As well-developed as they may be, standards are not curriculum. It is the job of teachers and curriculum teams to use the Standards as the basis for designing the specific pathway for teaching and learning. In this article, the authors explore the use of Understanding by Design (UbD), a widely-used curriculum development framework, for honoring the intentions of the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS). They also examine an instructional sequence called "explore-before-explain" teaching, intended to engage students immediately in a meaning-making process leading to deep understanding. As its title suggests, Understanding by Design reflects the convergence of two independent ideas: (1) the focus of modern education on teaching and assessing for understanding and transfer; and (2) a time-honored "backward design" process for developing curriculum with those ends in mind. In its essence, the UbD framework intends to help educators identify the big ideas that allow students to come to understand at a deep level so that they can transfer their learning to new situations. This conception is perfectly aligned with the NGSS's emphasis on teaching science through the conceptual lenses of disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), science and engineering practices (SEPs) and crosscutting concepts (CCs) rather than fixating on factual information only.