Environmental Science is an advanced, high school elective course which builds on foundational knowledge of the chemical, physical, biological, geological processes and focuses on the natural world. Through an inquiry-based program of study, all students will demonstrate environmental literacy as they explore the economic, social, political, and ecological interdependence in urban and rural areas and on local and global scales. As students fuse experiences across disciplines, they will acquire knowledge, values, and skills needed to protect and improve the environment. There is a focus on several crosscutting concepts including the following: Cause and Effect, Systems and System Models, Energy and Matter, and Stability and Change. Science practices and Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science objectives are integrated as students ask questions and define problems, develop and use models, plan and conduct investigations, analyze and interpret data, and construct explanations and design solutions. Students will engage in active inquiries, investigations, and hands-on activities as they develop and demonstrate conceptual understandings and research and laboratory skills described in the objectives. Safety instruction is integrated in all activities, and students will implement safe procedures and practices when manipulating equipment, materials, organisms, and models. All West Virginia teachers are responsible for classroom instruction that integrates content literacy and 21st Century Learning Skills and Technology Tools

Standard: Environmental Science Content

S.HS.ENV.1

Students will compare and contrast the rate elements cycle through the ecosphere, describing natural and human influences on reaction rates:

  • carbon
  • nitrogen
  • phosphorus
  • oxygen
  • sulfur

S.HS.ENV.2

Students will explain how the chemical components of biological and physical processes fit in the overall process of biogeochemical cycling such as photosynthesis, respiration, nitrogen fixation, or decomposition.

S.HS.ENV.3

Students will analyze and evaluate the use and availability of renewable and nonrenewable energy resources:

  • coal
  • solar
  • biomass
  • biofuels
  • hydropower
  • natural gas
  • wind
  • geothermal
  • nuclear

S.HS.ENV.4

Students will evaluate environmental and economic advantages and disadvantages of using nonrenewable and renewable energy.

S.HS.ENV.5

Students will differentiate various means of generating electricity in terms of the transformation of energy among forms, the relationship of matter and energy, and efficiency/production of heat energy.

S.HS.ENV.6

Students will explain how technology has influenced the sustainability of natural resources over time:

  • forestry practices
  • fossil fuels
  • farming

S.HS.ENV.7

Students will relate logistic, exponential, and irruptive population growth to population dynamics including:

  • natural selection
  • predator/prey relationships
  • reproductive strategies
  • carrying capacity
  • limiting factors.

S.HS.ENV.8

Students will create food web diagrams to explain how adding and/or removing a species from an ecosystem may affect other organisms and the entire ecosystem.

S.HS.ENV.9

Students will evaluate the leading causes of species decline and premature extinction:

  • habitat destruction and degradation
  • invasive species
  • pollution
  • human population growth
  • over exploitation

S.HS.ENV.10

Students will analyze biological diversity as it relates to the stability of an ecosystem.

S.HS.ENV.11

Students will relate habitat changes to plant and animal populations and climate influences:

  • variations in habitat size
  • fragmentation
  • fluctuation in conditions of abiotic factors
  • albedo
  • surface temperature.

S.HS.ENV.12

Students will compare and contrast legislation and international agreements associated with protecting habitats, ecosystems, and species:

  • Superfund
  • Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
  • Wilderness Act
  • Endangered Species Act
  • Marine Mammals Act.

S.HS.ENV.13

Students will illustrate how changes in wind patterns or ocean temperatures can affect weather in different parts of the world:

  • El Nino
  • La Nina
  • Santa Ana winds.

S.HS.ENV.14

Students will identify natural and anthropogenic sources of primary, secondary, and indoor air pollutants and the resulting environmental and health effects.

S.HS.ENV.15

Students will explain the formation of acid rain and describe the resulting effect on soil, plants, water, statues, etc.

S.HS.ENV.16

Students will identify causes for the thinning of the ozone layer and evaluate the effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol for reducing ozone depletion.

S.HS.ENV.17

Students will debate climate change as it relates to natural forces, greenhouse gases, human changes in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, and relevant laws and treaties.

S.HS.ENV.18

Students will identify sources, uses, quality, conservation, and global distribution of water.

S.HS.ENV.19

Students will create models to show surface and groundwater flows in a local drainage and explain how surface and ground water are related.

S.HS.ENV.20

Students will contrast point source and non-point source water pollutants.

S.HS.ENV.21

Students will use GIS data to analyze the parameters of a watershed and interpret physical, chemical and biological data as a means of assessing environmental quality.

S.HS.ENV.22

Students will examine legislation associated with the protection of water:

  • Clean Water Act
  • London Dumping Convention of 1972.

S.HS.ENV.23

Students will describe the processes involved and compare different methods of wastewater treatment.

S.HS.ENV.24

Students will classify and analyze characteristics of different soil types:

  • texture
  • pH
  • nitrogen
  • phosphorus
  • potassium.

S.HS.ENV.25

Students will analyze best management practices of the agriculture business:

  • fertilizers
  • integrated pest management
  • associated water pollution
  • irrigation practices

S.HS.ENV.26

Students will research and describe how communities have restored or protected ecosystems:

  • remediation
  • mitigation
  • rehabilitation
  • reclamation
  • preservation.

S.HS.ENV.27

Students will evaluate solid waste management practices:

  • recycling
  • incineration
  • sanitary landfills
  • hazardous waste disposal.

Topic: Engineering Design(Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science)

S.HS.ETS.1

Students will analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.

S.HS.ETS.2

Students will design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.

S.HS.ETS.3

Students will evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

S.HS.ETS.4

Students will use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.

High School: Environmental Science

Topic: Reading- Key Ideas and Details(Science Literacy)

S.11-12.L.1

Students will cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.

S.11-12.L.2

Students will determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms.

S.11-12.L.3

Students will follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks; analyze the specific results based on explanations in the text.

Topic: Reading- Craft and Structure

S.11-12.L.4

Students will determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 11–12 texts and topics.

S.11-12.L.5

Students will analyze how the text structures information or ideas into categories or hierarchies, demonstrating understanding of the information or ideas.

S.11-12.L.6

Students will analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, identifying important issues that remain unresolved.

Topic: Reading- Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

S.11-12.L.7

Students will integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., quantitative data, video, multimedia) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

S.11-12.L.8

Students will evaluate the hypotheses, data, analysis, and conclusions in a science or technical text, verifying the data when possible and corroborating or challenging conclusions with other sources of information.

S.11-12.L.9

Students will synthesize information from a range of sources (e.g., texts, experiments, simulations) into a coherent understanding of a process, phenomenon, or concept, resolving conflicting information when possible.

Topic: Reading- Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

S.11-12.L.10

Students will by the end of grade 12, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Topic: Writing- Text Types and Purposes

S.11-12.L.11

Students will write arguments focused on discipline-specific content:

  • introduce precise, knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons and evidence.
  • develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly and thoroughly, supplying the most relevant data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level, concerns, values and possible biases.
  • use words, phrases and clauses, as well as varied syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims.
  • establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
  • provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the argument presented.

S.11-12.L.12

Students will write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes:

  • introduce a topic and organize complex ideas, concepts and information so that each new element builds on that which precedes it to create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures and tables), and multimedia when useful to aid comprehension.
  • develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
  • use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
  • use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary and techniques such as metaphor, simile and analogy to manage the complexity of the topic; convey a knowledgeable stance in a style that responds to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely readers
  • provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation provided (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).

Topic: Writing- Production and Distribution of Writing

S.11-12.L.13

Students will produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.

S.11-12.L.14

Students will develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.

S.11-12.L.15

Students will use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

Topic: Writing- Research to Build and Present Knowledge

S.11-12.L.16

Students will conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

S.11-12.L.17

Students will gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the specific task, purpose and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

S.11-12.L.18

Students will draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.

Topic: Writing- Range of Writing

S.11-12.L.19

Students will write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes and audiences.