In many stories, the main character gets all the attention, but the plot wouldn’t work without the supporting characters. They connect scenes, give context, and help the plot make sense. In science, crosscutting concepts play a similar role. They aren’t the standards themselves, but they’re the ideas that connect what students notice, wonder, and try to explain across different science experiences.
So what are Crosscutting Concepts?
Crosscutting concepts are thinking tools students use to make sense of science. They aren’t tied to one unit, one grade level, or even one discipline. Instead, they show up again and again as students observe phenomena (real-world events or observations), ask questions, and try to explain what’s happening.
In the Next Generation Science Standards, there are seven crosscutting concepts:
- Patterns
- Cause and Effect
- Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
- Systems and System Models
- Energy and Matter
- Structure and Function
- Stability and Change
Students don’t need to master these all at once and they aren’t meant to be taught as a standalone unit or a list to get through. Rather, they are thinking tools students use again and again as their understanding grows. They are meant to be introduced gradually and revisited often, growing deeper as students gain more experiences with the world around them. For the youngest learners, this may include briefly naming and modeling this kind of thinking, since the language of science is brand new to them.
Why these ideas matter and how they work together
Without crosscutting concepts, science can start to feel like a collection of interesting but disconnected activities. Students move from lesson to lesson without seeing how their thinking carries forward.
Crosscutting concepts act as the glue that holds learning together over time. They help students see that what they noticed yesterday still matters today, and that the thinking they use in one investigation can help them make sense of the next one. Instead of starting fresh every lesson, students begin building understanding that connects and deepens.
These thinking tools don’t work in isolation. They often show up together.
For example, when students compare the properties of objects, they may begin noticing patterns. Those patterns naturally lead to questions about cause and effect. As students explain why certain properties matter, they start thinking about structure and function or how parts work together as systems.
Seen this way, crosscutting concepts help students experience science as a connected web of thinking, not a series of unrelated topics to get through.
How Crosscutting Concepts span grade levels
Crosscutting concepts help connect standards that can look very different from one grade level to the next, and students may encounter and revisit these ideas at different times depending on curriculum, context, and experience.
Take a familiar idea like properties of objects.
- Primary grades (often K–2)
Students observe and describe physical properties such as size, shape, texture, or quantity and begin using simple comparisons. For example, they might sort objects by how they look or feel, notice which items are bigger or smaller or heavier or lighter, or describe which materials are smooth or rough. - Elementary grades (often grades 2–5)
Students begin measuring and comparing those properties more intentionally and using them to answer questions or solve problems. They might test which materials bend or break, compare how far different objects roll, or decide which material works best for a specific purpose. - Upper elementary and beyond (often grade 5+)
Students apply ideas like scale and proportion to explain how those properties affect systems or models. They may analyze data, build models, or explain why changing the size or material of an object changes how it behaves.
The wording of the standards changes.
The level of precision increases.
The underlying way of thinking stays connected.
What this looks like in the early grades
At this age, students are already doing the thinking scientists do. They notice patterns, compare objects, and wonder why things happen long before they know the formal language for those ideas. Crosscutting concepts do not replace that curiosity. They help give it structure.
In K–2 especially, crosscutting concepts work best when they are:
- named gently, so students begin hearing the language of science without being expected to memorize definitions
- revisited often, showing up again and again across different investigations
- tied to real, hands-on experiences and investigations, not abstract examples
- used as thinking tools, not vocabulary lists to get through and memorize
For younger students, it is okay and often helpful to name crosscutting concepts explicitly because the language of science is brand new. What matters most is how that language is introduced. When these ideas are grounded in real investigations and everyday experiences, students begin to recognize that the thinking they are already doing, observing closely, comparing ideas, and explaining what they notice, is science. Over time, those ideas shift from new vocabulary to familiar thinking tools that students use naturally as they make sense of what they observe.
Some crosscutting concepts, like patterns, are especially powerful entry points for young learners because they are concrete, visual, and show up across many science experiences. Naming these ideas helps students recognize that the noticing, comparing, and wondering they are already doing is real science.
A note about “Chapter 0”
If you’ve ever felt uneasy teaching a “Chapter 0,” you’re not alone.
Many science curricula include an introductory unit meant to front-load practices, language, or big ideas at the start of the year. While the intention is to build shared understanding, this approach can feel disconnected when students have not yet had experiences to attach that language to.
Crosscutting concepts are not meant to be front-loaded or taught all at once. In most grades, they are most powerful when introduced as they are needed, grounded in real investigations, and revisited over time. Kindergarten, however, is a meaningful exception. For many students, it is their first exposure to science as a way of thinking, so some intentional introduction to the language of science is necessary, as long as it is rooted in hands-on experiences rather than slides or vocabulary lists.
In my own kindergarten classroom, this meant keeping the required introduction but reshaping it around experience. We paired brief language with short videos and hands-on explorations, like pattern walks or spotting cause-and-effect relationships in the classroom, so students had something real to connect their thinking to.
When a curriculum calls for a Chapter 0, this often means adapting rather than abandoning, keeping the focus on doing science and letting meaning grow from experience.
The quiet work of the Crosscutting Concepts
Crosscutting concepts do not need to take center stage in every lesson. Like background music in a movie, they quietly shape how learning feels and how ideas fit together. When students can hear that underlying rhythm, science stops feeling like a collection of activities and starts to make sense as a connected story.
These ideas help students see science as meaningful and worth thinking about. They remind us that the work students do today does not disappear when the unit ends. It carries forward, shaping how they notice, question, and explain the world over time.
When we plan with crosscutting concepts in mind, science instruction becomes less about covering topics and more about building ways of thinking that grow with students year after year.
In the next post, I’ll begin taking a closer look at individual crosscutting concepts, starting with patterns, and share concrete ways to help students notice, use, and strengthen this kind of thinking through developmentally appropriate experiences.
In a future post, I’ll also be sharing a closer look at the Science and Engineering Practices (how students do science) and how they work alongside crosscutting concepts to support sensemaking.
Want to keep exploring?
If this way of thinking about science resonates with you, there’s more coming. In upcoming posts, I’ll be sharing deeper looks at individual crosscutting concepts, starting with patterns, along with developmentally appropriate ways to support sensemaking in K–2 classrooms.
You might also enjoy a few earlier favorites:
✨ Breaking Up with Science Standards
A reframing of NGSS that puts student thinking and sensemaking first.
✨ Walking Water
A simple investigation turned into a powerful routine for building scientific habits from day one.
✨ Don’t Kill the Ants
A way to help kids notice, wonder, and stay curious instead of rushing to answers.
✨ Don’t Steal the Wonder
The inspiration and reasoning behind how I teach scientific thinking without front-loading or over-explaining.
You can grab my open-ended I Notice / I Wonder Journal Pages (Freebie/Whole Set) on Teachers Pay Teachers to make sensemaking part of your daily science block.
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Until next time, teach boldly. Protect the wonder. 😊