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What are Crosscutting Concepts?
What are Crosscutting Concepts?
The Cross Cutting Concepts were created by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to unify the study of science and engineering through their common use across fields. There are 7 Key Crosscutting Concepts:
Patterns-- In order to organize and classify forms and events, patterns are observed that encourage questions about relationships and what factors are an influence.
Stability and Change-- Conditions of stability and rates of change or evolution are critical in studying and understanding any system, living thing, or event.
Cause and Effect-- Every event has a cause, and a major part of scientific investigations is observing and then explaining relationships between events and the mechanisms that caused them. An explained mechanism can then be used in other contexts to predict or explain other events.
Scale, Proportion and Quantity-- Recognizing relevant measures of size, time, and energy and changes in scale, proportion, and quantity are key to understanding a system’s structure and gauging performance.
Matter and Energy-- Recording changes in energy and matter within and out of a system helps students understand its varying possibilities and limitations.
Systems-- Recording changes in energy and matter within and out of a system helps students understand its varying possibilities and limitations.
Structure and Function-- To determine an object’s or living thing’s properties and functions, students must examine its shape and structure.
Why are Crosscutting Concepts Important?
Why are Crosscutting Concepts Important?
Crosscutting Concepts are important because they help students be able to investigate and problem solve using a scientific lens. Students will be able to make predictions and use the crosscutting concepts as tools to aid their observations and interactions with the real world.
How Can Use the Crosscutting Concepts at Home?
How Can Use the Crosscutting Concepts at Home?
Adults at home can help children understand the crosscutting concepts better by asking them question! By asking questions, you are helping students learn to problem solve in a more critical and scientific way! Here are some questions you can ask at home that will help strengthen students' understanding of these concepts!
1st grade: Cause and Effect, Structure and Function, and Patterns
What do you think will happen if you do that? (cause and effect)
Is there something that is repeating? What is repeating? (Pattern)
How do you think that works? (Structure and Function)
Why do you think that is there? (Structure and Function)
If that thing wasn't there, what do you think would happen? Do you think that it would still work? (Structure and Function/ Cause and Effect)
2nd grade: Cause and Effect, Energy and Matter, Stability and Change, and Structure and Function
If you do this action, what do you think will happen? (Cause and Effect)
Why do you think that this thing works this way? (Structure and Function)
How does an ice cube turn in to water, and how does water turn into steam? (Stability and Change)
Why do you feel tired after you play? Why do you feel really hungry when you play? (Energy and Matter)
3rd grade: Cause and Effect, Systems, and Scale, Proportion and Quantity
If you throw trash on the side of the street, how does that add to Earth pollution? (Cause and effect)
Why do you think there are signs that say not to dump trash inside street gutters? (Cause and effect)
Who or what is affected when you throw trash on the street? (Systems)
Why does it matter if a person throws trash on the street if it's only one person? (Scale, Proportion, and Quantity)
4th grade: Patterns, Cause and Effect, Scale, Proportion and Quantity, and Energy and Matter
How do you think that this pattern of behavior affects you? If it affects you negatively, how can you fix it? (Cause/Effect and Pattern)
How do you think that the car uses gas to run? (Energy and Matter)
Why do different types of machines need different amounts of gas in order to run? (Scale Proportion and Quantity)
5th grade: patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; systems and system models; and energy and matter
How do you think that this pattern of behavior affects you? If it affects you negatively, how can you fix it? (Cause/Effect and Pattern)
What are some ways that you can help fight against Earth Pollution? If a lot of people did those things, how would that change climate change? (Cause/Effect, scale, proportion, and quantity)
Who or what is affected when you throw trash on the street? (Systems)
What are some eco-friendly changes we can make at home? (energy and matter)
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