Standards Alignment

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) 

The NGSS focuses on three main areas or dimensions that students need to understand and be able to do. They are Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI), Science and Engineering Practices (SEP), and Crosscutting Concepts (CC). The NGSS Standards are written as Performance Expectations (PEs) that integrate these three dimensions. 

The NGSS envisions science lessons that guide students toward mastery of the PEs by the end of a grade band, such as 6-8. Through the lessons in Middle School Chemistry, students use science or engineering practices to understand and explain disciplinary core ideas and cross-cutting concepts in chemistry-related physical science to achieve the Performance Expectations of the NGSS. 

Common Core English Language Arts (CCELA)

The NGSS states that “Literacy skills are critical to building knowledge in science”. While students participate in the science and engineering practices in the lessons in Middle School Chemistry, they develop reading and writing skills that are useful in science learning and communication. As these literacy skills develop, students are able to read and understand more science and technical writing and communicate their learning more effectively. So Middle School Chemistry, the NGSS, and the CCELA can be seen as working together.

Download alignments by lesson

To read about how a particular lesson addresses the Disciplinary Core Ideas, Science and Engineering Practices, and Crosscutting Concepts for an NGSS standard, simply choose the lesson to go to the NGSS alignment for that lesson.