California’s Next Generation Science Standards
Alternative Discipline Specific Course
Grade Six: Earth and Space Sciences

Disciplinary Core Ideas for learning about
the Earth’s Place in the Universe!

ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars
♣ Patterns of the apparent motion of the sun, the moon, and
stars in the sky can be observed, described, predicted, and explained
with models. (MS-ESS1-1)

♣ Earth and its solar system are part of the Milky Way galaxy,
which is one of many galaxies in the universe. (MS-ESS1-2)
ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System

♣ The solar system consists of the sun and a collection of
objects, including planets, their moons, and asteroids that are held in
orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them. (MS-ESS1-2)

This model of the solar system can explain eclipses of the sun and
the moon. Earth’s spin axis is fixed in direction over the short-term but
tilted relative to its orbit around the sun. The seasons are a result of that
tilt and are caused by the differential intensity of sunlight on different
areas of Earth across the year. (MS-ESS1-1)

♣ The solar system appears to have formed from a disk of dust
and gas, drawn together by gravity. (MS-ESS1-2)
http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/ngssstandards.asp