Helping teachers meet the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is important to us. Created by teachers for teachers, our free NGSS and Common Core aligned lessons are made to work in the classroom. Check back often – we keep adding more.
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NGSS Lessons for Educators
The following lessons are free to download for use in classrooms, however, they may not be used for any commercial purpose without expressed written permission.
| TITLE | OBJECTIVE | GRADE LEVEL | EDUCATION STANDARDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design a Dam | Students will design and build a dam, on a budget, to prevent the flow of water, then evaluate its effectiveness and answer questions about its impact to the environment. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 Crosscutting Concepts: 6 Core Ideas: ESS3, PS2, LS2, ETS1 Performance Expectations Earth & Space Sciences: HS-ESS3-4; MS-ESS3-4 Physical Sciences: HS-PS2-3, HS-PS2-6 Life Sciences: HS-LS2-6, HS-LS2-7; MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4 Engineering: HS-ETS1-2, HS-ETS1-3; MS-ETS1-1 CC Math HS - HSN.Q.A.3, MP.2; MS – MP.2, MP.4, 6.SP.B.4, 6.SP.B.5 CC ELA/Literacy HS - WHST. 9-12.1, WHST.9-12.2; MS – SL.8.4, WHST.6-8.2, RST.6-8.7 |
| The Impact of Dams on the Environment | Students will read and analyze informational pieces on pros and cons of dam projects and discuss with the group the environmental tradeoffs of using such systems, including water storage for human and agricultural uses, power generation, damage to ecosystems, decreased greenhouse gasses, etc. Students will write their recommendation for or against the Three River Gorge project using evidence to support their claims. They will discuss as a class how smaller dam projects are similar and different to larger projects and how that information affects their opinion on those projects | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 1, 7, 8 Crosscutting Concepts: 1, 2 Core Ideas: LS2 Performance Expectations Life Sciences: HS-LS2-6, HS-LS2-7; MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4, MS-ESS3-3 CCSS ELA/Literacy HS - SL.9-10.1; RST.9-10.2, RST.9-10.8, RST.9- 10.9; MS – SL.8.1, WHST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.9, RST.6-8.1, RST.6-8.8, RST.6-8.9 |
| San Clemente Dam Removal Webquest | Students will investigate the San Clemente Dam Removal and Carmel River Reroute Project in order to design and create a poster that either SUPPORTS or OPPOSES the project. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Crosscutting Concepts: 2, 3, 6, 7 Core Ideas: ESS3, LS2, LS4, ETS1 Performance Expectations Earth and Space Science: HS-ESS3-4, MS-ESS3-2, MS-ESS3-4 Life Science: HS-LS2-6, HS-LS2-7, HS-LS4-5, MSLS2-1, MS-LS2-5 Engineering Design: HS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-2 Life Sciences: HS-LS1-3, HS-LS2-7; MS-LS1-5 CC Math HS - MP.2, MP.4, HSN-Q.A.2, HSA-SSE.A.1, HSSIC.B.6; MS – MP.2, 7.RP.A.2, MP.4, 6.SP.B.4 CC ELA/Literacy HS - RST.11-12.7, RST.11-12.8, RST.11-12.9, WHST.9-12.1, WHST.9-12.7, WHST.9-12.9, SL.11- 12.4; MS – WHST.6-8.7, RST.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.9, SL.8.5, RST.6-8.4, SL.8.4 |
| Chemicals in Waste Water | Students will design and implement an experiment to test the effects of chemicals in wastewater on the growth of plants. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 Crosscutting Concepts: 2, 4, 7 Core Ideas: ESS3, LS1, LS2 Performance Expectations Earth and Space Sciences: HS-ESS3-3, HSESS3-5; MS-ESS3-3 Life Sciences: HS-LS1-3, HS-LS2-7; MS-LS1-5 CC Math HS - MP.2, MP.4, HSN-Q.A.1, HSN-Q.A.2, HSN-Q.A.3, HSS-IC.B.6; MS – MP.2, MP.4, 6.SP.B.5, 7.RP.A.2 CC ELA/Literacy HS - RST.11-12.1, RST.11-12.8, WHST.9-12.2, WHST.9-12.5, WHST.9-12.7; MS – WHST.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.9, RST.6-8.7 |
| Desalination by Distillation | Students will identify the difference between distillation and reverse osmosis. They will construct a functioning distiller then design and perform an experiment to analyze the efficiency of the apparatus. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 Crosscutting Concepts: 2, 4, 5 Core Ideas: ESS2, ESS3, LS2, PS1 Performance Expectations Earth and Space Sciences: HS-ESS2-3, HS-ESS3-1, HS-ESS3-4 Life Sciences: HS-LS2-6, HS-LS2-8; MS-LS2-5 Physical Sciences: HS-PS1-6; MS-PS1-6 Engineering: MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4 CC Math HS - HSN.Q.A.1, HSN.Q.A.3, MP.2; MS – MP.2, MP.4, 6.SP.B.5 CC ELA/Literacy HS - WHST 9-12.2; MS – SL.8.4, WHST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.7, RST.6-8.3 |
| Process and Impact of Desalination on the Environment | Students will research, create and discuss various types of water desalination and evaluate them for potential use in large scale production in terms of benefits to humans and associated environmental costs. In an extension of this lab, students will test how osmosis works, then build a small scale solar still to observe a simple desalination process. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 1, 2, 7 Crosscutting Concepts: 2, 3, 5 Core Ideas: LS2, ESS2, ESS3, PS1 Performance Expectations Earth and Space Sciences: HS-ESS2-3, HS-ESS2-5, HS-ESS3-1 Life Sciences: HS-LS2-7, MS-LS2-5 Physical Science: MS-PS1-6 CC ELA/Literacy HS - SL.9-10.1; RST.9-10.2, RST.9-10.8, RST.9-10.9; MS – RST.6-8.3, WHST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.9, SL.8.5 |
| Humans and Salt Water | Students will perform an experiment to explain why humans cannot consume salt water. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 Crosscutting Concepts: 2, 7 Core Ideas: ESS3, LS1, LS2 Performance Expectations Earth and Space Sciences: HS-ESS3-1, HS-ESS3-4; MS-ESS3-4 Life Sciences: HS-LS1, HS-LS2-7; MS-LS1, MSLS2-5 CC Math HS - HSN.Q.A.1, HSN.Q.A.3, MP.2, HSS-ID.A.1, HSS-ID.B.6; MS – MP.2, MP.4, 6.SP.B.4, 6.SP.B.5, 6.RP.A.3 CC ELA/Literacy HS - WHST.9-12.1, WHST.9-12.2, WHST.9-12.7; MS – SL.8.4, WHST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.9 |
| Salt Water Intrusion (Saltwater Intrusion pptx) | Students will both model how wells function and model and explain what causes saltwater intrusion. They will then design and present a solution for saltwater intrusion. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 Crosscutting Concepts: 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 Core Ideas: ETS1, LS2, ESS3 Performance Expectations Earth and Space Science: HS-ESS3-1, HSESS3-4, MS-ESS3-3, MS-ESS3-4 Life Science: HS-LS2-7 Engineering: HS-ETS1-1, HS-ETS1-2, MSETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2 CC Math HS - MP.2; MS – MP.2 CC ELA/Literacy HS - WHST.9-12.9, WHST.11-12.8, WHST.9-12.7, SL.11-12.5; MS – WHST.6-8.9, WHST.8-8.7, WHST.6-8.8,SL.8.1, SL.8.5 |
| The Water Project | Students will collect and analyze data about water, produce graphs and images to draw conclusions about the purpose of water and its uses and ways to conserve water. Students will design a simple survey and then collect data from the survey. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 3, 4, 8 Crosscutting Concepts: 2 Core Ideas: ESS3 Performance Expectations Earth and Space Sciences: HS-ESS3-1, HS-ESS3-3, HS-ESS3-4; MS-ESS3-3 CC Math HS - MP.2; MS – MP.2, MP.4, 6.SP.B.4, 6.SP.B.5 CC ELA/Literacy HS - SL.11-12.4, SL.11-12.5, SL.11-12.7, SL.11-12.9 RST 11-12.8; MS – SL.8.5, WHST.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.8, WHST.6-8.9, RST.6-8.1 |
| Who Owns the Water | Students will learn about the right to pump groundwater and extract water from rivers. They will investigate and identify major American aquifers, then draw conclusions about their use and depletion rate. In a second exercise, students will investigate the major dams of the Colorado River and their use. In both exercises, students will create a map that serves as a visual aid to illustrate the issue at hand. They will then write a persuasive essay in which they will describe existing rules and solutions, and voice their own opinion with substantiated argumentation. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 1, 6, 7, 8 Crosscutting Concepts: 2, 4, 5, 7 Core Ideas: ESS2, ESS3, LS2, PS1 Performance Expectations Earth and Space Sciences: HS-ESS3-1, HS-ESS3-4, HS-ESS3-5, HS-ESS3-6, MS-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-4 CC ELA/Literacy HS - RST 9-10.10, RST 11-12.7; MS – RST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.9 |
| Sources of Water on Our Planet | Students will make a model of the water cycle, identify the various reservoirs, and predict the paths of water through the reservoirs. They will determine which reservoirs can be exploited for human consumption, as well as which are renewable, and which are being depleted. They will review different water uses (drinking water, agriculture, industrial uses, etc.), different means of water extraction, and will research and present the cost and feasibility of extracting water for different regions of the U.S. and different countries of the world. They will practice systemic thinking (balanced systems, inputs, outputs) and will use schematics and pie charts to analyze and share their results in a visually appealing and relevant way. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 Crosscutting Concepts: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 Core Ideas: ESS2, ESS3, LS2, PS1 Performance Expectations Earth and Space Sciences: HS-ESS2-2, HS-ESS3-1, HS-ESS3-3, HS-ESS3-4, HS-ESS3-5, HS-ESS3-6; MS-ESS3-1, MS-ESS3-3, MS-ESS3-4 CC Math HS - 7.RP.A.2, MP.2, MP.4 CC ELA/Literacy HS - RST 9-10.7, RST 11-12.7 |
| Engineering a Water Tower (Water Tower pptx) | In a collaborative group, students will design and construct a solution for building a water tower and then analyze and reflect on the process. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 1,2,3,4,5,6,8 Crosscutting Concepts: 2,3,4,6,7 Core Ideas: ETS1.B Performance Expectations Engineering: HS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-4 CC Math HS - MP.2, MP.4; MS – MP.2, MP.4 CC ELA/Literacy MS – SL.8.1 |
| Salt Water Concentration
(Concentration of Saltwater pptx) | Students will make a model of a water molecule and explain why it is bipolar. Identify properties of saltwater. In a collaborative group, design and construct a method for testing the salinity o f saltwater. | 6-12 | NGSS Science and Engineering: 1,2,3,4,5,6,8 Crosscutting Concepts: 2,4,6,7 Core Ideas: ETS1.B Performance Expectations Earth and Space Science: HS-ESS2-5, MS-ESS3-3 Physical Science: HS-PS1-1, HS-PS2-5, MS-PS1-1 Engineering: HS-ETS1-2, HS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4 CC Math HS - MP.2, MP.4, HSN-Q.A.3, MP.4; MS – MP.2, MP.4, 6.SP.B-4, 7.RP.A.2 CC ELA/Literacy HS - WHST.9-12.1; MS – SL.8.5 |
PD Workshop Resources Other NGSS Water-Related Science Lessons General Water Education and Non-NGSS Lessons
(search on “water” – 25 lessons)