The Earth Science Literacy Initiative (ESLI) is an NSF funded project that establishes the Big Ideas and supporting concepts in Earth Science that all adults should know. You can download a pdf of the guide HERE.
Applications for Science Teachers: This short guide can serve as a nice support to any teacher of Earth Sciences from K-12. There are 9 Big Ideas- each with around 7 components. Seems like it nicely complements state and national standards documents.