Classroom Internet Library > Science > Earth Science > New Hampshire Frameworks Correlations Classroom Internet Library New Hampshire Frameworks Correlations EarthPulse Keep tabs on the health and vitality of the planet at this site from National Geographic. Sections on the Ocean, Climate, Population, Land, Wild Species, Ecosystems, and Energy include online activities and articles that will help you explore topics like tornados, rivers,overpopulation, and conservation. Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No Science: Earth/Space Science Curriculum Standard 4b Students will demonstrate an increasing ability to understand that the Earth is a complex planet with five interacting systems, which consists of the solid Earth (lithosphere), air (atmosphere), water (hydrosphere), ice (cryosphere), and life (biosphere). Proficiency Standards By the end of grade six students will be able to: Describe basic facts about major features of the Earth's surface and natural changes in the features,e.g. volcanoes, earthquakes, glaciers. Observe, describe and record weather conditions such as clouds, temperature, air pressure, and precipitation. Identify events in nature that have repeating patterns or cycles, e.g. weather patterns, water cycle, rock cycle. Construct models that demonstrate the effects of water, ice, wind, and waves on the Earth's land surfaces, e.g. stream tables, wave tanks. Relate observed weather conditions to different climates and seasonal changes. Proficiency Standards By the end of grade ten students will be able to: Identify common soil conservation methods. Relate common cycles such as the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle, and the carbon cycle to each other. Describe the motions of ocean waters and identify their causes and effects on climate. Identify the composition and physical characteristics of the atmosphere. Explain the roles of water and weather in distributing the Sun's heat energy. Explain weather-related phenomena such as thunderstorms, tornados, hurricanes, drought, or acid precipitation. Relate observed weather conditions to large and small scale weather systems,e.g. highs, lows, and fronts. Demonstrate how living things alter the Earth's atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere. Curriculum Standard 4c Students will demonstrate an increasing ability to understand that the Earth contains a variety of renewable and non-renewable resources. Proficiency Standards By the end of grade six students will be able to: Identify Earth resources used in their life. Explain how some of the Earth's resources are processed to make them useful. List some ways that the Earth's water supply can be conserved. Identify/explain some effects human activities have on the atmosphere, e.g. smog, industrial wastes. Proficiency Standards By the end of grade ten students will be able to: Investigate how human activities, such as reducing the amount of forest cover and increasing the amount and variety of chemicals released into the atmosphere have changed the Earth's land, ocean, and atmosphere. Cite evidence that our fresh water supply is essential for life and also for most industrial processes. Describe possible consequences of reducing or eliminating some of the Earth's natural resources. Identify natural, as well as human-induced, factors which contribute to changes in the Earth's systems. Science: Life Science Curriculum Standard 3b Students will demonstrate an increasing ability to understand how environmental factors affect all living systems (i.e. individuals, community, biome, the biosphere) as well as species to species interactions. Proficiency Standards By the end of grade six students will be able to: Identify and describe the basic requirements for sustaining life, e.g. plants and animals need food for energy and growth. Conduct an investigation which illustrates how the environment affects the viability of plants or animals within that environment. Describe and give examples of the various types of interactions that occur among organisms (e.g. predator-prey, symbiotic, producer-consumer-decomposer, host-parasite) to demonstrate how organisms compete or cooperate with each other to gain food, resources or space. Proficiency Standards By the end of grade ten students will be able to: Predict, with rationale, the effects of changing one or two factors in an ecosystem, e.g. What would happen if mosquitoes were to suddenly disappear? Research and present a model that demonstrates how ecosystems are reasonably stable over hundreds or thousands of years, dependent on climate, limiting factors, carrying capacities, and biogeochemical cycles. Make predictions about changes in the size or growth rate of a population using mathematical models, e.g. from graphs and charts, students can determine relationships among the species within an ecosystem. Trace the history of an interaction between man and the environment that demonstrates how human activities can deliberately or inadvertently alter the equilibrium in an ecosystem. Curriculum Standard 3c Proficiency Standards By the end of grade six students will be able to: Identify common materials that cycle through the environment, e.g. carbon, water, carbon dioxide, oxygen. Explore through models, experiments, and observations how matter and energy interact in any ecosystem. Describe how organisms can acquire energy directly or indirectly from the energy of the sun. Social Studies: Geography Curriculum Standard 12 Students will demonstrate an understanding of landform patterns and water systems on Earth's surface; the physical processes that shape these patterns; and the characteristics and distribution of ecosystems. Proficiency Standards By the end of grade six students will be able to: Identify and describe the major landforms and water systems found on Earth's surface. Describe the roles of water, wind, ice, temperature, and slope in shaping the physical features of Earth's major landforms and discuss how glaciers, wind, and water have shaped the physical landscape of New Hampshire. Discuss how changing Earth-Sun and Earth-Moon relationships influence seasons, length of day, weather and climate, the water cycle, and tides. Discuss potential outcomes of the continued movement of Earth's crust or tectonic plates including continental drift, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. Describe the components of Earth's physical systems--the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Define a local ecosystem and explain how its components are interrelated. Describe cycles of succession in a variety of ecosystems (for example, forest, lake, grassland). Describe the characteristics of various biomes (for example, tropical rain forest, major desert), and discuss the groups of plants and animals associated with these large-scale ecosystems. Proficiency Standards By the end of grade ten students will be able to: Describe how physical characteristics, including climate, soil, ocean currents, and salinity, affect the number, kind, and distribution of plants and animals in an ecosystem. Evaluate the relationship between the carrying capacity of different ecosystems and optimal land use patterns. Identify the locations of the world's known fossil fuel reserves and describe the processes that produced these fuels. Discuss interactions among the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Curriculum Standard 13 Students will demonstrate an understanding of the impact of human systems on Earth's surface including the characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations; the nature and complexity of patterns of cultural diffusion; patterns and networks of economic interdependence; processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement; and the forces of cooperation and conflict that shape human geographic divisions. Proficiency Standards By the end of grade six students will be able to: Describe Earth's human systems including the urban, agricultural, political, economic, communication, and transportation systems. Discuss the relationship between physical features and the location of human systems including the distribution of population in coastal areas, river valleys, and mountain ranges. Proficiency Standards By the end of grade ten students will be able to: Analyze the locations of and interconnections among Earth's human systems. Discuss the population characteristics of a country or region including such demographic factors as birth and death rates, population growth rate, doubling time, and life expectancy. Examine and discuss the interrelationships between and among settlement, migration, and population-distribution patterns and landforms, climates, and patterns of vegetation. Evaluate, take, and defend positions concerning the ways changing population patterns can influence the environment and society. Curriculum Standard 14 Students will demonstrate an understanding of the connections between Earth's physical and human systems; the consequences of the interaction between human and physical systems; and changes in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources. Proficiency Standards By the end of grade six students will be able to: Identify and discuss ways people depend upon, use, and alter the physical environment. Identify and discuss the relationship between habitat and the increase, decrease, or stability of populations of species of plants and animals. Identify features of the physical environment in their community and region that first attracted settlers and have supported subsequent development. Evaluate the effects of weather and climate on agricultural activities, types of housing, fuel consumption, and other activities in their community and state. Explain how natural hazards and disasters affect the way people live and discuss what types of natural disasters may occur in their community, region, state, nation, and the world. Explain what a resource is, describe the characteristics of resources, and discuss the use of renewable and non-renewable resources in various parts of the world. Identify and discuss, using historical and contemporary examples, connections between the location of human systems and natural resources. Proficiency Standards By the end of grade ten students will be able to: Analyze patterns of land use in terms of physical and human geographic features; distances to raw materials; proximity to population centers; and absence of physical barriers. Identify and evaluate the significance of the major forces of technology that have been used to modify physical systems in the past and in the present including fire; animals; the plow; explosives; steam power; diesel machinery; and electricity. Compare the ability of various ecosystems to absorb the impacts of human activities. Discuss how settlement patterns and other land use decisions reflect the perceptions of people both in the past and in the present. Analyze the relationship between resources and the exploration, colonization, and settlement of different areas of the world. Identify the location of major resources in the world today and analyze the impact of resource distribution patterns on world trade, standards of living, and international relations. Discuss how changes in a physical or human system can have regional and worldwide implications (for example, the effect of a volcanic eruption on the world's climate)