Science · Suggested grades 9–12

Earth and Environmental Science
Course map.

Analyze interacting Earth systems, environmental evidence and design tradeoffs.

Grade ranges and the sequence below are suggestions, not graduation requirements. Choose by readiness and your school’s course plan.

Before this course

Middle school Earth and physical science.
Read graphs, rates and proportional data.

Where it can lead

Connects to environmental decision-making, geography and further science study. Schools vary the placement of this course.

A suggested progression

Earth systems and change
Environmental evidence and human effects
Resources, risk and design decisions

Six starter mini-lessons sample selected skills. This is not a full year of daily instruction, complete standards coverage, an accredited course or graduation credit. Grade placement and unit order are planning guidance, not requirements.

Unit → Lesson

Your learning path

3 units · 6 starter lessons

Unit 1: Earth Evidence and Energy

Read crust-age evidence and model an energy budget.

Before this unit: Interpret graphs and distinguish a model from a measurement.

Read a Seafloor Age Pattern35 minutes · HS-ESS1-5 · RST.9-10.7
Model a Changing Energy Budget40 minutes · HS-ESS2-4 · RST.9-10.7

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Unit 2: Carbon and Resource Decisions

Account for carbon transfers and compare resource-management strategies.

Before this unit: Calculate differences, rates and totals.

Keep Stocks Separate From Carbon Flows35 minutes · HS-ESS2-6 · RST.9-10.7
Compare Resource Strategies Transparently40 minutes · HS-ESS3-2 · RST.9-10.1

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Unit 3: Environmental Solutions and Projections

Refine a mitigation proposal and interpret conditional model outputs.

Before this unit: Recognize uncertainty and distinguish scenarios from forecasts.

Refine an Impact-Reduction Proposal35 minutes · HS-ESS3-4 · RST.9-10.1
Read a Projection as a Conditional Model40 minutes · HS-ESS3-5 · RST.9-10.7

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A course map. A practical starting point.

These 138 original mini-lessons sample 23 courses for grades 9–12. They do not provide a full year of daily lessons, complete standards coverage, accredited courses or graduation credit. Suggested grade ranges, prerequisites and unit order are planning guidance; school pathways and elective availability vary. Calculus is excluded.

Subject-content contribution identifies a selected math, English, science or world-language skill. Common Core high school math uses conceptual categories, not universally assigned courses or grades. Mapping a skill to a course is an instructional choice. (+) Additional preparation identifies standards the official source marks for advanced study.

English uses the 9–10 and 11–12 bands; there are no separate Common Core English 9, 10, 11 or 12 codes. NGSS references identify the high school band and partial performance-expectation contributions.

Supporting Common Core literacy connection applies only to an actual reading, writing or communication activity. It does not establish science, social studies or elective subject-content alignment. Unverified subject-content mappings are labeled explicitly.

Spanish uses World-Readiness language standards, identified by their official names in the current summary. Common Core does not measure Spanish proficiency. Supported lesson practice is distinct from an independently assessed proficiency rating and from the course title.

Use North Carolina’s Standard Course of Study ↗ for local planning. No NC alignment is claimed without a verified crosswalk. Each mapping links to official wording, records its verification date and explains the part practiced.