Although the crosscutting concepts are often the last dimension of the NGSS to receive consideration in science teaching and learning, A Framework for K-12 Science Education emphasizes that they need to be made explicit for students. Crosscutting concepts provide an organizational schema for interrelating knowledge from various science fields into a coherent and scientifically based view of the world. 

Science Instructional Coaches Chandra James, Saswati Koya, and Sarah Stults led participants through workshop activities demonstrating the power of the CCCs as a tool for guiding student thinking and teacher collaboration.

Participants analyzed elements of the crosscutting concepts to gain an understanding of how the grade-level specific details progress. They then considered one scientific phenomenon through different crosscutting concepts and at different grade bands. This facilitated building an understanding of how to leverage the crosscutting concepts in various contexts as a resource to anchor students' new scientific understandings. 

Click HERE to view the workshop slide deck.