MS-ETS1-1 Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions
Clarification Statement: none
Assessment Boundary: none
This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this performance expectation.
Comments about Including the Performance Expectation
In this lesson students have to consider some criteria and constraints including: the number of people, number of caverns, geological and geographic constraints, and size of the asteroid. Students are then tasked with determining what further information is needed. The missing piece for many of suggested questions in this lesson is “why.” Teachers should ask, “Why do you think that? Why is that the best solution? What evidence did you use to make that decision or recommendation?” Students will be more likely actually apply scientific and mathematical reasoning rather than guesses if they are asked to use this reasoning as evidence to back up their claims/solutions.
MS-ESS3-2 Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.
Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how some natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions and severe weather, are preceded by phenomena that allow for reliable predictions, but others, such as earthquakes, occur suddenly and with no notice, and thus are not yet predictable. Examples of natural hazards can be taken from interior processes (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions), surface processes (such as mass wasting and tsunamis), or severe weather events (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods). Examples of data can include the locations, magnitudes, and frequencies of the natural hazards. Examples of technologies can be global (such as satellite systems to monitor hurricanes or forest fires) or local (such as building basements in tornado-prone regions or reservoirs to mitigate droughts).
Assessment Boundary: none
This resource is explicitly designed to build towards this performance expectation.
Comments about Including the Performance Expectation
The links under Additional Multimedia Support provide additional information about the natural hazard and possible catastrophic nature of an asteroid impact. In this lesson, students are not explicitly given data to forecast these events, but the introductory lesson (particularly in combination with the additional 8 lessons) builds students understanding of asteroid impacts and includes data about them. Students use that information to develop a “technology” (underground cavern) to mitigate this disaster. Lessons could be modified to include looking at data on asteroid impacts in order to forecast the likelihood of major or minor impacts in a particular area. In order to show analytic thinking, the worksheet needs more space, so students should likely be answering questions in a notebook.