H3 A.1
Instructional Sequence A: 3 year model, discipline specific with ESS integrated into each year
Course #1: Life Science and Earth/Space Science
Unit/Topic
Unit1:
Ecosystems
DCI’s
LS2.A-Interdependent
relationships in ecosystems
LS2.D- Social interactions and
group behavior
LS –PE’s
HS-LS2-1 (carrying capacity)
HS-LS2-2 (biodiversity)
HS-LS2-4 (food webs)
HS-LS2-8 (Group behavior)
ESS/ETS –PE’s
Unit 2:
Evidence of
Evolution
LS4.A- Evidence of common
ancestry and diversity
LS4.B-Natural Selection
LS4.C-Adaptation and human
effects on biodiversity
ESS1.C: The History of Planet
Earth
ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in
Earth’s Surface Processes
LS1.A-Structure and Function
LS1.B- Growth and
development of organisms
HS-LS4-1 (Evidence for
evolution)
HS-LS4-2 (Explain
evolution)
HS-LS4-4 (Natural Selection)
HS-LS4-5 (Changes in
environmental conditions)
HS-ESS1-5 (Plate
tectonic evidence)
HS-ESS2-5 (Water
& landforms)
HS-PS1-8
(Fission/radioactive
decay)
Unit 3:
Cells and
Organisms
Unit 4: DNA
and traits
LS1.B- Growth and
development of organisms
LS3.A- Inheritance of traits
LS3.B- Variation of traits
LS4.B-Natural Selection
HS-LS1-1 (DNA & protein
structure)
HS-LS1-2 (Multicellular
organisms)
HS-LS1-3 (Feedback
maintains homeostasis)
HS-LS1-4 (Model of mitosis)
HS-LS1-4 (Mitosis model,
repeated)
HS-LS3-1 (DNA to traits)
HS-LS3-2 (Genetic
combination & mutations)
HS-LS3-3 (Distribution of
traits within a population)
HS-LS4-2 (Explain how
evolution occurs, repeated)
Comments/Notes
Ecosystems represent the setting
where Earth science & life science
most strongly overlap. Starting at
this intermediate scale, rather than
at the cellular or global scale,
seems tangible and relevant to
students.
This would be an intro to
evolution, natural selection,
geologic time, paleontology, and
plate tectonics all in one.
Transition: How does evolution
happen? Need to zoom down in
and look at cells and figure out
how they work and begin to zoom
out slowly to multi-celled
organisms
Standard life science unit. The
Earth science focus would push
these topics towards explaining
variations preserved in the fossil
record (which would push you to
more Darwin’s finch-like
examples), but I feel like the
human population issues are more
relevant and appropriate for high
H3 A.2
Unit 5:
History of
Earth’s
Atmosphere:
Photosynthesi
s&
Respiration
LS1.C- Organization for matter
and energy flow in organisms
LS2.B- Cycles of matter and
energy transfer in ecosystems
ESS1.C: The History of Planet
Earth
ESS2.D: Weather and Climate
ESS2.E: Biogeology
Unit 6:
Ecosystem
Stability &
the Response
to climate
change
LS2.C- Ecosystem dynamics,
functioning, and resilience
LS4.C-Adaptation and human
effects on biodiversity
ESS3.D: Global Climate
Change
HS-LS4-3. (Show how
genetic traits alter in
populations over time)
HS-LS1-5 (Photosynthesis)
HS-LS1-6 (Sugars to amino
acids)
HS-LS1-7 (Respiration)
HS-LS2-3 (Aerobic &
Anaerobic respiration)
HS-LS2-5 (Photosynthesis,
respiration, & carbon cycle)
HS-LS2-6 (Ecosystems
stability)
HS-LS2-6 (Ecosystems
stability, repeated)
HS-LS2-7 (Human impacts
on biodiversity)
HS-LS4-5 (Extinctions &
Growth from changes in
environment)
HS-LS4-6 (Mitigating human
impacts on biodiversity)
school students.
HS-ESS1-6 (Earth’s
early history)
HS-ESS2-6 (Carbon
cycle)
HS-ESS2-7 (Coevolution of life &
atmosphere)
This is a very strong Earth/Life
science connection with a lot of
overlap of the standards.
HS-ESS3-5
(Climate forecasts)
HS-ESS3-6
(Simulations of
human-natural
interactions)
HS-ETS1-4
(Simulation of
proposed solutions)
This is a good way to put life
science standards in the context of
an Earth science problem. Saved
until last because it includes the
most sophisticated applications and
serves as a bridge to the physical
science courses.
H3 A.3
Course #2: Chemistry and Earth/Space Science
Unit
Crosscutting concepts
PE
DCI
Summary
Unit 1
Structures and
Properties of Matter




Patterns
Cause and effect
Energy and matter
Structure and function
HS-PS1-1
HS-PS1-2
HS-PS1-3
HS-PS1-4
PS1.A
The properties of matter are a function of
atomic and molecular structure. Atomic
and molecular structure can be inferred
from the properties of bulk matter.
Unit 2
Chemical Reactions






Patterns
Energy and matter
Stability and change
Cause and effect
Energy and matter
Scale, proportion, and quantity
HS-PS1-5
HS-PS1-6
HS-PS1-7
PS1.B
HS-PS3-1
HS-PS3-4
HS-PS3-3
HS-ESS1-5
HS-ESS2-3
PS3.B,D
Chemical processes can be predicted and
explained knowing the properties of the
reactants, conditions, and the Law of the
conservation of mass
Energy cannot be created nor destroyed,
but may change form. The entropy of an
isolated system increases over time.
HS-ESS2-1
HS-ESS2-2
HS-ESS2-4
HS-ESS2-5
HS-ESS2-6
HS-ESS3-1
HS-ESS3-2
HS-ESS3-4
HS-ESS3-6
HS-ETS1-3
HS-ETS1-4
ESS2.A,C,D
ESS3.A,D
ETS1.B
Unit 3
Conservation of
Energy and Energy
Transfer
Unit 4
Chemistry of Climate
Change
ESS1.C,
ESS2.A
Students apply their models of chemical
reactions and energy flows in systems to
the problem of climate change.
H3 A.4
Course #3: Physics and Earth/Space Science
Unit
Crosscutting concepts
PE
DCI
Summary
Unit 1
Forces and Motion
 Cause and effect
 Systems, and system models
HS-PS2-1
HS-PS2-2
HS-PS2-3
PS2.A
Force is equal to the product of mass and
acceleration. In a closed system, the total
momentum is constant.
Unit 2
Types of Interactions
 Cause and effect
 Structure and function
HS-PS2-4
HS-PS2-5
HS-PS2-6
PS2.B
Unit 3
Energy
 Energy and matter: Flows,
cycles, and conservation
HS-PS1-8
HS-PS3-2
HS-PS3-5
HS-PS3-3
HS-ETS1-2
HS-ESS1-5
HS-ESS2-3
HS-PS4-1
HS-PS4-3
HS-PS4-4
HS-PS4-5
HS-PS4-2
PS1.C,
PS3.A,B,C
The inverse-square law applies to gravity and
electromagnetic interactions. Flowing electrons
produce a magnetic field, and spinning magnets
cause electric currents to flow.
Energy is the capacity for doing work and may
exist in potential, kinetic, thermal, electrical,
chemical, nuclear, or other various forms.
ESS1.C,
ESS2.A
Unit 4
Waves and
Electromagnetic
Radiation




Energy & matter
Cause & effect
Systems & system models
Stability and change
ESS1.C,
ESS2.A
PS4.A,B,C
PS3.D
Electromagnetic radiation has many
applications, and can be modeled as a wave of
changing electric and magnetic fields or as
particles called photons.