High School - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for High School meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems are connected to grade-band Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs). Across each instructional sequence, the materials consistently provide opportunities for students to engage with grade-band appropriate DCIs through the lens of a unit-level phenomenon or problem. 

The materials for high school are presented through four units of study, which are each anchored by a unit-level phenomenon or problem. In each of these cases, the phenomenon or problem is presented within the first lesson of its respective unit. As students initially engage with each phenomenon or problem they do not engage with any grade-band DCIs, but the phenomena or problem does require student use of DCIs in the subsequent learning opportunities. In nearly all successive lessons of each unit, students are presented with at least one DCI with which to engage. In some cases, lessons may initially engage students in elements of DCIs below grade-band and then build to more complex understanding of high school-level DCIs over the course of the lesson or successive lessons.

Examples of phenomena and problems that are connected to grade-band DCIs:

• In Unit 1: How can bacteria cause infections?, the phenomenon is that Zach, a healthy 11-year old, develops a life-threatening infection.

  • In Chapter 1, Lesson 3: What do bacteria need to live and grow?, students observe bacterial growth via timelapse video and simulate bacterial growth at varying temperatures in order to compare the effect of environmental conditions on population size. Students work with the idea of how the availability of resources (heat energy) will limit the carrying capacity of an ecosystem (DCI-LS2.A-H1) as they make sense of the phenomenon.  

  • In Chapter 2, Lesson 7: How do we know when we are sick?, students relate the range in variability of human health indicators to the out-of-range condition of a critically ill patient. Students work with the idea of the need for the internal conditions of a living system to remain within a functional range in order for that system to remain alive (DCI-LS1.A-H4) as they make sense of the phenomenon.

• In Unit 2: Why do some people get heart disease and not others, and what can we do to prevent it?, the phenomenon is a 45-year old woman who dies suddenly from a heart attack and other cases of patients with different levels of risk for heart disease.

  • In Chapter 5, Lesson 8: How can two siblings have very different genotypes and outcomes?, students analyze the pedigrees of human siblings and observe that the siblings possess different sets of alleles for traits affecting risk factors for heart disease. Additionally, students read about and diagram the process of meiosis. Students work with the idea of processes by which, in sexual reproduction, parental chromosomes can swap sections during cell division, leading to new genetic combinations (DCI-LS3.B-H1) as they make sense of the phenomenon. 

  • In Chapter 6, Lesson 11: How can people with similar genes have very different health outcomes?, students make observations using medical data from sets of identical twins. Students compare the health outcomes between sets of identical and fraternal twins and consider how environmental factors can account for different health outcomes in nearly genetically identical patients. Students work with the idea of the effect of environmental factors on the expression of traits within an organism and the probability of the occurrences of traits within a population (DCI-LS3.B-H2) as they make sense of the phenomenon.

• In Unit 3: How can we use scientific and social understandings of nutrition and natural resources to improve a food system?, the problem is to design a plan to meet the nutritional requirements of a population while reducing the impact on natural resources.

  • In Chapter 7, Lesson 2: What is food and what happens to food when we eat it?, students analyze food labels to look for patterns in substances that make up food. Additionally, students investigate how food molecules become part of the body when eaten. Students work with the idea of food as a source of matter that provides the chemical elements that are recombined in different ways to form different products (DCI-LS1.C-H3) as they solve the problem.

  • In Chapter 8, Lesson 7: Why do plant-based foods tend to require less land to produce?, students examine how plants use photosynthesis to increase their mass and to drive system energy flows in order to construct an argument to explain why consumers need more land than producers. Students work with the idea of energy transfer and loss during cellular respiration (DCS-LS1.C-H4) as they solve the problem.

• In Unit 4: Why are so many species declining now while a few seem to be expanding, and why does it matter?, the phenomenon is that coyote populations are increasing while other species are experiencing population decline.

  • In Chapter 11, Lesson 6: What explains why sometimes more species go extinct than are forming?, students evaluate data about extinctions over time, consider competing arguments for why the total number of Earth’s species has increased, and examine the effects of environmental change on populations. Students work with the idea of how physical changes in the environment have contributed to the expansion of some species, emergence of new species, and the decline–and sometimes extinction–of some species (DCI-LS4.C-H4) as they make sense of the phenomenon. 

  • In Chapter 12, Lesson 14: How can human activity promote ecosystem health and resilience?, students discuss solutions that will promote ecosystem health and examine two case studies that propose solutions for the mitigation of biodiversity loss. Students work with the idea of how the complex set of interactions within an ecosystem, once disrupted, can lead to extreme fluctuations in conditions and population size (DCI-LS2.C-H1) as they make sense of the phenomenon.

The instructional materials reviewed for High School meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems are presented to students as directly as possible. Within the materials, a unit-level phenomenon or problem is presented within the first lesson of each of the four units. 

In all cases, phenomena in the materials begin with the examination of a real-world case study presented via informational text or video, which is followed by an opportunity for students to consider an ancillary or related dataset. While these presentations do not provide first-hand experiences, they are presented as directly as possible with respect to student safety, scale, or geographical access. The material’s design problem is presented through a situational simulation. In this instance the materials present a global issue in terms of a local concern. Presentation of the problem is as direct as possible as students engage in a hands-on hypothetical exercise from the perspective of a local community planner. 

Examples of phenomena and problems that are presented as directly as possible:

• In Unit 1: How can bacteria cause infections?, the phenomenon is Zach, a healthy 11-year old, who develops a life-threatening infection. The phenomenon is presented to students through a video clip detailing Zach’s story. As they view the 25-minute video, students process a timeline of Zach’s infection and develop questions about infection as they engage in discussions at indicated pausing points. This phenomenon provides all students with a shared experience or common point of entry into understanding Zach’s situation.

• In Unit 2: Why do some people get heart disease and not others, and what can we do to prevent it?, the phenomenon is a 45-year old woman who dies suddenly from a heart attack and other cases of patients with different levels of risk for heart disease. The phenomenon is presented to students through a short story that details the death of Coach Sampson, an otherwise healthy 45-year-old woman, and 34 patient medical histories. As they read and annotate the story of Coach Sampson and then examine the medical records and charts of additional patients, students generate questions about factors associated with heart disease. This phenomenon provides all students with a shared experience or common point of entry into understanding the death of Coach Sampson.

• In Unit 3: How can we use scientific and social understandings of nutrition and natural resources to improve a food system?, the problem is to design a plan to meet the nutritional requirements of a population while reducing the impact on natural resources. The problem is presented to students through a menu building activity where students generate a menu for a community event from a limited list of food options. As they sort through the provided food cards, students consider the constraints associated with feeding a community a healthy diet. This problem provides all students with a shared experience or common point of entry into designing a menu.

• In Unit 4: Why are so many species declining now while a few seem to be expanding, and why does it matter?, the phenomenon is that coyote populations are increasing while other species are experiencing population decline. The phenomenon is presented to students through a series of news headlines related to species decline and extinction and student analysis of population data for ten species collected over time. As students evaluate the news items, they compare environmental trends and population change. This phenomenon provides all students with a shared experience or common point of entry into understanding the coyote population.

The instructional materials reviewed for High School meet expectations that phenomena and/or problems drive individual lessons or activities using key elements of all three dimensions. 

Across the materials, individual lessons are consistently in service of, or connected to, designing solutions or constructing explanations for unit-level problems or phenomena presented in the anchor lesson at the beginning of each unit. The materials consistently support student engagement with unit-level problems and phenomena through guided use of driving question boards (DQBs) and model trackers. DQBs present targeted questions as well as student wonderings and are frequently revisited throughout each unit. The model tracker is used to capture students’ evolving ideas with respect to phenomena and problems. It is largely consensus driven and frequently updated to address new learning. In some instances, questions present in the materials and initial student questions that are connected to the unit-level problem or phenomenon motivate the learning in those lessons.  

The materials consistently provide students with opportunities to engage with a variety of elements of all three dimensions to explain phenomena or solve problems. While most lessons engage students in some aspect of the SEP of modeling, student learning is nearly always supported by additional practices. Students are frequently presented with opportunities to ask questions, engage with informational texts and data, defend arguments, and develop explanations and/or solutions. The materials consistently provide opportunities for students to engage with a variety of CCC elements connected to systems and system models.

Examples where phenomena or problems drive individual lessons using all three dimensions:

• In Unit 1, Chapter 2, Lesson 7: How do we know when we are sick?, the phenomenon–Zach, a healthy 11-year old, who develops a life-threatening infection–drives instruction as students consider Zach’s symptoms as they investigate fevers as a symptom of illness. Within the lesson, students evaluate how data that illustrates what happens when a body’s feedback systems (DCI-LS1.A-H4) can no longer maintain stable parameters (CCC-SC-H1) impacts their explanation of how illness occurs (SEP-DATA-H5). 

• In Unit 1, Chapter 3, Lesson 11: Why aren’t antibiotics working as well as they used to?, the phenomenon–Zach, a healthy 11-year old, who develops a life-threatening infection–drives instruction as students consider Zach’s response to interventions as they investigate antibiotic resistance. Within the lesson, students generate questions (SEP-AQDP-H1) about antibiotic resistance in response to data that illustrates the causal relationship (CCC-CE-H2) between antibiotic use and an increase in antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria (DCI-LS4.B-H2).

• In Unit 3, Chapter 7, Lesson 3: How does some matter from our food become part of our bodies?, the problem–to design a plan to meet the nutritional requirements of a population while reducing the impact on natural resources–drives instruction as students investigate how the nutrients in foods are used in the human body as they consider what food items to include in their meal plan. Within the lesson, students use informational text, diagrams, and experimental data (SEP-INFO-H2) to construct an explanation (SEP-CEDS-H2) to describe how babies are able to consume all of their nutrients from milk alone (DCI-LS1.C-H3, CCC-EM-H2). 

• In Unit 3, Chapter 8, Lesson 9: What affects how we can use land to produce food?, the problem–to design a plan to meet the nutritional requirements of a population while reducing the impact on natural resources–drives instruction as students investigate how growing food affects the land where it is grown as they consider the environmental impact of food items in their meal plan. Within the lesson, students investigate how agriculture impacts energy and matter flows in soil ecosystems (CCC-EM-H2), and how the carrying capacity of soil ecosystems (DCI-LS2.A-H1) limits agricultural output to revise a model that illustrates the relationship between human, plant, and soil systems (SEP-MOD-H3). 

• In Unit 4, Chapter 10, Lesson 4: Why might a species start to live in totally new areas?, the phenomenon–coyote populations are increasing while other species are experiencing population decline–drives instruction as students consider observed changes in the coyote population as they investigate carrying capacity and human land use. Within the lesson, students read and analyze texts (SEP-INFO-H1) that describe the distribution of coyote populations and investigate the impacts of human land use on coyote ranges to explain why coyote populations are changing (DCI-LS4.C-H4, CCC-SC-H1). 

• In Unit 4, Chapter 11, Lesson 9: When there is an environmental change, what conditions make adaptation or extinction more likely in a population?, the phenomenon–coyote populations are increasing while other species are experiencing population decline–drives instruction as students consider the relationship of coyotes to wolves as they investigate the relationship between adaptation and speciation. Within the lesson, students draw upon patterns observed in multiple case studies (CCC-PAT-H1) to make and defend a claim (SEP-ARG-H5) to describe the conditions under which speciation is likely to occur (DCI-LS4.C-H4).

The instructional materials reviewed for High School meet expectations that they embed phenomena or problems across multiple lessons for students to use and build knowledge of all three dimensions. 

Within the materials, an instructional sequence, or chapter, comprises five connected lessons designed to answer a question pertinent to resolving a unit-level problem or phenomenon. Across the materials, chapters consistently provide students with opportunities to engage with Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) as they ask questions, critically read scientific literature, develop and revise models, and construct and defend arguments. Additionally, the materials consistently incorporate elements of the Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) as students frequently work to understand and describe cause and effect relationships, investigate and describe systems, and make sense of the movement of matter and flow of energy through a system.

Most lessons provide student discourse opportunities. Incidents of discourse frequently begin with a partner turn-and-talk activity or small group discussion followed by a whole-class discussion, in which consensus models are developed, evaluated, and revised. Other common discourse routines include Scientists’ Circles for generating class-wide ideas and the I² (Interpret and Identify) Strategy, a protocol for helping students to make sense of graphical or case information. In the materials, Synthesize Lessons provide targeted opportunities for students to engage in discourse as they take stock of what they figured out relative to the unit-level phenomena or problem, and build consensus around co-constructed explanatory models. 

Examples of phenomena or problems embedded across multiple lessons for students to use and build knowledge of all three dimensions:

• In Unit 1: How can bacteria cause infections?, the phenomenon is Zach, a healthy 11-year old, who develops a life-threatening infection.

  • In Chapter 2: How does the body respond to infections? (Lessons 6 - 10), the phenomenon drives student learning across multiple lessons as students build understanding of infection types and symptoms and the human body’s immune response to infection as they make sense of Zach’s illness. Across the learning sequence, students develop and revise a model (SEP-MOD-H3) of the human body’s immune response as they examine the cause and effect relationships present (CCC-CE-H2) in the feedback mechanisms responsible for maintaining the internal conditions of a living system (DCI-LS1.A-H3, DCI-LS1.A-H4). The materials provide multiple opportunities for discourse through small-group and whole-class discussions to evaluate symptoms and evidence of infection, develop an explanation of what symptoms reveal about immune system responses, and seek consensus to explain Zach’s illness. 

  • In Chapter 3: What explains the increasing incidence of antibiotic-resistant infections? (Lessons 11-16), the phenomena drives student learning across multiple lessons as students build understanding of antibiotic use, bacterial variation, the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria, and responsible antibiotic use as they make sense of Zach’s illness. Across the learning sequence, students use a simulated model (SEP-MOD-H3) of genetic variation in bacterial populations to demonstrate how antibiotic resistance increases in the population over time (DCI-LS4.B-H1, DCI-LS4.B-H2). Students then construct a new model to define the conditions that exist that allow a bacterial population to display changes in trait distribution (CCC-SYS-H2). The materials provide multiple opportunities for discourse through small-group and whole-class discussions to identify connections between changes in antibiotic resistance and antibiotic use, identify components and assumptions of proposed models of antibiotic resistance, and seek consensus to explain Zach’s response to antibiotics.

• In Unit 2: Why do some people get heart disease and not others, and what can we do to prevent it?, the phenomenon is a 45-year old woman who dies suddenly from a heart attack and other cases of patients with different levels of risk for heart disease.

  • In Chapter 5: What other genetic factors could contribute to our risk of heart disease and what determines which ones we get? (Lessons 6-10), the phenomenon drives student learning across multiple lessons as students build understanding of how family history, genetic mutation, and genetic variation impact the occurrence of heart disease. Across the learning sequence, students obtain scientific evidence from multiple adapted literary texts (SEP-INFO-H1) to describe the structure of chromosomes and their relation to phenotype (DCI.LS3.A-H1) as well as how reproduction contributes to genetic variation and possible mutation (DCI.LS3.B-H1). As students construct models (SEP-MOD-H3) to explain the occurrence of heart disease, they consider the interactions of multiple systems that generate genetic variation and their inputs and outputs (CCC-SYS-H2). The materials provide multiple opportunities for discourse through small-group and whole-class discussions to examine evidence of the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease, determine the cause of high LDL cholesterol, identify components and assumptions of proposed models of heart disease, and seek consensus to explain how genetics contribute to heart disease risk.

  • In Chapter 6: What contributes to heart disease and other complex diseases and how much influence do we have over outcomes? (Lessons 11-16), the phenomenon drives student learning across multiple lessons as students build understanding of how the influence of environmental factors can increase variation in the occurrence of heart disease. Across the learning sequence, students integrate evidence from multiple formats (SEP-INFO-H2) to identify cause and effect relationships between different environmental risk factors and heart disease (DCI-LS3.B-H2) as they develop an explanation for the occurrence of heart disease in a patient (CCC-CE-H2). The materials provide multiple opportunities for discourse through small-group and whole-class discussions to examine genetic and environmental characteristics of a set of identical twins, predict the likelihood that environmental factors and behavior will impact health, make claims regarding diet and health, and seek consensus to explain how environmental factors contribute to the risk of heart disease.

• In Unit 3: How can we use scientific and social understandings of nutrition and natural resources to improve a food system?, the problem is to design a plan to meet the nutritional requirements of a population while reducing the impact on natural resources.

  • In Chapter 7: What do we need from food? (Lessons 1-5), the problem drives student learning across multiple lessons as students consider the matter and energy needs of human bodies with respect to designing a plan to feed a human. Across the learning sequence, students develop a model to illustrate (SEP-MOD-H3) the energy flows in, out of, and within an organism (CCC-EM-H2) as they develop their understanding of how cellular respiration provides energy for life’s processes and the macromolecules used to form new cells (DCI-LS1.C-H2, DCI-LS1.C-H4). The materials provide multiple opportunities for discourse through small-group and whole-class discussions to share and respond to feedback for students’ initial meal plan solutions, identify components and assumptions of proposed models for dietary requirements, and seek consensus to identify what human bodies need from food in order to design a nutritional meal plan.

  • In Chapter 8: Why do some eating patterns require more land than others? (Lesson 6-10), the problem drives student learning across multiple lessons as students consider where food comes from and why some food requires more resources than others with respect to identifying the amount of land needed to produce the food humans need to survive. Across the learning sequence, students revise a model to illustrate (SEP-MOD-H3) the energy flows in, out of, and within a food web (CCC-EM-H2) as they develop their understanding of the inefficiency of matter and energy transfer from lower to higher trophic levels within a food web and the resulting abundance of organisms within an ecosystem (DCI-LS2.B-H2). The materials provide multiple opportunities for discourse through small-group and whole-class discussions to identify the impact of food choices on natural resource consumption as well as to define components and interactions within food systems to be investigated.

• In Unit 4: Why are so many species declining now while a few seem to be expanding, and why does it matter?, the phenomenon is that coyote populations are increasing while other species are experiencing population decline.

  • In Chapter 11: What explains why scientists are concerned we are experiencing a 6th mass extinction? (Lessons 6-10), the phenomenon drives student learning across multiple lessons as students examine the case of the now extinct North American dire wolf in order to make sense of the relative success of contemporary coyote populations. Across the learning sequence, students examine patterns of decline and adaptation in coyote, wolf, and direwolf populations through multiple case studies (CCC-PAT-H5) to identify evidence of adaptation, speciation, and extinction occurring as a result of changing conditions (DCI-LS4.C-H3, DCI-LS4.C-H4) in order to compare and evaluate competing ideas to explain why species, like coyotes, are expanding while others, like wolves, are contracting and others, like direwolves, have gone extinct (SEP-ARG-H1). The materials provide multiple opportunities for discourse through small-group and whole-class discussions to consider patterns of extinction and adaptation and evaluate competing arguments to explain changes in global biodiversity over time, brainstorm possible sources of genetic variation, and establish ideas about what makes a species a species. 

  • In Chapter 12: How are changes to biodiversity affecting ecosystems (and us as part of ecosystems) and why does it matter? (Lessons 11-16), the phenomenon drives student learning across multiple lessons as students build understanding of human dependance of biodiversity, the impact of human activities on biodiversity, and how stewardship of biodiversity can minimize those impacts in order to make sense of observed changes to coyote populations. Across the learning sequence, students examine how biodiversity impacts the stability of ecosystems (DCI-LS4.D-H1, DCI-LS4.D-H2) and then develop a model to illustrate (SEP-MOD-H3) the destabilizing effect of biodiversity loss on the health of ecosystems (CCC-SC-H3) in order to explain the expansion of coyote populations as a function of a destabilized ecosystem. The materials provide multiple opportunities for discourse through small-group and whole-class discussions to analyze patterns in habitat conservation and make predictions about habitat loss, evaluate human attempts at stewardship, and consider how changes in biodiversity affect ecosystems.

The instructional materials reviewed for High School meet expectations that they are designed to integrate the Science and Engineering Practices (SEP), Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI), and Crosscutting Concepts (CCC) into student learning opportunities. The materials consistently integrate the three dimensions in at least one activity per lesson. 

Integration of the three dimensions generally occurs through several SEP-focused learning routines that integrate revolving elements of DCIs and CCCs, and in many instances, additional elements of SEPs. These learning routines: Driving Question Board, Model Tracker, and Argument Tool, are frequently revisited across the lessons of each chapter, providing students with multiple opportunities to ask questions, develop models, and construct arguments through the lens of a variety of DCIs and CCCs. In some instances, the materials present learning opportunities that do not integrate elements of a DCI with CCCs or SEPs. Rather, the materials integrate content from Engineering, Technology and Applications of Science (ETS) elements with elements of the SEPs and CCCs.

Examples of learning opportunities in which elements of all three dimensions are integrated:

• In Unit 1, Chapter 2, Lesson 7: How do we know when we’re sick?, students engage in a learning opportunity to investigate how body conditions can indicate illness when they are out of range.  Students use graphs of body temperature over time to define what it means when a body goes “out of range”. Students collect, graph, and analyze data related to normal body temperature (DCI-LS1.A-H4), fluctuations, and fevers (SEP-DATA-M4) to revise a model to account for observed (SEP-MOD-H3) variations in body temperature (CCC-SC-H1).

• In Unit 1, Chapter 3, Lesson 11: Why aren’t antibiotics working as well as they used to?, students engage in a learning opportunity to investigate antibiotic resistance and how antibiotics are used. Students discuss the role of antibiotics in the treatment of infection, analyze the change in antibiotic resistance over time (DCI-LS4.B-H1, DCI-LS4.C-H1), and examine the cause and effect relationship between antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance (CCC-CE-H2) in order to generate questions (SEP-AQDP-H1) about antibiotic resistance. 

• In Unit 2, Chapter 5, Lesson 6: What explains why some people have a family history of high cholesterol, but no LDLR mutation?, students engage in a learning opportunity to investigate genetic mutations that create disruptions to protein function causing high LDL cholesterol. Students examine the medical charts of multiple patients for evidence of a family history of high cholesterol but lack the LDLR mutation. Students use their understanding of the effect of mutation on (DCI-LS3.A-H1) structure and function as they refine an argument (SEP-ARG-H4) to account for the cause and effect mechanism of gene mutation and LDL receptor function (CCC-CE-H2).

• In Unit 3, Chapter 7, Lesson 2: What is food and what happens to food when we eat it?, students engage in a learning opportunity to investigate how atoms move from being the components of a food source to becoming part of the body. Students examine how an isotope changes as it moves into, out of, and/or through the body of a rat (DCI-LS1.C-H3) to develop a model to track the movement of atoms into, out of, and through the body system (SEP-MOD-H3, CCC-SYS-H3). 

• In Unit 3, Chapter 8, Lesson 7: Why do plant-based foods tend to require less land to produce?, students engage in a learning opportunity to determine how many organisms are needed to support another organism’s life. Students integrate their understanding of the concept of energy transfer in a simple food chain (DCI-LS2.B-H2) to determine how many organisms chickens and humans consume in one lifetime (SEP-MOD-H3, CCC-EM-H2).

• In Unit 3, Chapter 9, Lesson 15: How can we design effective solutions that improve food systems?, students engage in a learning opportunity to develop a model to illustrate (SEP-MOD-H3) how societal criteria and constraints (DCI-ETS1.A-H1) impact the effort to create a sustainable food system (DCI-ESS3.C-H2, DCI-ETS1.A-H2, CCC-SYS-H1). 

• In Unit 4, Chapter 12, Lesson 12: How do we rely on and benefit from biodiversity?, students engage in a learning opportunity to investigate human reliance on functioning ecosystems and the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning. Students use a text about the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning (DCI-LS2.C-H1, DCI-LS4.D-H2, SEP-INFO-H1) to model the cause and effect relationships that organisms have on each other in an ecosystem (SEP-MOD-H3, CCC-CE-H2).

The instructional materials reviewed for High School meet expectations that they consistently support meaningful student sensemaking with the three dimensions. 

The materials provide lesson-level learning opportunities for students to engage in the intentional use of the three dimensions within and across sequences of learning through repeated use of structured learning routines in which elements of SEPs and CCCs support sensemaking with elements of DCIs. 

The structure of sensemaking within the materials follows a five lesson progression, which is repeated in each chapter.  In most instances, the first four lessons of a chapter present learning opportunities that are designed to engage students in three-dimensional learning. Within these opportunities, students frequently access new information through close reading, discussion, laboratory simulation, analyzing case studies, and evaluating data. In most instances, within the fifth and final lesson of each chapter, student sensemaking activities conclude with the construction and revision of consensus-driven models and/or evidence-based arguments. In general, the rigor and depth of sensemaking increases across each chapter as students are provided with multiple opportunities to synthesize new learning with prior understanding. 

The SEPs asking questions, developing and using models, and obtaining, evaluating and communicating information are the most common practices employed in sensemaking processes and occur in predictable patterns throughout each unit, chapter, and lesson. The materials use a range of CCCs within activities and frequently through the lens of a practice, most often modeling. The CCCs often serve as focal points for how the DCIs are represented through developed student and whole-class models. 

Examples of learning sequences in which elements of the three dimensions are integrated with meaningful student sensemaking:

• In Unit 1, Chapter 1: How can bacteria cause infections?, students engage in a series of lessons to make sense of what bacteria are and how they differ from other life forms. Across the lessons in this chapter, students use and build the SEPs and CCCs with DCIs as they develop an explanation for how bacteria cause infection. Examples of learning opportunities within this sequence that display students’ sensemaking of the three dimensions include:

  • In Lesson 3: What do bacteria need to live and grow?, students make sense of the conditions that support bacterial growth as they use a simulation to analyze (SEP-MATH-H2) and identify interactions within the bacterial environment (CCC-CE-H2) that impact bacterial growth (DCI-LS2.A-H1).

  • In Lesson 4: Why do some bacteria cause us problems?, students make sense of how bacteria interfere with our cells’ ability to operate as they critically read (SEP-INFO-H1) and engage with four case studies detailing instances of interactions between bacterial populations and human cells and how these interactions can cause changes in human systems (CCC-CE-H2, DCI-LS1.A-H1).

• In Unit 2, Chapter 4: What is cholesterol and what could cause it to be high?, students engage in a series of lessons to make sense of how the structure and resulting function of proteins can be a major contributor of high cholesterol for some individuals. Across the lessons in this chapter, students use and build the SEPs, and CCCs with DCIs as they develop an explanation for why a person could have high cholesterol and how high cholesterol relates to the risk of heart disease. Examples of learning opportunities within this sequence that display students’ sensemaking of the three dimensions include:

  • In Lesson 1: Why do some people get heart disease and not others, and what can we do to prevent it?, students make sense of factors, such as diet, that correlate with heart disease as they evaluate several case studies for factors that correlate with heart disease risk (CCC-CE-H2) alongside a dataset detailing national heart disease rates (SEP-DATA-M4) in order to develop a mechanistic model for the cause of heart disease (SEP-MOD-H4).

  • In Lesson 3: What might cause someone’s cholesterol to be high?, students make sense of how proteins and amino acids impact cholesterol levels as they develop a model (SEP-MOD-H4) to represent the role of proteins and amino acids involved in cholesterol metabolism (CCC-CE-H2, DCI-LS1.A-H2).

  • In Lesson 5: What other genetic factors could contribute to our risk of heart disease and what determines which ones we get?, students make sense of the correlation between high cholesterol and heart disease as they develop a model (SEP-MOD-H3) and construct arguments (SEP-ARG-H5) to explain the relationship between cholesterol and the risk of heart disease (SEP-CEDS-H3).

• In Unit 2, Chapter 6: What contributes to heart disease and other complex diseases and how much influence do we have over outcomes?, students engage in a series of lessons to make sense of how genetic and environmental interactions can contribute to the risk of heart disease in individuals and communities. Across the lessons in this chapter, students use and build the SEPs, and CCCs with DCIs as they develop an explanation of how some risk factors are within our control and others are not with respect to the risk of disease. Examples of learning opportunities within this sequence that display students’ sensemaking of the three dimensions include:

  • In Lesson 11: How can people with similar genes have very different health outcomes?, students make sense of how environmental factors contribute to the development of disease as they analyze the medical history of a set of twins, they ask questions (SEP-AQPD-H1) about what environmental factors might cause the twins to have different health outcomes (CCC-CE-H2) despite having nearly identical genes (DCI-LS1.B-H2).

  • In Lesson 13: How do environmental factors affect risk of heart disease and how do those factors interact with genetics?, students make sense of how environmental factors can exacerbate genetic predisposition to disease as they analyze a data set summarizing studies that examined dietary patterns and genes (SEP-DATA-H5) as they consider different environmental factors that interact with genes to cause observable variations in traits (DCI-LS3.B-H2) and establish connections between specific risk factors like smoking and heart disease (CCC-CE-H2).

• In Unit 3, Chapter 8: Why do some eating patterns require more land than others?, students engage with a series of lessons to make sense of how different eating patterns require differing amounts of land due to the trophic levels of the organisms consumed. Across the lessons in this chapter, students use and build the SEPs, and CCCs with DCIs as they develop an explanation for how different trophic levels require different levels of energy and matter resources. Examples of learning opportunities within this sequence that display students’ sensemaking of the three dimensions include:

• In Lesson 9: What affects how we can use land to produce food?, student make sense of the mechanisms behind the movement of matter and energy between organisms as they use atomic, food chain, and food web models (SEP-MOD-H3) to demonstrate the flows of matter and energy (CCC-EM-H2) due to photosynthesis and cellular respiration (DCI-LS2.B-H3).

  • In Lesson 10: Why do some eating patterns require more land than others?, students make sense of how energy and mass move between trophic levels and cycle through ecosystems as they develop a model to explain (SEP-MOD-H3) how energy and matter move and cycle through trophic levels (CCC-EM-H2) impacting the carrying capacity of land and thereby what the land is used for (CCC-SYS-H2, DCI-LS2.A-H1). 

• In Unit 4, Chapter 12: How are changes to biodiversity affecting ecosystems (and us as part of ecosystems) and why does it matter?, students engage in a series of lessons to make sense of how mitigation strategies can impact the biodiversity of disrupted and/or destabilized ecosystems. Across the lessons in this chapter, students use and build the SEPs, and CCCs with DCIs as they develop an explanation for how losses in biodiversity impact ecosystems. Examples of learning opportunities within this sequence that display students’ sensemaking of the three dimensions include:

  • In Lesson 12: How do we rely on and benefit from biodiversity?, students make sense of why biodiversity matters as they compare information from multiple sources (SEP-INFO-H1) as they investigate how humans have altered ecosystems and the resulting decline in biodiversity as they compare information across multiple long-term research studies (DCI-LS2.C-H1, SEP-DATA-H1, SEP-INFO-H1) to figure out that there are ecological patterns that repeat in the long-term and in the short-term across ecosystems (CCC-SC-H4, CCC-PAT-H5). 

  • In Lesson 14: How can human activity promote ecosystem health and resilience?, students make sense of how losses to biodiversity can be halted or slowed through human behavior as they analyze two case studies of solutions that were implemented to mitigate biodiversity loss and evaluate how well the solutions meet the desired criteria and constraints of the problem (DCI-LS4.D-H2) as they construct an argument, supported by evidence (SEP-ARG-H5, CCC-PAT-H3), to suggest improvements to the proposed systems.

The instructional materials reviewed for High School meet expectations that they consistently provide element-level three-dimensional learning objectives and consistently provide opportunities for students to use and develop the respective three dimensions. 

Overall, the materials present lesson-level learning objectives that are three dimensional and closely aligned to the activities presented. In nearly every instance, there is a direct connection between the learning objective and what students are asked to do. 

Of note, are some lessons in which content learned in prior lessons is included in the lessons’ learning objectives. In these cases, students are either reviewing content previously learned or the lesson focus is on SEPs and/or CCCs accessed through the lens of prior learning. In one instance, a learning objective is present that is three dimensional, but addresses content that is outside the assessment boundary for any element of a DCI. In another lesson, a three-dimensional learning target is present; however, the identified DCI element is not fully addressed until the following lesson.

The materials denote learning objectives as Lesson Learning Goals. These single-sentence objectives are identified at the start of each lesson within the material’s Teacher Edition. Each lesson presents one and in rare cases two Learning Goals. The text of the Lesson Learning Goals are color-coded to indicate which dimension is addressed by each phrase within the goal.

Each program lesson includes a Standards Alignment Table located at the beginning of the lesson following the Lesson Snapshot. In the online Teacher Edition this table is referred to as the Lesson NGSS Alignment and is accessed as a pop-up window from an embedded link. This table presents the variety of elements of the three dimensions in which students are engaged throughout lesson activities. While these elements are inclusive of the elements present in the stated lesson learning objectives, they also include multiple additional elements that are not present in the lesson learning objectives.

Example of learning objectives that represent elements of all three dimensions:

• In Unit 1, Chapter 3, Lesson 15: What explains the increasing incidence of antibiotic-resistant infections?, the learning objective, “Develop and revise a class consensus model to explain how increased use of antibiotics can result in increased prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and how stewardship practices can result in decreased incidence of antibiotic resistant infections”, is three dimensional. In the lesson, students develop a model to explain the increasing incidence of antibiotic resistant infections. Students collaborate with their classmates to develop a class consensus model to illustrate how bacteria have become antibiotic resistant (DCI-LS4.B-H2, SEP-MOD-H3) due to the overuse of antibiotics (CCC-CE-H2).

• In Unit 2, Chapter 4, Lesson 2: Why is high cholesterol an indicator of heart disease?, the learning objective, “Obtain different types and sources of information and communicate to connect the causal relationships between elevated cholesterol levels and system disruptions that lead to coronary artery disease”, is three dimensional. In the lesson students use nutritional labels and patient cases to explain how high cholesterol can influence the risk for heart disease. Students analyze food labels to determine sources of cholesterol and evaluate patient data and graphs that illustrate cholesterol flows through the body (DCI-LS1.A-H3, DCI-LS1.A-H4, SEP-INFO-H1) to determine how cholesterol levels affect the risk of heart disease (CCC-CE-H2, SEP-ARG-H4).

• In Unit 2, Chapter 5, Lesson 6: What explains why some people have a family history of high cholesterol, but no LDLR mutation?, the learning objective, “Ask questions based on unexpected results regarding the cause and effect relationship between family history and high LDL cholesterol”, is three dimensional. In the lesson, students review patient data that conflicts with previously constructed arguments. Students generate a series of questions for investigation (SEP-AQDP-H1) after considering that there may be more than one chromosome/protein/mutation that can cause (CCC-CE-H2) high LDL cholesterol levels (DCI-LS1.A-H2) and concluding that some patients’ LDL cholesterol levels cannot be explained by the cause and effect mechanism of gene mutation and protein receptor function (DCI-LS3.A-H1).

• In Unit 3, Chapter 7, Lesson 2: What is food and what happens to food when we eat it?, the learning objective, “Develop a model of the system of interactions of molecules from food, the atoms of which are recombined to form molecules that make up our bodies or leave the body as waste”, is three dimensional. In the lesson, students examine food labels, the structure of macromolecules, and the movement of a protein through an organism. Students identify how molecules in food are taken up by the organisms that consume them (DCI-LS1.C-H3), generate predictions for the movement of a consumed isotope through an organism (SEP-MOD-H3), and simulate the inputs and outputs associated with consuming food (CCC-SYS-H3).

• In Unit 3, Chapter 8, Lesson 7: Why do plant-based foods tend to require less land to produce?, the learning objective, “Develop a model to represent the matter and energy transfer into and out of organisms at different levels in a food chain and use the model to explain why certain foods take more land resources to produce than others”, is three dimensional. In the lesson, students consider the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration as they examine land use and trophic energy transfer. Students examine the loss of biomass between trophic levels and within individual organisms (DCI-LS2.B-H2) and develop a model to explain this loss as a function of cellular respiration (SEP-MOD-H3, CCC-EM-H2).

• In Unit 4, Chapter 11, Lesson 7: When there is an environmental change, what conditions make adaptations or extinction more likely in a population?, the learning objective, “Critically read and summarize case study text about different populations experiencing environmental changes in order to determine patterns in what makes a population more likely to adapt or go extinct”, is three dimensional. In the lesson, students investigate the environmental conditions that can lead to speciation and/or extinction events. Students collect information from case studies about populations that have either adapted or gone extinct (SEP-INFO-H2) and use this information to identify patterns (CCC-PAT-H5) in rates of environmental change and genetic variation (DCI-LS4.C-H4, DCI-LS4.C-H5).

The instructional materials reviewed for High School meet expectations that they are designed to elicit direct, observable evidence of three-dimensional learning in the instructional materials.

At the chapter level, the materials consistently present one or two explicitly stated three-dimensional learning objectives (Chapter Learning Goals). At the unit level, the materials do not provide specific learning objectives. Rather, different unit-level learning objectives are noted within Alignment to NGSS documentation, as Performance Expectations, and within the materials for each unit assessment, as objectives tailored to specific assessment prompts. The summation of chapter-level learning objectives present in each unit constitute each unit’s goals.

The Alignment to NGSS documentation at the chapter level includes a table that lists focal SEPs and CCCs, as well as full and limited elements of DCIs that are claimed within the chapter and represent the breadth of elements of the three dimensions with which students engage as they experience program activities. These activities frequently engage students with multiple elements of the three dimensions that are not fully captured within the chapter learning objectives but are addressed in the Alignment to NGSS table. Alignment documentation for chapter assessments detail full and limited elements of CCCs, SEPs, and DCIs claimed in these assessments. Elements of the three dimensions claimed in chapter learning objectives are consistently present within the alignment documentation and assessed as claimed. In some cases, elements present in the broader alignment documentation, but not reflected in the chapter objectives, are also assessed.

Examples where chapter summative tasks are designed to measure student achievements of the targeted three-dimensional learning objectives:

• In Unit 2, Chapter 4: What is cholesterol and what could cause it to be high?, the chapter learning objective is, “Obtain information to develop  a model that explains how differences in DNA structure can cause differences in protein structure that may lead to coronary artery disease.” Elements claimed in this objective are consistent with elements claimed in the Assessment Alignment to NGSS Dimensions table for the chapter and are fully assessed, as claimed, within the assessment items. The chapter summative assessment consists of two three-dimensional assessment items.

  • In Item 1, students are presented with a scenario about cystic fibrosis. This item is presented in five parts. In parts 1a and 1b, students make and defend a claim (SEP-ARG-H5) to explain (SEP-CEDS-H3) why or how a mutation in a gene could lead to a person developing a disease (CCC-CE-H2, DCI-LS1.A-H2, DCI-LS3.B-H2). In parts 1c-1e, students evaluate three different models to determine which would be best for explaining protein function, structure and shape (SEP-MOD-H4).

  • In Item 2, students are presented with a scenario about pigeon feathers. This item is presented in four parts. In part 2a, students create a model (SEP-MOD-H3) to explain how instructions in DNA encode for the formation of proteins (DCI-LS1.A-H2). In parts 2b and 2c, students use their model to make and defend a claim (SEP-ARG-H5) about the differences in amino acids based on the nucleotide sequence, which may cause differences in the amino acid sequence and the structure and function of a protein (DCI-LS1.A-H2, DCI-LS3.A-H1). In part 2d, students make predictions about how a DNA mutation (DCI-LS3.B-H1) would affect (CCC-CE-H2) the amino acid sequence and explain why or why not changes would occur to amino acid synthesis (CCC-SF-H2, SEP-CEDS-H2).

• In Unit 3, Chapter 8: Why do some eating patterns require more land than others?, the chapter learning objective is, “Argue from evidence for how matter and energy transfer across trophic levels can help explain differences in the land required to produce different foods.” Elements claimed in this objective are consistent with elements claimed in the Assessment Alignment to NGSS Dimensions table for the chapter and are fully assessed, as claimed, within the assessment items. The chapter summative assessment consists of two three-dimensional assessment items.  

  • In Item 1, students are presented with a scenario about how much carbon in human hair comes from corn. Students are asked to explain where the carbon atoms came from, how they entered the corn (DCI-LS1.C-H1) and how these same atoms became part of the corn (DCI-LS1.C-H2) by drawing a model that focuses on the components needed (SEP-MOD-H3) to explain this process (SEP-MOD-H4). Students are specifically prompted to include relevant system boundaries, initial conditions, inputs, and outputs  (CCC-EM-H2, CCC-SYS-H2).

  • In Item 2, students are presented with a scenario about how to raise pigs as a food crop with the lowest land use requirements possible. This item is presented in nine parts. In part 2a, students consider the fractions of land use for a single pig compared to the amount of land needed to provide the food required to grow the pig to its full adult size (CCC-SPQ-H1) and argue from this evidence (SEP-ARG-H3) as to why this ratio exists (DCI-LS1.C-H3). In parts 2b and 2c, students consider three factors that contribute to land use for raising pigs and explain which factor they would target when designing a solution (SEP-AQDP-H8) to reduce the environmental impact of raising pigs (DCI-ETS-H3). Students consider an alternative source of pig food and identify the strengths and limitations (DCI-ETS-H3) of the proposed solution. In parts 2d-2i students are presented with an argument for an alternative solution to grow algae as pigs food (DCI-LS2.B-H1, DCI-LS2.B-H2) and are tasked to evaluate the argument in terms of evidence strength, amount of evidence, possible biases in evidence, limitations of evidence, and whether the argument actually supports the claim (SEP-ARG-H4).

• In Unit 4, Chapter 10: Why are some species, like coyotes, expanding while most others are contracting?, the chapter learning objective is, “Develop and use models based on a species’s characteristics and interaction to predict and explain changes to its population and/or range in response to disturbances.” Elements claimed in this objective are consistent with elements claimed in the Assessment Alignment to NGSS Dimensions table for the chapter and are fully assessed, as claimed, within the assessment items. The chapter summative assessment consists of two three-dimensional assessment items.  

  • In Item 1, students are presented with a scenario about skipjack tuna. This item is presented in three parts. In part 1a, after reading about the lives and habits of skipjack tuna, students evaluate maps of the range of skipjack tuna and one of its predators (SEP-INFO-H2, SEP-INFO-H3). Students are then tasked to create a model (SEP-MOD-H3) to simulate a change to the skipjack’s ecosystem. In part 1b, students use their models to predict how changes would impact the ecosystem (DCI-LS2.A-H1, DCI-LS2.C-H1). In part 1c, students are tasked to identify information or factors that would impact the certainty of their predictions (SEP-MOD-H3, SEP-SYS-H4).

  • In Item 2, students are presented with the scenario that populations of certain antelope species decrease as rainfall decreases. This item is presented in five parts. In parts 2a-2b, students read information about the species, evaluate graphs of rainfall and the populations of three different animals, record observations, and annotate the graphs, and note evidence of stability and change (SEP-INFO-H2, CCC-SC-H2). In parts 2c and 2d, students propose explanations for why environmental changes affected an antelope population (DCI-LS4.C-H4, DCI-LS4.C-H5, CCC-SYS-H3). In part 2e, students consider how changes to the frequency of data collection might impact the data collected (CCC-SYS-H4).

Examples where unit summative tasks are designed to measure student achievements of the targeted three-dimensional learning objectives:

• In Unit 2: Why do some People get Heart Disease and not others, and What can we do to Prevent it?, the combined chapter learning objectives for Chapters 4-6 claim elements of the three dimensions that are consistent with elements claimed in the Assessment Alignment to NGSS Dimensions table for Unit 2 and are fully assessed, as claimed, within the assessment prompts. The unit summative assessment presents students with the scenario that a young woman who has a gene mutation is at higher risk for blood clots. The assessment consists of six prompts.

  • In Prompt 1, students engage with elements of all three dimensions as they develop and use a model (SEP-MOD-H3) that describes the series of cause and effect relationships (CCC-CE-H2) to explain how mutated alleles (DCI-LS3.B-H1) can cause changes to the inputs and outputs of a system and lead to adverse health events (CCC-SYS-H2).

  • In Prompt 2, students engage with elements of two dimensions as they examine a set of environmental factors to determine which factors could increase the risk of a disease (DCI-LS3.B, CCC-CE-H2).

  • In Prompt 3, students engage with elements of all three dimensions as they interpret and consider limitations of data analysis (SEP-DATA-H3) to determine how the cause and effect relationships (CCC-CE-H2) between factors that lead to combined effects of genetic and environmental factors (DCI-LS3.B-H2).

  • In Prompt 4, students engage with elements of one dimension as they describe how the process of independent assortment impacts the likelihood of mutated alleles on different chromosomes being inherited together (DCI-LS3.A-H1).

  • In Prompt 5, students engage with elements of two dimensions as they analyze recommendations considering the cause and effect relationships (CCC-CE-H2) between and the combined effects of genetic and environmental factors (DCI-LS3.B-H2) to determine how genetic and environmental factors could affect people and their everyday lives.

  • In Prompt 6, students engage with elements of two dimensions as they evaluate information from multiple sources to assess the evidence and usefulness of each source (SEP-INFO-H3) to determine how people should respond in the face of a health risk from combined genetic and environmental factors (DCI-LS3.B-H2).

• In Unit 4: Why are so many species declining now while a few seem to be expanding, and why does it matter?, the combined chapter learning objectives for Chapters 10-12 claim elements of the three dimensions that are consistent with elements claimed in the Assessment Alignment to NGSS Dimensions table for Unit 4 and are fully assessed, as claimed, within the assessment prompts. The unit summative assessment presents students with the scenario that the American peregrine falcon population declined and recovered from the brink of extinction over a span of sixty years. The assessment consists of four prompts.

  • In Prompt 1, students engage with elements of all three dimensions as they use models to predict (SEP-MOD-H3) which organism would experience the greatest negative impacts from the chemical DDT (DCI-LS2.B-H2, DCI-LS2.C-H1, DCI-LS2.C-H2) and how those effects would cascade through the system (CCC-PAT-H1). 

  • In Prompt 2, students engage with elements of two dimensions as they refer to a prior phenomenon (SEP-INFO-H1, DCI-LS4.A-H1, DCI-LS4.B-H1) and compare it to the peregrine falcon and DDT (DCI-LS4.C-H1, DCI-LS4.C-H4, DCI-LS4.C-H5).

  • In Prompt 3, students engage with elements of two dimensions as they write a claim (SEP-ARG-H5) about pesticide policy based on historical examples and new scientific information (SEP-INFO-H1, CCC-SPQ-H1, CCC-SPQ-H3).

  • In Prompt 4, students engage with elements of all three dimensions as they evaluate multiple sources of information (SEP-INFO-H1) detailing the rebound of the American peregrine falcon population (DCI-LS2.A-H1) and identifying driving factors of the rebound (CCC-SC-H1).

The instructional materials reviewed for High School meet expectations that they consistently provide performance tasks that are focused on figuring out uncertain phenomena or problems and tasks are two- or three-dimensional in nature.

Summative assessments within the materials are presented at the chapter and unit levels and consistently provide opportunities to assess students’ understanding of the three dimensions. While structured differently, chapter assessments address multiple novel scenarios and/or phenomena and unit assessments address a single novel phenomenon or problem, both assessments reflect the learning targeted in the stated learning objectives and provide students with opportunities to read new information, evaluate new data, develop models, and write arguments. Assessment tasks frequently encourage students to access learning routines and strategies, such as the I² strategy or the  Science Close Read Protocol, as they construct their responses. In some cases, students are asked to embed the learning from the chapter or unit into their explanations and, at times, compare novel assessment content to specific lesson and chapter content.

Examples of chapter performance tasks that are focused on figuring out uncertain phenomena or problems and support the use of the three dimensions:

• In Unit 4, Chapter 10: Why are some species, like coyotes, expanding while most others are contracting?, the chapter assessment consists of two performance tasks that elicit learning of targeted elements of the three dimensions.

• In Item 1, students are introduced to the phenomenon that populations of skipjack tuna are susceptible to changing environmental conditions. This task integrates elements of all three dimensions as students read about the lives and habits of skipjack tuna, evaluate maps of the range of skipjack tuna and one of their predators (SEP-INFO-H2, SEP-INFO-H3), create a model (SEP-MOD-H3) to predict how environmental changes might affect the skipjack’s habitat, and then use their model to respond to specific changes (DCI-LS2.A-H1, DCI-LS2.C-H1).

• In Item 2, students are introduced to the phenomenon that changes in annual rainfall in the Waterberg National Park in Namibia affect different species differently. This task integrates elements of all three dimensions as students evaluate and record observations from graphs of rainfall and the populations of three different animals, noting aspects of stability and change (SEP-INFO-H2, CCC-SC-H2), propose explanations for why environmental changes affect populations (DCI-LS4.C-H4, DCI-LS4.C-H5, CCC-SYS-H3), and consider how changes to the frequency of data collection might impact the data collected (CCC-SYS-H4).

Examples of unit performance tasks that are focused on figuring out uncertain phenomena or problems and support the use of the three dimensions:

• In Unit 1: How can bacterial infections make us so sick?, the unit assessment consists of one performance task that elicits learning of targeted elements of the three dimensions. In this performance task students are introduced to the phenomenon that Colorado potato beetles have become resistant to pesticides over time. This task integrates elements of all three dimensions as students read about Colorado potato beetles (SEP-INFO-H2), create a model (SEP-MOD-H3) to describe nerve cell function, evaluate feedback mechanisms (DCI-LS1.A-H4) and cause and effect relationships (CCC-CE-H2), analyze graphical data (SEP-ARG-H5) about the potato beetle and generate claims that they support with evidence (SEP-CEDS-H4), use evidence to construct an explanation (SEP-CEDS-H4, SEP-ARG-H5) for why potato beetles with less variation would cause the population to be less likely to develop resistance to pesticides (DCI-LS4.B-H1, DCI-LS4.C-H1,DCI-LS4.C-H2, DCI-LS4.C-H3), and collect evidence from an informational text (SEP-INFO-H2) to construct a evidence-supported claim (SEP-ARG-H5, SEP-CEDS-H4) to explain how pesticide use can impact the efficacy of the pesticide (CCC-CE-H2, DCI-LS4.C-H2, DCI-LS4.B-H2, DCI-LS4.C-H3).

• In Unit 3: How can we use scientific and social understandings of nutritions and natural resources to improve a food system?, the unit assessment consists of one performance task that elicits learning of targeted elements of the three dimensions. In this performance task students are introduced to the problem that weeds that interfere with agriculture are difficult to kill. This task integrates elements of all three dimensions as students evaluate the scale of soybean and corn crops in the U.S. (CCC-SPQ-H1), explain the rise in soy production for feeding animals intended for human consumption (DCI-LS2.B-H2, SEP-CEDS-H3), define the problem with weeds and soybean plants (SEP-AQDP-H8), and construct an argument (SEP-ARG-H6) for the best solution regarding the use of pesticides given a set of criteria (DCI-ETS-H1).

• In Unit 4: Why are so many species declining now while a few seem to be expanding, and why does it matter?, the unit assessment consists of one performance task that elicits learning of targeted elements of the three dimensions. In this performance task students are introduced to the phenomenon that the American peregrine falcon population declined and recovered from the brink of extinction over a span of sixty years. This task integrates elements of all three dimensions as students use models to predict (SEP-MOD-H3) which organism would experience the greatest negative impacts from the chemical DDT (DCI-LS2.B-H2, DCI-LS2.C-H1, DCI-LS2.C-H2) and how those effects would cascade through the system (CCC-PAT-H1), refer to a prior phenomenon from the Unit 1 assessment (SEP-INFO-H1, DCI-LS4.A-H1, DCI-LS4.B-H1) and compare it to the peregrine falcon’s relationship with DDT (DCI-LS4.C-H1, DCI-LS4.C-H4, DCI-LS4.C-H5), write a claim (SEP-ARG-H5) about pesticide policy based upon historical examples and new scientific information (SEP-INFO-H1, CCC-SPQ-H1, CCC-SPQ-H3), and evaluate multiple sources of information (SEP-INFO-H1) detailing the rebound of the American peregrine falcon population (DCI-LS2.A-H1) and identify driving factors of the rebound (CCC-SC-H1).