Standards

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
This lesson is building toward:
PERFORMANCE EXPECTATION (PE)
MS-ESS1-4
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s 4.6-billion-year-old history. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how analyses of rock formations and the fossils they contain are used to establish relative ages of major events in Earth’s history. Examples of Earth’s major events could range from being very recent (such as the last Ice Age or the earliest fossils of homo sapiens) to very old (such as the formation of Earth or the earliest evidence of life). Examples can include the formation of mountain chains and ocean basins, the evolution or extinction of particular living organisms, or significant volcanic eruptions.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include recalling the names of specific periods or epochs and events within them.]
MS-ESS3-4
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 gradeappropriate 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.]
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.]
MS-LS4-6
Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using mathematical models, probability statements, and proportional reasoning to support explanations of trends in changes to populations over time.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include Hardy Weinberg calculations.]
MS-PS2-3
Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces. [Clarification Statement: Examples of devices that use electric and magnetic forces could include electromagnets, electric motors, or generators. Examples of data could include the effect of the number of turns of wire on the strength of an electromagnet, or the effect of increasing the number or strength of magnets on the speed of an electric motor.] [ Assessment Boundary: Assessment about questions that require quantitative answers is limited to proportional reasoning and algebraic thinking.]
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.]
MS-PS4-2
Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on both light and mechanical waves. Examples of models could include drawings, simulations, and written descriptions.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to qualitative applications pertaining to light and mechanical waves.]
MS-PS4-3
Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on a basic understanding that waves can be used for communication purposes. Examples could include using fiber optic cable to transmit light pulses, radio wave pulses in wifi devices, and conversion of stored binary patterns to make sound or text on a computer screen.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include binary counting. Assessment does not include the specific mechanism of any given device.]

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES (SEP)
Asking Questions and Defining Problems
  • Ask questions that challenge the premise(s) of an argument or the interpretation of a data set.
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
  • Apply scientific reasoning to show why the data or evidence is adequate for the explanation or conclusion.
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
  • Respectfully provide and receive critiques about one’s explanations, procedures, models, and questions by citing relevant evidence and posing and responding to questions that elicit pertinent elaboration and detail.
  • Construct, use, and/or present an oral and written argument supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon or a solution to a problem.
DISCIPLINARY CORE IDEAS (DCI)
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.
ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth
  • The geologic time scale interpreted from rock strata provides a way to organize Earth’s history. Analyses of rock strata and the fossil record provide only relative dates, not an absolute scale.
LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
  • 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. (MS-LS4-1)
LS4.C: Adaptation
  • Adaptation by natural selection acting over generations is one important process by which species change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions. Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment become more common; those that do not become less common. Thus, the distribution of traits in a population changes.
PS2.B: Types of Interactions
  • Electric and magnetic (electromagnetic) forces can be attractive or repulsive, and their sizes depend on the magnitudes of the charges, currents, or magnetic strengths involved and on the distances between the interacting objects.
PS4.A: Wave Properties
  • A simple wave model has a repeating pattern with a specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude, and mechanical waves need a medium through which they are transmitted. This model can explain many phenomena including sound and light. Waves can transmit energy.
PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation
  • The path that light travels can be traced as straight lines, except at surfaces between different transparent materials (e.g., air and water, air and glass) where the light path bends.
PS4.C: Information Technologies and Instrumentation
  • Digitized signals (sent as wave pulses) are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information.
CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS (CCC)
Cause and Effect
  • Relationships can be classified as causal or correlational, and correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
  • Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.

“Disciplinary Core Ideas, Science and Engineering Practices, and Crosscutting Concepts” are reproduced verbatim from A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/13165. National Research Council; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Board on Science Education; Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards. National Academies Press, Washington, DC. This material may be reproduced for noncommercial purposes and used by other parties with this attribution. If the original material is altered in any way, the attribution must state that the material is adapted from the original. All other rights reserved.

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
CCSS ELA SCIENCE & TECHNICAL SUBJECTS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.8
Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.9
Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.
CCSS ELA WRITING
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
CCSS ELA SPEAKING & LISTENING
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.3
Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when irrelevant evidence is introduced.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.4
Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

California English Language Development (ELD) Standards
CA ELD
Part 1.8.11: Justifying own arguments and evaluating others’ arguments in writing
EMERGING
EXPANDING
BRIDGING
P1.8.11 a) Justify opinions by providing some textual evidence or relevant background knowledge with substantial support.

b) Express attitude and opinions or temper statements with familiar modal expressions (e.g., can, may).
P1.8.11 a) Justify opinions or persuade others by providing relevant textual evidence or relevant background knowledge with moderate support.

b) Express attitude and opinions or temper statements with a variety of familiar modal expressions (e.g., possibly/likely, could/would).
P1.8.11 a) Justify opinions or persuade others by providing detailed and relevant textual evidence or relevant background knowledge with light support.

b) Express attitude and opinions or temper statements with nuanced modal expressions (e.g., potentially/certainly/absolutely, should/might).
In addition to the standard above, you may find that you touch on the following standards in this lesson as well:

P1.8.1: Exchanging information and ideas with others through oral collaborative discussions on a range of social and academic topics
P1.8.2: Interacting with others in written English in various communicative forms (print, communicative technology and multimedia)
P1.8.3: Offering and justifying opinions, negotiating with and persuading others in communicative exchanges
P1.8.4: Adapting language choices to various contexts (based on task, purpose, audience, and text type)
P1.8.5: Listening actively to spoken English in a range of social and academic contexts
P1.8.7: Evaluating how well writers and speakers use language to support ideas and arguments with details or evidence depending on modality, text type, purpose, audience, topic, and content area
P1.8.8: Analyzing how writers and speakers use vocabulary and other language resources for specific purposes (to explain, persuade, entertain, etc.) depending on modality, text type, purpose, audience, topic, and content area
P1.8.9: Expressing information and ideas in formal oral presentations on academic topics
P1.8.12: Selecting and applying varied and precise vocabulary and other language resources to effectively convey ideas
P2.8.1: Understanding text structure
P2.8.3: Using verbs and verb phrases
P2.8.4: Using nouns and noun phrases
P2.8.5: Modifying to add details
P2.8.6: Connecting ideas
P2.8.7: Condensing ideas

© 2014 by the California Department of Education All rights reserved.

California's Environmental Principles and Concepts (EP&Cs)
EP&C
Principle 2
People Influence Natural Systems
The long-term functioning and health of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems are influenced by their relationships with human societies.
Principle 3
Natural Systems Change in Ways that People Benefit From and Can Influence
Natural systems proceed through cycles that humans depend upon, benefit from, and can alter.
Principle 5
Decisions Affecting Resources and Natural Systems are Complex and Involve Many Factors
Decisions affecting resources and natural systems are based on a wide range of considerations and decision making processes.

California Education and the Environment Initiative. 2016. California’s Environmental Principles and Concepts. https://californiaeei.org/epc/