Examples of Lesson Plans to Meet NGSS and Common Core Challenges in Earth Science Education

Addressing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Common Cores for English Language Arts and Math will be a major challenge in the next few years for middle and high school Earth Science teachers. With support from the Deep Earth Academy of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, we have created a set of lesson plans to meet these challenges. The lessons contain examples of strategies to incorporate Reading and Writing Skills for college and career readiness, engineering and technologies, and important NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas, Cross-Cutting Concepts, Science and Engineering Practices, and the Nature of Science. Topics include “Downhole Logging,” “Age of the Ocean Floors,” “Tales of the Resolution,” and “Continental Shelf Sediments and Climate Change Patterns.” "Downhole Logging” focuses on the borehole engineering and technology utilized to obtain more information about sediments and rocks cored by the JOIDES Resolution scientific drilling vessel. “Age of the Ocean Floor” utilizes the GeoMap App visualization tools (http://www.geomapapp.org/) to compare seafloors in different parts of the world. “Tales of the Resolution” is a series of ‘graphic novels' created to describe the scientific discoveries, refitting of the JOIDES Resolution, and variety of careers available in the marine sciences (http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/BRG/outreach/media/tales/). The fourth lesson focuses on discoveries made during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 313, which investigated patterns in the sediments beneath the continental shelf off New Jersey with respect to climate changes. They will be disseminated through websites of the Deep Earth Academy (http://www.oceanleadership.org/education/deep-earth-academy/)and Earth2Class Workshops for Teachers (http://www.earth2class.org), and through science education conferences sponsored by the National Earth Science Teachers Association (www.nestanet.org) and other organizations.