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Grades 6–8 NJSLS-Science: Earth and Space Sciences
ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe
- MS-ESS1-1
- Develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.
- MS-ESS1-2
- Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
- MS-ESS1-3
- Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
- 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.
ESS2: Earth’s Systems
- MS-ESS2-1
- Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process.
- MS-ESS2-2
- Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.
- MS-ESS2-3
- Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions.
- MS-ESS2-4
- Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
- MS-ESS2-5
- Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses result in changes in weather conditions.
- MS-ESS2-6
- Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates. performance expectation directly related to climate, climate change, or the effects of a changing climate on environmental systems.
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
- MS-ESS3-1
- Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.
- MS-ESS3-2
- Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.
- MS-ESS3-3
- Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment. performance expectation directly related to climate, climate change, or the effects of a changing climate on environmental systems.
- 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.
- MS-ESS3-5
- Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused climate change over the past century. performance expectation directly related to climate, climate change, or the effects of a changing climate on environmental systems.