New sets of standards have been published over the last several years (e.g., NGSS and C3). As teachers and other educators engage the process of mapping their curriculum and developing the instructional strategies necessary to implement these standards fully, it seemed useful to provide resources that highlight some of the linkages between the standards and environmental literacy.

We've created two such resources that examine linkages between the K-12 Environmental Education: Guidelines for Excellence (2019) and the Next Generation Science Standards and C3 College, Career, and Civic Life Framework.

Exploring Synergy: Environmental Literacy and the Next Generation Science Standards

Exploring Synergy: Environmental Literacy and C3: College, Career, and Civic Life Framework

When all of the cross-references between these national standards and the environmental literacy framework as articulated in the K-12 EE Guidelines for Excellence are taken together, distinct patterns emerge.  These patterns help us answer two questions important to curriculum development: 1) how can environmental literacy instruction best support the implementation of a standards based curriculum and 2) how can instruction designed to address disciplinary standards also support the development of environmental literacy.