NDH Standards | Ndh-Live

NDH Live Simulation Standards

The Natural Disasters & Health (NDH) project addresses these important goals:

Goals

Enhance student scientific literacy of human body systems using natural disasters as a hook to gain their undivided attention.
Develop critical thinking skills to determine courses of action, supported by information and resources needed to identify and effectively respond to problems.
Promote team skills of collaboration and communication.
Involve parents and local experts in NDH learning.
Introduce health careers and the education necessary to achieve them.
Include underrepresented groups in all activities.
Be widely used now and in the future.

Please note: The specific science standards addressed in this section apply to the entire NDH project as a whole. Not all standards apply to the live simulation or any other single component of the project.

NGSS Live Simulation Standards

Middle School Life Science

LS1.A: Structure and Function

In multicellular organisms, the body is a system of multiple interacting subsystems. These subsystems are groups of cells that work together to form tissues and organs that are specialized for particular body functions.

Systems may interact with other systems; they may have sub-systems and be a part of larger complex systems.

Specialized tissues comprise each organ, enabling the specific organ functions to be carried out (e.g., the heart contains muscle, connective, and epithelial tissues that allow the heart to receive and pump blood).

Different organs can work together as subsystems to form organ systems that carry out complex functions (e.g., the heart and blood vessels work together as the circulatory system to transport blood and materials throughout the body).

The body contains organs and organ systems that interact with each other to carry out all necessary functions for survival and growth of the organism.

Connections to the Nature of Science

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors. (MS-LS2-1)

LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience

Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations. (MS-LS2-4)

Earth Science

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
Human activities have significantly altered the biosphere, sometimes damaging or destroying natural habitats and causing the extinction of other species. But changes to Earth’s environments can have different impacts (negative and positive) for different living things.

ESS2.C The complex patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns. (MSESS2-5)

ESS2.D Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things.

MS-ESS3-2. Some natural hazards, such as volcanic eruptions and severe weather, are preceded by phenomena that allow for reliable predictions, but others, such as earthquakes, occur suddenly and with no notice, and thus are not yet predictable. Examples of natural hazards can be taken from interior processes (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions), surface processes (such as mass wasting and tsunamis), or severe weather events (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods).

Examples of data can include the locations, magnitudes, and frequencies of the natural hazards. Examples of technologies can be global (such as satellite systems to monitor hurricanes or forest fires) or local (such as building basements in tornado-prone regions or reservoirs to mitigate droughts).

National Science Education Standards-Content Standard C

Life Science

As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop an understanding of:

Structure and function in living systems:

Living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary nature of structure and function. Important levels of organization for structure and function include cells, organs, tissues, organ systems, whole organisms, and ecosystems.
Specialized cells perform specialized functions in multicellular organisms. Groups of specialized cells cooperate to form a tissue, such as a muscle.
The human organism has systems for digestion, respiration, reproduction, circulation, excretion, movement, control and coordination and for protection from disease. These system interact with one another.

Earth Science

Water, which covers the majority of earth’s surface, circulates through the crust, oceans, and atmosphere in what is known as the “water cycle.”
Clouds, formed by the condensation of water vapor, affect weather and climate.

Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

Personal Health

The potential for accidents and the existence of hazards imposes the need for injury prevention. Safe living involves the development and use of safety precautions and the recognition of risk in personal decisions. Injury prevention has personal and social dimensions.

Natural Hazards

Internal and external processes of the earth system cause natural hazards events that change or destroy human and wildlife habitats, damage property, and harm or kill humans. Natural hazards include earthquakes, landslides, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, floods, storms, and even possible impacts of asteroids.

Risks and Benefits

Students should understand the risks associated with natural hazards (fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions), with chemical hazards, with biological hazards (viruses, bacterial, and parasites, social hazards and personal hazards.