The CUNY HSE Curriculum Framework provides direction, structure and materials for teaching math, science and social studies (integrated with reading and writing) in the new era of HSE instruction. The complete framework is available for free download.

The framework was written by the CUNY Adult Literacy PD Team to respond to the challenges facing high school equivalency (HSE) teachers and their students. It is a guide for planning your instruction – including topic recommendations, model lessons, guiding questions, readings, and problems. The framework prioritizes depth over breadth. It does not address all of the content that might potentially be included on an HSE exam, but instead models a focused and coherent study of high priority topics within each content area.

As teachers in adult literacy and HSE education, our work has always been demanding. Now that our students face a new and more challenging HSE test, the demands on teachers are even greater. Teaching students to read, write and do math at the HSE level is no longer enough. Students need specific, deep and coherent content knowledge, as well as the capacity to apply this content knowledge to analysis and problem solving.

As the demands on our students and teachers are increasing, it is important that we don’t lose sight of one of our greatest strengths — our practice of starting from where students are and our serious respect for their learning processes. As a student of ours once said, “You can’t make a plant grow by pulling on it, you only make it rootless.”

The Social Studies section integrates reading and writing through a focus on U.S. history, with extensions to civics, economics and geography. This section has a curriculum map, 12 unit descriptions, six model lesson plans and additional resources.

The Science section provides an introduction to matter and basic chemistry with extensions to science/math connections. This section includes a curriculum map with 23 topic descriptions and key questions, and three complete inquiry-based model lesson plans.

The Math section focuses on problem-solving in functions and algebra. It integrates problem-solving strategies, productive struggle, perseverance and mathematical discussion into content learning. This section includes a curriculum map, model lessons, rich engaging math problems, samples of student work, powerful routines for math classrooms, classroom videos, and more.

Students will learn to calculate time required for corn to progress from one development stage to another based on the amount of heat accumulated.

This video focuses on animals that have quickly evolved in order to meet their needs from the impacts of climate change.

In the task "Carbon 14 Dating'' the amount of Carbon 14 in a preserved plant is studied as time passes after the plant has died. In practice, however, scientists wish to determine when the plant died and, as this task shows, this is not possible with a simple measurement of the amount of Carbon 14 remaining in the preserved plant. The equation for the amount of Carbon 14 remaining in the preserved plant is in many ways simpler here, using 12 as a base.

This exploratory task requires the student to use a property of exponential functions in order to estimate how much Carbon 14 remains in a preserved plant after different amounts of time.

The carbon cycle game is a short digital game that helps you teach how carbon atoms move through various forms including soils, the ocean, plant and animal life and fossil fuels. Actions such as photosynthesis, plant and animal death and forest fires all convert carbon from one form into another. This is a card style game. It allows for single or multi players. Runs on a browser.

This interactive visualization explains the chemical relationship between carbon dioxide, shell building, and ocean acidification.

SYNOPSIS: This lesson shows that different foods have different environmental impacts. Students will calculate ratios and practice proportional thinking.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson is thoroughly sourced. It is engaging and suitable for students to understand how to measure carbon footprint from food sources. The activities in the lesson would also enable them to build their quantitative skills to determine the extent of CO2 impact on the environment. The lesson has passed our science review, and it is advised for classroom use.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson is great because it shows that different foods have different environmental impacts.
-It shows the great disparity between certain types of foods. For example, creating 1 kg of beef (from a beef herd) emits 99.48 kgCO2eq. Creating 1 kg of potatoes creates only 0.46 kgCO2eq. Raising beef creates more than 200x the carbon dioxide than raising the same amount of potatoes!

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-You will need to share the Student Slideshow with students and grant them editing rights. They will all be writing in the same slideshow.
-In general, animals and animal products use far more resources than plants.
-Kilograms are used in this lesson. Some students will be unfamiliar with this unit. You can read more about the kilogram at Britannica. An easy conversion from kilograms to pounds is 1 kg = 2.2 lbs.
-Kilograms of CO2 equivalent are also used in this lesson. This is pretty abstract for the students. You can have them imagine holding a 2.2-pound ball in their hands. This ball has mass and takes up space. This is the "pollution" generated when creating different foods.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-You can create groups of students with mixed abilities.
-If a group finishes early, you can ask these extension questions:
-"Food 1’s emissions are what % of food 2’s emissions?"
-"Can you convert your answers from kilograms to pounds?"
-The Investigate section features a completed table of calculations. You can use this before the students begin their calculations. You can also share this with certain students or groups and let other groups complete their calculations on their own. Another option is to have students use the completed table to check their thinking when they are finished. There is a walkthrough of calculations in the speaker notes of this slide.

In this activity, students use a spreadsheet to calculate the net carbon sequestration in a set of trees; they will utilize an allometric approach based upon parameters measured on the individual trees. They determine the species of trees in the set, measure trunk diameter at a particular height, and use the spreadsheet to calculate carbon content of the tree using forestry research data.

Career Gates: Manufacturing is discussed by various employees of Rexroth, Just Born Candy, Coca-Cola and Martin Guitars. Steve Morrow, General Manager of the Coca-Cola plant begins the tour, followed by Ross Born from Just Born Candy. Products highlighted are Just Born Peeps, Martin Guitars and Coca-Cola sodas. Technologies highlighted are robotics and the use of AutoCad. The last section highlights what these employers look for when evaluating employees that will be hired. ***Access to Teacher's Domain content now requires free login to PBS Learning Media.

In this video segment from NatureScene, explore Cartwheel Bay, a wetland in South Carolina, and learn about the variety of carnivorous plants native to this unique landform.

In this video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, learn about carnivorous plants that act as both producers and consumers in an ecosystem. See sundews and blatterworts capture and digest insects.

A radio plug about the benefits of a Carrageenan technology that is used for plant food supplement transcribed into an Iloco language for better understanding of the target audience which are Ilocano farmers.

This multi-term assignment introduces students to local indigenous stories, significant plants and animals of our region and some basic skills in reading animal tracks and signs.

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Compiled and modified for instructional use by: Lisa Phillips, Illinois State University, llphill@ilstu.edu
On September 10, 2012, several million southern California residents reacted with alarm to an unfamiliar noxious scent. The Air Quality Management District officials in the Los Angeles region were initially at a loss to determine the odor's source. Investigators from Ventura to Palm Springs looked for toxic spills, sewage plant leaks, and gas line breaks—all for naught.

The smell's origin was the Salton Sea more than 150 miles away and not usually upwind. The smell of an algal bloom and subsequent massive fish kill released odor molecules redolent with the stench of environmental decay.

This case study includes discussion questions and data sources for further information.

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This case study is an examination of the chemical and sensory impacts of a variety of environmental issues including sand mining, leaking underground gasoline storage tanks (LUSTs), and a railroad.

Wedron is a small, unincorporated town of approximately 100 residents in north central Illinois. A large sand mine has been in operation on the south and west sides of the town for many decades, and the mine property includes several abandoned and active pits, a processing plant, and a train car loading facility. Railroad tracks are located along the east side of town as is a grain elevator (storage and loading facility).

The following information was obtained from the US EPA web site about Wedron, personal visits to the town, and published news articles.

This case study includes discussion questions and data sources for further information.

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Students learn about power generation using river currents. A white paper is a focused analysis often used to describe how a technology solves a problem. In this literacy activity, students write a simplified version of a white paper on an alternative electrical power generation technology. In the process, they develop their critical thinking skills and become aware of the challenge and promise of technological innovation that engineers help to make possible. This activity is geared towards fifth grade and older students and computer capabilities are required. Some portions of the activity may be appropriate with younger students. CAPTION: Upper Left: Trey Taylor, President of Verdant Power, talks about green power with a New York City sixth-grade class. Lower Left: Verdant Power logo. Center: Verdant Power's turbine evaluation vessel in New York's East River. In the background is a conventional power plant. Upper Right: The propeller-like turbine can be raised and lowered from the platform of the turbine evaluation vessel. Lower Right: Near the East River, Mr. Taylor explains to the class how water currents can generate electric power.

This video will help students, particularly those not in AP-level classes, have a practical application for knowing about the major divisions between plants, particularly about the details of plant anatomy and reproduction. Students will be able to :Identify the major evolutionary innovations that separate plant divisions, and classify plants as belonging to one of those divisions based on phenotypic differences in plants. Classify plants by their pollen dispersal methods using pollen dispersal mapping, and justify the location of a _„ƒcrime scene_„Ž using map analysis. Analyze and present their analysis of banding patterns from DNA fingerprinting done using plants in a forensic context.

This lesson has students use the coding program scratch to create a project for plant and animal cell organelles. 

This interactive lesson can be used by students to learn or review and practice animal and plant cell structures and function.