Earth and Space Science · California Grade 6 · integrates engineering

MS-ESS3-3

Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.

Clarification statement: Examples of the design process include examining human environmental impacts, assessing the kinds of solutions that are feasible, and designing and evaluating solutions that could reduce that impact. Examples of human impacts can include water usage (such as the withdrawal of water from streams and aquifers or the construction of dams and levees), land usage (such as urban development, agriculture, or the removal of wetlands), and pollution (such as of the air, water, or land).

Source: California Department of Education, NGSS Preferred Integrated Course Model, Grade 6 (accessed 2026-10-18)

Chapters

Chapter 28: The Importance of Healthy Ecosystemssupports

MS-ESS3-3 is a Grade 6 performance expectation in the California integrated sequence, so here it is background, not assessed. Lab 2 q11 and the Lab 3 monitoring question ask students to propose how a town could monitor and reduce mud from construction or loss of a watershed, revisiting the Grade 6 idea.

Worksheets (1)

ChapterWorksheetRoleHow it connects
Ch. 28W4 · Follow the Raindrop: Modeling How a Watershed Cleans Water
Diagrams and models
supportsThis Grade 6 PE in the California sequence asks students to design ways to monitor and minimize a human impact. Part B looks at one land-use impact (replacing forest with pavement) and asks what to monitor, as background only; the Grade 6 design task is not assessed here.

Labs (2)

ChapterLabRoleHow it connects
Ch. 28Lab 2 · Build a Better Filter: Can Sand and Gravel Do a Watershed's Job?
Engineering design challenge
supportsMS-ESS3-3 is a Grade 6 performance expectation in the California integrated sequence and is background only here. In q11 students propose a way to monitor and a way to reduce the mud a construction site sends into a creek, revisiting the Grade 6 idea.
Ch. 28Lab 3 · The Council Packet: Protect the Ecosystem or Pay to Replace It?
Data-driven decision
supportsMS-ESS3-3 is a Grade 6 performance expectation in the California integrated sequence; it is background here. The q8 monitoring plan revisits the Grade 6 idea of monitoring and minimizing a human impact.