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| ACADEMIC STANDARDS |
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| Grade Level: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 Subject Area: science Standard: Understands basic features of the Earth. Benchmarks: (K-2) Knows that Earth materials consist of solid rocks and soils, liquid water and the gases of the atmosphere. (3-5) Knows that when liquid water disappears, it turns into gas (vapor) in the air and can reappear as a liquid when cooled. (6-8) Knows that the solid Earth is layered with a thin brittle crust, hot convection mantle and dense metallic core. Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8 Subject Area: science Standard: Understands basic Earth processes. Benchmarks: (3-5) Knows that smaller rocks come from the breakage and weathering of bedrock and larger rocks. (3-5) Knows that rock is composed of different combinations of minerals. (3-5) Knows that the surface of the Earth changes; some changes are due to slow processes (e.g., erosion, weathering), and some changes are due to rapid processes (e.g., landslides, volcanoes, earthquakes). (6-8) Knows how land forms are created through a combination of constructive and destructive forces: constructive forces include crustal deformation, volcanoes and deposition of sediment; destructive forces include weathering and erosion. Grade Level: 6-8 Subject Area: geography Standard: Knows the physical processes that shape patterns on Earth's surface. Benchmarks: 1) Knows the major processes that shape patterns in the physical environment (e.g., the erosional agents such as water and ice, earthquake zones and volcanic activity, the ocean circulation system.) 2) Knows the consequences of a specific physical process operating on Earth's surface (e.g., effects of an extreme weather phenomenon such as a hurricane's impact on a coastal ecosystem; effects of heavy rainfall on hillslopes; effects of the continued movement of Earth's tectonic plates). |
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