meteorites, and samples of the crust and mantle) that led to the inference that Earth's core, mantle, and crust are separated based on composition.
c. Trace the lines of scientific evidence that led to the inference that Earth's lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere, outer core, and inner core are separated based on physical properties.
d. Model how convection currents help distribute heat within the mantle.
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Objective 2 Describe the development of the current theory of plate tectonics and the evidence that supports this theory.
a. Explain Alfred Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis, his evidence (e.g., fossil record, ancient climates, geometric fit of continents), and why it was not accepted in his time.
b. Cite examples of how the geologic record preserves evidence of past change.
c. Establish the importance of the discovery of mid-ocean ridges, oceanic trenches, and
magnetic striping of the sea floor to the development of the modern theory of plate
tectonics.
d. Explain how mantle plumes (hot spots) provide evidence for the rate and direction of
tectonic plate motion.
e. Organize and evaluate the evidence for the current theory of plate tectonics: sea floor
spreading, age of sea floor, distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes.
Objective 3 Demonstrate how the motion of tectonic plates affects Earth and living things.
a. Describe a lithospheric plate and identify the major plates of the Earth.
b. Describe how earthquakes and volcanoes transfer energy from Earth's interior to the
surface (e.g., seismic waves transfer mechanical energy, flowing magma transfers heat
and mechanical energy).
c. Model the factors that cause tectonic plates to move (e.g., gravity, density, convection).
d. Model tectonic plate movement and compare the results of plate movement along
convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries (e.g., mountain building, volcanoes,
earthquakes, mid-ocean ridges, oceanic trenches).
e. Design, build, and test a model that investigates local geologic processes (e.g.,
mudslides, earthquakes, flooding, erosion) and the possible effects on human- engineered structures (e.g., dams, homes, bridges, roads).
Standard 3
Students will understand the atmospheric processes that support life and cause weather and climate.
Objective 1 Relate how energy from the Sun drives atmospheric processes and how atmospheric currents transport matter and transfer energy.
a. Compare and contrast the amount of energy coming from the Sun that is reflected, absorbed or scattered by the atmosphere, oceans, and land masses.
b. Construct a model that demonstrates how the greenhouse effect contributes to atmospheric energy.
c. Conduct an investigation on how the tilt of Earth's axis causes variations in the intensity and duration of sunlight striking Earth.
d. Explain how uneven heating of Earth's atmosphere at the equator and polar regions combined with the Coriolis effect create an atmospheric circulation system including, Hadley cells, trade winds, and prevailing westerlies, that moves heat energy around Earth.
e. Explain how the presence of ozone in the stratosphere is beneficial to life, while ozone in the troposphere is considered an air pollutant.
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Objective 2 Describe elements of weather and the factors that cause them to vary from day to day.
a. Identify the elements of weather and the instruments used to measure them (e.g., temperature - thermometer; precipitation - rain gauge or Doppler radar; humidity - hygrometer; air pressure - barometer; wind - anemometer; cloud coverage - satellite imaging).
b. Describe conditions that give rise to severe weather phenomena (e.g., thunderstorms, tornados, hurricanes, El Niño/La Niña).
c. Explain a difference between a low pressure system and a high pressure system, including the weather associated with them.
d. Diagram and describe cold, warm, occluded, and stationary boundaries (weather fronts) between air masses.
e. Design and conduct a weather investigation, use an appropriate display of the data, and interpret the observations and data.
Objective 3 Examine the natural and human-caused processes that cause Earth's climate to change over intervals of time ranging from decades to millennia.
a. Explain differences between weather and climate and the methods used to investigate evidence for changes in climate (e.g., ice core sampling, tree rings, historical temperature measurements, changes in the extent of alpine glaciers, changes in the extent of Arctic sea ice).
b. Explain how Earth's climate has changed over time and describe the natural causes for these changes (e.g., Milankovitch cycles, solar fluctuations, plate tectonics).
c. Describe how human activity influences the carbon cycle and may contribute to climate change.
d. Explain the differences between air pollution and climate change and how these are related to society's use of fossil fuels.
e. Investigate the current and potential consequences of climate change (e.g., ocean acidification, sea level rise, desertification, habitat loss) on ecosystems, including human communities.
Standard 4
Students will understand the dynamics of the hydrosphere.
Objective 1 Characterize the water cycle in terms of its reservoirs, water movement among reservoirs and how water has been recycled throughout time.
a. Identify oceans, lakes, running water, frozen water, ground water, and atmospheric moisture as the reservoirs of Earth's water cycle, and graph or chart the relative amounts of water in each.
b. Describe how the processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface runoff, ground infiltration and transpiration contribute to the cycling of water through Earth's reservoirs.
c. Model the natural purification of water as it moves through the water cycle and compare natural purification to processes used in local sewage treatment plants.
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Objective 2 Analyze the characteristics and importance of freshwater found on Earth's surface and its effect on living systems.
a. Investigate the properties of water: exists in all three states, dissolves many substances, exhibits adhesion and cohesion, density of solid vs. liquid water.
b. Plan and conduct an experiment to investigate biotic and abiotic factors that affect freshwater ecosystems.
c. Using data collected from local water systems, evaluate water quality and conclude how pollution can make water unavailable or unsuitable for life.
d. Research and report how communities manage water resources (e.g., distribution, shortages, quality, flood control) to address social, economic, and environmental concerns.
Objective 3 Analyze the physical, chemical, and biological dynamics of the oceans and the flow of energy through the oceans.
a. Research how the oceans formed from outgassing by volcanoes and ice from comets.
b. Investigate how salinity, temperature, and pressure at different depths and locations in
oceans and lakes affect saltwater ecosystems.
c. Design and conduct an experiment comparing chemical properties (e.g., chemical
composition, percent salinity) and physical properties (e.g., density, freezing point
depression) of freshwater samples to saltwater samples from different sources.
d. Model energy flow in the physical dynamics of oceans (e.g., wave action, deep ocean
tides circulation, surface currents, land and sea breezes, El Nino, upwellings).
e. Evaluate the impact of human activities (e.g., sediment, pollution, overfishing) on ocean
systems.
Standard 5
Students will understand how Earth science interacts with society.
Objective 1 Characterize Earth as a changing and complex system of interacting spheres.
a. Illustrate how energy flowing and matter cycling within Earth's biosphere, geosphere,
atmosphere, and hydrosphere give rise to processes that shape Earth.
b. Explain how Earth's systems are dynamic and continually react to natural and human
caused changes.
c. Explain how technological advances lead to increased human knowledge (e.g., satellite
imaging, deep sea ocean probes, seismic sensors, weather radar systems) and ability to
predict how changes affect Earth's systems.
d. Design and conduct an experiment that investigates how Earth's biosphere, geosphere,
atmosphere, or hydrosphere reacts to human-caused change.
e. Research and report on how scientists study feedback loops to inform the public about
Earth's interacting systems.
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Objective 2 Describe how humans depend on Earth's resources.
a. Investigate how Earth's resources (e.g., mineral resources, petroleum resources,
alternative energy resources, water resources, soil and agricultural resources) are
distributed across the state, the country, and the world.
b. Research and report on how human populations depend on Earth resources for
sustenance and how changing conditions over time have affected these resources (e.g.,
water pollution, air pollution, increases in population)
c. Predict how resource development and use alters Earth systems (e.g., water reservoirs,
alternative energy sources, wildlife preserves).
d. Describe the role of scientists in providing data that informs the discussion of Earth
resource use.
e. Justify the claim that Earth science literacy can help the public make informed choices
related to the extraction and use of natural resources.
Objective 3 Indicate how natural hazards pose risks to humans.
a. Identify and describe natural hazards that occur locally (e.g., wildfires, landslides, earthquakes, floods, drought) and globally (e.g., volcanoes, tsunamis, hurricanes).
b. Evaluate and give examples of human activities that can contribute to the frequency and intensity of some natural hazards (e.g., construction that may increase erosion, human causes of wildfires, climate change).
c. Document how scientists use technology to continually improve estimates of when and where natural hazards occur.
Investigate and report how social, economic, and environmental issues affect decisions about human-engineered structures (e.g., dams, homes, bridges, roads).
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Utah Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading
The grades 6 – 12 standards on the following pages define what students should understand and be able to do by the end of each grade. They correspond to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards below by number.
The CCR and grade-specific standards are necessary complements—the former providing broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity—that together define the skills and understandings that all students must demonstrate.
Key Ideas and Details
1. Read closely to determine what the next text says explicitly and make logical inferences from it; cite specific textural evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
Craft and Structure
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.
Note on Range and Content of
Student Reading
Reading is critical to building knowledge in history/social studies as well as in science and technical subjects. College and career ready reading in these fields requires an appreciation of the norms and conventions of each discipline, such as the kinds of evidence used in history and science; an understanding of domain-specific words and phrases; an attention to precise details; and the capacity to evaluate intricate arguments, synthesize complex information, and follow detailed descriptions of events and concepts. In history/social studies, for example, students need to be able to analyze, evaluate, and differentiate primary and secondary sources. When reading scientific and technical texts, students need to be able to gain knowledge from challenging texts that often make extensive use of elaborate diagrams and data to convey information and illustrate concepts. Students must be able to read complex informational texts in these fields with independence and
confidence because a majority of reading in college and workforce training programs will be sophisticated nonfiction. It is important to note that these reading standards are meantto complement the specific content demands of the disciplines, not replace them.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
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Reading Standards for Literacy in RST Science and Technical Subjects Grades 9-10
Key Ideas and Details
1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to precise details of explanations or descriptions.
2. Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text’s explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.
3. Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks; attending to special cases or exceptions defined in the text.
Craft and Structure
4. Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9-10 texts and topics.
5. Analyze how the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy).
6. Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. Translatequantitativeortechnicalinformationexpressedinwordsinatext into visual form (e.g., a table, or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.
8. Assesstheextenttowhichthereasoningandevidenceinatextsupportthe author’s claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem.
9. Compareandcontrastfindingsrepresentedinatexttothosefromother sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
10.By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
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Utah Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing
The grades 6 – 12 standards on the following pages define what students should understand and be able to do by the end of each grade. They correspond to the College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards below by number.
The CCR and grade-specific standards are necessary complements—the former providing broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity—that together define the skills and understandings that all students must demonstrate.
Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.
Production and Distribution of Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Range of Writing
10. Write routinely over extended me frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
Note on Range and Content of Student Writing
For students, writing is a key means of asserting and defending claims, showing what they know about a subject, and conveying what they have experienced, imagined, thought, and felt. To be college- and career-ready writers, students must take task, purpose, and audience into careful consideration, choosing words, information, structures, and formats deliberately. They need to be able to use technology strategically when creating, refining, and collaborating on writing. They have to become adept at gathering information, evaluating sources, and citing material accurately, reporting findings from their research and analysis of sources in a clear and cogent manner. They must have the flexibility, concentration, and fluency to produce high-quality first-draft text under a tight deadline and the capacity to revisit and make improvements to a piece of writing over multiple drafts when circumstances encourage or require it. To meet these goals, students must devote significant time and effort to writing, producing numerous pieces over short and long time frames throughout the year.
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Writing Standards for Literacy in
History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6-12
Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
a. Introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the
claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
b. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the argument presented.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/experiments, or technical processes.
a. Introduce a topic and organize complex ideas, concepts, and information
so to make important connections and distinctions; including formatting (e.g., heading), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
c. Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
d. Usepreciselanguage,domain-specificvocabularytomanagethe complexity of the topic and convey a style appropriate to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely readers.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation provided (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).
3. Not applicable as a separate requirement (Students’ narrative skills continue to grow in these grades. The standards require that students be able to incorporate narrative elements effectively into arguments and
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informative/exploratory texts. In history/social studies, students must be able to incorporate narrative accounts into their analyses of individuals or events of historical import. In science and technical subjects, students must be able to write precise enough descriptions of the step-by-step procedures they use in their investigations or technical work that others can replicate them and (possibly) reach the same results.
Production and Distribution of Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
9. Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Range of Writing
10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.
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Course Essential Learning Standards
Particular standards/objectives/indicators that a school/district defines as critical for student learning. In fact, they are so critical that students will receive intervention if they are not learned. Essentials are chosen because they 1. have endurance, 2. have leverage, and 3. are important for future learning.
• I can interpret data from tables, charts, and graphs and communicate data using tables and graphs.
• I can make and record measurements in SI (metric) units.
• I can describe the big bang theory and the evidence that supports this theory. (1:1b)
• I can explain what the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere of the earth are, how they support life on Earth, and how they compare to conditions on other planets. (1:2d)
• I can draw the flow of convection currents within the mantle. (2:1d)
• I can describe what a tectonic plate is (2:3a).
• I can identify 3 tectonic plate boundaries (convergent, divergent, transform) and what is produced by each. (2:3d)
• I can identify & define steps in the water cycle (4:1b) as it moves through earth's reservoirs (4:1a)
• I can name ways people harm ocean ecosystems & how we can prevent it. (4:3e)
• I can explain & demonstrate how Earth’s tilt causes its seasons. (3:1c)
• I can describe high & low pressure areas & the weather that goes with each (3:2c)
• I can tell the difference between air pollution and climate change, how they relate to using fossil fuels and potential consequences to life on Earth. (3:3d,e)
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Curriculum Resources
The materials teachers use to plan, prepare, and deliver instruction, including materials students use to learn about the subject. Such materials include texts, textbooks, tasks, tools, and media. Sometimes organized into a comprehensive program format, they often provide the standards, units, pacing guides, assessments, supplemental resources, interventions, and student materials for a course.
Standard 1
Objective 1
Describe both the big bang theory of universe formation and the nebular theory of solar system formation and evidence supporting them.
Objective 2
Analyze Earth as part of the solar system, which is part of the Milky Way galaxy.
Standard 2
Objective 1
Evaluate the source of Earth's internal heat and the evidence of Earth's internal structure.
Objective 2
Describe the development of the current theory of plate tectonics and the evidence that supports this theory.
Objective 3
Demonstrate how the motion of tectonic plates affects Earth and living things.
Standard 3
Objective 1
Relate how energy from the Sun drives atmospheric processes and how atmospheric currents transport matter and transfer energy.
Objective 2
Describe elements of weather and the factors that cause them to vary from day to day.
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Objective 3
Examine the natural and human-caused processes that cause Earth's climate to change over intervals of time ranging from decades to millennia.
Standard 4
Objective 1
Characterize the water cycle in terms of its reservoirs, water movement among reservoirs and how water has been recycled throughout time.
Objective 2
Analyze the characteristics and importance of freshwater found on Earth's surface and its effect on living systems.
Objective 3
Analyze the physical, chemical, and biological dynamics of the oceans and the flow of energy through the oceans.
Standard 5
Objective 1
Characterize Earth as a changing and complex system of interacting spheres.
Objective 2
Describe how humans depend on Earth's resources.
Objective 3
Indicate how natural hazards pose risks to humans.
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Additional Links Online OER Textbook
http://www.ck12.org/user:dxrhac1vzxitzg9llnbhcnruzxjay2sxmi5vcmc./book/Earth-Science/
Barbara Gentry – Secondary Science – Earth (Shared Google Drive)
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B8yRZNfg1U_dZU1yNm1KT0YxMEU
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Course Pacing Guide
The order and timeline of the instruction of standards, objectives, indicators, and Essentials over the span of a course (semester or year).
This pacing guide is based on a 180-day school year of 36 weeks.
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Units
Complete detailed learning targets with teaching ideas can be found at
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RrVH044JMzpixbepmCWgNzaOHvNQSEj4FoCMIyjY8z8/ edit?usp=sharing
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Planning Guide: Jay McTighe, an expert in unit planning and author of Understanding by Design, has written four point to consider when planning units. They are presented below.
UbD Design Standards Stage 1 – To what extent does the design:
1. focus on the “Big ideas” of targeted content? Consider: are . . .
– the targeted understandings enduring, based on transferable, big ideas at the heart of the
discipline and in need of “uncoverage”?
– the targeted understandings framed as specific generalizations?
– the “big ideas” framed by questions that spark meaningful connections, provoke genuine
inquiry and deep thought, and encourage transfer?
– appropriate goals (e.g., content standards, benchmarks, curriculum objectives) identified? – valid and unit-relevant knowledge and skills identified?
Stage 2 – To what extent do the assessments provide:
2. fair, valid, reliable and sufficient measures of the desired results? Consider: are . . .
– students asked to exhibit their understanding through “authentic” performance tasks? – appropriate criterion-based scoring tools used to evaluate student products and
performances?
– a variety of appropriate assessment formats provide additional evidence of learning? Stage 3 – To what extent is the learning plan:
3. effective and engaging? Consider: will students . . .
– know where they’re going (the learning goals), why (reason for learning the content), and
what is required of them (performance requirements and evaluative criteria)?
– be hooked – engaged in digging into the big ideas (e.g., through inquiry, research, problem- solving, experimentation)?
– have adequate opportunities to explore/experience big ideas and receive instruction to equip them for the required performance(s)?
– have sufficient opportunities to rethink, rehearse, revise, and/or refine their work based upon timely feedback?
– have an opportunity to self-evaluate their work, reflect on their learning and set future goals? Consider: the extent to which the learning plan is:
– tailored and flexible to address the interests and learning styles of all students?
– organized and sequenced to maximize engagement and effectiveness?
Overall Design – to what extent is the entire unit:
4. coherent, with the elements of all 3 stages aligned?
Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe 2005
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Assessment Standards
A set of criteria to guide the assessment of student learning in a course that is based on Standards/Essentials of the course; this might include formative assessment practices, summative assessments/practices, common assessment plans, feedback practices, and a schedule for testing.
Ethical Assessment Practices (USBE ethics training)
Licensed Utah Educators should:
• Ensure students are enrolled in appropriate courses and receive appropriate instruction
• Provide instruction to the intended depth and breadth of the course curriculum
• Provide accommodations throughout instruction to eligible students as identified by an
ELL, IEP, or 504 team.
• Use a variety of assessments methods to inform instructional practices
• Introduce students to various test-taking strategies throughout the year
• Provide students with opportunities to engage with available training test to ensure that
they can successfully navigate online testing systems, and to ensure that local
technology configurations can successfully support testing.
• Use formative assessments throughout the year using high-quality, non-secure test
questions aligned to Utah Standards.
Licensed Utah Educators shall ensure that:
• An appropriate environment reflective of an instructional setting is set for testing to limit distractions from surroundings or unnecessary personnel.
• All students who are eligible for testing are tested.
• A student is not discouraged from participating in state assessments, but upon a
parent’s opt-out request (follow LEA procedures), the student is provided with a
meaningful educational activity.
• Tests are administered in-person and testing procedures meet all test administration
requirements.
• Active test proctoring occurs: walking around the room to make sure that each
student has or is logged into the correct test; has appropriate testing materials
available to them; and are progressing at an appropriate pace.
• No person is left alone in a test setting with student tests left on screen or open.
• The importance of the test, test participation, and the good faith efforts of all
students are not undermined.
• All information in the Test Administration Manual (TAM) for each test administered
is reviewed and strictly followed (see 53A-1-608; R277-404).
• Accommodations are provided for eligible students, as identified by an ELL, IEP, or
504 team. These accommodations should be consistent with accommodations
provided during instruction throughout the instructional year.
• Any electronic devices that can be used to access non-test content or to
record/distribute test content or materials shall be inaccessible by students (e.g., cell phones, recording devices, inter-capable devices). Electronic security of tests and student information must not be compromised.
• Test materials are secure before, during and after testing. When not in use, all materials shall be protected, where students, parents cannot gain access.
No one may enter a student’s computer-based test to examine content or alter a student’s response in any way either on the computer or a paper answer document for any reason.
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Unethical Assessment Practices (USBE ethics training)
It is unethical for educators to jeopardize the integrity of an assessment or the validity of student responses.
Unethical practices include:
• Providing students with questions from the test to review before taking the test.
• Changing instruction or reviewing specific concepts because those concepts appear on
the test.
• Rewording or clarifying questions, or using inflection or gestures to help students
answer.
• Allowing students to use unauthorized resources to find answers, including dictionaries,
thesauruses, mathematics tables, online references, etc.
• Displaying materials on walls or other high visibility surfaces that provide answer to
specific test items (e.g., posters, word walls, formula charts, etc.).
• Reclassifying students to alter subgroup reports.
• Allowing parent volunteers to assist with the proctoring of a test their child is taking or
using students to supervise other students taking a test.
• Allowing the public to view secure items or observe testing sessions.
• Reviewing a student’s response and instructing the student to, or suggesting that the
student should, rethink his/her answers.
• Reproducing, or distributing, in whole or in part, secure test content (e.g., taking
pictures, copying, writing, posting in a classroom, posting publically, emailing).
• Explicitly or implicitly encouraging students to not answer questions, or to engage in
dishonest testing behavior.
• Administering tests outside of the prescribed testing window for each assessment.
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Intervention Standards
A set of criteria to guide teachers to provide additional instruction to students who did not master the content in Tier 1 instruction. This might include: commercial intervention programs, teacher-developed intervention materials, diagnostic testing, RTI/MTSS processes, and a list of essential knowledge/skills that will prompt intervention if the student does not demonstrate mastery.
PCSD MTSS/RTI Model
Provo City School District's Academic MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) details the system for providing Tier 1, 2, and 3 instruction; interventions; and assessment to help each student receive appropriate support. It is detailed below.
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PCSD MTSS/RTI Model Provo City School District's Academic MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) details the system for providing Tier 1, 2, and 3 instruction; interventions; and assessment to help each student receive appropriate support. It is detailed below.
Unpacking the Complexity of MTSS Decision Making
Successful MTSS implementation is a highly complex process that involves the following tasks:
• Gathering accurate and reliable data
• Correctly interpreting and validating data
• Using data to make meaningful instructional changes for students
• Establishing and managing increasingly intensive tiers of support
• Evaluating the process at all tiers to ensure the system is working
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Utah’s Multi-Tiered System of Supports USBE website:
http://www.schools.utah.gov/umtss/UMTSS-Model.aspx
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Supplemental Resources
Instructional materials, beyond the main curricular materials, used to strategically fill gaps/weaknesses of the core program materials.
Instructional materials, beyond the main curricular materials, used to strategically fill gaps/weaknesses of the core program materials.
The Provo Way Instructional Model
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• Student focus
• Educator credibility
• Meeting norms
• Professional Learning Communities (PLC)/Collaboration
• Civility policy
• Appearance and interactions
• Continual Leaning
• Testing ethics
• Research orientation
• Policy adherence
• Culture
• Safety–emotional and physical
• Physical classroom space
• Relationships
• Family connections
• Procedures
• Classroom management
• Student artifacts
• Student focus
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• Formative evaluation
• Summative evaluation
• Feedback:
• Performance of understanding
• Self-reported grades
• Student self-evaluation
• Testing ethics
• Differentiation
• Data analysis
• Response to interventions (RTI)/Multi-tiered system of success (MTSS)
• Lesson design
• Teacher clarity: share LT, share SC, share PoU
• Evidence-based instructional strategies
• Based on data
• Student engagement
• DOK – Depth of Knowledge
• Differentiation
• Student ownership of learning
• Curriculum notebook
• RTI/MTSS
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• State standards
• Curriculum map/pacing guide
• Units
• Objectives
• Curriculum Notebooks
• Course essentials
• Current
• Planning
Professional Associations Websites
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Evidence-based Pedagogical Practices
A list of teaching strategies that are supported by adequate, empirical research as being highly effective.
Hattie's Visible Learning
John Hattie, creator of Visible Learning, is a leading education researcher who has analyzed meta analyses in order to rank education practices (and factors) from most effective to least effective.
Hattie's list of highest ranking factors can be found at: https://visible-learning.org/hattie-ranking-influences-effect-sizes-learning-achievement/
or
https://visible-learning.org/nvd3/visualize/hattie-ranking-interactive-2009-2011-2015.html
Hattie's original book on the topic can be found at:
https://www.amazon.com/Visible-Learning-Synthesis-Meta-Analyses- Achievement/dp/0415476186
Definitions of Hattie's factors can be found at:
https://www.amazon.com/Visible-Learning-Synthesis-Meta-Analyses- Achievement/dp/0415476186
Learning Targets
Provo City School District employs the use of learning targets, success criteria, formative assessment, and feedback. A basis of study on these topics is the book, Learning Targets, by Connie Moss and Susan Brookhart, can be found at: https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Targets-Helping-Students-Understanding- ebook/dp/B008FOKP5S.
The district has produced four videos that demonstrate elements of learning target instruction and can be found at:
http://provo.edu/teachingandlearning/learning-targets-videos/
Teacher Resource Guide
Provo City School District's Teacher Resource Guide helps teachers meet the Utah Effective Teaching Standards and includes effective teaching practices. It can be found at: http://provo.edu/teachingandlearning/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/01/11182016-TRG- fixed.pdf
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Glossary
Terms and Acronyms used in this document
Assessment Standards
College and Career Readiness
Curriculum Resources
Essential Learning Standards
Evidence-based Pedagogical Practices
Intervention Standards
Learning Target
A set of criteria to guide the assessment of student learning in a course that is based on Standards/Essentials of the course; this might include formative assessment practices, summative assessments/practices, common assessment plans, feedback practices, and a schedule for testing.
The College and Career Readiness (CCR) anchor standards
and grade-specific standards are necessary complements—the former providing broad standards, the latter providing additional specificity—that together define the skills and understandings that all students must demonstrate.
The materials teachers use to plan, prepare, and deliver instruction, including materials students use to learn about the subject. Such materials include texts, textbooks, tasks, tools, and media. Sometimes organized into a comprehensive program format, they often provide the standards, units, pacing guides, assessments, supplemental resources, interventions, and student materials for a course.
These are also known as power standards. They are particular standards/objectives/indicators that a school/district defines as critical for student learning. In fact, they are so critical that students will receive intervention if they are not learned. Essentials are chosen because they: 1. have endurance, 2. have leverage, and 3. are important for future learning.
A list of teaching strategies that are supported by adequate, empirical research as being highly effective.
A set of criteria to guide teachers to provide additional instruction to students who did not master the content in Tier 1 instruction. This might include: commercial intervention programs, teacher- developed intervention materials, diagnostic testing, RTI/MTSS processes, and a list of essential knowledge/skills that will prompt intervention if the student does not demonstrate mastery.
(LT) A Learning Target is a target that is shared and actively used by both the teacher and the students as a classroom learning team. (Moss & Brookhart, 2012).
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MTSS
Pacing Guide
Performance of Understanding.
Provo Way Instructional Model
RTI
Success Criteria
Standards
Supplemental Resources
Units
Multi-Tiered Systems of Support is an approach to academic and behavioral intervention. It is part of the intervention standards.
The order and timeline of the instruction of standards, objectives, indicators, and Essentials over the span of a course (semester or year).
(PoU). Student results that provide compelling evidence that the student has acquired the learning target. (Brookhart, 2012).
The five areas of expectations for successful instruction identified by Provo City School District.
Response to Intervention is an approach to academic and behavioral intervention. It is part of the Intervention standards.
Detailed explanation requirements for different levels of quality. They are also referred to as “student-fors” to be used during the formative learning cycle in the day’s lesson (Moss & Brookhart, 2012).
Standards indicate the broad goals for a student to master in a course. Standards are typically set by a state or district school board.
Instructional materials, beyond the main curricular materials, used to strategically fill gaps/weaknesses of the core program materials.
A plan for several weeks of instruction, usually based on a theme, that includes individual lesson plans. Units often also include: Standards, learning targets/goals, skills, formative and summative assessment, student materials, essential questions, big ideas, vocabulary, questions, and instructional methods.
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