Teacher Stuff, Science, Astronomy and Cosmology

May be ignored unless you are really interested in what your kids should know about science when they graduate from high school.

California Department of Education
Curriculum and Instruction
Science
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/
Information that represents the content of science education and includes the essential skills and knowledge students will need to be scientifically literate citizens in the twenty-first century.

http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/sciencestnd.pdf

The vitality of a democracy assumes a certain "core of knowledge" shared by everyone which serves as a unifying force. It is fundamental to the effectiveness of our democratic system that our citizens be able to make informed judgments on the more and more complex issues of scientific and technological public policy.

—"A Nation at Risk Revisited"

If that hasn't scared the bejeebers out of you, read on.  It gets more fun now.

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/ll/ap/searchlist.asp

My search: 
Keyword: Astronomy and Cosmology
Grade Level Span: 9-12

Books on Astronomy

1	Davis, Kenneth	Don't Know much About the Universe
2	Dickinson, Terence	Universe and Beyond, The
3	Feinberg, Anna	Borrowed Light
4	Hakim, Joy	Newton at the Center
5	Hays, David	My Old Man and the Sea: A Father and Son Sail Around Cape Horn
6	Heinlein, Robert A.	Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, The
7	Highfield, Roger	Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey, The
8	Highfield, Roger	Science of Harry Potter: How Magic Really Works, The
9	Osserman, Robert	Poetry of the Universe: A Mathematical Exploration of the Cosmos
10	Roberts, Jeanie	Lucky Science: Accidental Discoveries from Gravity to Velcro, with Experiments
11	Roberts, Royston	Lucky Science: Accidental Discoveries from Gravity to Velcro, with Experiments
12	Schwartz, David M.	Q Is for Quark: A Science Alphabet Book
13	Shimony, Abner	Tibaldo and the Hole in the Calendar
14	Teresi, Dick	Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science--From the Babylonians to the Maya
15	Trefil, James S.	101 Things You Don't Know About Science and No One Else Does Either

Books on Cosmology

1	Brockman, John	Third Culture: Beyond the Scientific Revolution
2	Ferris, Timothy	Whole Shebang: A State-of-the-Universe(s) Report, The
3	Henderson, Harry	Importance of Stephen Hawking, The
4	Silver, Brian L.	Ascent of Science, The
5	Teresi, Dick	Lost Discoveries: The Ancient Roots of Modern Science--From the Babylonians to the Maya
6	Trefil, James S.	101 Things You Don't Know About Science and No One Else Does Either

Happy reading everybody.