Lessons and Standards

10th Grade Summary 

The theme of the Ocean Discovery Institute high school program is: I can be the Science Leader the world needs! Through hands-on science programming, data collection and analysis, and the opportunity to communicate their ideas about making a difference in the world, students learn that they are the science leaders of tomorrow.

During Community Building Day, students learn how climate change leads to sea-level rise and beach erosion. Students do an activity to understand how thermal expansion from increasing ocean temperatures leads to higher sea levels and consider the consequences of unchecked sea-level rise in the next 100 years and it’s impacts to our coastlines. At the end of the day, students reflect on how they have used the Science Discovery Process throughout the day and consider the idea they may be science leaders themselves.

On Explore Day at Mission Beach, students consider how sea-level rise will impact the California coastline and collect data to create a beach profile using a GPS, beach profile measuring sticks, and calculators, that can be monitored over time to look for effects of erosion.  Students also take time to explore the beach and consider how waves, kelp, and birds may be impacted by sea-level rise and beach erosion.

On Make a Difference Day, students analyze the data they collected on Explore Day by creating a beach profile, consider how beaches could change in the coming years, and why protecting our sandy shorelines from erosion is important. Students then make a connection to their own community by learning about how local canyons are impacted by erosion due to increased rains from climate change and development. Students meet with a Science Leader to learn about their journey to becoming a science leader and to discuss the importance of equity in science. Finally, students put their learning into action by creating a poem that can help educate others about the impacts of erosion on beaches and canyons.

 

NGSS Alignment:

Performance Expectations

HS-ESS2-2: Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems.

HS-ESS3-5: 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.

HS-ESS3-6: Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.

DCI

ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems

ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes

ESS2.D: Weather and Climate

Crosscutting Concepts
Systems and System Models – students understand that a system is a group of related parts that make up a whole and can carry out functions its individual parts cannot. They can also describe a system in terms of its components and their interactions.

Stability and Change – Much of science deals with constructing explanations of how things change and how they remain stable.

Cause and Effect – Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and make claims about specific causes and effects.

Lesson Media: 

 

Schedules

Additional Resources