Teaching Guide for Earth and Life Science

The Commission on Higher Education and the Philippine Normal University

• Developed a Teaching Guide for Senior High School in collaboration with educators from public and private schools, colleges, and universities
• The guide was published in 2016 and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

The Teaching Guide

• Aims to support DepEd's implementation of Senior High School (SHS) and uphold the vision and mission of the K to 12 program
• Focuses on developing the three fundamental concepts of Saysay, Husay, and Sarili (meaning, mastery, and ownership) in learners
• Incorporates a framework that guides teachers in creating lessons and assessment tools, facilitating activities and questions, and supporting deeper content areas and competencies

The SHS for SHS Framework

• Stands for "Saysay-Husay-Sarili for Senior High School"
• Combines high-quality content with flexible elements to accommodate diversity of teachers and environments
• Promotes three fundamental concepts: Saysay (meaning), Husay (mastery), and Sarili (ownership)

The Teaching Guide's Components

• Introduction: highlights key concepts, identifies essential questions, and connects to real-life experiences
• Motivation: provides local examples, applications, and hands-on activities to engage learners
• Instruction/Delivery: includes demonstrations, lectures, simulations, and hands-on activities to facilitate learning
• Practice: provides worked-out examples, easy-medium-hard questions, and hands-on activities to reinforce learning
• Enrichment: offers additional examples, applications, and extensions of concepts to encourage deeper understanding
• Evaluation: includes a diverse question bank, alternative formats for student work, and formative assessment to give feedback

DepEd Functional Skills and CHED College Readiness Standards

• Aligns the 21st-century skills set by DepEd with the College Readiness Standards stated by CHED
• Prepares Senior High School graduates to succeed in entry-level undergraduate courses in college

College Readiness Standards Foundational Skills

• Produce all forms of texts (written, oral, visual, digital) based on:
  • Solid grounding on Philippine experience and culture
  • Understanding of the self, community, and nation
  • Application of critical and creative thinking and doing processes
  • Clear appreciation of one's responsibility as a citizen of a multicultural Philippines and a diverse world

DepEd Functional Skills

• Include:
  • Visual and information literacies, media literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills
  • Global awareness, scientific and economic literacy, curiosity, risk-taking, flexibility, and adaptability
  • Global awareness, media literacy, technological literacy, creativity, flexibility, and adaptability
  • Global awareness, multicultural literacy, collaboration and interpersonal skills, social and cross-cultural skills, leadership, and responsibility

Earth and Life Science Core Subject

• Designed to provide a general background for understanding Earth Science and Biology

• Covers the history of the Earth through geologic time, the Earth's structure, composition, and processes, and issues related to natural hazards

• Deals with the basic principles and processes in the study of biology, including life processes and interactions at the cellular, organism, population, and ecosystem levels### Universe and Solar System

• The universe and solar system have different hypotheses explaining their origin.

• The Earth is the only planet in the solar system with properties necessary to support life.

Earth Materials and Processes

• The Earth consists of four subsystems: geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.
• The Earth's internal structure consists of the crust, mantle, and core.
• There are three main categories of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
• Rocks undergo weathering, erosion, mass wasting, and sedimentation.
• Geologic processes occur on the surface (exogenic) and within the Earth (endogenic).

Exogenic Processes

• Weathering, erosion, mass wasting, and sedimentation occur on the Earth's surface.
• Ocean basins play a role in the formation of sedimentary rocks.
• Rocks and soil move downslope due to gravity.

Endogenic Processes

• Geologic processes occur within the Earth, including folding and faulting of rocks.
• Magma is formed, and after its formation, it can lead to plutonism and volcanism.
• The Earth's internal heat comes from within.
• Rocks undergo metamorphism due to changes in pressure and temperature.

Deformation of the Crust

• Plate tectonics is the theory that explains the movement of the Earth's crust.
• The continents drift, and evidence supports this theory.
• The movement of plates leads to the formation of folds and faults.
• The seafloor spreads, and ocean basins have a structure and evolution.

History of the Earth

• The Earth evolved over 4.6 billion years.
• The age of the Earth is determined using relative and absolute dating methods.
• Marker fossils are used to define and identify subdivisions of the geologic time scale.
• The geologic time scale can be interpreted to understand the Earth's history.

Natural Hazards, Mitigation, and Adaptation

• Geologic hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides.

• Hydrometeorological phenomena include tropical cyclones, monsoons, floods, and tornadoes.

• Hazard maps are used to identify areas prone to hazards.

• Human activities can speed up or trigger landslides.

• Ways to cope with geological hazards include preparing for and responding to them.### Marine and Coastal Processes and their Effects

• Coastal processes, including waves, tides, sea-level changes, crustal movement, and storm surges, can cause hazards such as coastal erosion, submersion, and saltwater intrusion.

• Tropical cyclones, monsoons, floods, and ipo-ipo can lead to hydrometeorological hazards.

• Hazard maps can be used to identify areas prone to hazards brought about by these natural disasters.

• Practical ways to cope with these hazards include preparedness, evacuation, and adaptation strategies.

Introduction to Life Science

• The concept of life has evolved over time, with emerging evidence shaping our understanding.
• The origin of the first life forms is still a topic of research, with classic experiments modeling conditions that may have enabled the first forms to evolve.
• Unifying themes in the study of life, such as structure and function, evolution, and ecosystems, show the connections among living things and their interactions with the environment.

Bioenergetics

• Cells are the basic unit of life and carry out functions required for life, including photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
• Photosynthetic organisms capture light energy to form sugar molecules, which are then used to combine carbon dioxide and water to form energy-rich compounds.
• Energy flows from the environment to cells, with organisms obtaining and utilizing energy to carry out functions required for life.

Perpetuation of Life

• Plant and animal reproduction are essential for the continuation of life.
• Genes work by transferring genetic information and synthesizing proteins, allowing for the transmission of traits from one generation to the next.
• Genetic engineering is used to produce novel products, but it also raises ethical concerns and potential risks.

How Animals Survive

• Nutrition, gas exchange, circulation, and homeostasis are essential for animal survival.
• The immune system defends against disease, and hormones govern body activities.
• The nervous system and body motion are also crucial for animal survival.

How Plants Survive

• Plant form and function, growth, and development are essential for plant survival.
• Plant organs have unique structures and functions that enable plants to adapt to their environment.
• Metabolic processes involved in plant organ systems, such as photosynthesis and respiration, are critical for plant survival.

Evolution

• Evidence for evolution includes homology, DNA/protein sequences, plate tectonics, fossil record, embryology, and artificial selection.
• Evolutionary changes can be observed in crop species over time.

A comprehensive guide for teaching Earth and Life Science to senior high school students, developed by the Commission on Higher Education and Philippine Normal University.