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FOSS AND NATIONAL STANDARDS
The Water Planet Module encourages students to develop the skills
of investigation and experimentation to build explanations based
on knowledge and evidence. This module supports the following
National Science Education Standards.*
SCIENCE AS INQUIRY
Develop students’ abilities to do scientific inquiry.
• Design and conduct a scientifi c investigation.
• Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and<
interpret data.
• Think critcally and logically to make the relationships
between evidence and explanations.
• Communicate scientifi c procedures and explanations.
• Use mathematics in all aspects of scientifi c inquiry.
CONTENT: EARTH SCIENCE
Develop students’ understanding of the structure of the earth system.
• Water, which covers the majority of Earth’s surface,
circulates through the crust, oceans, and atmosphere in
what is known as the “water cycle.” Water evaporates
from Earth’s surface, rises and cools as it moves to higher
elevations, condenses as rain or snow, and falls to the
surface where it collects in lakes, oceans, soil, and in rocks
underground.
• The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and
trace gases that include water vapor. The atmosphere has
different properties at different elevations.
• Clouds, formed by the condensation of water vapor, affect
weather and climate.
• Global patterns of atmospheric movement infl uence local
weather. Oceans have a major effect on climate, because
water in the oceans holds a large amount of heat.
Develop students’ understanding of Earth in the solar system.
• Earth is the third planet from the Sun in a system that
includes the Moon, the Sun, eight other planets, and their
moons, and smaller objects such as asteroids and comets.
The Sun, an average star, is the central and largest body in
the solar system.
• Gravity is the force that keeps planets in orbit around the
Sun and governs the rest of the motion in the solar system.
Gravity alone holds us to Earth’s surface.
• The Sun is a major source of energy for changes on Earth’s
surface, including winds, ocean currents, and the water
cycle.
SCIENCE IN PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES
Develop students’ understanding of natural hazards.
• Internal and external processes of the earth system cause
natural hazards, events that change or destroy human and
wildlife habitats, damage property, and harm or kill humans.
Natural hazards include landslides, fl oods, storms, and even
possible impacts of asteroids.
SCIENCE AS A HUMAN ENDEAVOR
Develop students’ understanding of science as a human endeavor.
• Women and men of various social and ethnic backgrounds—
and with diverse interests, talents, qualities, and
motivations—engage in the activities of science and
engineering.
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