Earth and Space Science*
Concept and Skill Progressions
Sequenced concepts and skills to support student learning of science and
technology/engineering from PreK to high school, informed by preconception, conceptual change, and learning progression research
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
November 15, 2010
* Please note there are corresponding documents available for:
Life Science—Biology
Physical Science—Chemistry/Introductory Physics
Technology/Engineering
The concept and skill progressions are meant to inform and support curriculum and instruction,
but are not meant to replace the current Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) standards.
Curricular and instructional goals should continue to be aligned with current STE standards;
the state’s STE MCAS tests will also continue to reference current STE standards.
November 15, 2010
Table of Contents
Section
Page
Introduction to the Concept and Skill Progressions
2
Visual organization of the Concept and Skill Progressions (Figure 1)
4
Earth and Space Science Concept and Skill Progressions**
Earth Processes
5
Plate Tectonics
11
Earth in the Solar System
15
Contributors:
L. Agan, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School, Massachusetts
Dr. Kristin Gunckel, University of Arizona, Arizona
Dr. Julia D. Plummer, Arcadia University, Pennsylvania
Dr. Ann E. Rivet, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York
Dr. Cary Sneider, Portland State University, Oregon
Dr. Stella Vosniadou, University of Athens, Greece
** There is not a concept and skill progression for every topic typically found in state Earth and
Space Science standards; authors were only available for the three topics included. **
1
November 15, 2010
Introduction to the Concept and Skill Progressions
This document presents concept and skill progressions for three common Earth and Space
Science topics. These concept and skill progressions articulate idealized sequences of concepts
and skills that can effectively support student learning of core scientific ideas from PreK to high
school. These summaries draw from a variety of research genres, including pre-conception,
conceptual change, and learning progression research on science education. These summaries are
written and reviewed by educational researchers who study student learning of each science and
technology/engineering (STE) topic. They are set up to reflect a learning progression approach to
student understanding of core STE ideas. These are research-based resources that can inform
work in curriculum development, instruction, and assessment. These are also have been
referenced, in conjunction with the many other available STE resources, by the Massachusetts
STE Review Panel in the revision of Massachusetts STE student learning standards.
Learning progression research is beginning to provide a framework for understanding student
preconceptions, obstacles to learning, and transitional ideas about the world as they learn
science. A learning progression makes explicit the successively more complex ways of thinking
about STE concepts and skills that students develop over time (Smith, Wiser, Anderson, &
Krajcik, 2006). While learning progressions are research-based, they are hypothetical; they
propose how to bridge the intuitive ideas children have developed about core ideas before formal
instruction with the scientific version of that idea if students are exposed to appropriate curricula
(Corcoran et al, 2009). Additionally, ideas in learning progressions are not always scientifically
accurate. For example, the idea that any piece of matter, however small, has weight is not
completely scientifically accurate as it only applies to matter in a gravitational field. It belongs in
the learning progression, however, because it makes the idea that atoms are the key components
of matter easier to accept (students often believe that weight is not a property of matter, and if a
piece of material gets very small it has no weight). Considering student cognition from a learning
progression basis allows us to take students’ initial ideas into account, to characterize productive
transitional ideas, and to design curricula that move students' network of ideas toward scientific
understanding in a purposeful way.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has asked educational
researchers to draw from the research literature on students’ pre-conceptions, conceptual change,
and, where available, learning progressions to provide up-to-date summaries of how to sequence
student thinking and learning of common STE topics. The research base to complete this task is
certainly not complete, so for the grade ranges, domains, and/or concepts for which learning
progression research is not available, each author used available pre-conception and conceptual
change research to provide informed estimates of what a progression of learning is likely to look
like. So while the authors have made informed recommendations about when certain concepts
and skills should be introduced, these do not limit what or when students can learn those
concepts and skills. These are idealized articulations of how we would want students to progress.
The concept and skill progressions do, however, help to convey how to move young children’s
initial conceptualizations to scientific theory over time.
Each concept and skill progression includes both a “narrative storyline” as well as a “concept
and skill details” section that are intended to convey a story of how students’ conceptual growth
2
November 15, 2010
can develop over time. Both sections tell the same story, just at different levels of detail. Each
concept and skill progression is organized to reflect the nature of initial ideas in a topic (lower
anchor); the 'stepping stones' that can serve as intermediary targets between initial ideas and
scientific theory; and specify the scientific core ideas, concepts and skills in that domain students
should achieve as the result of their education (upper anchor). It is important to note that each
grade-span cell in the details section should be read in its entirety; the individual concepts and
skills should be viewed as a set rather than individually. See Figure 1 on page 4 for more details
on the organization of the summaries. Providing a common template across topics allows
curriculum developers, educators, and others to make sense of particular core ideas, concepts and
skills in relation to each other across grade levels and topics. It is important to be clear that the
individual elements in the concept and skill progressions are not standards; taken together they
describe what students can know and do over time as they come to learn core scientific ideas.
These concept and skill progressions can be used in conjunction with the 2001/2006 STE strand
maps (http://www.doe.mass.edu/omste/maps/default.html; modeled on the AAAS Atlases of
Science Literacy) to visualize student learning over time. Productively building upon
relationships between ideas that span multiple grade levels will require greater communication
and coordination than is currently typical. Teaching that honors progressions of learning will also
require educators to clearly understand where their students currently are relative to desired
outcomes. This can be accomplished with pre-assessment strategies—including strategies that
move beyond simple identification of misconceptions—as well as greater differentiation of
lessons to meet the needs of particular students. Being able to access a variety of instructional
and learning resources, such as through the National Science Digital Library (NSDL;
http://strandmaps.nsdl.org/), will help educators implement these strategies. Coordinated use of
strand maps will help educators approach teaching and learning from a perspective where ideas
are consistently related to each other over extended periods of time. Such an approach can
effectively account for student conceptions and more effectively promote achievement of science
and technology/engineering standards.
Please note: Topics included in this document were selected based on both available research
and the availability of an author to write the summary. In some cases research is available but an
author was not, or some common concepts within a topic were omitted due to lack of a research
base; these are not exhaustive summaries. These concept and skills progressions will likely be
updated in the future as additional research and information is available. Please direct any
comments, feedback, resources or research that may inform edits or additions to these concept
and skill progressions to mathscitech@doe.mass.edu.
References
Corcoran, T., Mosher, F., Rogat, A. (2009). Learning Progression in Science: An evidence-based
approach to reform. Philadelphia, PA: Consortium for Policy Research in Education.
Smith, C.L., Wiser, M., Anderson, C.W., Krajcik, J. (2006). Implications of research on
children’s learning for standards and assessment: A proposed learning progression for
matter and the atomic molecular theory. Focus Article. Measurement: Interdisciplinary
Research and Perspectives, 14, 1-98.
3
Possible misconceptions, placed in the grade span
before they are addressed, are highlighted gray.
Read concept and skill detail section from left to right, from initial
ideas (pre-instruction) to culminating scientific ideas (high school).
Page 1:
Narrative
storyline
provides an
overview of
how student
ideas develop
across grade
spans.
Page 2+:
Concept and
skill detail
section (pg 2 &
3 of this
example)
provide specific
concepts by
core idea (rows)
and grade-span
(columns).
Stepping
stones move
students from
initial ideas to
scientific
understanding
(read each
grade-span cell
in its entirety).
Key
vocabulary
is indicated
in the grade
span it is
introduced.
Endnotes on
final page(s)
include
comments on
particular
concepts,
including
instructional
strategies, limits
to student
understanding,
and additional
explanation.
Figure 1. Features of the concept and skill progressions, using Plate Tectonics as an example.
4
Earth Processes
November 15, 2010
Earth Processes
Concept and Skill Progression for Earth Processes
This learning progression focuses on the development of student understanding of processes that shape the Earth, specifically the movement of water and rocks through the Earth
system and the processes of weathering, erosion, and deposition.
NARRATIVE STORYLINE
Initial Ideas
Before instruction children typically have observational and physical experience with some aspects of Earth processes in their local landscape. They may have observed different
landforms, such as mountains, valleys, and stream beds, seen rain and snow falling, rivers flowing, or waves hitting a shoreline. They may also have experience with strong water
movement, such as flooding or fast-flowing rivers that wash away parts of riverbanks, or have seen beaches shaped by winter storms. They may also be aware that rocks can be different
sizes and shapes, and that they can break. Children tend to think that the surface of the Earth does not change shape and it has always looked like this.
Conceptual Stepping Stones
Early elementary students know that water is a substance that has three forms: solid ice, liquid, and gas. Students know that water exists on Earth in different places, and that water has
different forms in different places on Earth, such as liquid water in oceans, rivers, and lakes; frozen (ice) water in glaciers; and water vapor in the air, although they may believe that the
clouds are water vapor. Students know that rain and snow is water moving from the air to the ground. Elementary students are aware that rocks exist everywhere on Earth and know that
pebbles, stones, boulders, and crystals are words to describe different kinds of rocks.
Late elementary students develop a sense of water moving from place to place on the Earth. They can describe that water can move into the atmosphere, through evaporation. They can
also describe that water in the atmosphere changes into liquid raindrops through condensation, and that the raindrops fall to the surface, or are frozen first into snowflakes and then fall to
the surface, via precipitation. Thus they have a notion of the water cycle. Late elementary students know that minerals are the substances that rocks are made of, and that rocks are made
up of one or more different kinds of minerals. They can name a few different kinds of minerals and can use different tests to distinguish one mineral from another. Late elementary
students are aware that moving water can carry “stuff” including dirt and small rocks and move this “stuff” from one place to another.
Middle school students are aware of a variety of water reservoirs including groundwater and living organisms, and of processes by which water moves, including transpiration and
infiltration. They can define a watershed and describe the movement of surface water within a given watershed. They understand that water is moving continuously between different
reservoirs, and follows lots of different paths through the water cycle. Middle school students can name the three different types of rock and can state how each kind of rock was formed.
They know that weathering is the breaking down of rock on the Earth’s surface into small particles, and erosion is the movement of sediment to a new area by three agents of erosion –
water, wind, and ice. They know that the deposition of sediment in one location over a long period of time can lead to the creation of sedimentary rocks.
Culminating Scientific Ideas
High school students are able to describe in detail the processes of movement in the water cycle. They know the connections between groundwater in the water cycle, and can make
connections between how water moves in a particular location and that area’s climate. High school students can describe the rock cycle, and the connections between the processes that
create the three types of rocks. They can identify and distinguish between hand samples of different kinds of rocks and the physical properties of the common minerals that compose
each kind of rock. They can explain how rock types present in the local environment provide information about the specific formation conditions and geologic history of the region, and
give specific examples. High school students can describe and distinguish between physical and chemical weathering, and provide examples of each. They recognize evidence for past
processes in current landscape features, and are able to predict future patterns or events of surface change based on evidence of past processes.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Earth Processes
5
Earth Processes
November 15, 2010
Lower Anchor
Reflective of student concepts
Earth Processes
Upper Anchor
Reflective of science concepts
Reconceptualization
CONCEPT & SKILL DETAILS
Initial Ideas
Before instruction, students often
believe and can:
Pre-instruction
Conceptual Stepping Stones
Culminating Scientific Ideas
Students who view the world in this way believe and can:
Students who fully understand this topic believe
and can:
PreK-2
3-5
6-8
High school
Water
Water
Water
Water
Water
Children have typically seen rain
and snow falling, rivers flowing,
or waves hitting a shoreline.
They may also have experience
with strong water movement,
such as flooding or fast-flowing
rivers that wash away parts of
riverbanks, or have seen beaches
shaped by winter storms.
Students can identify that
water is the same substance
when it is a solid and
liquid.
Students can describe the
water cycle as water
moving to different parts of
the Earth’s surface and
moving between the
surface and the
atmosphere.2 (Henriques,
2002)
Students can name and describe all
of the types of reservoirs in the
water cycle, including groundwater
and living organisms.4
Students can describe in detail the
processes of movement in the water cycle,
including evaporation, condensation,
precipitation, infiltration, surface runoff,
and transpiration.
Possible misconceptions:
Rain comes from holes in the
clouds; clouds are made of
smoke; clouds are bags or
sponges that hold water.
(Henriques, 2002)
Students can name the
different forms of water
that exist in different
places (e.g., liquid in
oceans, frozen in glaciers,
vapor in atmosphere).
Students can name the
different places on Earth
where water exists (rivers,
lakes, oceans, clouds, etc).
Students can describe that
water moves from place to
place on the Earth’s
surface.1
Students can describe that
rain and snow is water
moving from atmosphere
to the ground.
Possible misconception:
Clouds are water vapor.
Students can explain
evaporation, condensation,
and precipitation
correctly.3
[Link to Energy in the
Earth System]
Possible misconceptions:
The water cycle involves
the freezing and melting of
water; condensation is
when air turns into liquid;
rain comes from clouds
melting; clouds go to the
sea and get filled with
water; clouds are formed
by the sun boiling the sea.
(Henriques, 2002)
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Students can trace water in and out
of reservoirs and can describe the
processes responsible for moving
the water.
[Link to particulate nature of
matter]
Students can explain that water is
moving continuously between
different reservoirs, and follows
lots of different paths between
them (i.e., the water cycle is not a
linear process).
[Link to Systems]
Students can define a watershed
and describe the movement of
surface water in a given watershed.
Possible misconceptions:
Groundwater is often described as
a static lake and disconnected from
the rest of the water system. (Ben-
Students can explain the connections
between groundwater and the rest of the
water cycle, and can explain aquifers,
wells, porosity, permeability, water table
and runoff.
Students can recognize how principles
such as gravity, permeability, relative
humidity, and conservation of matter
constrain the pathways that water takes.5
Students can make connections between
how water moves in a particular location
and the area’s climate.
[Link to Climate]
Possible misconceptions:
Groundwater is only thought to move
horizontally like an underground stream,
without any vertical movement component
(Ben-zvi-Assarf & Orion, 2005). Clouds
form because cold air doesn’t hold as
much water as warm air. (Henriques,
Earth Processes
6
Earth Processes
November 15, 2010
(Henriques, 2002)
Earth Processes
zvi-Assarf & Orion, 2005) Water is
only evaporated from oceans or
lakes. (Henriques, 2002)
2002)
Students may describe water
moving into plant roots, but
seldom describe water transpiring
out of plant leaves.
Students may recognize that water
flows downhill, but rarely use that
principle when reading a map to
trace water flow. They will instead
say that all the water in the rivers is
connected and can follow any
stream. Similarly, students do not
think about the role of permeability
in constraining where groundwater
can flow or the role of relative
humidity in determining whether
or not water will evaporate.
Rocks & the rock cycle
Children likely are aware that
rocks can be different sizes and
shapes, and that they can break.
Possible misconceptions:
Children may think that rocks
cannot change.
Rocks & the rock cycle
Students state that rocks
exist everywhere on Earth.
Students identify that the
words stone, pebble,
boulder, and crystal are all
referring to rocks.
Possible misconceptions:
Terms such as “stone”,
“crystal”, and “pebble”
have distinct common
usage definitions, ones that
are often at odds with
geological terminology and
usage. Learners are
selective in applying the
Rocks & the rock cycle
Students know that rocks
are made of substances
called minerals.
Students can describe that
rocks are made of one or
more different kinds of
minerals.6
Students can state that
different minerals have
different properties, and
name the properties of a
few common minerals.
[Link to substances and
properties]
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Rocks & the rock cycle
Rocks & the rock cycle
Students can name the three
different types of rock
(sedimentary, metamorphic, and
igneous).
Students can describe the rock cycle via
explaining the connections between the
processes that create sedimentary,
metamorphic, and igneous rocks.
Students can state how each of the
different rock types is formed.8
[Link to Structure of the Earth]
Students can identify and distinguish
between hand samples of different kinds of
rocks.
Possible misconception:
Students may not be aware that
rocks exist beneath the surface of
the Earth.
Students can describe the physical
properties of common minerals that
compose each kind of rock.
Students can explain why the crystal size
of minerals in each rock type is
characteristic of the environment that
created it.
Earth Processes
7
Earth Processes
November 15, 2010
term rock to only those
materials considered
rough, dull, heavy and/or
crumbly, to rocks of only
certain colors, and to
materials found exclusively
in natural settings. (Ford,
2005)
Weathering, erosion, and
deposition10
Children likely have observed
different landforms, such as
mountains, valleys, and stream
beds.
Students can conduct
different tests to
distinguish one mineral
from another.
Earth Processes
When given a rock sample from a location
and knowing the current geological
features of an area, students can explain
what the specific conditions were that
created that rock, and describe the related
geologic history of that area.9
[Link to Origin and Evolution of Earth]
Possible misconception:
Novices tend to use
nonscientific criteria such
as color, shape, and size to
categorize rocks. (Ford,
2005)7
Possible misconception:
Students tend to view each product of the
rock cycle as a stagnant isolated substance
which cannot change or be transformed
into another product of the rock cycle
system. (Kali, et al., 2003)
Weathering, erosion,
and deposition
Weathering, erosion,
and deposition
Weathering, erosion, and
deposition
Possible misconceptions:
Children may think that the
rocks that they see around
them were formed in that
location. (Ford, 2005)
Students can describe that
water can carry dirt and
small rocks from one place
to another.
Students can define weathering as
the breaking down of rock on the
Earth’s surface into small particles
called sediment.
Students can describe and distinguish
between physical and chemical
weathering, and provide examples of each.
Students can identify
where water has made
different shapes in the
land.
Students can define erosion as the
movement of sediment to a
different location.
Students can describe the relationship
between the processes of weathering,
erosion, and deposition and typical
features of various landforms.11
Students can name three agents of
erosion (water, wind, and ice) and
describe how each transports
sediment.
Students can recognize evidence of past
erosion and deposition processes in current
landscape features.
Students can define deposition as
the depositing of sediment in a
location.
Students can predict future patters or
events of surface change based on
evidence of past processes.
[Link to Origin and Evolution of Earth]
Children tend to think that
the surface of the Earth
does not change shape and
has always looked the way
that it does. (BrownSibrizzi, 2004)
Weathering, erosion, and
deposition
Students can describe how
deposition of sediment in one
location over a long period of time
can lead to the creation of
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Earth Processes
8
Earth Processes
November 15, 2010
Earth Processes
sedimentary rocks.
[Link to Rocks]
Possible misconceptions:
Students often think that
weathering and erosion are
synonymous; weathering is bad for
the environment; hard rocks cannot
be weathered by water and wind;
weathering and erosion cannot
happen at the same time. (BrownSibrizzi, 2004)
Grades
Pre-instruction
PreK-2
3-5
6-8
High school
Reservoir, groundwater, organism,
watershed, surface water,
sedimentary, metamorphic,
igneous, weathering, particles,
sediment, erosion, deposition
Infiltration, surface runoff, transpiration,
aquifer, well, porosity, permeability, water
table, climate, hand sample, environment,
geological feature, physical weathering,
chemical weathering, landform
Key Vocabulary
Water, solid, liquid, gas,
vapor, Earth, river, lake,
ocean, cloud, glacier,
atmosphere, Earth’s
surface, rain, snow,
ground, rock, stone,
pebble, boulder, crystal
Water cycle, evaporation,
condensation,
precipitation, mineral,
property, dirt
Notes
(1) Students likely, however, will not yet comprehend that water in one place is connected to water in another place.
(2) Late elementary students do recognize that water can move into the clouds, but they still may not recognize invisible gasses such as water vapor.
(3) Students at this age are very good at telling the story of water that evaporates, forms clouds, and rains. They probably do not include invisible water in the atmosphere yet.
(4) This is especially important. Plants, especially, play a very large role in where water moves and is stored. We are learning that students think about water “being absorbed” by
plant roots, but they rarely think about water transpired from plants or used for photosynthesis. The biotic connection also has important connections to human-engineered
systems as well, such as when we think about agriculture and the ways we engineer the water cycle for large scale crop production. Humans have engineered systems that
interconnect with the natural system at all parts of the cycle. In many cases, these systems have huge influences on where water and substances in water move and how water
moves in and out of the reservoirs. Research shows that for many students, the human-engineered system is a black box. To many of them, drinking water and waste water
treatment plants are the same. Kids often think their own water comes from a clean, pure lake or river but the water they use is connected to the next person’s house on the
block. Understanding how human’s influence and actually engineer how water moves through the water cycle is important because in their lives, they will mostly be concerned
with how they interact and are connected to the water cycle.
(5) For example, water does not easily move through impermeable layers. Therefore, water does not move between confined and unconfined aquifers. Or, that groundwater in
unconfined aquifers is constrained by the topography of the surface layers and does not cross surface a watershed divides. Or, that the amount of water that evaporates depends
on the relative humidity.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Earth Processes
9
Earth Processes
November 15, 2010
Earth Processes
(6) Rocks are generally defined as more than one mineral.
(7) This points to a lack of understanding of what constitutes a property, and what properties are more helpful than others in identification (Ford, 2005).
(8) However, the conditions under which metamorphic rocks are formed are generally not understood by middle school students (Ford, 2005). Students have difficulty representing
how material can transform from one earth product to another by geologic processes; few students are able to present a sequence of several geologic processes that tie together
the formation of types of rock (Kali, Orion, & Eylon, 2003).
(9) The ability to visualize the land as students currently know it as being in a different place on earth at the time of rock formation is extremely challenging for students. (Ford,
2005)
(10) There is very little research on students’ understanding of weathering, erosion, and deposition. Much of the information included in this document on these topics was
gathered from graduate students in my program who were also classroom Earth Science teachers from their own students, through class projects and their own experiences.
(11) Students may find it harder to take seriously the less-obvious, less-dramatic, long-term effects of erosion by wind and water, annual deposits of sediment… students’
recognition of those effects will depend on an improving sense of long time periods and familiarity with the effect of multiplying tiny fractions by very large numbers (in this
case, slow rates by long times) (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993).
Authors and Reviewers
Dr. Ann E. Rivet, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York (author)
Dr. Kristin Gunckel, University of Arizona, Arizona (reviewer)
References
American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993). Benchmarks for Science Literacy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ben-zvi-Assarf, O., & Orion, N. (2005). A study of junior high students' perceptions of the water cycle. Journal of Geoscience Education, 53(4), 366-373.
Brown-Sibrizzi (2004). Course project (reference incomplete)
Ford, D. J. (2005). The challenges of observing geologically: Third graders' descriptions of rock and mineral properties. Science Education, 89, 276-295.
Henriques, L. (2002). Children's ideas about weather: A review of the literature. School Science and Mathematics, 102(5), 202-215.
Kali, Y., Orion, N., & Eylon, B.-S. (2003). Effect of knowledge integration activities on students' perception of earth's crust as a cyclic system. Journal of Research in Science
Teaching, 40(6), 545-565.
National Research Council (1996). National Science Education Standards. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Earth Processes
10
Plate Tectonics
November 15, 2010
Plate Tectonics
Concept and Skill Progression for Plate Tectonics
This progression encompasses two core ideas: evidence of motion of tectonic plates and scale of geologic time and motion. Students’ understanding of plate tectonics develops with
respect to their ability to use models and evidence to explain geologic events and build theories that account for plate motion and resulting changes in the Earth’s surface over long
periods of time.
NARRATIVE STORYLINE
Initial Ideas
Before instruction students may hold the view that the earth was always as it is now, or that any changes that have occurred must have been sudden and comprehensive.
Conceptual Stepping Stones
Early Elementary students know that the earth’s surface is composed of different materials (soil, rock, and water).
Later Elementary students explore evidence that the earth’s surface has changed over time. They can infer that today’s continents are separated parts of what was long ago a single
land mass. Students can identify changes to the Earth’s surface that are abrupt and changes that happen very slowly. Students begin to consider the large time scales that changes to the
earth’s surface encompass.
Middle School students come to understand that the earth’s outer layer is composed of numerous sections called plates that move slowly over time. They can relate geologic events
that often occur at or near plate boundaries. Students can explain that the Earth’s rigid plates sit on a layer of the Earth that can flow very slowly, thus causing plate movement over a
long period of time. Students may believe that the boundaries of continents and oceans are the same as plate boundaries, or that there are gaps in between plates, but can relate plate
motion to geological events such as volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain building. Students may have difficulty relating scales of motion and time; that plate motion over millions of
years results in miles of movement but the present motion of plates may result in many feet of movement over a human lifetime.
Culminating Scientific Ideas
High School students develop an understanding of the mechanisms of plate motion and interactions. They can explain the relationship of earthquake activity to the movement of
plates, as well as volcanic activity to pressure and heat below the plates. Students can describe the behaviors of Earth materials at or near plate boundaries, differentiating between the
results of brittle and ductile behaviors. They can describe types of plate collisions and resulting land formations. Students can infer that the exchange of materials at plate boundaries does
not result in a net loss or net gain of the size of Earth’s surface. Students continue to develop their understanding of scales of motion and time, though difficulties relating to the large
scale factors that govern geologic change may persist.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Plate Tectonics
11
Plate Tectonics
November 15, 2010
Lower Anchor
Reflective of student concepts
Plate Tectonics
Upper Anchor
Reflective of science concepts
Reconceptualization
CONCEPT & SKILL DETAILS
Initial Ideas
Before instruction, students often
believe and can:
Pre-instruction
Earth’s Surface
Students likely have observed
local surface features (such as
hills, valleys, streams) and
handled earth materials (such
as rocks, soil, water).
Possible Misconceptions:
Students may hold the view
that the earth was always as it
is now, or that any changes
that have occurred must have
been sudden and
comprehensive. (AAAS,
2009)
Conceptual Stepping Stones
Culminating Scientific Ideas
Students who view the world in this way believe and can:
Students who fully understand this topic believe
and can:
K-2
3-5
6-8
Earth’s Surface
Evidence & Motion of
Earth’s Plates
Evidence & Motion of Tectonic
Plates
Evidence & Motion of Tectonic Plates
Students identify that Earth’s plates,
consisting of continents and oceanic
basins, make up the surface of the
Earth, and are composed of solid rock
that is miles thick.3
Students explain the relationship between
earthquake activity and the movement of
Earth’s plates.
Students know that the
earth’s surface is
composed of different
materials (soil, rock, and
water).1
[Link to earth processes
and cycles]
Students infer from
evidence such as
matching coastlines and
similarities in fossils and
rock types that today’s
continents are separated
parts of what was long
ago a single land mass.
Students describe changes
to the Earth’s surface that
are abrupt, such as
earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions, and changes
that happen very slowly,
such as mountain building
and island formation.2
[Link to earth processes
and cycles]
Students explain that the Earth’s rigid
plates sit on a denser, hotter and more
plastic layer of the Earth4 that can flow
very slowly, thus causing plate
movement over a long period of time.
The plates move slowly in different
directions and at different speeds. The
direction and speed at which plates
move can change over time.
Students understand that the motion of
Earth’s plates results in geologic
events including volcanoes,
earthquakes and mountain building.
[Link to earth processes and cycles]
Possible Misconceptions:
Students may believe that the
boundaries of continents and oceans
are the same as plate boundaries. They
may resist the idea that one plate may
include parts of continents and parts of
ocean basins, or they may consider
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
High school
Students describe the behaviors of Earth
materials at or near plate boundaries.
Students can differentiate between events
near plate boundaries in which brittle
behaviors result in earthquakes and events
in which ductile behaviors result in
mountain formation.
Students explain the relationship between
volcanic activity and pressure and heat
below the Earth’s plates.5
Students describe types of plate collisions
(i.e., convergent and divergent boundaries),6
including continental and oceanic plates,
and the resulting land formations. For
example, a student can describe that along a
plate boundary of two oceanic plates,
molten rock may well up between
separating plates to create new ocean floor.
Students infer that the exchange of earth
materials at plate boundaries does not result
in a net loss or net gain of the size of
Earth’s surface.
Plate Tectonics
12
Plate Tectonics
November 15, 2010
Plate Tectonics
only ocean basins as plates. They may
also believe that there are gaps in
between plates. (DeBoer, HerrmannAbell, Wertheim & Roseman, 2009).
Students understand that plate boundaries
can change over time. They recognize that
many mountain ranges indicate the location
of past plate boundaries.
Students may believe that there is a
distinct layer below the plates made up
of magma (DeBoer, et. al., 2009).
Students may believe that the plates
are below the surface of the visible
Earth, or that bedrock is not associated
with plates. (DeBoer, et. al., 2009).
Students may not relate a theory of
mountain building to plate tectonics
(Driver, Squires, & Wood-Robinson,
1994).
Scale of Geologic Time and
Motion
Scales of Geologic Time
and Motion
Scales of Geologic
Time and Motion
Scales of Geologic Time and
Motion
Scales of Geologic Time and Motion
Though students can build
an understanding of the
large time scales in which
some geologic events
occur, “scale factors larger
than thousands…may be
difficult before early
adolescence.” (AAAS,
2009)
Though students may correctly
identify that plate motion is a slow
process that results in miles of
movement over millions of years, they
likely do not realize that the present
motion of the Earth’s plates may result
in many feet of movement over a
human lifetime (DeBoer, et. al., 2009).
Students continue to develop their
understanding of scales of motion and time,
though difficulties in relating to large scale
factors of geologic change may persist.7
Grades
Pre-instruction
K-2
3-5
Rock, planet, surface, layer
Coastline, fossil, rock type,
continent, earthquake,
volcanic eruption, mountain
building, land formation
6-8
High school
Key Vocabulary
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Plate, ocean basins, dense, plastic
layer
Plate boundary, brittle behavior, ductile
behavior, pressure, heat, plate collision,
molten rock, ocean floor, crust formation
Plate Tectonics
13
Plate Tectonics
November 15, 2010
Plate Tectonics
Notes
(1) The “origin of rocks and minerals has little meaning for young children.” (NRC, 1996).
(2) The conceptual stepping stone noted here is a foundation for two strands of students’ understanding of Earth processes: plate tectonics and landforms. The corresponding
stepping stones necessary for students’ understanding of landform processes are included in “Earth Processes and Cycles” document.
(3) LIMIT: It is not necessary for students to know the terms lithosphere or asthenosphere, nor the names or sizes of specific plates.
(4) Students should know that the layer below the plates is more dense, hotter and plastic than the plates, resulting in plate movement. LIMIT: scientists’ analysis of the Earth’s
interior structure through seismic data depends upon knowledge of pressure and temperature differentials of Earth’s materials that is not necessary for an explanation of the
model of plate tectonics. Similarly, though students may identify that the core of the Earth is composed of metallic iron, this knowledge is not necessary for their understanding
of plate tectonics.
(5) Students can be provided additional knowledge in order to develop an accurate explanation for some evidence that scientists use to support the model of plate tectonics. For
example, the evidence of magnetic polarity of materials associated with sea floor spreading necessitates an explanation of the Earth’s magnetic field and the interaction of that
magnetic field with certain materials. This is not necessary for a basic understanding of plate tectonics.
(6) Vocabulary terms are not required for students to build a mental model of the phenomena and processes at hand. The goal for students is to explain the processes by which
plates are in motion relative to one another and the geologic events that can result from those processes.
(7) DeBoer et. al. (2009) cited college-aged students holding misconceptions about motion and time scales. These difficulties should be addressed through high school but are
unlikely to be fully mastered through an introductory high school course.
Authors and Reviewers
L. Agan, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School, Massachusetts (author)
Dr. Cary Sneider, Portland State University, Oregon (reviewer)
References
Agan, L., and Sneider, C. (2004). Learning about Earth’s shape and gravity. Astronomy Education Review <http://aer.noao.edu/> Vol. 2(2) 2004.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). (2009). Benchmarks Online. http://www.project2061.org/publications/bsl/online/index.php. Retrieved on March
26, 2010.
DeBoer, G., Herrmann-Abell, C., Wertheim, J. & Roseman, J.E. (2009). Assessment Linked to Middle School Science Learning Goals: A Report on Field Test Results for Four
Middle School Science Topics. NARST Annual Conference, Retrieved March 26, 2010, from www.project2061.org/.../2009/.../NARST-SymposiumPaperFinal5-1-09_GD.pdf
Driver, R., Squires, A., Wood-Robinson, V. (1994). Making Sense of Secondary Science. London: Routledge.
Ford, Brent & Taylor, Melanie (2006). Investigating Students’ Ideas about Plate Tectonics. Science Scope, 38-43.
Herrmann-Abell, Wertheim & Roseman, (2009). Reference missing.
Libarkin, J. C. & Anderson, S. W. (2005a). Assessment of learning in entry-level geoscience courses: results from the Geoscience Concept Inventory. Journal of Geoscience
Education 53 (4), 349- 401.
Libarkin, J. C., Anderson, S. W., Dahl, J., Beilfuss, M., & Boone, W. (2005b). Qualitative analysis of college students' ideas about the Earth: interviews and open-ended
questionnaires. Journal of Geoscience Education, 53, 17-26.
National Research Council (NRC). (1996). National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Plate Tectonics
14
Earth in the Solar System
November 15, 2010
Earth in the Solar System
Concept and Skill Progression for the Earth in the Solar System
This progression is organized into five core ideas: the shape of the earth and gravity, motion of the earth, phases of the moon, the reason for the seasons, and the solar system.
Connections should be examined through each grade band and across each idea to help students see that celestial motion is a unified field. However, these can still be mastered
separately by students. There are concepts that are imbedded in each core idea that are common to the full understanding: rotation, revolution, gravitational force, light, and
understanding of size and scale. In addition, scientific skills of changing perspectives between moving frames of reference and use of modeling are central to these ideas.
NARRATIVE STORYLINE
Initial Ideas
Before instruction children have some observational experience. They may know that the sun, and perhaps the moon, has a daily pattern of motion though this is unlikely to resemble a
scientific description of a smooth curve across the sky. Children do not believe that stars move. Children’s initial understanding of the earth and sky is based on personal interactions and
observations leading to a general belief that the earth is flat and that unsupported objects fall down. This, combined with their belief that the earth and celestial objects are different types of
objects, influence how they describe apparent motions. Children are likely to attribute the day/night cycle to the sun and/or moon appearing/disappearing, being covered by darkness at
night, or hiding behind familiar objects. Students’ limited understanding of the size and scale of celestial objects shapes their descriptions and explanations for celestial phenomena.
Conceptual Stepping Stones1
Early elementary students can describe the pattern of daily celestial motion for the sun, moon, and (possibly) stars as a smooth curve that rises in the east and sets in the west. Students
attribute the pattern of day and night to the rising and setting of the sun, though some may still explain night by the moon’s appearance. They are able to describe constellations as
recognizable patterns of stars. Students describe the shape of the sun, earth, and moon as being spherical though they will still believe in a universal down to the pull of gravity. Students
can describe and predict the pattern of changing phases of the moon and know that the moon can sometimes be seen in the day as well as night. Students’ understanding of the reason for
the seasons begins by describing the sun’s daily pattern of motion and noting the changing pattern of temperatures (and potentially length of day) across the year.
Upper elementary students know that gravity pulls objects towards the center of the earth. Students begin to see astronomical phenomena from two frames of reference as they explain
their earth-based observations with the underlying motions of celestial objects. For example, they use the earth’s rotation to describe the apparent daily motion of the sun, moon, and
stars. Students explain that the moon orbits the earth slowly and is not the cause of the moon’s apparent daily motion, but is related to the apparent phases of the moon. Students begin to
understand the structure of the solar system and how key objects compare in size and scale. They describe the solar system as centered on the sun, with earth and other planets
revolving around the sun and the moon revolving around the earth.
Middle school students’ use gravity for more sophisticated explanations of the earth in the solar system. They use variables (mass and distance) to compare gravitational forces in the
solar system, use gravity to explain orbital motion, and distinguish between mass and weight. Students’ descriptions of patterns of apparent motion, including the apparent celestial
motion of the stars, are linked to the underlying motion of the earth: the rotation of a spherical earth and the orbit of the earth around the sun. Students link the moon’s orbital motion to
changes in the moon’s daily rise/set time and to apparent phases of the moon by the sun’s reflection. Students explain that the earth’s shadow does not cause the moon’s phases because
the moon’s orbital plane is tilted. They recognize that the sun, earth and moon rarely become aligned, causing eclipses. Students explain global seasonal temperature patterns using
variations in sunlight. Contents of the solar system are understood as a system and are explained in terms of their location in the solar system, physical properties, size, and scale.
Culminating Scientific Ideas
High school students understand that observable patterns of motion and changes in the appearance of celestial objects from the surface of the earth require understanding the actual
motions of the celestial bodies involved and earth’s own motions. Students are able to move between frames of reference and determine why these shifts influence our perceptions.
Students are able to use light and gravity to explain celestial observations. They understand how the relative positions of celestial objects and light from the sun cause the phases of the
moon, and changes in seasons in terms of absorbed energy from the sun. Gravity is used to explain why objects fall towards the center of the earth, including the orbits of natural and
artificial satellites, as well as the orbits of planets about the sun. Students can also explain tides. Understanding of gravity’s role in the solar system extends to explaining the formation
of the solar system from a cloud of gas and dust 4.6 billion years ago.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Earth in the Solar System
15
Earth in the Solar System
November 15, 2010
Lower Anchor
Reflective of student concepts
Earth in the Solar System
Upper Anchor
Reflective of science concepts
Reconceptualization
CONCEPT & SKILL DETAILS
Initial Ideas
Conceptual Stepping Stones
Culminating Scientific Ideas
Before instruction, students often
believe and can:
Students who view the world in this way believe and can:
Students who fully understand this topic
believe and can:
Pre-instruction
Shape of the earth & gravity
Possible Misconceptions:
Children are likely to believe
that the earth is flat and that
unsupported objects fall.
They may also believe in ideas
such as the earth is round like a
disk (i.e. pancake), that there are
two earths (one we live on and a
spherical one in the sky), or that
the earth is round but we live on
a flat part within (Vosniadou &
Brewer, 1992).
Children may also believe that
astronomical objects are
supported in space (Vosniadou
& Brewer, 1992).
K-2
3-5
Shape of the earth & gravity Shape of the earth & gravity
Students learn that the earth is
an unsupported sphere
(Kallery, 2010).2
Students explain that gravity
causes all objects near the
earth to fall towards the center
of the earth.4
Students describe the actual
shape of the sun, earth, and
moon as spheres (Kallery,
2010).
Students can relate the
spherical shape of the earth to
physical models.
Possible Misconceptions:
Nature of gravity: Students
may say that the earth causes
objects to fall but probing will
reveal other alternative
perspectives (Palmer, 2001).
Students often continue to
believe that there is a
universal “down” that all
objects fall towards (people
cannot live on the bottom of
the earth). (Sneider & Pulos,
1983).3
6-8
High school
Gravity in the solar system
Gravity in the solar system
Students understand that gravity is
the force that pulls all objects near
the earth towards the center of the
earth, and that all objects have a
gravitational pull.
Students can now extend their ability to
explain astronomical phenomena
through a more in-depth understanding
of the universal theory of gravity.6
[Link to Force & Motion]
Students understand that the
magnitude of gravitational force
between objects is dependent
upon their mass and their distance
apart.5
[Link to Force & Motion]
Students can explain how the solar
system was formed through the
collapse of a cloud of gas and dust due
to the gravitational force between dense
regions of a gas cloud.7
Possible Misconceptions:
Nature of gravity: Students
may believe that gravity and
air are linked; no air in space
means no gravity in space
(Berg & Brouer, 1991).
Students understand that the moon
orbits around the earth because of
the earth’s gravity and that the
earth and planets orbit the sun
because of the sun’s gravity.
Students believe that heavier
objects fall faster (Kavanagh
& Sneider, 2007).
Students can use gravity to
explain why a person’s weight
would be different on other
planets or moons in the solar
system.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Possible Misconceptions:
Gravitational forces: Students
may have difficulty understanding
that objects “fall” in orbit based
on their naïve notion that falling
objects are not under the force of
Tides: Students understand that the
tides are result of the gravitational
interaction between the moon and the
earth. Students can explain that the two
simultaneous tidal bulges on opposite
sides of the Earth can be explained by
the difference between the moon’s
gravitational pull on the near side
compared to the far side of the earth
and the earth’s “free-fall” motion about
the center of the Earth-Moon system
(Viiri & Saari, 2004). Students
understand that high tide occurs every
12 hours because of the earth’s daily
rotation.8
[See Motion of the Earth]
Possible Misconceptions:
Earth in the Solar System
16
Earth in the Solar System
November 15, 2010
Earth in the Solar System
gravity (Palmer, 2001). They may
believe that satellites require
additional force to maintain an
orbit (Berg & Brouwer, 1991).
Gravity & orbital motion:
Students may believe that a
planets’ rotational rate determines
its gravity or that planets closer to
the sun have stronger gravity
(Smith & Treagust, 1988).
Students may attribute planet
orbits to the sun’s push, or their
need for heat/light (Sharp &
Kuerbis, 2005).
Origin of the earth: Students may
believe that the earth has always
existed or that it has existed for
thousands or millions of years
(Finegold & Pundak, 1991; Sharp &
Kuerbis, 2006). Alternative ideas
about the formation of the solar system
include: from collisions, from stars that
got too large, or from an exploded
planet (Sharp & Kuerbis, 2006).
Surface gravity: Students may
believe that planets/moons with
no air will have no gravitational
pull (Kavanagh & Sneider, 2007)
or that weight is the result of a
pressing force (Galili & Bar,
1997). Many students will believe
that objects released on the Moon
will remain stationary or float
away (Watts & Zylbersztajn, in
Dostal, 2005). Students confuse
the everyday term
“weightlessness” with a lack of
gravity (Dostal, 2005).
Tides: Students may believe that
tides only occur at the coasts;
these are caused by the moon’s
gravitation, earth’s rotation, or
movement of sun, moon, or earth.
Other students may believe that
there is one tidal bulge caused by
the moon’s attraction or the
relative location, or movement, of
the moon and sun (Viiri & Saari,
2004). Others may believe that
tides occur due to strong winds
blowing water onto shore.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Earth in the Solar System
17
Earth in the Solar System
November 15, 2010
Earth in the Solar System
Motion of the earth
Motion of the earth
Motion of the earth12
Motion of the earth
Possible Misconceptions:
Children’s naïve explanations of
celestial motion are commonly
based on two presuppositions:
that the sun (and sometimes the
moon) are “covered” resulting in
night time darkness or that the
sun moves straight up and
straight down (Plummer, 2009a;
Vosniadou & Brewer 1994).
Children are able to describe
the apparent daily pattern of
motion of the sun and moon,
from east to west. They are
able to describe the sun’s path
as a smooth curve that passes
through south (Plummer,
2009b).10
Children are able to explain
that the sun, moon, and stars
all appear to rise and set using
the earth’s daily rotation
(Plummer & Slagle, 2009).13
Students can differentiate
observations of apparent motion
determined by the earth’s rotation
and the earth’s orbit. Students
know that most stars appear to rise
and set nightly, some stars circle
in the north, while the north star
remains fixed based on the
location of the earth’s north polar
axis. Students can also explain
why different constellations are
visible in the evening sky at
different times of the year, based
on the earth’s yearly orbit around
the sun.
Further constraints stem from
how children understand the
physical properties of celestial
objects (Samarapungavan et
al.1996; Vosniadou & Brewer
1994). Children may believe
that the sun is not an inanimate
object, applying animistic
models to its actions (Diakidoy
et al., 1997). Most young
children begin schooling with
the belief that the earth is a
physical object rather than an
astronomical object (Vosniadou
& Brewer, 1994).9
Students believe that the sun
rises and sets in the same
location on the horizon and that
the moon is only visible at night.
They may believe that the moon
does not appear to move
(Plummer, 2009a).
Students may be able to
describe the earth as rotating
(Kallery, 2010), but they may
not use this concept to explain
the apparent motion of sun,
moon, or stars (Plummer &
Slagle, 2009).
Possible misconceptions:
Students may initially believe
that it is the earth orbiting the
sun that causes day and night
(Sharp, 1996). Some may
believe that the moon and sun
are fixed on opposite sides of
the earth, with the earth
spinning between them to
cause day/night. Others may
believe that the moon goes
around the earth once a day,
causing night (Vosniadou &
Brewer, 1994).
Students can use the earth’s
rotation about its axis to
explain the day-night cycle
(Samarapungavan et al.,
1996).14
Children can develop and use
models to explain and predict
celestial motion and to support
reasoning between two frames
of reference: the earth-based
perspective and the suncentered perspective.
Motion of the earth15
Students can use the actual motion of
celestial objects to explain their
observations of apparent patterns of
motion.
Students can transition from observing
the sun’s apparent east-to-west motion
to conclude that the earth actually
rotates counter-clockwise.
Students can explain the changing path
of the sun across the seasons using the
earth’s tilt and its orbit.16
[Link to Reason for the Seasons]
Students describe the moon’s
orbit around the earth, about
once every 28 days.
Students can explain the
length of the year based on the
earth’s revolution.
Students can describe the
relative size and scale of the
sun, earth, and moon system.
Many students may still
believe that the stars do not
appear to move or that we
cannot know if they move
because there are too many
(Plummer, 2009b).11
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Earth in the Solar System
18
Earth in the Solar System
November 15, 2010
Earth in the Solar System
Phases of the moon
Phases of the moon
Phases of the moon17
Phases of the moon
Students may believe that the
moon’s appearance can
change during a month and
that it has a predictable pattern
(though not all will know this
[Hobson, Trundle, & Sackes,
2009]).
These beliefs, however, may
be due to an alternative
explanation for the phases of
the moon, such as the moon
being blocked by clouds
(Plummer, 2009a).
Students can draw pictures of
the phases of the moon. They
understand that the shape of the
moon appears about the same
from day to day, with only
small changes to its appearance,
and that it takes a month to see
all of the phases of the moon.
They are able to predict the
cycle of the phases (Hobson,
Trundle, & Sackes, 2009).
Students can draw and name
the major phases of the moon.
Students understand that the moon
appears to rise/set about 50
minutes later each night because
of the moon’s approximately 28
day orbit.
Possible misconceptions:
Students believe that the moon
is only out during the night
and that the moon causes the
night to occur (Plummer,
2009a; Vosniadou & Brewer,
1994).
Students have seen the moon
both during the day and at night.
Possible misconceptions:
Students can draw more than
one phase of the moon but this
often includes non-scientific
shapes (Hobson, Trundle, &
Sackes, 2009).
Students collect and analyze
observational evidence to
identify patterns of rise/set
time of the moon, and the
phases of the moon.18
Possible misconceptions:
Students may have difficulty
articulating the difference
between the cause for phases
of the moon and eclipses and
they may have difficulty
describing the shape of the
shadow cast by the earth or
moon in relation to the shape
of that object (Barnett &
Moran, 2002).
Students’ alternative
explanations for the phases of
the moon often include some
type of “blocking” from another
object, such as the clouds or the
earth’s shadow (e.g. Baxter,
1989).
Phases of the moon are explained
by the moon’s orbit and reflection
of light from the sun. Students
use modeling practices to
illustrate and explain how the
relative position of the sun, earth,
and moon result in a pattern of
change in the appearance of the
moon from the earth.19
Students can relate the relative
size and scale of the earth and
moon to explaining the phases of
the moon (and eclipses, below).
Students are able to differentiate
between observations of the
moon’s apparent daily rising and
setting along the same basic path
as the sun and the shift in the
moon’s rising and setting time, as
determined by the orbit of the
moon.
Eclipses: Students are able to
explain that eclipses occur when
the earth blocks the sun’s light
from reaching the moon (lunar
eclipse) or the moon blocks the
sun’s light from reaching a small
portion of the earth (solar eclipse).
[Link to Gravity in the Solar
System]
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Earth in the Solar System
19
Earth in the Solar System
The reason for the seasons
Before instruction, children’s
understanding of the seasons
may be limited to seasonal
observations of temperature
and changes in foliage.
Possible misconceptions:
Children are likely to believe
that the path of the sun does
not change across the seasons
(Plummer & Krajcik, 2010).
The solar system
November 15, 2010
Earth in the Solar System
The reason for the seasons
The reason for the seasons
The reason for the seasons
The reason for the seasons20
Students are able to describe the
sun’s path as a smooth curve.
[Link to Motion of the Earth]
Students know that the earth’s
rotation causes the sun to appear
to move and that the earth orbits
the sun once per year.
Students begin to understand
the connections between global
temperature patterns, the sun’s
path and the length of day
(AAAS, 2009; Plummer &
Agan, 2010). Students describe
how the sun’s path shifts from
farther north in summer to
farther south in winter, with the
sun’s noontime altitude shifting
from higher to lower in the sky.
They connect this to changes in
light intensity through the
seasons.
[See Motion of the Earth; Link
to Energy in the Earth System]
Students understand that the global
phenomenon known as the seasons
(alternating summer and winter in the
northern hemisphere) is the result of the
directly observable change in the path
of the sun which causes changes in the
intensity of sunlight (more intense
when sun is higher in the sky resulting
in increased temperatures) and changes
in the length of day (longer days when
the sun’s path is higher and longer
resulting in increased temperatures).
The changes in the sun’s path are the
result of the tilt of the earth on its
rotational axis with respect to the plane
of its orbit around the sun. This tilt
remains constant with respect to the
background of stars. Because of the
earth’s shape and constant tilt,
observable changes in the sun’s path
and the accompanying seasonal effects
alternate with the northern and southern
hemisphere (Plummer & Agan,
2010).21
Students begin observing that
temperature patterns change
across the year and may notice
that the days are longer in
summer than winter.
[Link to Energy in the Earth
System]
Students learn that this rotation
is about an axis that runs through
the north and south pole.
(See Motion of the Earth)
Possible misconceptions:
Students believe the sun passes
directly overhead, through the
zenith, every day at all locations
on earth (Trumper, 2001) and
temperature differences are
explained using alternative ideas
such as a change in distance
(Baxter, 1989), not changes in
the sun’s altitude and length of
day (Plummer & Agan, 2010).
Possible misconceptions:
Students believe the earth’s
orbit is highly elliptical, causing
the earth to be closer to the sun
in summer and farther in winter
(Kikas, 1998; Schneps &
Sadler, 1988).
The solar system
The solar system
The solar system
The solar system
Possible misconceptions:
Most young children begin
schooling with the belief that
the earth is a physical object
rather than an astronomical
object (Vosniadou & Brewer,
1994).This notion influences
their reasoning about the motion
and location of these objects.
Sun, earth and moon are all part
of the solar system. The solar
system is centered on the sun, a
star, with planets, including the
earth, in orbit (revolving) around
the sun.
Sun, earth and moon are part of
the solar system but there are
other objects as well (planets,
moons, asteroids, comets).
Students can describe the properties of
the planets and small solar system
bodies (temperature, surface
conditions, gravitational pull, etc.).
Relative size and scale are
necessary to understand the role
of the stars as separate objects
within the solar system, and
why planets do not run into
each other or highly influence
each others’ orbits.
Students can explain that the planets
orbit along a plane, in the same
direction, as a result of the formation of
the solar system.22
Students believe that the stars
are small, much smaller than the
moon and possibly small
enough to fit in your hand
(Plummer, n.d.).
Possible misconceptions:
Many students have a nonscientific understanding of the
relative size and scale of the sun,
earth, moon, and nearest stars.
Many still believe the stars are in
our solar system (Trumper,
2001). Some may believe that
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
[See Gravity in the Solar System]
Students realize that many stars
also have systems of planets.
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Earth in the Solar System
November 15, 2010
Students believe that the stars
are located in the earth’s
atmosphere, around the moon or
stars, rather than being outside
of the solar system (Agan,
2004; Trumper, 2001).
Students display the planets in
random positions rather than in
orbits about the sun (Sharp &
Kuerbis, 2006).
there are both stars smaller than
the moon as well as stars larger
than the sun (Plummer & Slagle,
2009). Even when they
understand that the stars are
outside of our solar system, they
believe the stars are much closer,
relatively, than they actually are
(Trumper, 2001).
Earth in the Solar System
Students begin to explain the
planet’s characteristics,
distinguishing between
terrestrial and Jovian planets in
terms of size, location, and
composition.
Students are able to distinguish
between small solar system
bodies (asteroids, comets, and
Kuiper Belt objects), compare
their properties to substances
found on earth, explain how
these properties relate to their
location in the solar system, and
compare these objects to the
size and mass of planets.22
Students explain that all planets
orbit in the same direction and
most planets and the sun rotate
in the same directions.22
Possible misconceptions:
Students may not believe that the
sun is the nearest star or, if they
do, they may believe the sun is
the largest star (Agan, 2004).
Students are likely to connect
distance from the sun to a
planet’s surface gravity (Smith
& Treagust, 1988).
Grades
Pre-instruction
K-2
3-5
6-8
High school
Key Vocabulary
apparent motion, phases of the
moon, sphere
gravity, space, rotation,
revolution, orbit, year, earth’s
axis, reflection, solar system,
planet
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
mass, weight, force, satellite,
constellation, asteroid, comet,
eclipse, terrestrial planet, Jovian
planet
universal law of gravitation,
conservation of angular momentum,
tide, tilt, season
Earth in the Solar System
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Earth in the Solar System
Notes
November 15, 2010
Earth in the Solar System
(1) As with any learning progression, it is important to stress here that the progression described is highly dependent on the nature of instruction. Without instruction, many
students will not progress past the first conceptual stepping stone, and may not even reach that level of sophistication. In other areas, they will have synthetic views that
combine aspects of the scientific with their initial naïve view. This holds for both the observable patterns of motion and the underlying explanatory models. For example,
without instruction, little increase in accuracy occurs beyond mid-elementary school for descriptions of apparent celestial motion (Plummer, 2009a); similar limits are seen
among nearly all other topics described above.
(2) Students are more likely to demonstrate this level of understanding if supported by physical models (Schoultz et.al., 2001).
(3) Student’s understanding of gravity is based on their observations of the world.
(4) Without appropriate instruction students are likely to retain aspects of the “universal down” concept, such as objects falling towards the center of the earth when near the
surface but towards “down” when away from the earth (Agan & Sneider, 2004).
(5) LIMIT: Does not include quantitative analysis or calculation until high school.
(6) High school students who can successfully solve numerical problems about gravity often still hold the same alternative ideas as were mentioned for younger students
previously (Kavanaugh & Sneider, 2007). Students are likely to have difficulty applying Newton’s third law to objects in space, believing that objects of different mass exert
different forces on each other (Dostal, 2005).
(7) Students will also need to recognize the role of conservation of angular momentum to explain how the cloud collapses into a disk which will allow them to explain the current
appearance of our solar system. (An informed hypothesis—limited research on this idea.)
(8) Understanding of these concepts concerning patterns of tidal change and gravitational interaction requires understanding of the earth’s rotation, the moon’s orbit, and how the
slow orbit of the moon results in the moon’s rise/set times shifting daily.
(9) Children categorize the earth as a physical object and therefore apply their presuppositions about physical objects to the earth's actions. These presuppositions, children's naïve
framework theory of physics, are: 1) there is a universal up and down direction with respect to the earth's flat surface and 2) unsupported objects fall downward.
(10) Interacting with shadows cast by various objects during the day could be a tool used by teachers to address the earth's rotation. It could be considered evidence - though not in
the sense that it can rule out the main alterative theory held by students (that the sun orbits around the earth once per day). Shadows could be used as a proxy for the sun's
location to help the students learn the sun's apparent motion. Therefore, students' observations of shadows would be most useful at the K-2 level when they are learning the
path and directions. Tracking the sun's position at older grades could help facilitate understanding of the change in the sun's path over the seasons.
(11) Learning to recognize the patterns of the constellations may help them describe their apparent motion in the future.
(12) The terms “rotation” and “revolution” will be problematic for many students. Students will often use “rotation” to mean revolution.
(13) Students must hold a spherical earth model to use the earth’s rotation about its axis to explain the day-night cycle (Samarapungavan et al., 1996).
(14) Students may learn to explain the day-night cycle using the earth’s rotation but not transfer this concept to the sun, moon, and stars’ daily apparent motion (Diakidoy &
Kendeou, 2001; Plummer & Slagle, 2009; Taylor et al., 2003). As students learn about the earth’s rotation and the moon’s orbit they may develop alternative ideas about the
moon and stars’ apparent motion, that these objects appear to circle around the sky rather than rising and setting (Plummer, 2009a; Plummer, unpublished data). Students may
continue to use the moon’s orbit to explain the moon’s daily apparent motion, even when they know that the orbit is approximately a month (Plummer & Slagle, 2009).
(15) The daily rotation of the earth, orbit of the earth, and orbit of the moon are key to student success in learning about Phases of the Moon and The Reason for the Seasons.
(16) This requires a more fluid ability to interpret and predict apparent motions based on one’s location on the earth at a given time of year.
(17) Phases of the moon can be introduced here based on previous research (Hobson, Trundle, & Sackes, 2009; Trundle, Atwood, & Christopher, 2007). However, if sufficient
prior knowledge has not been developed (sun and moon relationships as well as the apparent pattern of the phases of the moon described in K-2) this placement may not be
warranted. As such, an emphasis on observational evidence is included here then explanation and modeling of phases of the moon or placed at middle school.
(18) Unless significant observational evidence is collected students are unlikely to connect the rise/set time of the moon, the phases, and the actual location of the Sun-Earth-Moon
(this is an informed hypothesis) in middle school.
(19) These concepts are explored after the students understand the shape of the earth, the rotation of the earth, and how the earth’s rotation causes the sun and moon to appear to
rise and set daily. However, students have difficulty understanding that the moon’s daily appearance of rising and setting is caused almost exclusively by the earth’s rotation
and not the moon’s orbit (Plummer, unpublished data).
(20) Most states place learning of the seasons at the middle school level (Palen & Proctor, 2006). However, because this requires some of the more sophisticated restructuring of
ideas of all of the solar system concepts, and limited research on successful early instruction on the topic, we recommend this to be at the high school level unless extensive
time is spent at the middle grades to develop the preliminary levels of sophistication. Students’ alternative explanations for the seasons are firmly held and difficult to change
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
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November 15, 2010
Earth in the Solar System
(Kikas, 1998; Schneps & Sadler, 1988). These explanations primarily focus on a perceived change in distance between the earth and the sun. This may be explained by a
highly elliptical orbit of the earth or the earth’s tilt bringing us closer or farther from the sun (Kikas, 1998; Schneps & Sadler, 1988).
(21) Students’ progress towards this level of sophistication may be dependent on their understanding of foundational concepts: the use of the earth’s rotation to explain the daily
motion of the sun, the earth’s orbit appears circular, and the connection between the seasonal change in the sun’s path to the change in temperatures (Plummer & Agan, 2010).
Students’ use of modeling, either with physical models or computer models, supports their ability to perform these complex reasoning tasks.
(22) Informed hypothesis – little data on these concepts.
Authors and Reviewers
Dr. Julia D. Plummer, Arcadia University, Pennsylvania (author)
L. Agan, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School, Massachusetts (reviewer)
Dr. Stella Vosniadou, University of Athens, Greece (reviewer and contributor)
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