Fresno Unified School District

Earth Science Course of Study

(revised January 10, 2006)

FUSD High School Courses of Study

The California Science Content Standards include Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.   These standards are intended to prepare students for the more formal treatment of concepts, principles, and theories called for at the college level.   In the middle school grades students should have developed and enhanced their formal reasoning abilities that reflect science as a way of knowing, and acquiring new science content knowledge.   In grade 6-8 they connect concrete observations of a rich array of phenomena and unify models that help to simplify the ever-expanding body of science content knowledge.   At the ninth grade level these skills will be revisited, reinforced and developed in depth.   In the investigation and experimentation strand students are expected to: formulate hypotheses, to design experiments that will enable them to test predictions, and complete independent research projects utilizing the World Wide Web .   They will also be expected to make oral reports and arguments based on evidence.   In designing, carrying out, and reporting the results of experiments, they will be expected to make use of more complex mathematics.

 PART 1- Earth Science Pacing Guide (printable pdf version)

Please refer to specific pages on the Course of Study (COS) for detailed information needed for lesson plan development. The COS will also provide references for recommended best practices and effective strategies to attain mastery of the Science Standards in Earth Science.  Students attaining mastery of the identified Earth Science Standards through focused classroom instruction should score at the proficient or advanced levels on the Content Standard Test for Earth Science.