Meeting National Science & Math Standards

The HOA curriculum supports the National Standards for Science and Math Education by directly involving students in the scientific process. The Teacher Pages for each unit contains a paragraph which describes the specific National Science Standards and Benchmarks themes, concepts, and content addressed in its chapters.

Below is an example of the standards and bookmarks addressed in Chapters 1 ("The Solar System and Beyond") and 2 ("The Nature Of Stars") from Unit 1 of the curriculum.

Relationship to National Science Standards and Benchmarks

In Unit 1 we develop the unifying theme of "systems" by treating the Solar System as an organization of planetary bodies around a central star. Here we use a model as a method of understanding a system too large for visual observation. We show how several models can be used to represent the same thing, and that the models will determine their usefulness. The Earth and Space Science Content Standard states that by the end of the eighth grade, students should develop an understanding of the Earth and Sun as an organized system, and be able to construct models that explain the physical relationships among the objects within the system. By the end of the twelfth grade, students should have acquired the ability to use observational data to continue inquiry into space science, even when things such as large distances are not directly observable. Students should also begin exposure to mathematics as a precise language used to describe objects, compare numbers of different sizes by expressing them as powers of 10, estimate sizes and distances, label numbers with appropriate units, and have the ability to convert units. This unit combines simple observations, basic knowledge, ideas, and open-ended questions to establish the basics of scientific inquiry. Especially in astronomy, students need to understand "how we know what we know." They should gain the confidence to use mathematical models to determine information. Eighth graders should know that light from the Sun (or any star) is made up of a mixture of different colors. All students should know that stars differ from each other in size and temperature, and that they behave according to well-defined physical principles.