CliffhangerEarth's SpheresGrades 5-6
Storyline
Using their knowledge of Earth's sphere interactions, students will help save a cliffside city from falling into the ocean.
This is not a drill. A cliffside town called Oceana was set up years ago on the coastline of Exanis. However, ocean waves and strong currents have been eroding this coastline for years and this is now leading to large chunks of the cliff falling into the sea. If this continues for much longer, the entire town will soon drop into the ocean. But it gets worse. This town is also the location of a critical UCE research facility for quantum energy technology. The loss of this research and technology could set back humanity for decades. Our crew has been recruited to build a protection wall to save Oceana and keep the research facility from crumbling. To solve the problem, students will need to understand the interaction between the spheres to come up with the best solution that is both durable and environmentally friendly.
Phenomenon
Earth's systems interact and shape the surface of the planet.
Science and Engineering Practices
Developing and Using Models
Develop and/or use models to describe and/or predict phenomena.
Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena, using logical reasoning, mathematics, and/or computation.
Use data to evaluate and refine design solutions.
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solution
Construct an explanation of observed relationships (e.g., the distribution of plants in the back yard).
Use evidence (e.g., measurements, observations, patterns) to construct or support an explanation or design a solution to a problem.
Identify the evidence that supports particular points in an explanation.
Generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the design solution.
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.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems
Four major Earth systems interact. Rainfall helps to shape the land and affects the types of living things found in a region. Water, ice, wind, organisms, and gravity break rocks, soils, and sediments into smaller pieces and move them around.