Lessons and Standards

9th Grade Summary 

The theme of the Ocean Discovery High School program is: I can be the Science Leader the world needs! Through hands-on science programming, students learn that their diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ideas make them the science leaders of tomorrow.

During Community Building Day, students participate in an Ocean Discovery Challenge and use clues and puzzles that highlight Science Leaders who are Hoover High alumni to find the definition of a Science Leader. Students reflect on their similarities with the alumni and learn how they will do science on their upcoming field trip. They learn that the Torrey Pine Tree is the rarest pine tree in the world and that they will be collecting data to answer the question: What is the current population and health of Torrey Pine trees at Torrey Pines State Reserve?

On Explore Day at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, they collect data using scientific tools like GPS, clinometers, and measuring wheels to map the health and population of Torrey Pine trees. They gather data on population, height and circumference, and the amount of native vs. non-native plants.  Non-native plants threaten the Torrey Pines by stealing resources necessary for the trees to grow and reproduce. Students look at the native and non-native plant maps they have created and consider the consequences of Torrey Pines trees going extinct. At the end of the day, students reflect on themselves as science leaders and the importance of science.

During Make a Difference Day, students analyze and look for trends in the tree height and circumference data they collected on Explore Day using ArcGIS.  Students then make a difference by taking on the role of botanists, land surveyors, and cartographers, which are future careers that can help protect native plants in their own local ecosystems. Students map native and non-native plant species in Manzanita Canyon and consider the health of this ecosystem.  In the second part of the day, they interview a science leader who shares their pathway to becoming a science leader and the importance of equity in science.  Finally, students create a vision board highlighting personal traits, experiences, and ideas for making a difference that makes them the world’s science leaders.

NGSS Alignment:

Performance Expectations

HS-LS2-6: Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem.

HS-LS2-7: Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity

HS-LS2-8: Evaluate the evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species’ chances to survive and reproduce.

DCI

LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

LS4.C: Adaptation

LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans

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