Our NGSS Earth and Space Science curriculum is aligned with the NGSS High School Earth and Space Science performance expectations and disciplinary core ideas in ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe. You can purchase a license to use this NGSS-designed Earth and Space Science curriculum in your classroom or your school at www.teacherspayteachers.com.
The curriculum includes a space science textbook (astronomy textbook), Test Bank with 300 multiple-choice questions, PowerPoint presentations, space science and astronomy labs, active learning projects. The textbook’s content is presented in the form of a set of science literacy activities so that it can be easily customized to help you meet your teaching objectives.
The science literacy activities include more than 500 pages of professionally designed reading materials that cover the same content as large publishers’ NGSS-aligned space science and astronomy textbooks for high schools. After you purchase a licence to use this curriculum in your classroom, you will be permitted to print a copy of the textbook, lab assignments and active learning projects for EACH student in your classroom. That is, you will access and use a comprehensive set of educational resources at a fraction of the cost of the same type of educational resources from major publishers.
All the educational resources in the curriculum come with integrated assessments, answer keys, and 61 turnkey lesson plans aligned with the NGSS High School Earth and Space Science performance expectations and disciplinary core ideas in ESS1: Earth’s Place in the Universe.
The curriculum comprises 5 units of lesson plans:
Unit 1. Astronomy as a Science
Unit 2. The Sun and the Solar System
Unit 3. The Universe and Its Stars
Unit 4. The Earth and the Solar System (including the orbital motion in the Solar System)
Unit 5. The History of Planet Earth
The lesson plans cover all topics and content for high school NGSS space science and astronomy. Each lesson plan comes with a summary, list of resources, learning outcomes, the NGSS alignment for the lesson, lesson procedures, recommended discussion questions and sample responses, assessment questions and answer key, computational problems and their solutions. The lesson plans include 53 science literacy activities, 10 PowerPoint presentations, 4 astronomy labs and 4 active learning projects. The PowerPoint presentations are included with lesson plans # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 16, 30 and 42.
In the active learning projects, students assume the roles of Martian scientists, astronauts, space tourists. Enhanced with interesting information, images, videos, check-your-understanding questions and scavenger hunt activities, the PowerPoint presentations will make your lectures interactive and help you engage your students in the learning process.
Our NGSS Earth and Space curriculum fully articulates the vision of the NGSS so students can achieve the levels of mastery expected of them. This truly NGSS-designed curriculum demonstrates three features:
1. Providing coherence across each individual unit and between units
The curriculum is designed to provide a coherent sequence of student learning experiences that help students meet the NGSS performance expectations.
In the curriculum, there is coherence from one lesson to the next lesson within a unit, from one unit to the next unit over the course of one academic year, because this is how student knowledge and skills are integrated in the vision of the NGSS.
2. Engaging students in scientific investigations and helping students build their skills in order to perform scientific and engineering tasks proficiently
The curriculum includes questions and problems, laboratory activities and active learning projects that help students learn how science and engineering are about investigation, developing and testing scientific models, prototyping.
Lab assignments and active learning projects provide opportunities for students to engage in the work as scientists and to learn through the challenges provided.
3. Providing teachers with resources, tools and strategies needed in NGSS instruction
The curriculum supports the role of educators under NGSS as facilitators of active student learning.
NGSS Earth and Space Science Curriculum
UNIT 1. ASTRONOMY AS SCIENCE
| Lesson Plans | Science Literacy Activities | Active Learning Projects, Labs, Quantitative Problems, Internet Activities | PowerPoint Presentations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lesson Plan 1. Astronomy and Its Practical Applications | Science Literacy Activity #1 – Astronomy and Its Practical Applications |
v |
|
| Lesson Plan 2. Astronomy and the Scientific Method | Science Literacy Activity #2 – Astronomy and the Scientific Method |
v |
|
| Lesson Plan 3. Astronomy vs. Astrology | Science Literacy Activity #3 – Astronomy vs. Astrology |
v |
|
| Lesson Plan 4. Measuring Distances in the Solar System and Beyond | Science Literacy Activity #4 – Measuring Distances in the Solar System and Beyond | Quantitative Problems (with solutions provided) |
v |
| Lesson Plan 54. Parallax and Distances to Asteroids | Lab 1. Parallax and Distances to Asteroids | ||
| Lesson Plan 59. Cosmic Scale and Our Cosmic Address | Active Learning Project 1. Cosmic Scale and Our Cosmic Address |