Mississippi Science E.8.10.2
The Standard
- E.8.10
- Students will demonstrate an understanding that a decrease in natural resources is directly related to the increase in human population on Earth and must be conserved.
Create and defend a proposal for reducing the environmental effects humans have on Earth (e.g., population increases, consumer demands, chemical pollution, deforestation, and change in average annual temperature).
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Earth’s Resources
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify a human activity that harms land, water, air, or climate. They propose a specific change, use evidence to explain how it would reduce harm, and answer an objection.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student names the source of harm, a workable action, and a way to measure results. They support the plan with data and explain a cost or tradeoff.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume that planting trees cancels out any amount of pollution. They may treat a plan as effective without checking whether it reduces harm or can be maintained.
How to Assess It
- The school counted 18 wrappers beside a storm drain after rain. Propose one action, explain how the count supports it, name a tradeoff, and say how you would check whether it worked.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Pour equal amounts of water over trays of bare soil and grass, then compare the runoff collected in clear cups.
Write a note to the principal proposing a rain garden, using the tray results and addressing who would maintain it.
Give teams cards for a rain garden, covered bins, and tree planting, with cost and impact figures; have them rank and defend choices.
Walk to a school storm drain, tally nearby litter, and sketch where a covered bin could keep trash out of the water.
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