This resource has 48 correlations with the National Standards.  
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• Physical Science
  • Properties and changes of properties in matter
    • A substance has characteristic properties, such as density, a boiling point, and solubility. (5-8)

• Life Science
  • Interdependence of organisms
    • Estuaries are among the richest ecosystems on Earth. (9-12)

• Earth Science
  • Properties of earth materials
    • Earth materials are solid rocks and soils, water, and the gases of the atmosphere.
    • The varied Earth materials have different physical and chemical properties, which make them useful in different ways, for example, as building materials, as sources of fuel, or for growing the plants we use as food.
    • Soils have properties of color and texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support the growth of many kinds of plants, including those in our food supply.
  • Changes in earth and sky
    • The surface of the earth changes.
    • Some changes to the surface of the Earth are due to slow processes, such as erosion and weathering
    • Some changes to the surface of the Earth are due to rapid processes, such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes
    • Weather changes from day to day and over the seasons.
    • Weather can be described by measurable quantities, such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation.
  • Structure of the earth system
    • The solid earth is layered with a lithosphere; hot, convecting mantle; and dense, metallic core. (5-8)
    • Lithospheric plates on the scales of continents and oceans constantly move at rates of centimeters per year in response to movements in the mantle. (5-8)
    • Major geological events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building, result from the motions of lithospheric plates. (5-8)
    • Constructive forces include crustal deformation, volcanic eruption, and deposition of sediment. (5-8)
    • Some changes in the solid earth can be described as the "rock cycle." (5-8)
    • Old rocks at the earth's surface weather, forming sediments that are buried, then compacted, heated, and often recrystallized into new rock. Eventually, those new rocks may be brought to the surface by the forces that drive plate motions, and the rock cycle continues. (5-8)
    • Soil consists of weathered rocks and decomposed organic material from dead plants, animals, and bacteria. (5-8)
    • Water, which covers the majority of the earth's surface, circulates through the crust, oceans, and atmosphere in what is known as the "water cycle." (5-8)
    • Water evaporates from the earth's surface, rises and cools as it moves to higher elevations, condenses as rain or snow, and falls to the surface where it collects in lakes, oceans, soil, and in rocks underground. (5-8)
    • A watershed is entire areas of land that are drained by a river.
    • Water is a solvent. As it passes through the water cycle it dissolves minerals and gases and carries them to the oceans. (5-8)
    • The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and trace gases that include water vapor. (5-8)
    • The atmosphere has different properties at different elevations. (5-8)
    • Clouds, formed by the condensation of water vapor, affect weather and climate. (5-8)
    • Global patterns of atmospheric movement influence local weather. (5-8)
    • Oceans have a major effect on climate, because water in the oceans holds a large amount of heat. (5-8)
  • Earth's history
    • Earth history is also influenced by occasional catastrophes, such as the impact of an asteroid or comet. (5-8)
    • Fossils provide important evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed (5-8)
  • Earth in the solar system
    • The earth is the third planet from the sun in a system that includes the moon, the sun, eight other planets and their moons, and smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets. (5-8)
    • The sun, an average star, is the central and largest body in the solar system. (5-8)
    • Most objects in the solar system are in regular and predictable motion. (5-8)
    • Gravity alone holds us to the earth's surface and explains the phenomena of the tides. (5-8)

• Science as Inquiry
  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
    • Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment. (K-4)
    • Use data to construct a reasonable explanation.
    • Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
    • Design and conduct a scientific investigation.
    • Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
    • Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
    • Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
    • Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and predictions.
  • Understandings about scientific inquiry
    • Mathematics is important in all aspects of scientific inquiry. (5-8)
    • Historical and current scientific knowledge influence the design and interpretation of investigations and the evaluation of proposed explanations made by other scientists. (9-12)
    • In presenting data, graphs are used to convey comparisons or trends. (9-12)

• Process Standards for Professional Development
  • Design
    • Introduce teachers to scientific literature, media, and technological resources that expand their science knowledge and their ability to access further knowledge. (NSES)
    • Uses learning strategies appropriate to the intended goal. (NSDC)
  • Learning
    • Build on the teacher's current science understanding, ability, and attitudes. (NSES)

• Teaching Standards
  • Teachers of science guide and facilitate learning. In doing this, teachers
    • Encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity, openness to new ideas and data, and skepticism that characterize science.
  • Teachers provide students with the time, space, and resources needed to learn science.
    • Create a setting for student work that is flexible and supportive of science inquiry.