Mississippi Science ESS.4.4
The Standard
- ESS.4
- Students will develop an understanding of Earth’s resources and the impact of human activities.
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to research, develop, and test models to aid in the responsible management of natural resources (e.g., recycling, composting, and energy usage). *
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Earth’s Resources and Human Activity
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use local recycling rules and a waste tally to identify a sorting problem. They build a model recycling station, test it with sample items, and revise it based on sorting errors.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student sets a goal, such as fewer misplaced items, and records results from two trials. They use those counts to explain why a change to the labels or bin openings helped.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume every plastic item goes in recycling, even when local rules exclude it. They may call a redesigned station better without checking whether it reduces sorting errors.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A sorting station misplaced 6 of 20 items before picture labels were added and 2 of 20 afterward. How many fewer items were misplaced, and what would you test next?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give teams local recycling rules, 15 clean waste items, three boxes, and paper labels; have them build stations and count sorting errors.
Show results from two sorting trials; ask students to defend one label change with error counts and name a trade-off.
Play a sorting relay with clean item cards and local recycling rules; stop after each round to explain disputed items.
At lunch, tally bottles and cans placed in cafeteria trash, then sketch a bin location that could catch more of them.
Free download
Printable ESS.4.4 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to ESS.4.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- BIO.5.8
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to create a solution that addresses changing ecological conditions (e.g., climate change, invasive species, loss o...
- ENV.4.5
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to define a problem, design, construct, evaluate, and improve a device or method to reduce or prevent human impact...
- BOT.6.3
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to define a problem, design, construct, evaluate, and improve a societal concern with the aid of plants (e.g., irr...
- ZOO.10.7
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to develop a possible solution to an environmental issue that currently exists in an ecosystem. *
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson