Adopted Instructional Resources - Earth Systems Science


Thank you for expressing interest in exploring St. Vrain Valley Schools’ adopted instructional resources for science in partnership with advancing student learning and achievement. All adopted instructional materials undergo a rigorous two-year evaluation and pilot process, involving input from district personnel, teachers, parents/community members, and students. As a parent/guardian, we invite you to view these resources by logging into your student’s digital account through ClassLink. In addition, the following resources are publicly available for viewing:


Discovery Education Science Techbook connects students to their inner curiosity by placing them at the center of each science learning experience as they lead exhilarating investigations to uncover the mysteries of the universe. Relevant unit storylines offer intentional sequencing of activities to help students take ownership of their learning and inspires them to ask important questions as they investigate and collaborate to explain, make predictions, and solve problems. Discovery Education Science




Digital and/or print student materials are available for viewing at the Learning Services Center (401 S. Pratt Pkwy.) by appointment. To schedule an appointment, please use this form.


Overview of Content:


In Earth Systems Science, the focus is on the following concepts and skills, as defined by the Colorado Academic Standards and any Colorado Revised Statutes related to K-12 curriculum:


Earth Science

  • The biosphere and Earth’s other systems have many interconnections that cause a continual co-evolution of Earth’s surface and life on it.

  • Resource availability has guided the development of human society and use of natural resources has associated costs, risks, and benefits.

  • Natural hazards and other geological events have shaped the course of human history at local, regional, and global scales.

  • Sustainability of human societies and the biodiversity that supports them requires responsible management of natural resources, including the development of technologies.

  • Plate tectonics can be viewed as the surface expression of mantle convection, which is driven by heat from radioactive decay within Earth’s crust and mantle.

  • Earth’s systems, being dynamic and interacting, cause feedback effects that can increase or decrease the original changes, and these effects occur on different time scales, from sudden (e.g., volcanic ash clouds) to intermediate (ice ages) to very long-term tectonic cycles.

  • All stars, including the sun, undergo stellar evolution, and the study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth.

  • Explanations of and predictions about the motions of orbiting objects are described by the laws of physics.

  • The rock record resulting from tectonic and other geoscience processes as well as objects from the solar system can provide evidence of Earth’s early history and the relative ages of major geologic formations.

  • The planet’s dynamics are greatly influenced by water’s unique chemical and physical properties.

  • The role of radiation from the sun and its interactions with the atmosphere, ocean, and land are the foundation for the global climate system. Global climate models are used to predict future changes, including changes influenced by human behavior and natural factors.


Discovery Education was chosen for there alignment to the Colorado Academic Standards, as delineated in our instructional Unit Plans. These instructional resources were also vetted with the Colorado Essential Skills in mind, defining postsecondary and workforce readiness for all students.


The Colorado Department of Education has also produced Family and Community Guides for High School Science