Standards Map

HS-ESS1-1

I can explain how the Sun makes its energy and how that energy reaches and warms Earth.

"Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun's core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation."

Where this runs: U1 B4 · U1 B7 · U1 B8

Assessed: Goldilocks Report: framework criteria involving the host star (K/U strand, Component 1 locks U1 Block 7)

On track looks like: Your habitability framework treats the host star as an energy source with numbers attached (luminosity, HZ range), not just 'the planet needs sunlight.'

Help: Reading: How Far Is Far · Habitability Zone Calculator

HS-ESS1-2

I can explain what the evidence (starlight, moving galaxies, the makeup of the universe) tells us about how the universe began.

"Construct an explanation of the Big Bang theory based on astronomical evidence of light spectra, motion of distant galaxies, and composition of matter in the universe."

Where this runs: U1 B4

Assessed: Previewed in U1 Block 4 (lookback time); formally assessed in a later unit

On track looks like: You can explain why looking far away means looking back in time, and what that has to do with evidence for the universe's history.

Help: Reading: How Far Is Far

HS-ESS1-4

I can use math and models to predict how planets and other objects orbit.

"Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system."

Where this runs: U1 B5 · U1 B6

Assessed: Goldilocks Report: transit/orbit reasoning in your exoplanet analysis (T/T strand, Component 4 locks U1 Block 9)

On track looks like: You can read a light curve: dip spacing → orbital period, and you know what that math can and can't tell you.

Help: Reading: Watching for Shadows · Light-Curve Decode handout (in Google Classroom)

HS-ESS2-1

I can explain how Earth's surface features are built and reshaped by processes working at very different speeds and sizes.

"Develop a model to illustrate how Earth's internal and surface processes operate at different spatial and temporal scales to form continental and ocean-floor features."

Where this runs: U2 B1 · U2 B2 · U2 B6 · U2 B7 · U3 B1 · U3 B2

Assessed: Landscape Reading: biography past + current processes (K/U strand, Components 1–2 lock U2 Block 6)

On track looks like: Your location's biography names specific processes at specific timescales ('monsoon pulses move the beach yearly; the harbour changed it in decades'), not just 'erosion happened.'

Help: The Field Geologist · Pallikaranai worked example (in Google Classroom)

HS-ESS2-2

I can show how one change on Earth sets off feedback loops that change other Earth systems.

"Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth's surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems."

Where this runs: U1 B2 · U1 B3 · U1 B7

Assessed: Goldilocks Report: framework criteria with feedback reasoning, esp. field 5 'where it can fail' (K/U, Component 1 locks U1 Block 7)

On track looks like: You can run the perturbation test on a loop and say whether it amplifies or stabilizes, and your framework uses that move on real criteria.

Help: Feedback Loops handout (in Google Classroom) · The Systems Diagrammer · Reading: Four Spheres, One System

HS-ESS2-5

I can investigate how water shapes rock, sediment, and land.

"Plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes."

Where this runs: U2 B3 · U2 B4

Assessed: Landscape Reading: river/coast process analysis for water-shaped locations (K/U + T/T, Components 1–4)

On track looks like: You can point at a Chennai landform and name the specific water process responsible, with evidence from imagery or data.

Help: The Field Geologist

HS-ESS3-1

I can explain, with evidence, how resources, hazards, and climate have shaped where and how people live.

"Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity."

Where this runs: U2 B5 · U3 B2 · U3 B3 · U3 B5 · U3 B8

Assessed: Landscape Reading: projections + recommendations (T/T strand, Components 4–5 lock U2 Block 8)

On track looks like: Your 50-year projections connect physical processes to human decisions, and your recommendation names who would act and why.

Help: The Skeptic

HS-ESS2-4

I can use a model to show how energy in vs. energy out sets Earth's climate.

"Use a model to describe how variations in the flow of energy into and out of Earth's systems result in changes in climate."

Where this runs: U4 B1 · U4 B2 · U4 B4 · U4 B8

Assessed: Chennai Climate Brief: the science sections (K/U components)

On track looks like: Your brief's physics section traces an energy flow, not just names 'greenhouse effect.'

Help: The Climate Modeler

HS-ESS2-6

I can follow carbon through Earth's four spheres, with numbers.

"Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere."

Where this runs: U4 B3 · U4 B4

Assessed: Chennai Climate Brief science sections (K/U)

On track looks like: You can say where the ~10 GtC/year of human carbon goes, and why the one-way flux matters.

Help: Reading: Four Spheres, One System · The Climate Modeler

HS-ESS3-5

I can use real data and model results to forecast climate change where I live, and say how confident to be.

"Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems."

Where this runs: U4 B5 · U4 B6 · U4 B7

Assessed: Chennai Climate Brief: the regional-projection components (T/T)

On track looks like: Your Chennai projections cite data AND name the model's uncertainty: forecast, not prophecy.

Help: The Climate Modeler

HS-ESS3-6

I can use models and data tools to show how human activity is changing the links between Earth's systems.

"Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity."

Where this runs: U4 B9 · U4 B10 · U4 B11 · U4 B12

Assessed: Chennai Climate Brief: adaptation analysis (T/T) + Policy Panel (C)

On track looks like: Your recommendation connects a human decision to a system response, with a tool or dataset behind it.

Help: The Policy Aide

HS-ESS1-5

I can use evidence (seafloor ages, GPS motion, fossil matches) to explain how plates move.

"Evaluate evidence of the past and current movements of continental and oceanic crust and the theory of plate tectonics to explain the ages of crustal rocks."

Where this runs: U3 B1

Assessed: City Hazard Profile (K/U)

On track looks like: Your hazard profile explains WHY your city's boundary behaves as it does, with evidence.

Help: The Plate Tectonics Tutor

HS-ETS1-1

I can pin down what a solution must do (and what limits it) before I design.

"Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants."

Where this runs: U3 B3

Assessed: City Hazard Profile → Engineering Portfolio scenario setup

On track looks like: Your Hazard Profile names the criteria and constraints your design must satisfy.

Help: The Engineering Coach

HS-ETS1-2

I can break a big engineering problem into pieces I can actually solve.

"Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering."

Where this runs: U3 B6 · U3 B7

Assessed: Engineering Design Portfolio: iterations 1–3 (T/T)

On track looks like: Each iteration attacks a named sub-problem, and your Division-of-Labour Plan shows the breakdown.

Help: The Engineering Coach

HS-ETS1-3

I can judge a design by weighing its trade-offs: cost, safety, who it protects, who it leaves out.

"Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts."

Where this runs: U3 B9 · U3 B10 · U3 B11 · U4 B9

Assessed: Final Defense (C + T/T)

On track looks like: Your defense names what your design sacrifices, not just what it achieves.

Help: Defending Your Work

HS-ETS1-4

I can use a simulation to test how my design choices play out before committing to them.

"Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem."

Where this runs: U3 B4 · U3 B6 · U3 B7 · U3 B9

Assessed: Engineering Design Portfolio: logged sim iterations (T/T)

On track looks like: Each iteration is tested in the simulator and its outputs cited as evidence: changed, run, compared.

Help: Tectonic City Builder

HS-ESS3-3

I can use a computational model to explore how resource choices affect people and places.

"Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity."

Assessed: Tectonic City Builder budget trade-offs (formative)

On track looks like: Your sim budget decisions connect spending to who gets protected, and who doesn't.

Help: Tectonic City Builder

SEP-4: Analyzing and Interpreting Data

I can read real data (charts, imagery, light curves) and say what it does and doesn't show.

Where this runs: U2 B6

Assessed: Runs through every unit; graded wherever data feeds a claim

On track looks like: You cite the data behind your claims and name what the data can't tell you.

Help: OPVL Framework

SEP-6: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

I can build an explanation from evidence, not just state an answer.

Where this runs: U0 B2 · U2 B7 · U2 B8 · U3 B5 · U3 B8 · U4 B10

Assessed: Every summative's analysis sections (K/U + T/T strands)

On track looks like: Your explanations name mechanisms ('because the core cooled…'), not just outcomes ('it's cold').

Help: Exemplar: Source Dossier · Exemplar: Goldilocks Report

SEP-7: Engaging in Argument from Evidence

I can defend a claim under questioning, cite my evidence, and revise when someone shows me better reasoning.

Where this runs: U0 B6 · U0 B7 · U3 B10 · U3 B11 · U3 B12 · U4 B11 · U4 B12

Assessed: Every defense (C strand): U0 Block 7 onward

On track looks like: In Q&A you use the five moves, and 'I don't know, here's what would settle it' when true.

Help: Defending Your Work

SEP-8: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

I can find sources, judge them with OPVL, and communicate what I learned honestly.

Where this runs: U0 B1 · U0 B2 · U0 B3 · U0 B4 · U0 B5 · U2 B9

Assessed: Source Dossier (all strands) + every OPVL component after it

On track looks like: Your Limitations are specific to the source in front of you, never 'it might be biased.'

Help: OPVL Framework · Resources Library

SEP-2: Developing and Using Models

I can build and use models (diagrams, simulations, cross-sections) to explain how something works.

Assessed: Across units; in U3, the sim iterations and boundary cross-sections

On track looks like: Your model shows the mechanism, not just the label: arrows mean something.

Help: Tectonic City Builder

SEP-5: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

I can use numbers, budgets, and computational tools to reason about a problem.

Where this runs: U3 B4

Assessed: U3 sim iterations: score and budget reasoning in the engineering journal

On track looks like: Your journal cites the numbers (scores, budget lines) and reasons from them.

Help: Tectonic City Builder

Engage 3

I can check an AI's answer against real sources and decide: use it, fix it, or bin it.

In brief: "Evaluate whether an AI output should be accepted, revised, or rejected (paraphrased; full framework at ailiteracyframework.org)"

Where this runs: U0 B1 · U0 B2 · U0 B3 · U0 B4 · U0 B5 · U1 B1 · U1 B3 · U1 B5 · U1 B6 · U1 B7 · U2 B3 · U2 B6 · U2 B7 · U4 B5 · U4 B6

Assessed: Every AI Documentation Template: the 'one thing the AI got wrong' field

On track looks like: You catch specific errors ('it said 2024; the report says 2023'), and you've stopped writing 'AI can hallucinate.'

Help: AI Documentation Protocol

Engage 5

I can estimate what my AI use costs in electricity and water, and decide when it's worth it.

In brief: "Understand how AI systems consume energy and natural resources (paraphrased)"

Where this runs: U0 B1 · U4 B4

Assessed: U4: the Footprint Decision task

On track looks like: You can put rough numbers on an AI choice and name one limitation of your own estimate.

Help: The UN report key points

Create 3

I can use AI to make MY work better, and show exactly who changed what.

In brief: "Direct generative AI to elicit feedback, refine work, and support reflection (paraphrased)"

Where this runs: U1 B8 · U1 B9 · U2 B8 · U4 B10 · U4 B11

Assessed: Revision Trail: practiced U1/U2 Block 8, assessed with the U5 Position Paper

On track looks like: Your trail has modified and rejected rows, not just accepted ones; the judgment stays yours.

Help: AI Documentation Protocol

Manage 1

I choose when to use AI and when to think it through myself, and I can defend either choice.

In brief: "Decide whether AI is the right tool for a task before using it (paraphrased)"

Where this runs: U0 B3 · U0 B5 · U0 B7 · U1 B8 · U1 B10 · U2 B8 · U4 B10 · U4 B11

Assessed: AI-use log across the year; the defended not-using-AI reflection

On track looks like: You can name a step where you chose NOT to use AI, and your reason survives a 'why?'

Help: AI Documentation Protocol

Manage 3

I can break a task into steps and say which ones I will do, which AI will do, and why.

In brief: "Decompose a problem to determine when and how AI systems should be used to automate or augment tasks (paraphrased; full framework at ailiteracyframework.org)"

Where this runs: U3 B6 · U4 B10

Assessed: U3 Block 6 rehearsal; U4 Climate Brief plan; assessed with the U5 Position Paper division-of-labour plan plus a post-hoc check against what actually happened

On track looks like: Your plan names a step you kept for yourself and says why AI was the wrong tool for it, not just which steps you handed over.

Help: AI Documentation Protocol

Shape 2

I can set criteria for what a good AI tool does, then test it and say where it falls short.

In brief: "Evaluate AI systems using defined criteria, expected outcomes, test cases, and user feedback (paraphrased; full framework at ailiteracyframework.org)"

Where this runs: U3 B9

Assessed: U3 rehearsal on a teacher-built partner; assessed at U5 on the Stakeholder Voice bot-evaluation protocol and roundtable

On track looks like: Your test cases include one the bot should fail, and you can say what its failure tells you about who it does not represent.

Help: AI Documentation Protocol

HS-ESS2-3

I can model what is inside Earth, and explain how heat moving through it drives what happens on the surface.

"Develop a model based on evidence of Earth's interior to describe the cycling of matter by thermal convection."

Where this runs: U1 B2 · U1 B3

Assessed: Goldilocks Report: the geosphere and magnetic-field criteria (K/U, Component 1 locks U1 Block 7)

On track looks like: You can say what each layer is, how we know it is there without anyone having been down, and why a liquid moving core is what produces a magnetic field.

Help: Earth as a Planet: deck 1 · The Systems Diagrammer

HS-ESS2-7

I can argue, with evidence, that life and the rest of Earth's systems changed each other.

"Construct an argument based on evidence about the simultaneous coevolution of Earth's systems and life on Earth."

Where this runs: U1 B7

Assessed: Goldilocks Report: the atmosphere criterion and the cause-versus-consequence question (T/T, locks U1 Block 7)

On track looks like: You can name at least one feature of Earth that exists because life is here, not the other way round, and cite what makes you think so.

Help: Earth as a Planet: deck 2 · Lovelock (1965) reading support

HS-ESS1-3

I can explain where the elements you are made of were built, and which kind of star built them.

"Communicate scientific ideas about the way stars, over their life cycle, produce elements."

Where this runs: U1 B1

Assessed: Goldilocks Report: the criteria that depend on a planet having heavy elements at all (K/U, Component 1 locks U1 Block 7)

On track looks like: You can say why the early universe had only hydrogen and helium, what fusion built afterwards, and why iron is where fusion stops paying.

Help: Reading: Where Your Atoms Came From