Middle School (6-8)

Standards Pages (Grade 6)

Preferred Integrated Model

Middle school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Grade 6)

Highlighted Phenomena from Integrated Grade Six

• People get thirsty when they eat salty foods.
• It rains and snows a lot in the mountains. 
• A horse can make water boil by running around in circles turning a metal cylinder.
• During the last 150 years, the Northern Hemisphere has warmed more than the Southern Hemisphere.
• Hundred-year-old ponderosa pines in one part of the Sierra Nevada foothills tower 150 feet tall, but the same age and same species in South Dakota average just 60 feet tall.

Introduction to Integrated Grade 6

The guiding concept for grade six in the framework is “Systems within organisms and between them are adapted to Earth’s climate systems.” Students focus on the interaction between living systems and their physical environment and use DCIs from physical science to explain processes within each of these systems.

The world is overwhelmingly complex, so scientists frequently think about the world in terms of systems that they can investigate and model in isolation. How do teachers introduce students to this idea of systems? Instructional segment 1 (Systems and Subsystems in Earth and Life Science) introduces systems thinking with the Biosphere project, an experiment where scientists created a self-contained ecosystem and locked themselves inside. Students then compare that system to other simple systems from everyday life. An engineering connection illustrates that systems do not have to be physical objects; students design a system for recruiting more organ and tissue donors to help people when part of their body system fails. The framework helps teachers guide students to compare the human body and Earth, describing both as systems of interacting subsystems.

In IS2 (Earth System Interactions Cause Weather), students ask what causes different parts of California to experience different weather. By focusing on the energy driving these differences, the framework integrates physical science and Earth and space sciences. One snapshot shows how teachers can use a classic historical experiment to teach about energy conversion (friction allows a horse to make a pot of water boil as it walks in circles around a corral turning a large crank). In a vignette, students investigate changes of states of matter from solid to liquid to gas. They develop sophisticated models of matter and heat and link them to models of the water cycle. Students use their models to explain why it rains and snows so much in California’s mountains. The vignette requires students to analyze real-time rainfall data from California as evidence supporting their explanation. They apply their understanding to an engineering connection to determine the optimal location for a wind farm in their city.

Students consider weather patterns from a longer time scale and broader spatial scale in IS3 (Causes and Effects of Regional Climates). They build models of Earth’s energy budget by analyzing global temperature and precipitation data. They consider how consistent patterns in climate lead to consistent patterns in the organisms living in ecosystems. A snapshot helps teachers transition from these regional scales to the mechanisms of inheritance and variation that allow organisms to adapt to their environment.

Are humans disturbing this delicate balance between ecosystems and climate because of global warming? Students obtain information about the effects of temperature change on sea level, glaciers, or storm intensity. Students then quantify how Californians have a different impact than people from other parts of the world because of our per-capita energy consumption and fossil-fuel emissions. A snapshot describes a capstone project to monitor and mitigate human impacts on the environment.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Integrated Grade 6 Storyline

Guiding Concept: Systems within organisms and between them are adapted to Earth’s climate systems.

Instructional Segment	IS1 A cell, a person, and planet Earth are each a system made up of subsystems.	IS2 Weather conditions result from the interactions among different Earth subsystems.	IS3 Regional climates strongly influence regional plant and animal structures and behaviors.	IS4 Human activities can change the amount of global warming, which impacts plants and animals.
Life Science (LS)	All living things are made of cells. The body is a system made of interacting subsystems.		Variations of inherited strains arise from genetic differences. Genetic traits and local conditions affect the growth of organisms. Organisms rely on their body structures and behavior to survive long enough to reproduce.	Local conditions affect the growth of organisms. Organisms rely on their body structures and behavior to survive, but these adaptations may not be enough to survive as the climate changes.
Earth and Space Sciences (ESS)	Water cycles among the land, ocean, and atmosphere. Weather and climate involve interactions among Earth’s subsystems.	The movement of water and interacting air masses helps determine local weather patterns and conditions. The ocean has a strong influence on weather and climate.	Energy input from the Sun varies with latitude, creating patterns in climate. Energy flow through the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere affects local climate. Density variations drive global patterns of air and ocean currents.	Human changes to Earth’s environment can have dramatic impacts on different organisms. Burning fossil fuels is a major cause of global warming. Strategic choices can reduce the amounts and impacts of climate change.
Physical Science (PS)		Temperature measures the average kinetic energy of the particles that make up matter. Energy transfers from hot materials to cold materials. The type and amount of matter affects how much an object’s temperature will change.	The type and amount of matter affects how much an object’s temperature will change.
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science (ETS)	Design criteria. Evaluate solutions.	Design criteria. Evaluate solutions. Analyze data Iteratively test and modify.		Design criteria. Evaluate solutions. Analyze data.

Table Source: 2016 CA Science Framework

 

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 5 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Integrated Grade 6 Instructional Segment 1: Systems and Subsystems in Earth and Life Science

Integrated Grade 6 Instructional Segment 2: Earth System Interactions Cause Weather

Integrated Grade 6 Vignette 5.1: Interactions of Earth Systems Cause Weather

Integrated Grade 6 Snapshot 5.1: What's in the Water?

Integrated Grade 6 Snapshot 5.2: Motions and Thermal Energy

Integrated Grade 6 Instructional Segment 3: Causes and Effects of Regional Climates

Integrated Grade 6 Snapshot 5.3: Asexual and Sexual Reproduction

Integrated Grade 6 Instructional Segment 4: Effects of Global Warming on Living Systems

Integrated Grade 6 Snapshot 5.4: Monitoring and Minimizing Human Environmental Impacts

Standards Pages (Grade 7)

Preferred Integrated Model

Middle school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Grade 7)

Highlighted Phenomena from Integrated Grade 7

• A bicycle tire has low air pressure in the morning, but the air pressure gets higher later in the day after being ridden on hot pavement.
• People get hot when they exercise. 
• California’s two mountain ranges run parallel to its coastline.
• Over just three days in 1982, heavy rains triggered more than 18,000 landslides in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• A landslide in Northern California blocked the path of steelhead trout returning to their spawning grounds.

Introduction to Integrated Grade 7

The guiding concept in grade seven builds on students’ understanding of systems from grade six: “Natural processes and human activities cause energy to flow and matter to cycle through Earth’s systems.” Students track the cycling of matter and energy in chemical systems (IS1), food webs (IS2), the water cycle (IS2), and the rock cycle (IS3). Near the end of the year, students examine how human activities alter these systems.

What does it mean for a product to be “all natural”? To answer this question in IS1 (Organisms and Nonliving Things Are Made of Atoms), students develop detailed conceptual models of how atoms interact and change as they heat up or are involved in chemical reactions. They use this model to explain everyday phenomena, such as the air pressure in their bike tires, snow-capped mountains rising above hot valley floors, and the transformation of natural resources into synthetic materials and products.

One of the challenges of the CA NGSS is that students must use models of microscopic mechanisms to explain everyday phenomena. A vignette in IS2 (Matter Cycles and Energy Flows through Organisms and Rocks) shows teachers how to guide students through these various scales. They begin at the macroscopic level and observe changes in an ecosystem, zoom in to define the exact molecular changes of photosynthesis, then zoom back out to see how organisms use molecules of food for energy and to build their bodies. In an engineering challenge within the vignette, students design a food calorimeter that measures the amount of energy stored in food. They describe how the device works at both the classroom and molecular scale. Students apply a similar methodology to the physical and chemical changes to rocks.

When students look at a map of California’s mountains and valleys, they consider questions about the forces that shaped our state and provide some answers. Students must not only be able to explain these features in terms of plate tectonics, but their explanation should be based on a model that shows how the flow of energy drives the cycling of matter. Instructional segment 3 (Natural Processes and Human Activities Shape Earth’s Resources and Ecosystems) describes investigations students can conduct and information they can obtain to help develop such a rich model. Students finish IS3 by applying a similar methodology to explain how the cycling of matter in an ecosystem is also driven by the flow of energy. 

After having developed robust models of natural systems, students are ready to apply models to predict and explain changes to those systems in IS4 (Sustaining Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services in a Changing World). Students begin by considering the phenomenon of landslides and their role in shaping the physical environment. In an engineering connection, they design a landslide early warning system that can save lives. Students then consider how a physical change like a mega-landslide event can disrupt an ecosystem. A snapshot describes a student-driven capstone project where students develop a plan to restore a habitat that has been changed by human activities.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Integrated Grade 7 Storyline

Guiding Concept: Natural processes and human activities cause energy to flow and matter to cycle through Earth systems 

Instructional Segment	IS1 Living and nonliving things are made of atoms.	IS2 Matter cycles and energy flows in systems of all scales within the Earth system.	IS3 Natural processes and human activities have shaped Earth’s resources and ecosystems.	IS4 Human activities help sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services in a changing world.
Life Science (LS)	Organisms are made of molecules of mostly six different elements.	Organisms grow and get energy by rearranging atoms in food molecules	Matter cycles and energy flows among living and nonliving parts of ecosystems. Resource availability affects organisms and ecosystem populations. Ecosystems have common patterns of organism interactions.	Biotic and abiotic changes affect ecosystem populations. Design solutions can help maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Earth and Space Sciences (ESS)	Earth materials are mostly made of eight different elements. Earth has mineral, energy, and water resources.	Earth’s cycles of matter are driven by solar energy, Earth’s internal thermal energy, and gravity.	Fossils, rocks, continental shape, and seafloor structures provide evidence of plate motion. Geoscience processes unevenly distribute Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources.	Geoscience processes change Earth’s surface. Damage from natural hazards can be reduced.
Physical Science (PS)	The interaction and motions of atoms explain the properties of matter. Thermal energy affects particle motion and physical state	Chemical reactions make new substances and can release or absorb thermal energy. Mass is conserved in physical changes and chemical reactions.	Chemical reactions make new substances. Mass is conserved in physical changes and chemical reactions.	Synthetic materials impact society.
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science (ETS)		Design criteria. Evaluate solutions. Analyze data Iteratively test and modify.		Design criteria. Evaluate solutions. Analyze data.

Table Source: 2016 CA Science Framework

 

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 5 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Integrated Grade 7 Instructional Segment 1: Organisms and Nonliving Things are Made of Atoms

Integrated Grade 7 Instructional Segment 2: Matter Cycles and Energy Flows Through Organisms and Rocks

Integrated Grade 7 Vignette 5.2: Physical and Chemical Changes in Organisms

Integrated Grade 7 Instructional Segment 3: Natural Processes and Human Activities Shape Earth's Resources and Ecosystems

Integrated Grade 7 Instructional Segment 4: Sustaining Biodiversity and Ecosystems Service in a Changing World

Integrated Grade 7 Snapshot 5.5: Planning a Large-Scale Investigation

Standards Pages (Grade 8)

Preferred Integrated Model

Middle school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Grade 8)

Highlighted Phenomena from Integrated Grade 8

• Mass extinctions and species diversification events happen repeatedly in Earth’s history.
• Many impact craters on Earth show evidence that rock melted at the impact site. 
• A volcano on Saturn’s moon, Io, has massive eruptions that repeat about once every 1.5 Earth years.
• Very few dinosaur fossils are found in rock layers slightly below the K-T impact boundary (implying that they may have declined before the major impact).
• Satellite observations of net primary productivity show that plants go through seasonal cycles where productivity peaks in the Northern Hemisphere around July and the Southern Hemisphere around January.

Introduction to Integrated Grade 8

Integrated grade eight builds on the ideas of stability and change introduced at the end of grade seven with the guiding concept: “The processes that change Earth’s systems at different spatial scales today also caused changes in the past.” The framework describes a conceptual flow in which students explain different episodes of mass extinction and species diversification during the first three instructional segments and then move to present-day changes in IS4. The course begins with students analyzing data about the diversity of species over the last 500 million years, which reveals evidence of several mass extinction events.

In IS1 (Objects Move and Collide), students address one possible explanation of the mass extinctions: impact by an asteroid. A snapshot shows how a computer simulation helps students develop models of forces and motion. In an engineering connection, students revisit the phenomena of car crashes from grade four. They design a bumper and explain its function in terms of energy transfer, a common theme throughout IS1. Students revisit the idea of extinction by asteroid impact and look for evidence of energy transfer at an impact site.

Instructional segment 2 (Noncontact Forces Influence Phenomena) also uses phenomena from space to help students develop models of noncontact forces (gravity, magnetism, and electric fields). Noncontact forces can be difficult to visualize, so the framework illustrates how teachers can complement hands-on investigations with physical and computational models. In a snapshot, students analyze and interpret data to determine which forces cause gigantic volcanic eruptions on Jupiter’s moon, Io. 

Students investigate one mass extinction event in detail by reading fossil evidence in layers of rock like pages of a history book during IS3 (Evolution Explains Life’s Unity and Diversity). To explain why different species exist during each time period, students transition to interpreting data about natural selection and evolution in modern-day organisms. A snapshot on natural selection shows how students can use clothespins in a physical simulation to explain real-life bird population data. Another snapshot describes an interactive computer simulation where students play the role of a genetic engineer of zebrafish as they develop a model of how human hands evolved from fish fins. 

A vignette in IS4 (Sustaining Local and Global Biodiversity) emphasizes that natural selection mechanisms continue today in response to human activities. Students engineer devices to track modern sharks using principles of sound, light, and radio waves. Applying tracking data, students develop policy solutions that protect sharks and communicate their solutions to the fishing industry, lawmakers, and beach visitors. To build on students’ understanding of light waves, IS4 also includes a snapshot about installing solar panels to convert light energy to electricity. Observations of how solar panel output varies with the angle of the Sun throughout the day and year motivates students to develop a model that explains Earth’s seasons. 

Integrated grade eight ends with a capstone project in which students investigate an environmental challenge. They must explain how humans influence the environment and design specific and detailed solutions that help solve or mitigate the problem.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Integrated Grade 8 Storyline

Guiding Concept: The processes that change Earth systems at different spatial scales today also caused changes in the past.

Instructional Segment	IS1 Objects move and collide.	IS2 Noncontact forces influence phenomena locally and in the solar system.	IS3 Evolution explains life’s unity and diversity.	IS4 Human activities help sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services in a changing world.
Life Science (LS)	Living systems are affected by physical changes in the environment. Both the physical and biological changes are recorded in the fossil record.		Mutations in genes affect organisms’ structures and functions. Evidence from fossils, anatomy, and embryos support the theory of biological evolution. Natural selection is the main mechanism that leads to evolution of species that are adapted to their environment.	Changes to environments can affect probabilities of survival and reproduction of individual organisms, which can result in significant changes to populations and species.
Earth and Space Sciences (ESS)	The fossil record documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout Earth’s history.	Models explain lunar phases and eclipses of the Sun and Moon. Gravity plays the major role in determining motions with the solar system and galaxies.	Rock layers record Earth’s history like pages in a book.	Annual cycles in the amount of sunlight absorbed cause Earth’s seasons. Increases in human population and per-capita consumption impact Earth systems.
Physical Science (PS)	Newton’s Laws explain the forces and motions of objects on Earth and in space. Velocity and mass determine the results of collisions between objects.	Gravitational and electromagnetic fields are the basis of noncontact forces. Changing the arrangement of objects in a system affects the potential energy stored in that system.	Chemical reactions make new substances. Mass is conserved in physical changes and chemical reactions.	Waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials. Wave-based digital technologies provide very reliable ways to encode and transmit information.
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science (ETS)	Design criteria. Evaluate solutions. Analyze data. Iteratively test and modify.			Design criteria. Evaluate solutions.

Table Source: 2016 CA Science Framework

 

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 5 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Integrated Grade 8 Instructional Segment 1: Objects Move and Collide

Integrated Grade 8 Snapshot 5.6: Learning About Motion

Integrated Grade 8 Instructional Segment 2: Noncontact Forces Influence Phenomena

Integrated Grade 8 Snapshot 5.7: Causes of Io's Volcanism

Integrated Grade 8 Instructional Segment 3: Evolution Explains Life's Unity and Diversity

Integrated Grade 8 Snapshot 5.8: Making Sense of Natural Selection

Integrated Grade 8 Snapshot 5.9: Simulating Mutant Hands

Integrated Grade 8 Instructional Segment 4: Sustaining Local and Global Biodiversity

Integrated Grade 8 Vignette 5.3: Waves as a Tool in Biology

Integrated Grade 8 Snapshot 5.10: School Solar Energy Project

Integrated Grade 8 Vignette 5.4: Student Capstone Projects

Standards Pages (Grade 6)

Discipline Specific Model

Middle school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Grade 6)

Highlighted Phenomena from Discipline Specific Grade Six

• The Moon is attracted by Earth’s gravity but does not come crashing down.
• Lake Tahoe typically receives more than 10 feet of snow each winter, while it has only snowed five times in San Diego during the last 125 years.
• The average beef burger takes four times more water to produce than an average soy burger that provides the same number of calories.
• Sediment cores taken from lakes in the Sierra Nevada include an ash layer that matches the chemical composition of rocks of the Long Valley Caldera.
• Underwater mountain ranges are located exactly in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Introduction to Discipline Specific Grade Six

Grade six builds directly on ideas from grade five that Earth can be thought of as a series of interconnected subsystems. The instructional segments in grade six focus on the internal workings of these subsystems and how they interact with one another.

Students begin by putting the Earth system in its context within the solar system. Students recognized patterns in the motion of the Sun, Moon, and stars in earlier grades, and now they are ready to develop a detailed model that explains them. A vignette in IS1 (Earth’s Place in the Solar System) presents a variety of models to explain the phases of the Moon, providing examples of how teachers can ensure that students truly grasp the complex spatial relationships and how they affect what people on Earth observe. 

Students extend these models in IS2 (Atmosphere: Flows of Energy) by showing how the energy flow in the Earth–Sun system affects Earth’s seasons and overall climate. They use the model to explain patterns of temperature and precipitation on Earth, and they begin to ask questions about what has caused the global average temperature to increase so quickly in the last century. 

In IS3 (Atmosphere/Hydrosphere: Cycles of Matter), students take on the role of weather forecaster, analyzing data and applying models of how air masses move through the atmosphere and water cycles move through the hydrosphere. Instructional segment 3 emphasizes how humans depend on abundant clean water for drinking and growing food, and students obtain information about the amount of water required to grow different varieties of meats and vegetables so that they can make informed dietary choices. An engineering connection focuses on water quantity as students design a system that diverts water flowing along a street into the groundwater and provides the maximum filtration of that water. 

Students learn that every rock records a story in IS4 (Geosphere: Surface Processes). They investigate differences between materials on their schoolyard and use them to ask and answer questions about how rocks form at Earth’s surface. In an engineering connection, students design and test different mixtures of concrete. Students then relate the process they used to create the concrete mixtures to the natural processes that create sedimentary rocks.

As far back as grade two, students have been describing California’s rugged landscape. In IS5 (Geosphere: Internal Processes), they develop a model of plate motions that they can use to explain why California has mountains and valleys and how this landscape relates to the damaging earthquakes that plague the state. In an engineering connection, students design an earthquake early warning system for California that notifies residents a few seconds before strong shaking reaches their homes.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 5 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Discipline Specific Grade 6 Instructional Segment 1: Earth's Place in the Solar System

Discipline Specific Grade 6 Vignette 6.1: Using Models of Space Systems to Describe and Explain Patterns of Moon's Phases

Discipline Specific Grade 6 Instructional Segment 2: Atmosphere: Flows of Energy

Discipline Specific Grade 6 Instructional Segment 3: Atmosphere/Hydrosphere: Cycles of Matter

Discipline Specific Grade 6 Instructional Segment 4: Geosphere: Surface Processes

Discipline Specific Grade 6 Instructional Segment 5: Geosphere: Internal Processes

Standards Pages (Grade 7)

Discipline Specific Model

Middle school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Grade 7)

Highlighted Phenomena from Discipline Specific Grade 7

• Scientists sometimes find isotopic traces of ocean biomass in inland forests (likely transported by bears who caught salmon returning upstream to spawn).
• Maps of the human genome show that about 10 percent of our genetic code matches the genetic code of specific viruses.
• All living organisms have cells that use the same basic structure made out of the same basic materials.
• The diet of the person’s mother while she was pregnant may affect the age that person eventually starts puberty.
• During El Niño years, large numbers of sea lion pups have been showing up malnourished and abandoned by their parents on the beaches in Southern California.

Introduction to Discipline Specific Grade 7

The framework presents life science as “systems within systems within systems” in which cells interact to create body systems which interact to create organisms which interact to create ecosystems. The example instructional sequence in the Discipline Specific grade seven begins at the tangible, macroscopic scale of ecosystems, zooms into the level of cells, and then zooms back out again to revisit ecosystems. The section is rich with example phenomena that illustrate important interactions at each scale.

Students begin by describing the interactions between organisms within an ecosystem in IS1 (Interdependent Ecosystems). A snapshot illustrates how students, after reading an informational text about wolverines, can create a food web as a systems model and then predict the effects of human behavior on this system.

Instructional segment 2 (Photosynthesis and Respiration) focuses on two of the most important mechanisms by which matter cycles through ecosystems—the chemical processes of photosynthesis and respiration. A snapshot shows how students develop physical models of these chemical reactions to explain how matter moves from one organism to another.

In IS3 (Cells and Body Systems), students examine where these chemical reactions happen within individual organisms—within the microscopic system of a cell and by interactions between those cells. Systems thinking allows students to predict the impacts of changes to a system. A vignette asks students, What happens when one system breaks down within the human body? and illustrates how teachers can help students develop their systems thinking enough to construct explanations of the consequences. 

In IS4 (Evidence of Evolution), students ask and answer questions about how different organisms have similar body systems but vary slightly in body structures. Students then explain the mechanisms that cause this phenomenon during the next several instructional segments. A snapshot in IS5 (Inheritance and Genetics) shows how students can obtain information from an interactive computer lesson to create systems models illustrating how parents pass on their genetic code to offspring in sexual and asexual reproduction. They then examine the arguments in favor of and against genetically modified food in order to develop a model for how genetic code can be modified at human timescales through tangible interventions. Students analyze data in IS6 (Natural Selection) to see how similar modifications occur naturally over much longer timescales. Instructional segment 6 includes a series of snapshots that illustrate how teachers can scaffold instruction to help students analyze different population data and relate it to environmental conditions. Students track how sardine and anchovy populations change in response to El Niño conditions and how organisms, such as moose in Norway and pygmies in the tropics, have body sizes that are well adapted for heat retention in their local climate. 

Grade seven culminates in IS7 (Revisiting Ecosystems) with students returning to the ecosystem scale. They apply their understanding of natural changes to predict the effects of rapid changes due to human activities. Students define problems that may result from human activities and design solutions that minimize these impacts. Solutions can be very local and practical, such as the engineering connection in which students design and optimize a compost system to reduce the waste from their school cafeteria.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 6 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Instructional Segment 1: Interdependent Ecosystems

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Snapshot 6.1: Matter and Energy in the Wolverine Habitat

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Instructional Segment 2: Photosynthesis and Respiration

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Snapshot 6.2: Modeling Chemical Reactions

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Instructional Segment 3: Cells and Body Systems

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Vignette 6.2: Structure, Function, and Information Processing

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Snapshot 6.3: What's in the Water?

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Instructional Segment 4: Evidence of Evolution

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Instructional Segment 5: Inheritance and Genetics

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Snapshot 6.4: Asexual and Sexual Reproduction

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Instructional Segment 6: Natural Selection

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Snapshot 6.5: Graphing Fish Populations

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Snapshot 6.6: Physical Environment Shifts Population

Discipline Specific Grade 7 Instructional Segment 7: Ecosystem Interactions, Revisited

Standards Pages (Grade 8)

Discipline Specific Model

Middle school standards can be viewed and searched on the CA NGSS Standards Search page. 

CA Science Framework Description (Grade 8)

Highlighted Phenomena from Discipline Specific Grade 8

• A satellite orbiting Earth records a stronger gravitational pull over an area after a heavy rainfall has filled underground aquifers with water than during a drought.
• As students drop heavy objects into a tank of water, the amplitude of the wave depends on the size of the object.
• A car with its radio blasting causes the windows of a neighboring car to rattle.
• A railroad tanker car spontaneously imploded shortly after it was cleaned.
• When specific household powders are mixed together, the mixture heats up.

Introduction to Discipline Specific Grade 8

The physical science course for eighth grade is organized around the crosscutting concept of energy flows, cycles, and conservation. While the goal is for students to master DCIs in physical science, many of the phenomena are drawn from Earth and life sciences so that the course truly serves as a culmination to the middle grades science experience. Each instructional segment focuses on one form of energy and is sequenced such that the most conceptually simple energy form (kinetic) comes first.

An engineering connection in two parts in which students design a car bumper serves as bookends that frame IS1 (Energy of Motion). At the beginning of the instructional segment, students explore and create a first iteration. After a series of investigations into forces and motion throughout IS1, students return to the engineering connection with new eyes. They revise their design and then explain how it works using their new understanding of energy transfer.

Students investigate the factors that affect the pull of gravity in IS2 (Gravity and Energy Related to Position) by analyzing data from hands-on measurements and computer simulations. Analyzing measurements from satellites, students find that the mass of water in an aquifer affects the pull of gravity on the satellite. With this measurement data, they can detect how much water has been pumped out from one year to the next.

Instructional segment 3 (Electric and Magnetic Interactions and Energy) is motivated by understanding how electric motors work. These motors propel modern electric cars, but students can also examine motors by disassembling old electronic appliances. Students discover that motors are filled with magnets. Students perform investigations to understand magnets and electromagnets before engaging in an engineering challenge to design and build their own electric motor and then explain the different stages of energy transfer that make it spin.

How do Wi-Fi or cell phones send our voices and data across the world? In IS4 (Waves Transmitting Energy and Information), students investigate how light interacts with various objects. They obtain information about different technologies to explain how they transmit energy and information.

In IS5 (Thermal Energy and Heat Flow) and IS6 (Chemical Energy and Reactions), students progressively refine their model of matter at the microscopic scale. A vignette in IS5 helps students develop and apply this model as they consider the case of a railroad tanker car that imploded. Students learn how to represent thermal energy as the motion of particles and relate heat flow to the movement of tiny particles. They apply this model in an engineering connection to design a vehicle radiator and communicate why their radiator is better than a competitor’s.

Up until this point, students have treated matter as entire particles. Now, they understand that these particles are actually molecules made of individual atoms. In IS6, students use a combination of hands-on investigation and model development to explain how the changing arrangement of these atoms during chemical reactions causes energy to transfer. Students apply their understanding in an engineering connection to design a hand-warming pad.

from d’Alessio, Matthew A. (2018). Executive Summary: Science Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento: Consortium for the Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Links to 2016 CA Science Framework

Click the links below to view specific pages from Chapter 6 of the 2016 California Science Framework (PDF).

Discipline Specific Grade 8 Instructional Segment 1: Energy of Motion

Discipline Specific Grade 8 Instructional Segment 2: Gravity and Energy Related to Position

Discipline Specific Grade 8 Instructional Segment 3: Electric and Magnetic Interactions and Energy

Discipline Specific Grade 8 Instructional Segment 4: Waves Transmitting Energy and Information

Discipline Specific Grade 8 Instructional Segment 5: Thermal Energy and Heat Flow

Discipline Specific Grade 8 Vignette 6.3: Developing and Using Models to Understand Properties of Gases

Discipline Specific Grade 8 Instructional Segment 6: Chemical Energy and Reactions

Discipline Specific Grades 6-8 Vignette 6.4: Integrated Science, ELA, and ELD: Interconnected Systems (Structure, Function, and InformationProcessing)