This curriculum focuses on multiple student outcomes. Since Connecticut approved Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in late 2015, this unit will be written and executed during the gap between the implementation of NGSS and the current Connecticut state standards. Therefore, I plan for this unit to cover both the current Connecticut science standards, as well as core ideas and cross cutting concepts from NGSS. Similarly, with many of my students planning on attending college, I would like to prepare them for the new science sections on the SAT. Currently, many of our students have low reading and math skills, as represented by their PSAT, SAT, and SBAC scores. Our school’s current goals for our School Initiative Plan included increasing skills in literacy and multi-step problem solving. I plan to specifically include objectives from common core to enhance student skills in these areas. Luckily, NGSS was written with Common Core in mind, so cross cutting concepts appear from common core within NGSS, which lessens the load of covering standards.
Connecticut State Standards:
The current Connecticut state standards have two main focuses: content knowledge, and Inquiry skills. This unit will focus on the following Inquiry standards:
DINQ.3
Design and conduct appropriate types of scientific investigations to answer different questions.ss the reliability of the data that was generated in the investigation.
DINQ.7
Use mathematical operations to analyze and interpret data, and present relationships between variables in appropriate forms.
DINQ.8
Articulate conclusions and explanations based on research data, and assess results based on the design of the investigation.
DINQ.9
Communicate about science in different formats, using relevant science vocabulary, supporting evidence and clear logic.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
NGSS has specific core ideas as well as cross cutting concepts that are not specific to any specific content area. For example, this unit is based on Core Idea PS3: Energy, and PS1.2 Chemical Reactions, but also covers the cross cutting concept of “Energy and Matter”, while also touching on “scale, proportional, and quantity”, “Systems and System Models”, and perhaps “Stability and Change”. This unit will cover aspects of the following NGSS Core Ideas:
HS-PS1-2. Construct and revise an explanation for the outcome of a simple chemical reaction based on the outermost electron states of atoms, trends in the periodic table, and knowledge of the patterns of chemical properties.
HS-PS1-4. Develop a model to illustrate that the release or absorption of energy from a chemical reaction system depends upon the changes in total bond energy.
HS-PS1-5. Apply scientific principles and evidence to provide an explanation about the effects of changing the temperature or concentration of the reacting particles on the rate at which a reaction occurs.
HS-PS1-7. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that atoms, and therefore mass, are conserved during a chemical reaction.
HS-PS3-1 Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known.
Common Core
ELA/Literacy
RST.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.
WHST.9-12.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
Mathematics
MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
MP.4 Model with mathematics.