CA Content Standards (CA Dept of Education) (2025)

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Title: 5-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Describe and graph the amounts of salt water and fresh water in various reservoirs to provide evidence about the distribution of water on Earth. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to oceans, lakes, rivers, glaciers, ground water, and polar ice caps, and does not include the atmosphere.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface ProcessesNearly all of Earth’s available water is in the ocean. Most fresh water is in glaciers or underground; only a tiny fraction is in streams, lakes, wetlands, and the atmosphere.

Science & Engineering Practices: Using Mathematics and Computational ThinkingDescribe and graph quantities such as area and volume to address scientific questions.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and QuantityStandard units are used to measure and describe physical quantities such as weight and volume.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle IIINatural systems proceed through cycles that humans depend upon, benefit from, and can alter.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRI.5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.W.5.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources. SL.5.5: Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.MathematicsMP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.MP.4: Model with mathematics.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fifth grade: N/AArticulation across grade-levels: 2.ESS2.C; MS.ESS2.C; MS.ESS3.A

Title: 5-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions

Performance Expectation: Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence supporting a model could include adding air to expand a basketball, compressing air in a syringe, dissolving sugar in water, and evaporating salt water.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the atomic-scale mechanism of evaporation and condensation or defining the unseen particles.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS1.A: Structure and Properties of MatterMatter of any type can be subdivided into particles that are too small to see, but even then the matter still exists and can be detected by other means. A model showing that gases are made from matter particles that are too small to see and are moving freely around in space can explain many observations, including the inflation and shape of a balloon and the effects of air on larger particles or objects.

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using ModelsDevelop a model to describe phenomena.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and QuantityNatural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRI.5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently. MathematicsMP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics. 5.NBT.2: Explain patterns in the number of zeros of the product when multiplying a number by powers of 10, and explain patterns in the placement of the decimal point when a decimal is multiplied or divided by a power of 10. Use whole-number exponents to denote powers of 10.5.NF.7.a-c: Apply and extend previous understandings of division to divide unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions.5.MD.3.a-b: Recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement. 5.MD.4: Measure volumes by counting unit cubes, using cubic cm, cubic in, cubic ft, and improvised units.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fifth grade: N/AArticulation across grade-levels: 2.PS1.A; MS.PS1.A

Title: 5-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions

Performance Expectation: Measure and graph quantities to provide evidence that regardless of the type of change that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of matter is conserved. [Clarification Statement: Examples of reactions or changes could include phase changes, dissolving, and mixing that form new substances.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include distinguishing mass and weight.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS1.A: Structure and Properties of MatterThe amount (weight) of matter is conserved when it changes form, even in transitions in which it seems to vanish. PS1.B: Chemical ReactionsNo matter what reaction or change in properties occurs, the total weight of the substances does not change. (Boundary: Mass and weight are not distinguished at this grade level.)

Science & Engineering Practices: Using Mathematics and Computational ThinkingMeasure and graph quantities such as weight to address scientific and engineering questions and problems.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and QuantityStandard units are used to measure and describe physical quantities such as weight, time, temperature, and volume.Connections to Nature of Science:Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural SystemsScience assumes consistent patterns in natural systems.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyW.5.7: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.W.5.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources. W.5.9.a-b: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. MathematicsMP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.MP.4: Model with mathematics. MP.5: Use appropriate tools strategically.5.MD.1: Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real-world problems.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fifth grade: N/AArticulation across grade-levels: 2.PS1.A; MS.PS1.A

Title: 5-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions

Performance Expectation: Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties. [Clarification Statement: Examples of materials to be identified could include baking soda and other powders, metals, minerals, and liquids. Examples of properties could include color, hardness, reflectivity, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, response to magnetic forces, and solubility; density is not intended as an identifiable property.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include density or distinguishing mass and weight.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS1.A: Structure and Properties of MatterMeasurements of a variety of properties can be used to identify materials. (Boundary: At this grade level, mass and weight are not distinguished, and no attempt is made to define the unseen particles or explain the atomic-scale mechanism of evaporation and condensation.)

Science & Engineering Practices: Planning and Carrying Out InvestigationsMake observations and measurements to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence for an explanation of a phenomenon.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and QuantityStandard units are used to measure and describe physical quantities such as weight, time, temperature, and volume.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyW.5.7: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.W.5.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources. W.5.9.a-b: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. MathematicsMP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively. MP.4: Model with mathematics.MP.5: Use appropriate tools strategically.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in fifth grade: N/AArticulation across grade-levels: 2.PS1.A; MS.PS1.A

Title: MS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe

Performance Expectation: Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the analysis of data from Earth-based instruments, space-based telescopes, and spacecraft to determine similarities and differences among solar system objects. Examples of scale properties include the sizes of an object’s layers (such as crust and atmosphere), surface features (such as volcanoes), and orbital radius. Examples of data include statistical information, drawings and photographs, and models.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include recalling facts about properties of the planets and other solar system bodies.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar SystemThe solar system consists of the sun and a collection of objects, including planets, their moons, and asteroids that are held in orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them.

Science & Engineering Practices: Analyzing and Interpreting DataAnalyze and interpret data to determine similarities and differences in findings.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and QuantityTime, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small. Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science:Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology Engineering advances have led to important discoveries in virtually every field of science and scientific discoveries have led to the development of entire industries and engineered systems.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRST.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. RST.6-8.7: Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).MathematicsMP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.6.RP.1: Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. For example, "The ratio of wings to beaks in the bird house at the zoo was 2:1, because for every 2 wings there was one beak." "For every vote candidate A received, candidate C received nearly three votes."7.RP.2.a-d: Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.ESS2.AArticulation across grade-bands: 5.ESS1.B; HS.ESS1.B; HS.ESS2.A

Title: MS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe

Performance Expectation: Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth’s 4.6-billion-year-old history. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how analyses of rock formations and the fossils they contain are used to establish relative ages of major events in Earth’s history. Examples of Earth’s major events could range from being very recent (such as the last Ice Age or the earliest fossils of homo sapiens) to very old (such as the formation of Earth or the earliest evidence of life). Examples can include the formation of mountain chains and ocean basins, the evolution or extinction of particular living organisms, or significant volcanic eruptions.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include recalling the names of specific periods or epochs and events within them.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.C: The History of Planet EarthThe geologic time scale interpreted from rock strata provides a way to organize Earth’s history. Analyses of rock strata and the fossil record provide only relative dates, not an absolute scale.

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing SolutionsConstruct a scientific explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from sources (including the students’ own experiments) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe the natural world operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and QuantityTime, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRST.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. WHST.6-8.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.Mathematics6.EE.6: Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set. 7.EE.4.a-b: Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.LS4.A; MS.LS4.CArticulation across grade-bands: 3.LS4.A; 3.LS4.C; 4.ESS1.C; HS.PS1.C; HS.LS4.A; HS.LS4.C; HS.ESS1.C; HS.ESS2.A

Title: MS-ESS2 Earth’s Systems

Performance Expectation: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how processes change Earth’s surface at time and spatial scales that can be large (such as slow plate motions or the uplift of large mountain ranges) or small (such as rapid landslides or microscopic geochemical reactions), and how many geoscience processes (such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and meteor impacts) usually behave gradually but are punctuated by catastrophic events. Examples of geoscience processes include surface weathering and deposition by the movements of water, ice, and wind. Emphasis is on geoscience processes that shape local geographic features, where appropriate.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS2.A: Earth Materials and SystemsThe planet’s systems interact over scales that range from microscopic to global in size, and they operate over fractions of a second to billions of years. These interactions have shaped Earth’s history and will determine its future. ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface ProcessesWater’s movements—both on the land and underground—cause weathering and erosion, which change the land’s surface features and create underground formations.

Science & Engineering Practices: Constructing Explanations and Designing SolutionsConstruct a scientific explanation based on valid and reliable evidence obtained from sources (including the students’ own experiments) and the assumption that theories and laws that describe nature operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale Proportion and QuantityTime, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle IIINatural systems proceed through cycles that humans depend upon, benefit from, and can alter.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRST.6-8.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.WHST.6-8.2.a-f: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.SL.8.5: Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest. Mathematics MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.6.EE.6: Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set.7.EE.4.a-b: Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.PS1.B; MS.LS2.B Articulation across grade-bands: 4.ESS1.C; 4.ESS2.A; 4.ESS2.E; 5.ESS2.A; HS.PS3.D; HS.LS2.B; HS.ESS1.C; HS.ESS2.A; HS.ESS2.B; HS.ESS2.C; HS.ESS2.D; HS.ESS2.E; HS.ESS3.D

Title: MS-PS1 Matter and Its Interactions

Performance Expectation: Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on developing models of molecules that vary in complexity. Examples of simple molecules could include ammonia and methanol. Examples of extended structures could include sodium chloride or diamonds. Examples of molecular-level models could include drawings, 3D ball and stick structures, or computer representations showing different molecules with different types of atoms.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include valence electrons and bonding energy, discussing the ionic nature of subunits of complex structures, or a complete depiction of all individual atoms in a complex molecule or extended structure.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
PS1.A: Structure and Properties of MatterSubstances are made from different types of atoms, which combine with one another in various ways. Atoms form molecules that range in size from two to thousands of atoms.Solids may be formed from molecules, or they may be extended structures with repeating subunits (e.g., crystals).

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using ModelsDevelop a model to predict and/or describe phenomena.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and QuantityTime, space, and energy phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
Principle IIThe long-term functioning and health of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems are influenced by their relationships with human societies.

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRST.6-8.7: Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).MathematicsMP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.MP.4: Model with mathematics. 6.RP.3: Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: MS.ESS2.CArticulation across grade-bands: 5.PS1.A; HS.PS1.A; HS.ESS1.A

Title: HS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe

Performance Expectation: Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy that eventually reaches Earth in the form of radiation. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the energy transfer mechanisms that allow energy from nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to reach Earth. Examples of evidence for the model include observations of the masses and lifetimes of other stars, as well as the ways that the sun’s radiation varies due to sudden solar flares (“space weather”), the 11-year sunspot cycle, and non-cyclic variations over centuries.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include details of the atomic and sub-atomic processes involved with the sun’s nuclear fusion.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.A: The Universe and its StarsThe star called the sun is changing and will burn out over a lifespan of approximately 10 billion years.PS3.D: Energy in Chemical ProcessesNuclear Fusion processes in the center of the sun release the energy that ultimately reaches Earth as radiation. (secondary to HS-ESS1-1)

Science & Engineering Practices: Developing and Using ModelsDevelop a model based on evidence to illustrate the relationships between systems or between components of a system.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and QuantityThe significance of a phenomenon is dependent on the scale, proportion, and quantity at which it occurs.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRST.11-12.1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account. MathematicsMP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.MP.4: Model with mathematics. N-Q.1-3: Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems.A-SSE.1.a-b: Interpret expressions that represent a quantity in terms of its context.A-CED.2: Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities; graph equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales.A-CED.4: Rearrange formulas to highlight a quantity of interest, using the same reasoning as in solving equations.HSN-Q.A.2: Define appropriate quantities for the purpose of descriptive modeling. HSN-Q.A.3: Choose a level of accuracy appropriate to limitations on measurement when reporting quantities.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS1.C; HS.PS3.A Articulation across grade-bands: MS.PS1.A; MS.PS4.B; MS.ESS1.A; MS.ESS2.A; MS.ESS2.D

Title: HS-ESS1 Earth’s Place in the Universe

Performance Expectation: Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on Newtonian gravitational laws governing orbital motions, which apply to human-made satellites as well as planets and moons.] [Assessment Boundary: Mathematical representations for the gravitational attraction of bodies and Kepler’s Laws of orbital motions should not deal with more than two bodies, nor involve calculus.]

Disciplinary Core Idea(s):
ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar SystemKepler’s laws describe common features of the motions of orbiting objects, including their elliptical paths around the sun. Orbits may change due to the gravitational effects from, or collisions with, other objects in the solar system.

Science & Engineering Practices: Using Mathematical and Computational ThinkingUse mathematical or computational representations of phenomena to describe explanations.

Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and QuantityAlgebraic thinking is used to examine scientific data and predict the effect of a change in one variable on another (e.g., linear growth vs. exponential growth). Connections to Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science:Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and TechnologyScience and engineering complement each other in the cycle known as research and development (R&D). Many R&D projects may involve scientists, engineers, and others with wide ranges of expertise.

California Environmental Principles and Concepts:
N/A

California Common Core State Standards Connections:
MathematicsMP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.MP.4: Model with mathematics. N-Q.1-3: Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems.A-SSE.1.a-b: Interpret expressions that represent a quantity in terms of its context.A-CED.2: Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between quantities; graph equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales.A-CED.4: Rearrange formulas to highlight a quantity of interest, using the same reasoning as in solving equations.

DCI Connections:
Connections to other DCIs in this grade-band: HS.PS2.BArticulation across grade-bands: MS.PS2.A; MS.PS2.B; MS.ESS1.A; MS.ESS1.B