Last Updated on Wednesday, July 09, 2008 at 5:01 AM
Knox Co. shared this exemplary High School Science Curriculum Map and description.
Knox Co. Curriculum Map
High School Science
During school year 1999-2000, the faculty of Knox Co. Schools responded to a district wide survey, which was used to help the administration assess and prioritize the needs of our district. The development of a district curriculum for preschool through grade twelve, aligned with Kentucky Core Content, Program of Studies and Academic Expectations was identified as a priority need.
The superintendent gave the charge to begin the work. District instructional program directors, under the direction of the Assistant Superintendent, began research and planning. Task one was to study various approaches and formats from other school districts. Once we decided on the elements to be included and the format to be used, the instructional program directors were appointed to serve as content facilitators. Teachers from every school were appointed to content committees according to their area of expertise.
The committee work began in the summer of 2000. The first phase was the development of a curriculum matrix for P-12 in each of the core content areas. The matrix contains the "Key Concepts" to be taught and the grade level at which each Key Concept is "I" (Introduced), "R" (Reinforced), "M" (Mastered), and "E" (Extended). The second phase of work included the development of "Descriptors/Activities" teachers could use to teach each of the "Key Concepts". Another item added to the document during this phase was the critical vocabulary lists for each sub-domain. The third phase was the development of curriculum maps, which include clusters of key concepts that are to be taught in identified time periods of the school year.
Each year since the development of the district curriculum document, content committees reassemble to review and make refinements as needed. We have posted the curriculum on our district web page and have provided each school with a hard copy.
We are currently focusing on the use of effective instructional strategies through the structure of "Instructional Team Leaders" or "I Teams". We are beginning the second year of training on the use of Silver, Strong and Marzano's "Thoughtful Education". The development of units of study that will include the recommended strategies is in the plans for the 2004-05 school year.
Knox County Schools
Curriculum Mapping Project
(Assessment at Grade 11)
Spring 2002 Revision--Earth and Space Science (Lynn Camp)
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Grade : 11
Earth and Space Sc. |
Topic: |
Key Concepts |
Activities/Demonstrators/Connections
(Key Vocabulary in Bold Print) |
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Scientific Inquiry and Process Skills
Applications and Connections |
· Students will formulate testable hypotheses and demonstrate the logical connections between the scientific concepts guiding a hypothesis and the design of an experiment.
· Students will use equipment (e.g., microscopes, lasers), tools (e.g., beakers), techniques (e.g., microscope skills), technology (e.g., computers), and mathematics to improve scientific investigations and communications.
· Students will use evidence, logic, and scientific knowledge to develop and revise scientific explanations and models.
· Students will design and conduct different kinds of scientific investigations for a wide variety of reasons.
· Students will communicate and defend the designs, procedures, observations, and results of scientific investigations.
· Students will review and analyze scientific investigations and explanations of other investigations including peers.
Science and Technology
· Students will apply scientific theory and conceptual understandings to solving problems of technological design (e.g., Styrofoam cups, transistors, computer chips) and examine the interaction between science and technology.
Science in Personal and Social Perspective
· Students will explore the impact of scientific knowledge and discoveries on personal and community health; recognize how science influences human population growth, use science to analyze the use of natural resources by an increasing human population; investigate how science can be used to solve environmental quality problems; use science to investigate natural and human-induced hazards; and analyze how science and technology are necessary but not sufficient for solving local, national, and global issues. |
Skills to be integrated into all units throughout the year.
As a reference/resource for Earth and Space Science, please look at curriculum work that Jefferson County has done:
http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/corecontent
· Click on "Search the Core Content Guide"
· Search "Course"
· Level "High"
· Grade "9"
· Core Content Area: "Science"
· Click on "Start Search"
· Click on "9th Integrated Science"
· Click on "Earth/Space Science"
· "Units" by topics |
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History and Nature of Science
o Students will analyze the role science plays in everyday life and compare different careers in science; recognize that scientific knowledge comes from empirical standards; logical arguments, and skepticism, and is subject to change as new evidence becomes available; and investigate advances in science and technology that have important and long-lasting effects on science and society. |
Appendix contains:
Performance Standards
Sample Open Response Questions
Sample Open Response Questions
Scoring Guide
Sample Lesson Plans and MORE
PASSWORD: ccg2001 |
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Grade : 11
Earth and Space Sc. |
Topic: |
Key Concepts |
Activities/Demonstrators/Connections (POS)
(Key Vocabulary in Bold Print) |
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August
Mid-October
(8 wks.) |
Solar System
Star/Planet
Formation
Big Bang
Theory
Fusion
Fission |
The Formation and Ongoing Changes of the Universe
Students will describe theories of the formation of the universe/solar system
(e.g., Big Bang Theory); describe the formation of the stars; examine stars (e.g., energy production, formation of elements)..
· (I,R,M) The Sun, Earth, and the rest of the solar system formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago from the nebular cloud of dust and gas. (SC-H-2.3.1)
· (I,R,M) The "Big Bang" theory and observational measurements that support it place the origin of the universe at a time between 10 and 20 billion years ago, when the universe began in a hot dense state. According to this theory, the universe has been expanding. (SC-H-2.4.1)
· (I,R,M) Early in the history of the universe, the first atoms to form were mainly hydrogen and helium. Over time, these elements clump together by gravitational attraction to form trillions of stars. (SC-H-2.4.2)
· (I,R,M) Stars have life cycles of birth through death that are analogous to those of living organisms. During their lifetimes, stars generate energy from nuclear fusion reactions that create successively heavier chemical elements. Some stars explode at the end of their lives, and the heavy elements they have created are blasted out into space to form the next generation of stars and planets. (SC-H-2.4.3)
· (I,R,M) The forces that hold the nucleus together, at nuclear distances, are usually stronger than the electric forces that would make it fly apart. Nuclear reactions convert a fraction of the mass of interacting particles into energy, and they can release much greater amounts of energy than atomic interactions. (SC-H-1.1.3)
· (I,R,M) Fission is the splitting of a large nucleus into smaller pieces. (SC-H-1.1.3)
· (I,R,M) Fusion is the joining of two nuclei at extremely high temperature and pressure. Fusion is the process responsible for the energy of the Sun and other stars. (SC-H-1.1.3)
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Grade : 11
Earth and Space Sc. |
Topic: |
Key Concepts |
Activities/Demonstrators/Connections (POS)
(Key Vocabulary in Bold Print) |
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Mid-October
December |
Atmosphere/
Weather
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Energy in the Earth System
Students will examine the internal and external sources of energy; examine how internal sources of energy propel crustal plains across the face of the globe; examine how external sources of energy produce winds and ocean currents; examine how external sources of energy determine global climate.
· (I,R,M) Heating of the Earth's surface and atmosphere by the Sun drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean currents. (SC-H-2.1.3)
· (I,R,M) Global climate is determined by energy transfer from the Sun at and near the Earth's surface. This energy transfer is influenced by dynamic processes such as cloud cover and the Earth's rotation and static conditions such as the position of mountain ranges and oceans. (SC-H-2.1.4)
· (I,R,M) Atmospheric conditions results in weather changes.
· (I,R,M) Meteorologists utilize many different tools to predict weather.
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Earth
Energy
Cycles |
Geochemical Cycles
Students will recognize that the Earth contains a fixed amount of each stable chemical atom or element; analyze Earth's chemical reservoirs and recognize that each element can exist in several reservoirs (e.g., carbon dioxide reservoirs and carbonate reservoirs); investigate how the Earth's internal and external sources of energy drive geochemical cycles (e.g., carbon moving from carbon dioxide reservoirs to carbonate reservoirs).
· (I,R,M) Earth is a system containing essentially a fixed amount of each stable chemical atom or element. Each element can exist in several different reservoirs. Each element on Earth moves among reservoirs in the solid Earth, oceans, atmosphere and organisms as part of geochemical cycles. (SC-H-2.2.1)
· (I,R,M) Movement of matter between reservoirs is driven by Earth's internal and external sources of energy. These movements are often accompanied by a change in physical and chemical properties of the matter. Carbon, for example, occurs in carbonate rocks such as limestone, in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas, in water as dissolved carbon dioxide, and in all organisms as complex molecules that control the chemistry of life. (SC-H-2.2.2)
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Grade : 11
Earth and Space Sc. |
Topic: |
Key Concepts |
Activities/Demonstrators/Connections (POS)
(Key Vocabulary in Bold Print) |
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January
(2 weeks) |
Geological
Dating
Fossils |
The Formation and Ongoing Changes of the Earth System
Students will investigate how to estimal geological time (e.g., observing rock sequences, radioactive dating); examine and interpret ongoing changes of the Earth's system (e.g., earthquakes, mountain building).
· (I,R,M) Techniques used to estimate geologic time include using radioactive dating, observing rock sequences, and comparing fossils to correlate the rock sequences at various locations. (SC-H-2.3.2)
· (I,R,M) Interactions among the solid Earth, the oceans, the atmosphere, and living things have resulted in the ongoing development of a changing Earth system. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions can be observed on a human time scale, but many processes, such as mountain building and plate movements, take place over hundreds of millions of years.
(SC-H-2.3.3)
· (I, R,M) Evidence for one-celled forms of life, the bacteria, extends back more than 3.5 billion years. The changes in life over time cause dramatic changes in the composition of the Earth's atmosphere, which did not originally contain oxygen. (SC-H-2.3.4) |
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February
March
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Plate Techtonics
Volcanoes
Earthquakes
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· (I,R,M) Earth systems have sources of energy that are internal and external to the earth. The Sun is the major external source of energy. Two primary sources of internal energy are the decay of radioactive isotopes and the gravitational energy from Earth's original formation. (SC-H-2.1.1)
· (I,R,M) The outward transfer of the earth's internal heat drives convection circulation in the mantle. This causes the crustal plates to move on the face of the earth.
(SC-H-2.1.2)
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Testing Prep, Spring break, Testing |
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Earth Formations
Rock Formations
Minerals
Topography
Cartography
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Additional topics to be integrated into curriculum prior to assessment. |
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*(POS) – information taken from Program of Studies
Note: If you'd like to use this map or amend it to suit your needs, please check below for a handy Microsoft Word version. Just click on the Word icon to open it on your computer, then choose Word's Save As command to save it locally.
