CoCoRaHS: Cross-cutting Concepts

“Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation. Events have causes, sometimes simple, sometimes multifaceted. A major activity of science is investigating and explaining causal relationships and the mechanisms by which they are mediated. Such mechanisms can then be tested across given contexts and used to predict and explain events in new contexts.”

Source: NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States, Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

School-Based Participatory Science Progression

Students focus on investigating how precipitation varies throughout the year or by location and what might explain those changes. Building routines at the start of the year and using the suite of tools available through the CoCoRaHS website will provide students with access to rich data sets for answering these questions. In October, the class graphs the data they collected in September. At this point in the year, students may begin to see correlation between particular weather conditions and the amount of precipitation observed. As students progress throughout the year’s engagements, they build their understanding of the ways that location and geographic features impact precipitation at different times of the year. Students work to draw connections between local precipitation events and larger weather events. Through these experiences and multiple opportunities to engage with weather data, students are able to notice what may be typical for a particular area. Using tools such as the CoCoRaHS interactive map, students will also be able to see how weather events like storms progress over the course of multiple days. Students will also recognize the multiple factors at play in each location affected by a weather event and how this influences the likelihood of impact.