D857: Secondary Earth Science Curriculum

Secondary Earth Science Curriculum brings the astronomy, meteorology, and geology content together into an actual teachable curriculum — the capstone content course for Earth Science teacher-candidates.

What D857 covers

The course prepares students to develop and evaluate Earth Science curricula for secondary education by examining the foundational principles of Earth's processes, materials, and their interactions within the broader context of the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and the universe. It delves into the relationships between the Earth, Sun, and Moon, the dynamics of Earth's internal and external systems, and the characteristics and life cycles of stars and planets.

Learners explore the structure and behavior of Earth's components and celestial phenomena, equipping them with the knowledge necessary to effectively teach these concepts. Through practical examples and interactive activities, students enhance their ability to design effective curricula that foster student engagement in Earth Science.

The D857 performance assessment

Expect a performance assessment requiring you to design or evaluate an Earth Science curriculum unit for a given secondary grade level, integrating content from astronomy, meteorology, and geology.

Key topics in D857

• Earth Science curriculum design
• Earth-Sun-Moon system
• Earth's internal and external systems
• Curriculum evaluation for secondary Earth Science

Writing tips for D857

Follow the task instructions and rubric line by line

WGU performance assessments for D857 are graded against a fixed rubric — every rubric line has to be visibly addressed, usually with a labeled heading that mirrors the rubric language. Skipping a rubric point because it seems minor is the single most common reason a competent submission comes back "Not Yet Competent" for revision.

Ground every claim in a specific secondary grade level and science content

Secondary Science Education courses like D857 typically ask you to apply content knowledge and pedagogy to a specific grade level and science topic rather than write about teaching in the abstract. Evaluators are checking whether your reasoning fits that concrete classroom situation — vague, generic statements about "good science teaching" usually lose rubric points for lacking that specificity.

Because WGU is self-paced, don't let "no deadline pressure" become no submission

There's no weekly due date forcing progress, which means procrastination costs more at WGU than at a traditional term-based school — a stalled task can quietly eat weeks of a term. Treat your own target date for each D857 assessment as a real deadline.

Why students seek help with D857

Candidates sometimes design a curriculum unit that draws on only one Earth Science subdiscipline (say, only geology) when the course specifically wants integration across the broader Earth Science content the sequence covers — a strong response draws connections across subdisciplines.

How GradeEssays helps with D857

Share your grade level and rubric, and your writer will build an Earth Science curriculum unit genuinely integrating multiple subdisciplines, not a single-topic lesson.

Prerequisites and program context

D857 has no listed additional prerequisites but builds naturally on the Astronomy, Meteorology, and General Geology content courses in the Earth Science sequence. Part of WGU's undergraduate Science Education (Secondary) teacher-licensure curriculum.

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