Oil and Gas
Oil and Gas Without energy, California’s transportation and commerce would come to a screeching halt. More than half of our electricity and almost all of our transportation is currently provided by fossil fuels. California holds about 10 percent of all the proven oil reserves in the United States and is currently the third largest oil producing state in the country. This instructional segment explores where those fuels came from and the effects that extracting and burning them have on our global climate.
California Department of Education. 2018. 2016 California Science Framework Chapter 8. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education, 1214.
Big Idea Success Criteria
The categories and their related standards below unpack the success criteria of this big idea.
Guiding Questions
- Where do oil and gas come from?
- How are gas and oil deposits related to carbon cycling and Earth systems?
- What is the impact of driving cars and using other fossil fuels on the Earth systems?
Performance Expectations Students who demonstrate understanding can do the following:
HS-ESS2-1. Develop a model to illustrate how Earth’s internal and surface processes operate at different spatial and temporal scales to form continental and ocean-floor features [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on how the appearance of land features (such as mountains, valleys, and plateaus) and sea-floor features (such as trenches, ridges, and seamounts) are a result of both constructive forces (such as volcanism, tectonic uplift, and orogeny) and destructive mechanisms (such as weathering, mass wasting, and coastal erosion) ] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include memorization of the details of the formation of specific geographic features of Earth’s surface.] (Introduced here, but revisited from in IS3 and again in IS4)
HS-ESS2-6. Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere [Clarification Statement: The carbon cycle is a property of the Earth system that arises from interactions among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere Emphasis is on modeling biogeochemical cycles that include the cycling of carbon through the ocean, atmosphere, soil, and biosphere (including humans), providing the foundation for living organisms ]
HS-ESS2-7. Construct an argument based on evidence about the simultaneous coevolution of Earth’s systems and life on Earth [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the dynamic causes, effects, and feedbacks between the biosphere and Earth’s other systems, whereby geoscience factors control the evolution of life, which in turn continuously alters Earth’s surface Examples include: how photosynthetic life altered the atmosphere through the production of oxygen, which in turn increased weathering rates and allowed for the evolution of animal life; how microbial life on land increased the formation of soil, which in turn allowed for the evolution of land plants; or how the evolution of corals created reefs that altered patterns of erosion and deposition along coastlines and provided habitats for the evolution of new life forms ] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of how the biosphere interacts with all of Earth’s other systems.]
California Department of Education. 2018. 2016 California Science Framework Chapter 8. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education, 1214.
Alternative Means of Expression
This big idea does not have created or curated examples of alternative means of expression due to the project scope and timeline. If you have example options you would like to share with the initiative team, please use the BYOT option.
Sample Coursework
Bring Your Own Task (BYOT)
A Call to IEP Teams
We want students’ IEP team members to share their ideas regarding viable alternative means of expression pertaining to this big idea for students with disabilities, including those eligible for the CAA, these teams serve. IEP teams can define viable alternative means of expression for an individual student with an IEP, as long as these mediums meet the local requirements of the coursework.
A Call to Content-based Educators
In addition to IEP teams, we know secondary teachers and district curriculum leads have a wealth of experience and ideas related to innovative ways to assess students’ understanding of this content. We are interested in sample alternative means of expression this community sees as viable assessments of this big idea.
Please use the entry boxes below to share these ideas.
Important Note —These assessment tools will not be shared outside the review of the initiative team and will remain the intellectual property of the users who have made this submission. Furthermore, feedback or comments from the initiative team will not be given to uploaded content, nor does uploading materials imply that the alternative means of expression strategy is a viable option for this big idea.
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