ESS: Earth and Space Science. The course follows an Earth systems approach to address three themes: Earth in space and time, solid Earth, and fluid Earth.
First Semester
1st Nine Weeks
Introduction: Processes of Earth and Space Science Investigations
Unit 01: The Origin of the Universe (5 hours)
Unit 02: Life Cycle of Stars (5 hours)
Unit 03: Solar System Formation (8 hours)
Unit 04: Formation of Earth’s Atmosphere and Hydrosphere (10 hours)
Unit 05: Earth’s Geologic History (10 hours)
1st Nine Weeks
Introduction: Processes of Earth and Space Science Investigations
Unit 01: The Origin of the Universe (5 hours)
Unit 02: Life Cycle of Stars (5 hours)
Unit 03: Solar System Formation (8 hours)
Unit 04: Formation of Earth’s Atmosphere and Hydrosphere (10 hours)
Unit 05: Earth’s Geologic History (10 hours)
2nd Nine Weeks
Unit 06: Earth’s Structure (12 hours)
Unit 07: Plate Tectonics (18 hours)
Unit 06: Earth’s Structure (12 hours)
Unit 07: Plate Tectonics (18 hours)
Second Semester
3rd Nine Weeks
Unit 08: Earth’s Changing Surface (10 hours)
Unit 09: History of Life on Earth (12 hours)
Unit 10: Interactions of Earth’s Atmosphere and Hydrosphere (18 hours)
Unit 09: History of Life on Earth (12 hours)
Unit 10: Interactions of Earth’s Atmosphere and Hydrosphere (18 hours)
4th Nine Weeks
Unit 10: Interactions of Earth’s Atmosphere and Hydrosphere (continued)
Unit 11: Changes in Climate (14 hours)
Unit 12: The Human Impact (14 hours)
Unit 11: Changes in Climate (14 hours)
Unit 12: The Human Impact (14 hours)
In Texas, Earth and Space Science (ESS) is a high school science elective that was designed as a capstone course that would build on students' prior scientific and academic knowledge and skills to develop an understanding of Earth's system in space and time.
