MS-ESS3 Earth and Human Activity | Next Generation Science Standards

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

MS-ESS3-1.	Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how these resources are limited and typically non-renewable, and how their distributions are significantly changing as a result of removal by humans. Examples of uneven distributions of resources as a result of past processes include but are not limited to petroleum (locations of the burial of organic marine sediments and subsequent geologic traps), metal ores (locations of past volcanic and hydrothermal activity associated with subduction zones), and soil (locations of active weathering and/or deposition of rock).]
MS-ESS3-2.	Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how some natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions and severe weather, are preceded by phenomena that allow for reliable predictions, but others, such as earthquakes, occur suddenly and with no notice, and thus are not yet predictable. Examples of natural hazards can be taken from interior processes (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions), surface processes (such as mass wasting and tsunamis), or severe weather events (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods). Examples of data can include the locations, magnitudes, and frequencies of the natural hazards. Examples of technologies can be global (such as satellite systems to monitor hurricanes or forest fires) or local (such as building basements in tornado-prone regions or reservoirs to mitigate droughts).]
MS-ESS3-3.	Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of the design process include examining human environmental impacts, assessing the kinds of solutions that are feasible, and designing and evaluating solutions that could reduce that impact. Examples of human impacts can include water usage (such as the withdrawal of water from streams and aquifers or the construction of dams and levees), land usage (such as urban development, agriculture, or the removal of wetlands), and pollution (such as of the air, water, or land).]
MS-ESS3-4.	Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence include grade-appropriate databases on human populations and the rates of consumption of food and natural resources (such as freshwater, mineral, and energy). Examples of impacts can include changes to the appearance, composition, and structure of Earth’s systems as well as the rates at which they change. The consequences of increases in human populations and consumption of natural resources are described by science, but science does not make the decisions for the actions society takes.]
MS-ESS3-5.	Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century. [Clarification Statement: Examples of factors include human activities (such as fossil fuel combustion, cement production, and agricultural activity) and natural processes (such as changes in incoming solar radiation or volcanic activity). Examples of evidence can include tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures, atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and the rates of human activities. Emphasis is on the major role that human activities play in causing the rise in global temperatures.]

The performance expectations above were developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices

Disciplinary Core Ideas

ESS3.A: Natural Resources

Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources. Minerals, fresh water, and biosphere resources are limited, and many are not renewable or replaceable over human lifetimes. These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes. (MS-ESS3-1)

ESS3.B: Natural Hazards

Mapping the history of natural hazards in a region, combined with an understanding of related geologic forces can help forecast the locations and likelihoods of future events. (MS-ESS3-2)

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems

ESS3.D: Global Climate Change

Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities. (MS-ESS3-5)

Crosscutting Concepts

Patterns

Graphs, charts, and images can be used to identify patterns in data. (MS-ESS3-2)

Stability and Change

Stability might be disturbed either by sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time. (MS-ESS3-5)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Connections to Nature of Science

Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World

Scientific knowledge can describe the consequences of actions but does not necessarily prescribe the decisions that society takes. (MS-ESS3-4)

Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band:

MS.PS1.A (MS-ESS3-1); MS.PS1.B (MS-ESS3-1); MS.PS3.A (MS-ESS3-5); MS.PS3.C (MS-ESS3-2); MS.LS2.A (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4); MS.LS2.C (MS-ESS3-3), MS.LS4.D (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4); MS.ESS2.D (MS-ESS3-1)

Articulation of DCIs across grade-bands

3.LS2.C (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4); 3.LS4.D (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4); 3.ESS3.B (MS-ESS3-2); 4.PS3.D (MS-ESS3-1); 4.ESS3.A (MS-ESS3-1); 4.ESS3.B (MS-ESS3-2); 5.ESS3.C (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4); HS.PS3.B (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-5); HS.PS4.B (MS-ESS3-5); HS.LS1.C (MS-ESS3-1); HS.LS2.A (MS-ESS3-4); HS.LS2.C (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4); HS.LS4.C (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4); HS.LS4.D (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4); HS.ESS2.A (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-5); HS.ESS2.B (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-2); HS.ESS2.C (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-3); HS.ESS2.D (MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-5); HS.ESS2.E (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4); HS.ESS3.A (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-4); HS.ESS3.B (MS-ESS3-2); HS.ESS3.C (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4),(MS-ESS3-5); HS.ESS3.D (MS-ESS3-2);(MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-5)

Common Core State Standards Connections:

ELA/Literacy -
RST.6-8.1	Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-4),(MS-ESS3-5)
RST.6-8.7	Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). (MS-ESS3-2)
WHST.6-8.1	Write arguments focused on discipline content. (MS-ESS3-4)
WHST.6-8.2	Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. (MS-ESS3-1)
WHST.6-8.7	Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. (MS-ESS3-3)
WHST.6-8.8	Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. (MS-ESS3-3)
WHST.6-8.9	Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-4)
Mathematics -
MP.2	Reason abstractly and quantitatively. (MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-5)
6.RP.A.1	Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4)
7.RP.A.2	Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities. (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4)
6.EE.B.6	Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4),(MS-ESS3-5)
7.EE.B.4	Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4),(MS-ESS3-5)

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

MS-ESS3-1.	Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how these resources are limited and typically non-renewable, and how their distributions are significantly changing as a result of removal by humans. Examples of uneven distributions of resources as a result of past processes include but are not limited to petroleum (locations of the burial of organic marine sediments and subsequent geologic traps), metal ores (locations of past volcanic and hydrothermal activity associated with subduction zones), and soil (locations of active weathering and/or deposition of rock).]
MS-ESS3-2.	Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how some natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions and severe weather, are preceded by phenomena that allow for reliable predictions, but others, such as earthquakes, occur suddenly and with no notice, and thus are not yet predictable. Examples of natural hazards can be taken from interior processes (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions), surface processes (such as mass wasting and tsunamis), or severe weather events (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods). Examples of data can include the locations, magnitudes, and frequencies of the natural hazards. Examples of technologies can be global (such as satellite systems to monitor hurricanes or forest fires) or local (such as building basements in tornado-prone regions or reservoirs to mitigate droughts).]
MS-ESS3-3.	Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of the design process include examining human environmental impacts, assessing the kinds of solutions that are feasible, and designing and evaluating solutions that could reduce that impact. Examples of human impacts can include water usage (such as the withdrawal of water from streams and aquifers or the construction of dams and levees), land usage (such as urban development, agriculture, or the removal of wetlands), and pollution (such as of the air, water, or land).]
MS-ESS3-4.	Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence include grade-appropriate databases on human populations and the rates of consumption of food and natural resources (such as freshwater, mineral, and energy). Examples of impacts can include changes to the appearance, composition, and structure of Earth’s systems as well as the rates at which they change. The consequences of increases in human populations and consumption of natural resources are described by science, but science does not make the decisions for the actions society takes.]
MS-ESS3-5.	Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century. [Clarification Statement: Examples of factors include human activities (such as fossil fuel combustion, cement production, and agricultural activity) and natural processes (such as changes in incoming solar radiation or volcanic activity). Examples of evidence can include tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures, atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and the rates of human activities. Emphasis is on the major role that human activities play in causing the rise in global temperatures.]

The performance expectations above were developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices

Asking Questions and Defining Problems

Asking questions and defining problems in grades 6–8 builds on grades K–5 experiences and progresses to specifying relationships between variables, and clarifying arguments and models.

Ask questions to identify and clarify evidence of an argument. (MS-ESS3-5)

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Analyze and interpret data to determine similarities and differences in findings. (MS-ESS3-2)

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Engaging in Argument from Evidence

Construct an oral and written argument supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon or a solution to a problem. (MS-ESS3-4)

Disciplinary Core Ideas

ESS3.A: Natural Resources

Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources. Minerals, fresh water, and biosphere resources are limited, and many are not renewable or replaceable over human lifetimes. These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes. (MS-ESS3-1)

ESS3.B: Natural Hazards

Mapping the history of natural hazards in a region, combined with an understanding of related geologic forces can help forecast the locations and likelihoods of future events. (MS-ESS3-2)

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems

ESS3.D: Global Climate Change

Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities. (MS-ESS3-5)

Crosscutting Concepts

Patterns

Graphs, charts, and images can be used to identify patterns in data. (MS-ESS3-2)

Cause and Effect

Stability and Change

Stability might be disturbed either by sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time. (MS-ESS3-5)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Connections to Nature of Science

Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World

Scientific knowledge can describe the consequences of actions but does not necessarily prescribe the decisions that society takes. (MS-ESS3-4)

Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band:

Articulation of DCIs across grade-bands

Common Core State Standards Connections:

ELA/Literacy -
RST.6-8.1	Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-4),(MS-ESS3-5)
RST.6-8.7	Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). (MS-ESS3-2)
WHST.6-8.1	Write arguments focused on discipline content. (MS-ESS3-4)
WHST.6-8.2	Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. (MS-ESS3-1)
WHST.6-8.7	Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. (MS-ESS3-3)
WHST.6-8.8	Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.(MS-ESS3-3)
WHST.6-8.9	Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-4)
Mathematics -
MP.2	Reason abstractly and quantitatively. (MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-5)
6.RP.A.1	Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4)
7.RP.A.2	Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities. (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4)
6.EE.B.6	Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4),(MS-ESS3-5)
7.EE.B.4	Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4),(MS-ESS3-5)

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

MS-ESS3-1.	Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how these resources are limited and typically non-renewable, and how their distributions are significantly changing as a result of removal by humans. Examples of uneven distributions of resources as a result of past processes include but are not limited to petroleum (locations of the burial of organic marine sediments and subsequent geologic traps), metal ores (locations of past volcanic and hydrothermal activity associated with subduction zones), and soil (locations of active weathering and/or deposition of rock).]
MS-ESS3-2.	Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how some natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions and severe weather, are preceded by phenomena that allow for reliable predictions, but others, such as earthquakes, occur suddenly and with no notice, and thus are not yet predictable. Examples of natural hazards can be taken from interior processes (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions), surface processes (such as mass wasting and tsunamis), or severe weather events (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods). Examples of data can include the locations, magnitudes, and frequencies of the natural hazards. Examples of technologies can be global (such as satellite systems to monitor hurricanes or forest fires) or local (such as building basements in tornado-prone regions or reservoirs to mitigate droughts).]
MS-ESS3-3.	Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of the design process include examining human environmental impacts, assessing the kinds of solutions that are feasible, and designing and evaluating solutions that could reduce that impact. Examples of human impacts can include water usage (such as the withdrawal of water from streams and aquifers or the construction of dams and levees), land usage (such as urban development, agriculture, or the removal of wetlands), and pollution (such as of the air, water, or land).]
MS-ESS3-4.	Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth's systems. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence include grade-appropriate databases on human populations and the rates of consumption of food and natural resources (such as freshwater, mineral, and energy). Examples of impacts can include changes to the appearance, composition, and structure of Earth’s systems as well as the rates at which they change. The consequences of increases in human populations and consumption of natural resources are described by science, but science does not make the decisions for the actions society takes.]
MS-ESS3-5.	Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century. [Clarification Statement: Examples of factors include human activities (such as fossil fuel combustion, cement production, and agricultural activity) and natural processes (such as changes in incoming solar radiation or volcanic activity). Examples of evidence can include tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures, atmospheric levels of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and the rates of human activities. Emphasis is on the major role that human activities play in causing the rise in global temperatures.]

The performance expectations above were developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices

Asking Questions and Defining Problems

Asking questions and defining problems in grades 6–8 builds on grades K–5 experiences and progresses to specifying relationships between variables, and clarifying arguments and models.

Ask questions to identify and clarify evidence of an argument. (MS-ESS3-5)

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Analyze and interpret data to determine similarities and differences in findings. (MS-ESS3-2)

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Engaging in Argument from Evidence

Construct an oral and written argument supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon or a solution to a problem. (MS-ESS3-4)

Disciplinary Core Ideas

ESS3.A: Natural Resources

Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources. Minerals, fresh water, and biosphere resources are limited, and many are not renewable or replaceable over human lifetimes. These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes. (MS-ESS3-1)

ESS3.B: Natural Hazards

Mapping the history of natural hazards in a region, combined with an understanding of related geologic forces can help forecast the locations and likelihoods of future events. (MS-ESS3-2)

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems

ESS3.D: Global Climate Change

Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities. (MS-ESS3-5)

Crosscutting Concepts

Patterns

Graphs, charts, and images can be used to identify patterns in data. (MS-ESS3-2)

Cause and Effect

Stability and Change

Stability might be disturbed either by sudden events or gradual changes that accumulate over time. (MS-ESS3-5)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science

Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on Society and the Natural World

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Connections to Nature of Science

Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World

Scientific knowledge can describe the consequences of actions but does not necessarily prescribe the decisions that society takes. (MS-ESS3-4)

Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band:

Articulation of DCIs across grade-bands

Common Core State Standards Connections:

ELA/Literacy -
RST.6-8.1	Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-4),(MS-ESS3-5)
RST.6-8.7	Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). (MS-ESS3-2)
WHST.6-8.1	Write arguments focused on discipline content. (MS-ESS3-4)
WHST.6-8.2	Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. (MS-ESS3-1)
WHST.6-8.7	Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. (MS-ESS3-3)
WHST.6-8.8	Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. (MS-ESS3-3)
WHST.6-8.9	Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-4)
Mathematics -
MP.2	Reason abstractly and quantitatively. (MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-5)
6.RP.A.1	Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4)
7.RP.A.2	Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities. (MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4)
6.EE.B.6	Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4),(MS-ESS3-5)
7.EE.B.4	Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities. (MS-ESS3-1),(MS-ESS3-2),(MS-ESS3-3),(MS-ESS3-4),(MS-ESS3-5)

* The performance expectations marked with an asterisk integrate traditional science content with engineering through a Practice or Disciplinary Core Idea.

The section entitled “Disciplinary Core Ideas” is reproduced verbatim from A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Cross-Cutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. Integrated and reprinted with permission from the National Academy of Sciences.