According to research, it was concluded that "the nation’s capacity to innovate for economic growth and
the ability of American workers to thrive in the modern workforce depend on a broad foundation of math
and science learning, as do our hopes for preserving a vibrant democracy and the promise of social
mobility that lie at the heart of the American dream" However, based on specific data collected the United
States is performing below in a major area of need, Science, which is leaving millions of our children
unprepared to succeed in a global country. In order to prepare them globally and competitively, it was
determined that a quality science education was needed and therefore standards that were rich and rigorous needed to be created.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are without a doubt the key to developing the curriculum needed to prepare our
students academically.
the ability of American workers to thrive in the modern workforce depend on a broad foundation of math
and science learning, as do our hopes for preserving a vibrant democracy and the promise of social
mobility that lie at the heart of the American dream" However, based on specific data collected the United
States is performing below in a major area of need, Science, which is leaving millions of our children
unprepared to succeed in a global country. In order to prepare them globally and competitively, it was
determined that a quality science education was needed and therefore standards that were rich and rigorous needed to be created.
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are without a doubt the key to developing the curriculum needed to prepare our
students academically.
In addition to the NGSS, the following is employed when executing each Science activity. Through the Science and Engineering Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and 5E Model of Instruction, we are working at facilitating a learning environment that is preparing our students to be ready for college, careers, and the global workforce. This type of high quality instruction enhances their problem solving skills.
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices
1. Asking Questions (science) and Defining Problems (engineering):
Students at any grade level should be able to ask questions of each other about the texts they read, the features of the phenomena
they observe, and the conclusions they draw from their models or scientific investigations. For engineering, they should ask
questions to define the problem to be solved and to elicit ideas that lead to the constraints and specifications for its solution. (NRC
Framework 2012, p. 56)
2. Developing and Using Models:
Modeling can begin in the earliest grades, with students’ models progressing from concrete “pictures” and/or physical scale models
(e.g., a toy car) to more abstract representations of relevant relationships in later grades, such as a diagram representing forces on
a particular object in a system. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 58)
3. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations:
Students should have opportunities to plan and carry out several different kinds of investigations during their K-12 years. At all
levels, they should engage in investigations that range from those structured by the teacher—in order to expose an issue or
question that they would be unlikely to explore on their own (e.g., measuring specific properties of materials)—to those that
emerge from students’ own questions. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 61)
4. Analyzing and Interpreting Data:
Once collected, data must be presented in a form that can reveal any patterns and relationships and that allows results to be
communicated to others. Because raw data as such have little meaning, a major practice of scientists is to organize and interpret
data through tabulating, graphing, or statistical analysis. Such analysis can bring out the meaning of data—and their relevance--
so that they may be used as evidence. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 61-62)
5. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking:
Although there are differences in how mathematics and computational thinking are applied in science and in engineering,
mathematics often brings these two fields together by enabling engineers to apply the mathematical form of scientific theories and
by enabling scientists to use powerful information technologies designed by engineers. Both kinds of professionals can thereby
accomplish investigations and analyses and build complex models, which might otherwise be out of the question. (NRC
Framework, 2012, p. 65)
6. Constructing Explanations (science) and Designing Solutions (engineering):
Asking students to demonstrate their own understanding of the implications of a scientific idea by developing their own
explanations of phenomena, whether based on observations they have made or models they have developed, engages them in
an essential part of the process by which conceptual change can occur. The process of developing a design is iterative and
systematic, as is the process of developing an explanation or a theory in science. Engineers’ activities, however, have elements
that are distinct from those of scientists. These elements include specifying constraints and criteria for desired qualities of the
solution, developing a design plan, producing and testing models or prototypes, selecting among alternative design features to
optimize the achievement of design criteria, and refining design ideas based on the performance of a prototype or simulation.
(NRC Framework, 2012, p. 68-69)
7. Engaging in Argument from Evidence:
The study of science and engineering should produce a sense of the process of argument necessary for advancing and defending
a new idea or an explanation of a phenomenon and the norms for conducting such arguments. In that spirit, students should argue
for the explanations they construct, defend their interpretations of the associated data, and advocate for the designs they propose.
(NRC Framework, 2012, p. 73)
8. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information:
Any education in science and engineering needs to develop students’ ability to read and produce domain-specific text. As such,
every science or engineering lesson is in part a language lesson, particularly reading and producing the genres of texts that are
intrinsic to science and engineering. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 76)
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
1. Patterns: Patterns exist everywhere—in regularly occurring shapes or structures and in repeating events and relationships. For
example, patterns are discernible in the symmetry of flowers and snowflakes, the cycling of the seasons, and the repeated base
pairs of DNA. Noticing patterns is often a first step to organizing and asking scientific questions about why and how the patterns
occur.
2. Cause and effect: Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. A major activity of science is investigating
and explaining causal relationships. Any tentative answer, or “hypothesis,” that A causes B requires a model for the chain of
interactions that connect A and B. For example, researchers investigate cause-and-effect mechanisms in the motion of a single
object, specific chemical reactions, population changes in an ecosystem or society, and the development of holes in the polar
ozone layers.
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity: In thinking scientifically about systems and processes, it is essential to recognize that they vary
in size (e.g., cells, whales, galaxies), in time span (e.g., nanoseconds, hours, millennia), and in the amount of energy flowing
through them (e.g., light bulbs, power grids, the sun.) Understanding scale requires some insight into measurement. In order
to identify something as bigger or smaller than something else, a student must appreciate the units used to measure it and develop
a feel for quantity.
4. Systems and system models: The natural and designed world is complex; it is too large and complicated to investigate and
comprehend all at once. Scientists and students learn to define small portions for the convenience of investigation. The units of
investigations can be referred to as ‘systems.’ A system is an organized group of related objects or components that form a whole.
Systems can consist, for example, of organisms, machines, fundamental particles, galaxies, ideas, and numbers.
5. Energy and matter: In any system, certain conserved quantities can change only through transfers into or out of the system. Such
laws of conservation provide limits on what can occur in a system, whether human-built or natural. The supply of energy and of
each needed chemical element restricts a system’s operation—for example, without inputs of energy (sunlight) and matter
(carbon dioxide and water), a plant cannot grow.
6. Structure and function: The way in which an object or living thing is shaped and its substructure determine many of its properties
and functions. Form and function are complementary aspects of objects, organisms, and systems in the natural and designed world.
The functioning of natural and built systems alike depends on the shapes and relationships of certain key parts as well as on the
properties of the materials from which they are made.
7. Stability and change: Stability denotes a condition in which some aspects of a system are unchanging. A system can be stable
on a small time scale, but on a larger time scale it may be seen to be changing. For example, when looking at a living organism
over the course of an hour or day, it may maintain stability; over longer periods, the organism grows, ages, and eventually dies.For
the development of larger systems, such as the variety of living species inhabiting Earth or the formation of a galaxy, the relevant
time scales may be very long.
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices
1. Asking Questions (science) and Defining Problems (engineering):
Students at any grade level should be able to ask questions of each other about the texts they read, the features of the phenomena
they observe, and the conclusions they draw from their models or scientific investigations. For engineering, they should ask
questions to define the problem to be solved and to elicit ideas that lead to the constraints and specifications for its solution. (NRC
Framework 2012, p. 56)
2. Developing and Using Models:
Modeling can begin in the earliest grades, with students’ models progressing from concrete “pictures” and/or physical scale models
(e.g., a toy car) to more abstract representations of relevant relationships in later grades, such as a diagram representing forces on
a particular object in a system. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 58)
3. Planning and Carrying Out Investigations:
Students should have opportunities to plan and carry out several different kinds of investigations during their K-12 years. At all
levels, they should engage in investigations that range from those structured by the teacher—in order to expose an issue or
question that they would be unlikely to explore on their own (e.g., measuring specific properties of materials)—to those that
emerge from students’ own questions. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 61)
4. Analyzing and Interpreting Data:
Once collected, data must be presented in a form that can reveal any patterns and relationships and that allows results to be
communicated to others. Because raw data as such have little meaning, a major practice of scientists is to organize and interpret
data through tabulating, graphing, or statistical analysis. Such analysis can bring out the meaning of data—and their relevance--
so that they may be used as evidence. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 61-62)
5. Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking:
Although there are differences in how mathematics and computational thinking are applied in science and in engineering,
mathematics often brings these two fields together by enabling engineers to apply the mathematical form of scientific theories and
by enabling scientists to use powerful information technologies designed by engineers. Both kinds of professionals can thereby
accomplish investigations and analyses and build complex models, which might otherwise be out of the question. (NRC
Framework, 2012, p. 65)
6. Constructing Explanations (science) and Designing Solutions (engineering):
Asking students to demonstrate their own understanding of the implications of a scientific idea by developing their own
explanations of phenomena, whether based on observations they have made or models they have developed, engages them in
an essential part of the process by which conceptual change can occur. The process of developing a design is iterative and
systematic, as is the process of developing an explanation or a theory in science. Engineers’ activities, however, have elements
that are distinct from those of scientists. These elements include specifying constraints and criteria for desired qualities of the
solution, developing a design plan, producing and testing models or prototypes, selecting among alternative design features to
optimize the achievement of design criteria, and refining design ideas based on the performance of a prototype or simulation.
(NRC Framework, 2012, p. 68-69)
7. Engaging in Argument from Evidence:
The study of science and engineering should produce a sense of the process of argument necessary for advancing and defending
a new idea or an explanation of a phenomenon and the norms for conducting such arguments. In that spirit, students should argue
for the explanations they construct, defend their interpretations of the associated data, and advocate for the designs they propose.
(NRC Framework, 2012, p. 73)
8. Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information:
Any education in science and engineering needs to develop students’ ability to read and produce domain-specific text. As such,
every science or engineering lesson is in part a language lesson, particularly reading and producing the genres of texts that are
intrinsic to science and engineering. (NRC Framework, 2012, p. 76)
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
1. Patterns: Patterns exist everywhere—in regularly occurring shapes or structures and in repeating events and relationships. For
example, patterns are discernible in the symmetry of flowers and snowflakes, the cycling of the seasons, and the repeated base
pairs of DNA. Noticing patterns is often a first step to organizing and asking scientific questions about why and how the patterns
occur.
2. Cause and effect: Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. A major activity of science is investigating
and explaining causal relationships. Any tentative answer, or “hypothesis,” that A causes B requires a model for the chain of
interactions that connect A and B. For example, researchers investigate cause-and-effect mechanisms in the motion of a single
object, specific chemical reactions, population changes in an ecosystem or society, and the development of holes in the polar
ozone layers.
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity: In thinking scientifically about systems and processes, it is essential to recognize that they vary
in size (e.g., cells, whales, galaxies), in time span (e.g., nanoseconds, hours, millennia), and in the amount of energy flowing
through them (e.g., light bulbs, power grids, the sun.) Understanding scale requires some insight into measurement. In order
to identify something as bigger or smaller than something else, a student must appreciate the units used to measure it and develop
a feel for quantity.
4. Systems and system models: The natural and designed world is complex; it is too large and complicated to investigate and
comprehend all at once. Scientists and students learn to define small portions for the convenience of investigation. The units of
investigations can be referred to as ‘systems.’ A system is an organized group of related objects or components that form a whole.
Systems can consist, for example, of organisms, machines, fundamental particles, galaxies, ideas, and numbers.
5. Energy and matter: In any system, certain conserved quantities can change only through transfers into or out of the system. Such
laws of conservation provide limits on what can occur in a system, whether human-built or natural. The supply of energy and of
each needed chemical element restricts a system’s operation—for example, without inputs of energy (sunlight) and matter
(carbon dioxide and water), a plant cannot grow.
6. Structure and function: The way in which an object or living thing is shaped and its substructure determine many of its properties
and functions. Form and function are complementary aspects of objects, organisms, and systems in the natural and designed world.
The functioning of natural and built systems alike depends on the shapes and relationships of certain key parts as well as on the
properties of the materials from which they are made.
7. Stability and change: Stability denotes a condition in which some aspects of a system are unchanging. A system can be stable
on a small time scale, but on a larger time scale it may be seen to be changing. For example, when looking at a living organism
over the course of an hour or day, it may maintain stability; over longer periods, the organism grows, ages, and eventually dies.For
the development of larger systems, such as the variety of living species inhabiting Earth or the formation of a galaxy, the relevant
time scales may be very long.