Next Generation Science Standards
The NGSS are standards, or goals, that reflect what a student should know and be able to do. Within the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), there are three distinct and equally important dimensions to learning science. These dimensions are combined to form each standard—or performance expectation—and each dimension works with the other two to help students build a cohesive understanding of science over time. Science concepts build coherently across K-12. The emphasis of the NGSS is a focused and coherent progression of knowledge from grade band to grade band, allowing for a dynamic process of building knowledge throughout a student’s entire K-12 scientific education. The NGSS focus on a smaller set of Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) that students should know by the time they graduate from high school, focusing on deeper understanding and application of content.
Next Generation Science Standards website—http://www.nextgenscience.org/
Next Generation Science Standards Checklist
Practices
- Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
- Developing and using models
- Planning and carrying out investigations
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Using mathematics and computational thinking
- Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
- Engaging in argument from evidence
- Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Crosscutting Concepts
- Patterns
- Cause and effect
- Scale, proportion, and quantity
- Systems and system models
- Energy and matter
- Structure and function
- Stability and change
Disciplinary Core Ideas: Physical Sciences
- PS1: Matter and Its Interactions
- PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter
- PS1.B: Chemical Reactions
- PS1.C: Nuclear Processes
- PS2: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
- PS2.A: Forces and Motion
- PS2.B: Types of Interactions
- PS2.C: Stability and Instability in Physical Systems
- PS3: Energy
- PS3.A: Definitions of Energy
- PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer
- PS3.C: Relationship Between Energy and Forces
- PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life
- PS4: Waves and Their Applications in Technologies for Information Transfer
- PS4.A: Wave Properties
- PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation
- PS4.C: Information Technologies and Instrumentation
Disciplinary Core Ideas: Life Sciences
- LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
- LS1.A: Structure and Function
- LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms
- LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
- LS1.D: Information Processing
- LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
- LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
- LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
- LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience
- LS2.D: Social Interactions and Group Behavior
- LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
- LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits
- LS3.B: Variation of Traits
- LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
- LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
- LS4.B: Natural Selection
- LS4.C: Adaptation
- LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans
Disciplinary Core Ideas: Earth & Space Sciences
- ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe
- ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars
- ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System
- ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth
- ESS2: Earth’s Systems
- ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems
- ESS2.B: Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions
- ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
- ESS2.D: Weather and Climate
- ESS2.E: Biogeology
- ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
- ESS3.A: Natural Resources
- ESS3.B: Natural Hazards
- ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
- ESS3.D: Global Climate Change
Disciplinary Core Ideas: Technology, Engineering, and Applications of Science
- ETS1: Engineering Design
- ETS2: Links Among Engineering, Technology, Science, and Society
