What is the NGSS & 3 Dimensional Science Learning and Why is it Important?

Science Practices  -  Disciplinary Core Ideas  -  Crosscutting Concepts

Chapter 1: The Science of Biology

HS-ESS3-4: Reducing Human Impact Design Solutions

Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems. (Stability and Change)

Clarification Statement: Examples of data on the impacts of human activities could include the quantities and types of pollutants released, changes to biomass and species diversity, or areal changes in land surface use (such as for urban development, agriculture and livestock, or surface mining). Examples for limiting future impacts could range from local efforts (such as reducing, reusing, and recycling resources) to large-scale geoengineering design solutions (such as altering global temperatures by making large changes to the atmosphere or ocean).

Boundary Statement: none

Chapter 2: Chemistry of life

HS-LS1-6: Formation of Carbon-Based Molecules

Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for how carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from sugar molecules may combine with other elements to form amino acids and/or other large carbon-based molecules. (Energy and Matter)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using evidence from models and simulations to support explanations.

Boundary Statement: Assessment does not include the details of the specific chemical reactions or identification of macromolecules.

Crosscutting Concepts appear throughout this unit in scales that are both micro and macro. Following is an overview of how the major crosscutting concepts for The Nature of Life are woven throughout the unit.

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity - Students recognize that biology involves the study of life at many scales, ranging from the sub-cellular level to the global level, and that as the scale increases, so can the complexity and quantity of interactions among the components. Students also discover the metric system and its advantages for measuring life at all scales.

Patterns - Students discover that although life takes many different forms, all living things are fundamentally similar at the molecular level. They begin to note patterns and connections across all levels of organization.

Cause and Effect - Students are introduced to the idea that everything that happens in an organism is based on chemical reactions. These reactions involve changes in the chemical bonds that join atoms. The reactions can release or absorb energy, each of which has a con-sequent effect on the body.

Energy and Matter - Students explore the basic unit of matter, the atom, and how, through the energy of chemical bonds, atoms form molecules. They will examine the properties of water and carbon molecules: the com-ponents of all living things. Students discover how everything that happens in an organism is based on chemical reactions, which either release or absorb energy when chemical bonds are formed or broken.