Middle School Science Standards
Saint John School, 2021-2022
Note: Annotations refer to appropriate NGSS performance expectations, science and engineering practices, or core disciplinary ideas.
MS-PS: middle school physical science performance expectation
MS-LS: middle school life science performance expectation
MS-ESS: middle school earth and space science performance expectation
MS-ETS: middle school engineering design performance expectation
sp: science and engineering practice
6th Grade:
Scientific Processes:
- Make measurements using metric units (sp-4)
- Convert metric measurements (sp-5)
- Use standard measuring tools safely (beakers, graduated cylinders, beam balances, etc.) (sp-3)
- Define the nature of science and scientific models (sp-1, sp-2, sp-6)
- Describe steps of the scientific method (sp-1, sp-3)
- Write hypotheses supported by current or previous observations (sp-2, sp-3)
- Describe types of observations (qualitative, quantitative) (sp-1, sp-3)
- Make inferences supported by evidence (sp-6, sp-7)
- Identify types of variables in a scientific investigation (sp-3)
- Design and carry out a scientific investigation (sp-3)
- Describe (in essay form) the outcomes and real-world implications of scientific investigations (sp-7, sp-8, MS-ESS3-4)
Classification of Organisms:
- Identify and describe characteristics of living things (MS-LS1-1)
- Describe the difference between sexual and asexual reproduction (i.e., asexual reproduction results in offspring identical to the parent) (MS-LS1-2, MS-LS1-5)
- Identify and describe needs of living things (MS-LS1-1, MS-LS1-5)
- Identify criteria used to classify organisms by most biologists (sp-8)
- Identify six kingdoms of organisms; identify and describe general characteristics of organisms in each kingdom (sp-8)
- Identify sub-groups with kingdoms (sp-8)
- Classify a given organism based on its behavior and physical characteristics (MS-LS1-3)
Microbiology:
- Define and give examples of microorganisms (MS-LS1-1)
- Model the structure of viruses (MS-LS1-1)
- Describe how viruses reproduce (MS-LS1-2)
- Demonstrate that viruses are not usually considered to be living things (MS-LS1-3)
- Model the structure of bacteria (MS-LS1-1)
- Design and carry out a scientific investigation that determines conditions favorable to bacterial growth and reproduction (MS-LS1-5)
- Identify ways that bacteria are helpful and/or harmful to humans (MS-LS1-4, MS-LS1-5)
- Demonstrate, using evidence, the importance of bacteria to other life on Earth (MS-LS1-5)
- Describe the characteristics of Protista (MS-LS1-3)
- Identify & describe features of common species of Protista (amoeba, paramecium, euglena) (MS-LS1-3)
- Describe behavior of Protista based on observation (MS-LS1-4)
- Describe causes and effects of algal blooms (MS-LS1-3)
- Identify & describe characteristics of fungi (MS-LS1-3)
- Identify & describe common types of fungi (MS-LS1-3)
- Design and carry out a scientific investigation which demonstrates fungi’s role as a decomposer
(MS-LS1-4)
- Identify uses and dangers of fungi to humans (MS-LS1-5)
Earth Science:
- Identify & describe the layers of Earth’s interior (MS-ESS2-1)
- Demonstrate, using evidence, the cause of Earth’s magnetic field (MS-ESS2-1)
- Identify types of rock in Earth’s lithosphere (MS-ESS2-2)
- Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process (MS-ESS2-1)
- Describe the theory of plate tectonics (MS-ESS2-1)
- Construct an explanation based on evidence for how plate tectonic processes have changed Earth’s surface features over geologic time scales (MS-ESS2-2, MS-ESS2-3)
- Describe the role of convection currents in Earth’s mantle in geological processes on Earth’s surface (MS-ESS2-1)
- Model the process of sea floor spreading (MS-ESS2-3)
- Give observational evidence for the theory of plate tectonics (MS-ESS2-3)
- Identify where earthquakes are most likely to occur (MS-ESS2-2)
- Use the theory of plate tectonics to make inferences about causes of earthquakes (MS-ESS2-2)
- Describe consequences of earthquakes (MS-ESS2-2)
- Identify & describe design features that make human-made structures more resistant to earthquake damage (MS-ESS3-2, MS-ETS1-3)
- Describe how earthquake intensity is measured (MS-ESS3-2)
- Describe how volcanoes form (MS-ESS2-1)
- Identify and describe volcanic landforms (MS-ESS2-2)
- Describe short-term and long-term consequences of volcanic eruptions (MS-ESS2-2)
- Model volcanic landform creation (MS-ESS2-2)
- Analyze and interpret data used to forecast future catastrophic events (i.e, earthquakes and volcanoes) (MS-ESS3-3)
- Identify major types of rocks; describe how each type is formed (MS-ESS2-2)
- Identify rock types based on their characteristics (i.e., by using a taxonomic guide) (MS-ESS2-3)
- Model the creation of fossils (MS-LS4-1)
Environmental Science:
- Define what an ecosystem is (MS-LS2-2)
- Identify and describe elements of an ecosystem (MS-LS2-2)
- Define/differentiate ecosystem, community and population (MS-LS2-2)
- Differentiate between biotic and abiotic elements of an ecosystem (MS-LS2-4)
- Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on populations of organisms in an ecosystem (MS-LS2-1)
- Develop a model that demonstrates how energy moves through an ecosystem (MS-LS2-5)
- Use food chains and food webs to describe interactions between elements of an ecosystem MS-LS2-3)
- Model the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles in ecosystems (MS-LS2-3)
- Describe how population changes in one species within an ecosystem can effect changes in other populations (MS-LS2-2)
- Describe how changes in abiotic elements within an ecosystem can effect changes among biotic elements within that system (MS-LS2-4)
- Describe the process of succession within a given ecosystem (MS-LS2-4)
- Identify and describe major biomes of the Earth (MS-LS2-4)
- Describe specific interactions between biotic and abiotic elements with a given biome (MS-LS2-4)
- Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems (MS-LS2-3)
- Describe consequences of human activity within specific ecosystems (MS-LS2-4)
- Identify & describe land use patterns of human societies (MS-2-3)
- Describe major renewable and non-renewable resources important to humans; using evidence, describe how resource-use choices can affect ecosystems (MS-LS2-4)
- Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s natural systems (MS-LS2-5)
- Identify & describe major environmental challenges facing human societies; using evidence, propose solutions to these challenges, and evaluate competing solutions (MS-LS2-5)
- Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact natural systems(MS-ESS3-4)
7th Grade:
Scientific Processes:
- Make measurements using metric units (sp-4)
- Convert metric measurements (sp-5)
- Use standard measuring tools safely (beakers, graduated cylinders, beam balances, etc.) (sp-3)
- Define the nature of science and scientific models (sp-1, sp-2, sp-6)
- Describe steps of the scientific method (sp-1, sp-3)
- Write hypotheses supported by current or previous observations (sp-2, sp-3)
- Describe types of observations (qualitative, quantitative) (sp-1, sp-3)
- Make inferences supported by evidence (sp-6, sp-7)
- Identify types of variables in a scientific investigation (sp-3)
- Conduct background research and support findings in a coherent essay containing citations (sp-7, sp-8)
- Design and carry out a scientific investigation (sp-3)
- Describe (in essay form) the outcomes and real-world implications of scientific investigations (sp-7, sp-8, MS-ESS3-4)
Motion & Forces:
- Define motion (MS-PS2-2)
- Differentiate between speed, velocity and acceleration (MS-PS2-1, MS-PS2-2, MS-PS2-3)
- Read and interpret graphs of speed, velocity and acceleration (MS-PS2-1, MS-PS2-2)
- Identify and describe Newton’s laws of motion (MS-PS2-2)
- Describe the motion of objects in terms of Newton’s laws of motion (MS-PS2-2)
- Describe the (classical) universal law of gravitation (MS-PS2-4)
- Use mathematical formulae to quantitatively describe the motion of objects (sp-2, sp-4)
- Describe momentum and force (and differentiate between the two) (MS-PS2-2)
- Identify types of forces (e.g. mechanical, buoyant, electrostatic, etc.) (MS-PS2-5, MS-PS3-2)
- Predict, measure and interpret the effects of force and momentum on moving objects (MS-PS2-4)
- Apply Newton’s 3rd Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects (MS-PS2-1, MS-PS3-2)
- Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions depend on objects’ mass and the distance between them (MS-PS2-4)
- Design and carry out a scientific investigation that demonstrates the effects of gravitational acceleration on objects (MS-PS2-4)
- Differentiate between potential and kinetic energy (MS-PS3-5)
- Construct and interpret graphical displays of data which describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass & speed of moving objects (MS-PS3-5)
- Relate the position of an object/system to the amount of potential energy it contains (MS-PS-2, MS-PS3-4)
- Construct, use and present arguments to demonstrate that when kinetic energy changes, energy is transferred to or from objects (MS-PS3-5)
Work, Simple Machines & Engineering Principles:
- Define work in the scientific sense (MS-PS3-4)
- Calculate the work done on objects; use the amount of work done to infer the amount of energy that exists in a system (MS-PS3-4)
- Differentiate between work and power (MS-PS3-4)
- Calculate the amount of power used by an object or in a system (MS-PS3-2)
- Define what simple machines are; differentiate between simple and compound machines (MS-PS2-2)
- Identify and describe types of simple machines; identify examples of simple machines in everyday life (MS-PS2-2)
- Calculate mechanical advantage of simple machines (MS-PS3-1)
- Calculate efficiency of simple machines (MS-PS3-1)
- Design and carry out a scientific investigation to determine the mechanical advantage and efficiency of common simple machines (MS-PS3-1, MS-PS3-5)
- Design and construct a device that carries out a specific task using three or more different types of simple machines (MS-ETS1-1)
- Design and build a structure (or design a process) that conforms to specific design constraints (e.g., type and amount of materials) (MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2)
- Evaluate competing design solutions for a given problem or goal (MS-ETS1-3)
- Analyze data from tests to determine the best design for a given purpose (MS-ETS1-3)
Astronomy/Space Science:
- Model features of the Earth/Moon planetary system (MS-ESS1-1)
- Using evidence, describe currently accepted theories of the creation of the solar system, including the earth and the moon (MS-ESS1-1, MS-ESS1-2)
- Identify and describe historical models of the solar system; give observational evidence for each model (MS-ESS1-1)
- Describe the features of the planets of our solar system (MS-ESS1-3)
- Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system (MS-ESS1-3)
- Describe evidence for the existence of extra-solar planets (MS-ESS1-2)
- Describe the features of the sun and other main-sequence stars (MS-ESS1-2)
- Describe & model the life cycle of stars (MS-ESS1-2)
- Describe how stars produce light and heat (MS-PS1-4)
- Make predictions of the fate of the earth based on the life cycle of stars (MS-ESS1-a)
- Describe how black holes form (MS-ESS1-a)
- Describe effects of black holes (MS-ESS1-a)
- Give evidence for the existence of black holes (MS-ESS1-a)
- Describe galaxies as “island universes” (MS-ESS1-2)
- Using evidence, describe currently accepted theories of the creation, probable age, and eventual fate of the universe (MS-ESS1-4)
- Model how rockets work (both traditional and newer designs) (MS-ETS1-1)
- Identify uses of artificial satellites (MS-ETS1-1)
- Outline history of human space exploration (MS-ESS1-2)
Evolution:
- Define “theory” in the scientific sense (sp-2)
- Describe major ideas contained within Darwin’s theory of evolution (common ancestry, natural selection) (MS-LS4-1, MS-LS4-2, MS-LS4-3, MS-LS4-4, MS-LS4-5, MS-LS4-6)
- Model the process of natural selection (MS-LS4-4)
- Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the survival and growth of organisms (MS-LS4-4)
- Identify and describe evidence in favor of the theory of evolution (MS-LS4-1, MS-LS4-2, MS-LS4-3,
MS-LS4-4, MS-LS4-5, MS-LS4-6)
- Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction and change of life forms throughout time (MS-LS4-1)
- Analyze pictorial data to compare patterns of similarities in the embryological development across multiple species to identify relationships between them (MS-LS4-3)
- Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time (MS-LS4-6)
- Describe the process of speciation (MS-LS4-2)
- Describe the role of the theory of evolution in modern biological sciences (CC, systems/models)
- Gather and synthesize information about technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits (e.g., GMOs) (MS-LS4-5)
- Identify & describe objections to evolution put forward by some non-scientists, and scientific responses to those objections (sp-7)
- Describe the position of the Catholic Church on the theory of evolution (Not included in NGSS)
- Using evidence, describe/model the evolution of a single plant or animal species (MS-LS4-1, MS-LS4-2, MS-LS4-3, MS-LS4-4, MS-LS4-5, MS-LS4-6)
- Describe the evolution of biological life over the history of Earth (MS-LS4-6)
- Identify and describe currently accepted ideas about how single-celled terrestrial life first evolved
(MS-LS4-5)
Climate & Weather:
- Differentiate between weather and climate (MS-ESS2-4, MS-ESS2-6)
- Identify major gases in Earth’s atmosphere (MS-ESS2-5)
- Identify and describe layers of Earth’s atmosphere (MS-ESS-5)
- Describe effects of major gases in Earth’s atmosphere (e.g., water vapor, CO2) (MS-ESS2—2)
- Model the creation of clouds/precipitation (MS-ESS2-4)
- Identify and describe types of clouds (MS-ESS-4)
- Describe how wind is produced (MS-ESS2-5)
- Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and interactions of air masses result in changes in weather conditions (MS-ESS2-5)
- Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the earth cause atmospheric circulation that determine regional climates (MS-ESS2-6)
- Read and interpret weather maps and station guides (sp-4)
- Create and use a simple weather station (temperature, barometric pressure) to make predictions about local weather conditions (MS-ESS2-1)
- Describe how tornadoes and hurricanes are formed (MS-ESS2-5)
- Identify major climate zones of the earth; describe how biomes are affected by these climate zones (MS-ESS2-6
- Analyze and interpret data to describe possible causes and effects of rapid global climate changes during the last century and ours (MS-ESS3-5)
8th Grade:
Scientific Processes:
- Make measurements using metric units (sp-4)
- Convert metric measurements (sp-5)
- Use standard measuring tools safely (beakers, graduated cylinders, beam balances, etc.) (sp-3)
- Define the nature of science and scientific models (sp-1, sp-2, sp-6)
- Describe steps of the scientific method (sp-1, sp-3)
- Write hypotheses supported by current or previous observations (sp-2, sp-3)
- Describe types of observations (qualitative, quantitative) (sp-1, sp-3)
- Make inferences supported by evidence (sp-6, sp-7)
- Identify types of variables in a scientific investigation (sp-3)
- Conduct background research and support findings in a coherent essay containing citations (sp-7, sp-8)
- Design and carry out a scientific investigation (sp-3)
- Describe (in essay form) the outcomes and real-world implications of scientific investigations (sp-7, sp-8, MS-ESS3-4)
Matter & Its Interactions:
- Define matter (MS-PS1-1)
- Measure/calculate the mass, volume and density of given types of matter (sp-5)
- Describe types of matter according to their physical and chemical properties (MS-PS1-2)
- Relate the density of matter to its temperature and state (liquid, solid, gas) (MS-PS1-4)
- Differentiate between physical and chemical changes (MS-PS1-2)
- Identify observable changes during physical and chemical reactions (MS-PS1-2)
- Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred (MS-PS1-2, MS-PS1-5)
- Describe the particle model of matter (MS-PS1-1)
- Identify and describe historical and modern models of the atom (MS-PS1-1)
- Use the periodic table of elements to make inferences about the atomic structure of given elements (MS-PS1-1)
- Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures (MS-PS1-1)
- Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed (MS-PS1-4)
- Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction (i.e., mass is conserved) (MS-PS1-5)
- Use chemical formulas to infer the composition of chemical compounds (MS-PS1-1, MS-PS1-4)
- Balance chemical equations (MS-PS1-4)
- Gather and make sense of information to describe the creation and uses of synthetic materials (MS-PS1-3)
Energy & Energy Transfer:
- Define waves as a transfer of energy (MS-PS4-1, MS-PS4-2)
- Describe types of waves (transverse, compression) (MS-PS4-2)
- Describe characteristics of waves (MS-PS4-2)
- Describe behaviors of waves (MS-PS4-1)
- Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed or transmitted through various materials (MS-PS4-2)
- Use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy contained in the wave (MS-PS4-1)
- Differentiate between mechanical and electromagnetic waves (MS-PS4-1, MS-PS4-2)
- Describe the nature of electromagnetic waves (MS-PS4-1)
- Describe waves of the electromagnetic spectrum (MS-PS4-2)
- Identify and describe types of energy (mechanical, electromagnetic, thermal) (MS-PS4-1, MS-PS4-2)
- Interpret data to determine factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic fields (MS-PS4-1)
- Design & conduct an investigation that demonstrates that energy fields exist between objects that are not in physical contact with one another (MS-PS2-3)
- Demonstrate that energy waves can be used for communication purposes (MS-PS4-3)
- Describe how electrical energy is produced and transmitted (i.e, types of power plants); describe advantages and disadvantages to society of different means of electricity production (MS-PS4-3, MS-ETS1-2)
- Design, construct and test a device that minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer (MS-PS3-3)
Cell Biology & Heredity:
- Describe and model the structure of animal and plant cells, including the functions of the organelles within them (MS-LS1-1)
- Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells (MS-LS1-1)
- Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function (MS-LS1-2)
- Use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells (MS-LS1-3)
- Identify and describe layers of complexity within organisms (cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, organisms) (MS-LS1-2)
- Design and carry out a scientific investigation that demonstrates the process of photosynthesis (HS-LS1-6)
- Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the flow of energy into and out of organisms (MS-LS2-3)
- Describe processes of osmosis & diffusion within cells (MS-LS1-3)
- Describe the process of cellular respiration, and how this relates to respiration in larger organisms
(MS-LS1-3)
- Model how cells reproduce (mitosis and meiosis) (MS-LS3-2)
- Describe/ reproduce Mendel’s early experiments in heredity (MS-LS3-2)
- Differentiate between dominant and recessive traits (MS-LS3-2)
- Use a Punnett Square to predict the probability of the emergence of dominant and recessive traits (MS_LS3-2)
- Extract DNA from living cells (MS-LS3-2)
- Model the structure of DNA molecules MS-LS3-1)
- Describe the process of DNA replication within cells (MS-LS3-1)
- Describe the role of DNA in inheritance (MS-LS3-1)
- Develop and use a model to describe how mutations may result in harmful, neutral or beneficial changes to the structure and function of an organism or species (MS-LS3-1)
- Using evidence, predict the effects on society of recent advancements in genetic knowledge (e.g., stem cell therapies, cloning) (sp-7, sp-8)