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Core Standards

• National Science Education Standards
• McREL: Content Knowledge Standards & Benchmark Database
• Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences

 

National Science Education Standards

Standard C: Life Science
As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop an understanding of:

• Interdependence of organisms

Standard D: Earth and Space Science
As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop an understanding of:

• Energy in the earth system
• Geochemical cycles

Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop an understanding of:

• Environmental quality
• Natural and human-induced hazards

McREL: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, Content Knowledge Standards and Benchmark Database

Earth and Space Science Standard 1:
Understands atmospheric processes and the water cycle

Level IV (grades 9-12)

• Understands heat and energy transfer in and out of the atmosphere and its involvement in weather and climate (e.g., radiation, conduction, convection/advection)
• Knows the major external and internal sources of energy on Earth (e.g., the Sun is the major external source of energy; the decay of radioactive isotopes and gravitational energy from the Earth’s original formation are primary sources of internal energy)

Earth and Space Science Standard 2:
Understands Earth’s composition and structure

Level IV (grades 9-12)

• Knows that elements exist in fixed amounts and move through the solid Earth, oceans, atmosphere, and living things as part of geochemical cycles (e.g., carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle)

Life Sciences Standard 6:
Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment

Level IV (grades 9-12)

• Knows ways in which humans can alter the equilibrium of ecosystems, causing potentially irreversible effects (e.g., human population growth, technology, and consumption; human destruction of habitats through direct harvesting, pollution, and atmospheric changes)

Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences (pdf)

These principles are published by U.S. Global Change Research Program/Climate Change Science Program, which includes a consortium of national organizations such as the NOAA, NSF, NASA and others.

1. The Sun is the primary source of energy for Earth’s climate system
2. We increase our understanding of the climate system through observation and modeling
3. The sun is the primary source of energy for the climate system
4. Earth’s weather and climate systems are the result of complex interactions
5. Earth’s weather and climate vary over time and space
6. Evidence indicates human activities are impacting the climate system
7. Earth’s climate system is influenced by complex human decisions involving economic costs and social values.