2 - ESS1 - Slow changes to land - ASSIGNED (CJT 3-11-14)

Module: Slow Changes to Land

DCI: ESS1.C (B) The History of Planet Earth – Some events occur very slowly, over a time period much longer than one can observe.

PE: 2-ESS1-1 Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.

[Clarification Statement: Examples of events and timescales could include volcanic explosions and earthquakes, which happen quickly and erosion of rocks, which occurs slowly.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of timescales.]

The basic content of the standard seems to be as follows.

- Some things happen slowly. We define "slowly" here as requiring so much time that the changes are not readily observable.

The PE implies that kids should use information to determine that some events are "slow", but the clarification statement implies we should not use numbers.

MS - LS4.A (A) - Fossil Record - FINAL (WND 3/11/2014)

Module: Fossil Record

DCI: LS4.A (A) The collection of fossils and their placement in chronological order (e.g., through the location of the sedimentary layers in which they are found or through radioactive dating) is known as the fossil record. It documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms throughout the history of life on Earth.

Connections to Nature of Science: Scientific Knowledge is Based on Empirical Evidence: Science knowledge is based upon logical and conceptual connections between evidence and explanations.

PE: MS-LS4-1 Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.

[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on finding patterns of changes in the level of complexity of anatomical structures in organisms and the chronological order of fossil appearance in the rock layers.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the names of individual species or geological eras in the fossil record.]

The ideas in this standard are: 

- the collection of fossils and their placement in chronological order is known as the fossil record. 

- The fossil record documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms throughout the history of life on Earth. 

So it seems that kids need to analyze and interpret data from the fossil record to find examples of instances of change in the living things on Earth.  They can support these changes by relating the variety of life in different layers of rock to each other.  

CJ will have to draw some pictures. 

2 - PS1.B - Changes from Heat - FINAL (WND 3/10/2014)

Module: Changes from Temperature

DCI: PS1.B Chemical Reactions – Heating or cooling a substance may cause changes that can be observed. Sometimes these changes are reversible, and sometimes they are not.

PE: 2-PS1-4 Construct an argument with evidence that some changes caused by heating or cooling can be reversed and some cannot.

[Clarification Statement: Examples of reversible changes could include materials such as water and butter at different temperatures. Examples of irreversible changes could include cooking an egg, freezing a plant leaf, and heating paper.]

The ideas in this standard are: 

- heating a substance may cause changes that can be observed

- cooling a substance may cause changes that can be observed

- sometimes these changes are reversible

- sometimes these changes are not reversible

We will have to provide evidence (scenarios, data, etc.) and have students tell us which of the observations are related to heating or cooling a substance, and we can have them tell us whether something is a reversible change or not.  This sets the stage for the understanding that heat can cause both physical changes and chemical changes. 

Possible Question Starters:
"A student leaves an ice cube outside on a sunny day.  After a few minutes, the ice cube melts. This change is caused by - ?"

correct answer - heat

incorrect answers - wind, grass, rain

2 - ESS1 - Quick changes to land - ASSIGNED (CJT 3-10-14)

Module: Quick Changes to Land

DCI: ESS1.C (A) The History of Planet Earth – Some events happen very quickly.

PE: 2-ESS1-1 Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.

[Clarification Statement: Examples of events and timescales could include volcanic explosions and earthquakes, which happen quickly and erosion of rocks, which occurs slowly.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of timescales.]

The basic content is that there are events, like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, that change the earth relatively quickly.

It will be difficult to address the PE, and use information, while avoiding the boundary, and not using quantitative measurements.

2 - ESS2 - Mapping our world - FINAL (CJT 3-10-14)

Module: Mapping our World

DCI: ESS2.B Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions – Maps show where things are located. One can map the shapes and kinds of land and water in any area.

PE: 2-ESS2-2 Develop a model to represent the shapes and kinds of land and bodies of water in an area.

Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative scaling in models.

The basic content seems simply to be having kids understand that maps represent land and water in the real world. The only refinement of this is that the concept includes "types of land" and "types of water."

Possible Questions:

We should probably just have five questions in which kids have to look at a map and tell something about it.

The maps should have keys.

MS - PS2.B (C) - Force Fields - ASSIGNED (CLF 3/6/2014)

Module: Applying Gravitational Forces

DCI: PS2.B (C) Forces that act at a distance (electric, magnetic, and gravitational) can be explained by fields that extend through space and can be mapped by their effect on a test object (a charged object, or a ball, respectively)

PE: MS-PS2-5 Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.

[Clarification Statement: Examples of this phenomenon could include the interactions of magnets, electrically-charged strips of tape, and electrically-charged pith balls. Examples of investigations could include first-hand experiences or simulations.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to electric and magnetic fields, and limited to qualitative evidence for the existence of fields.]

The ideas are: 

- Forces that act at a distance can be explained by fields

- These fields extend through space and can be mapped by their effect on a test object

Students will have to conduct investigations in the classroom, but we can evaluate experimental design easily on an assessment.  They can point out the evidence that will tell them that there are fields acting on objects, or they can point to a flaw in the experimental design. 

Possible Question Starters:
- Which of the following observations about a pair of interacting magnets would tell us that the a magnetic field exists between them?

- A student holds two strips of tape near each other and notices that the ends of each strip move closer towards one another.  Which of the following best explains this? 

HS - LS3.A - Inheritance of Traits - ASSIGNED (ACM 3/27/2014)

Module: Inheritance of Traits

DCI: LS3.A Each chromosome consists of a single very long DNA molecule, and each gene on the chromosome is a particular segment of that DNA. The instructions for forming species’ characteristics are carried in DNA. All cells in an organisms have the same genetic content, but the genes used (expressed) by the cell may be regulated in different ways. Not all DNA codes for a protein; some segments of DNA are involved in regulatory or structural functions, and some have no as-yet known functions.

PE: HS-LS3-1 Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.

[Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the phases of meiosis or the biochemical mechanism of specific steps in the process.]

The ideas are: 

- each chromosome is made up of a very long DNA molecule

- each gene on the chromosome is a segment of the DNA

- DNA carries instructions for forming species' characteristics

- Every cell in an organism has the same genetic material, but the genes used may be regulated in different ways 

- Not all DNA codes for a protein

- Some segments of DNA are involved in regulatory or structural functions

- some segments of DNA have unknown functions 

Students are supposed to 'ask questions'.  We can only do this by setting up some kind of scenario and asking students what kinds of questions they would need to ask to confirm something, or correlate one thing to another.  For example, we might could say, "Students could confirm that DNA plays a role in the characteristics an individual inherits by asking which of the following types of questions?" And then, the answers might be like, "Do all individuals have the same exact DNA?, "What happens in individuals when there is a mistake made in the DNA?", etc. 

Possible Question Starters:
"Some scientists believe that the gene that controls the production of hemoglobin, a protein responsible for the binding of oxygen to red blood cells of humans, is located at the position shown in the diagram. 

Scientists could gather more information about the relationship of this region of the DNA and the production of hemoglobin by asking which of the following questions?"

correct answer - Do humans who lack this gene exhibit problems with oxygen binding to red blood cells?

incorrect answer - Do other animals, besides humans, have this gene within their genetic material?