Courses of Study : Science (Grade 7)

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 1
Lesson Plans: 1
1 ) Engage in argument from evidence to support claims of the cell theory.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Crosscutting Concepts: Structure and Function
Disciplinary Core Idea: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Argue using evidence to support claims that all living things are made of cells.
  • Argue using evidence to support claims that the cell is the basic unit of life.
  • Argue using evidence to support claims that cells come from other cells.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Cell
  • Cell theory
  • Unicellular
  • Multicellular
  • Living
  • Non-living
  • Organism
  • Evidence
  • Scientific argument
  • Claims
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The presence or absence of cells in living and nonliving things.
  • The presence of cells in a variety of organisms, including unicellular and multicellular organisms.
  • Different types of cells within one multicellular organism.
  • Cells only arise from preexisting cells by division.
  • The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living things.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Make a claim about a given explanation or model for a phenomenon, including the cell theory .
  • Identify and describe the given evidence that supports the claim.
  • Evaluate the evidence and identify its strengths and weaknesses.
  • Use reasoning to connect the necessary and sufficient evidence and construct the argument.
  • Present oral or written arguments to support or refute the given explanation or model for the phenomenon.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The three components of the cell theory:
  • All life forms are made from one or more cells.
  • Cells only arise from pre-existing cells.
  • The cell is the smallest unit of life.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Investigating Biodiversity and Interdependence
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.1a: All organisms are composed of cells, from one cell only to many cells. About two-thirds of the weight of cells is accounted for by water, which gives cells many of their properties. In multicellular organisms, specialized cells perform specialized functions. Organs and organ systems are composed of cells and function to serve the needs of cells for food, air, and waste removal. The way in which cells function is similar in all living organisms.†

NAEP Statement::
L8.3a: Cells carry out the many functions needed to sustain life.

NAEP Statement::
L8.3b: They grow and divide, thereby producing more cells.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.1- Recognize that cells are the basic units of life; identify the ability to see cells in living tissue using a microscope as evidence that living things are made of cells.
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 7
Learning Activities: 3
Lesson Plans: 2
Classroom Resources: 2
2 ) Gather and synthesize information to explain how prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells differ in structure and function, including the methods of asexual and sexual reproduction.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Crosscutting Concepts: Structure and Function
Disciplinary Core Idea: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Gather and synthesize information with attention given to accuracy, credibility, and bias.
  • Explain, based on gathered information, the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells as they relate to structure, function, and methods of reproduction.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Cell
  • Prokaryotic cells
  • Eukaryotic cells
  • Structure
  • Function
  • Asexual reproduction
  • Sexual reproduction
  • Mitosis
  • Meiosis
  • Chromosome
  • DNA
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Prokaryotic cells are microscopic, single-celled organisms that have neither a distinct nucleus with a membrane nor other specialized organelles.
  • Prokaryotes include the bacteria and cyanobacteria.
  • The function of prokaryotic cells.
  • The reproductive methods of prokaryotic cells.
  • Eukaryotic cells consist of a cell or cells in which the genetic material is DNA in the form of chromosomes contained within a distinct nucleus.
  • Eukaryotes include all living organisms other than the eubacteria and archaebacteria.
  • The function of eukaryotic cells.
  • The reproductive methods of eukaryotic cells.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Obtain information about cells, including structure, function, and method of reproduction, from published, grade-level appropriate material from multiple sources.
  • Determine and describe whether the gathered information is relevant.
  • Use information to explain how prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells differ.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells differ in structure and function, as well as method of reproduction.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Investigating Biodiversity and Interdependence
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.1e: All organisms are composed of cells, from one cell only to many cells. About two-thirds of the weight of cells is accounted for by water, which gives cells many of their properties. In multicellular organisms, specialized cells perform specialized functions. Organs and organ systems are composed of cells and function to serve the needs of cells for food, air, and waste removal. The way in which cells function is similar in all living organisms.†

NAEP Statement::
L8.2: Following fertilization, cell division produces a small cluster of cells that then differentiate by appearance and function to form the basic tissues of an embryo.

NAEP Statement::
L8.9a: Reproduction is a characteristic of all living systems; because no individual organism lives forever, reproduction is essential to the continuation of every species.

NAEP Statement::
L8.9b: Some organisms reproduce asexually.

NAEP Statement::
L8.9c: Other organisms reproduce sexually.
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 5
Learning Activities: 1
Lesson Plans: 2
Classroom Resources: 2
3 ) Construct an explanation of the function (e.g., mitochondria releasing energy during cellular respiration) of specific cell structures (i.e., nucleus, cell membrane, cell wall, ribosomes, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and vacuoles) for maintaining a stable environment.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts: Structure and Function
Disciplinary Core Idea: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Use multiple valid and reliable sources for evidence.
  • Explain, based on gathered evidence, the function of specific cell structures and how each organelle helps to maintain a stable environment.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Explanation
  • Structure
  • Function
  • Organelle
  • Nucleus
  • Cell membrane
  • Cell wall
  • Ribosome
  • Mitochondria
  • Chloroplast
  • Vacuole
  • Homeostasis
  • System
  • Valid
  • Reliable
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Function of organelles (i.e., nucleus, cell membrane, cell wall, ribosome, mitochondria, chloroplast, vacuole).
  • Roles of organelles in maintaining a stable environment.
  • Key differences between animal and plant cells (e.g., Plant cells have a cell wall, chloroplasts, etc.).
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Articulate a statement that relates a given phenomenon to a scientific idea, including how different parts of a cell contribute to how the cell functions as a whole, both separately and together with other structures.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The function of an organelle contributes to the overall function of the cell, both separately and together with other organelles, to maintain a stable environment.
  • Organelles function together as parts of a system (the cell).
  • Organelles function together as parts of a system that determines cellular function.
  • Energy is required to maintain a stable environment.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Investigating Biodiversity and Interdependence
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.1b: All organisms are composed of cells, from one cell only to many cells. About two-thirds of the weight of cells is accounted for by water, which gives cells many of their properties. In multicellular organisms, specialized cells perform specialized functions. Organs and organ systems are composed of cells and function to serve the needs of cells for food, air, and waste removal. The way in which cells function is similar in all living organisms.†

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.3- Label the nucleus of a cell in a cell diagram; distinguish at least one structural difference between plant and animal cells (e.g., cell wall, chloroplasts); match specific cell structures (e.g., nucleus, cell wall, cell membrane) with their functions.
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 6
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 5
4 ) Construct models and representations of organ systems (e.g., circulatory, digestive, respiratory, muscular, skeletal, nervous) to demonstrate how multiple interacting organs and systems work together to accomplish specific functions.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Developing and Using Models
Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models
Disciplinary Core Idea: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Construct models demonstrate how multiple systems (including the organs of those systems) function together to serve specific purposes within the human body.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Model
  • System
  • Tissues
  • Organ
  • Organ System
  • Biological hierarchy (e.g., cells, tissues, organs, etc.)
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Biological hierarchy (cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, organisms).
  • Specialized cells make up specialized tissues; specialized tissues make up organs (e.g., the heart contains muscle, connective, and epithelial tissues that allow the heart to receive and pump blood).
  • Major organs of the body systems (e.g., circulatory, digestive, respiratory, muscular, skeletal, nervous).
  • Functions of the body systems.
  • Interacting organ systems are involved in performing specific body functions.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Construct a model or representation that demonstrates how interacting organs and systems accomplish functions.
  • Describe the relationships between components of the model.
  • Use observations from the model to provide causal accounts for events and make predictions for events by constructing explanations.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The body is a system of multiple interacting subsystems (organ systems).
  • Different organs work together to form organ systems that carry out complex functions (e.g., the heart and blood vessels work together as the circulatory system).
  • The interaction of organ systems are needed for survival, growth, and development of an organism.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Exploring Body Systems
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.1c: All organisms are composed of cells, from one cell only to many cells. About two-thirds of the weight of cells is accounted for by water, which gives cells many of their properties. In multicellular organisms, specialized cells perform specialized functions. Organs and organ systems are composed of cells and function to serve the needs of cells for food, air, and waste removal. The way in which cells function is similar in all living organisms.†

NAEP Statement::
L8.1d: All organisms are composed of cells, from one cell only to many cells. About two-thirds of the weight of cells is accounted for by water, which gives cells many of their properties. In multicellular organisms, specialized cells perform specialized functions. Organs and organ systems are composed of cells and function to serve the needs of cells for food, air, and waste removal. The way in which cells function is similar in all living organisms.†

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.4- Label major organs of the human body (e.g., heart, lungs, diaphragm, bones, muscles, stomach, brain, intestines); use a model to demonstrate how organs are connected in an organ system; recognize how organ systems support the survival of humans (e.g., circulatory, respiratory, skeletal, muscular, digestive).
Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 8
Lesson Plans: 4
Classroom Resources: 4
5 ) Examine the cycling of matter between abiotic and biotic parts of ecosystems to explain the flow of energy and the conservation of matter.

a. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how food is broken down through chemical reactions to create new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as it moves through an organism.

b. Generate a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions; Asking Questions and Defining Problems; Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Crosscutting Concepts: Energy and Matter
Disciplinary Core Idea: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Explain that matter is cycled and conserved within an ecosystem's abiotic factors and biotic organisms.
  • Gather and synthesize information with attention given to accuracy, credibility, and bias.
  • Explain that food moves through a series of chemical reactions in which it is broken down or rearranged to support growth, or release energy, using collected evidence.
  • Articulate the idea that photosynthesis and cellular respiration result in the cycling of matter and energy into and out of organisms using collected evidence from a variety of sources.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Abiotic
  • Organisms as producers, consumers, and/or decomposers
  • Biotic
  • Evaluate
  • Ecosystem
  • Communicate
  • Chemical reaction
  • Molecules
  • Photosynthesis
  • Food web
  • Cellular respiration
  • Energy
  • Matter
  • Energy transfer
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Organisms can be classified as producers, consumers, and/or decomposers.
  • Abiotic parts of an ecosystem provide matter to biotic organisms.
  • Biotic organisms of an ecosystem provide matter to abiotic parts.
  • Energy flow within an ecosystem.
  • The number of each type of atom is the same before and after chemical reactions, indicating that the matter ingested as food is conserved as it moves through an organism to support growth.
  • During cellular respiration, molecules of food undergo chemical reactions with oxygen to release stored energy.
  • The atoms in food are rearranged through chemical reactions to form new molecules.
  • All matter (atoms) used by the organism for growth comes from the products of the chemical reactions involving the matter taken in by the organism.
  • Food molecules taken in by the organism are broken down and can then be rearranged to become the molecules that comprise the organism (e.g., the proteins and other macromolecules in a hamburger can be broken down and used to make a variety of tissues in humans).
  • As food molecules are rearranged, energy is released and can be used to support other processes within the organisms.
  • Plants, algae, and photosynthetic microorganisms require energy and must take in carbon dioxide and water to survive.
  • Energy from the sun is used to combine molecules (e.g., carbon dioxide and water) into food molecules (e.g., sugar) and oxygen.
  • Animals take in food and oxygen to provide energy and materials for growth and survival.
  • Some animals eat plants algae and photosynthetic microorganisms, and some animals eat other animals, which have themselves eaten photosynthetic organisms.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Articulate a statement that relates a given phenomenon to a scientific idea, including the cycling of matter and flow of energy among biotic and abiotic parts of ecosystems.
  • Identify and use multiple valid and reliable sources of evidence to construct an explanation.
  • Use reasoning to connect the evidence and support an explanation.
  • Obtain information about how food is broken down through chemical reactions to create new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as it moves through an organism from published, grade-level appropriate material from multiple sources.
  • Determine and describe whether the gathered information is relevant.
  • Use information to communicate how food is broken down through chemical reactions to create new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as it moves through an organism.
  • Articulate a statement that relates a given phenomenon to a scientific idea, including the idea that photosynthesis and cellular respiration cycle matter and energy.
  • Identify and use multiple valid and reliable sources of evidence to explain the roles of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in cycling matter and energy.
  • Use reasoning to connect the evidence and support an explanation of the roles of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There is a transfer of energy and a cycling of atoms that were originally captured from the nonliving parts of the ecosystem by the producers.
  • The transfer of matter (atoms) and energy between living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem at every level within the system, which allows matter to cycle and energy to flow within and outside of the system.
  • The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
  • Matter and energy are conserved through transfers within and outside of the ecosystem.
  • Relationship among producers, consumers, and decomposers (e.g., decomposers break down consumers and producers via chemical reactions and use the energy released from rearranging those molecules for growth and development.
  • Within individual organisms, food moves through a series of chemical reactions in which it is broken down and rearranged to form new molecules, to support growth, or to release energy.
  • Plants, algae, and photosynthetic microorganisms take in matter and use energy from the sun to produce organic molecules that they can use or store, and release oxygen into the environment through photosynthesis.
  • Plants use the food they have made for energy, growth, etc.
  • Animals depend on matter from plants for growth and survival, including the following:
    • Eating photosynthetic organisms, thus acquiring the matter they contain, that they gained through photosynthesis.
    • Breathing in oxygen, which was released when plants completed photosynthesis.
  • Animals acquire their food from photosynthetic organisms (or organisms that have eaten those organisms) and their oxygen from the products of photosynthesis, all food and most of the oxygen animals use from life processes are the results of energy from the sun driving matter flows through the process of photosynthesis.
  • Photosynthesis has an important role in energy and matter cycling within plants as well as from plants and other organisms.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Investigating Biodiversity and Interdependence
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.3c: Food is used to provide energy for the work that cells do and is a source of the molecular building blocks from which needed materials are assembled.

NAEP Statement::
L8.4a: Plants are producers; that is, they use the energy from light to make sugar molecules from the atoms of carbon dioxide and water.‡

NAEP Statement::
L8.5a: All animals, including humans, are consumers that meet their energy needs by eating other organisms or their products.

NAEP Statement::
L8.5b: Consumers break down the structures of the organisms they eat to make the materials they need to grow and function.

NAEP Statement::
L8.5c: Decomposers, including bacteria and fungi, use dead organisms or their products to meet their energy needs.

NAEP Statement::
P8.13a: Nuclear reactions take place in the Sun.

NAEP Statement::
P8.13b: In plants, light from the Sun is transferred to oxygen and carbon compounds, which, in combination, have chemical potential energy (photosynthesis).

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.5- Distinguish between abiotic and biotic parts of an ecosystem.
SCI.AAS.7.5a- Recognize that food is broken down through chemical reactions to provide energy needed for the growth of organisms.
SCI.AAS.7.5b- Recognize that plants and animals depend on one another for the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen; identify photosynthesis as the process by which plants transfer energy from the sun into materials needed for growth.
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 8
Lesson Plans: 2
Classroom Resources: 6
6 ) Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence regarding how resource availability impacts individual organisms as well as populations of organisms within an ecosystem.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Organize data (tables, graphs, charts, etc.) that allows for analysis and interpretation of relationships between resource availability and organisms in an ecosystem.
  • Analyze data that shows identification of relationships between factors like population size, the growth and survival of individual organisms, and resource availability.
  • Make relevant predictions, based on interpretation of organized data, of relationships between factors like population size, the growth and survival of individual organisms, and resource availability.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Analyze
  • Interpret
  • Evidence
  • Resource(s)
  • Organism(s)
  • Ecosystem
  • Biotic
  • Abiotic
  • Populations (e.g., sizes, reproduction rates, growth information)
  • Competition
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living (biotic) things and with nonliving (abiotic) things.
  • In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction.
  • Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Organize the given data to allow for analysis and interpretation of relationships between resource availability and organisms in an ecosystem.
  • Analyze the organized data to determine the relationships between the size of a population, the growth and survival of individual organisms, and resource availability.
  • Determine whether the relationships provide evidence of a causal link between factors.
  • Interpret the organized data to make predictions based on evidence of causal relationships between resource availability, organisms, and organism populations.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Cause and effect relationships may be used to predict phenomena in natural or designed systems.
  • Causal links exist between resources and growth of individual organisms and the numbers of organisms in ecosystems during periods of abundant and scarce resources.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Investigating Biodiversity and Interdependence
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.7: The number of organisms and populations an ecosystem can support depends on the biotic resources available and abiotic factors, such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.6- Use data as evidence that the availability of natural resources (e.g., food, light, water) influences the growth of organisms.
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 11
Lesson Plans: 3
Classroom Resources: 8
7 ) Use empirical evidence from patterns and data to demonstrate how changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem (e.g., deforestation, succession, drought, fire, disease, human activities, invasive species) can lead to shifts in populations.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Crosscutting Concepts: Stability and Change
Disciplinary Core Idea: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Use information gained from data patterns and analysis to demonstrate that any change in an ecosystem can lead to shifts in populations.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Empirical evidence
  • Patterns
  • Data
  • Ecosystem
  • Populations
  • Physical components (e.g., water, air, temperature, sunlight, soil, etc.)
  • Biological components (e.g., plants, animals, etc.)
  • Phenomena (e.g., deforestation, succession, drought, fire, disease, human activities, invasive species, etc.)
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Ecosystems are dynamic in nature and can change over time.
  • Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations.
  • Changes in the physical or biological components of an ecosystem (e.g., rainfall, species introduction) can lead to changes in populations of species.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate the scientific idea that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem can affect the populations living there.
  • Identify and describe the given evidence needed to demonstrate the scientific idea that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem can affect the populations living there.
  • Evaluate the given evidence, identifying the necessary and sufficient evidence for supporting the scientific idea.
  • Use reasoning to connect the evidence and support an explanation using patterns in the evidence to predict the causal relationship between physical and biological components of an ecosystem and changes in organism populations.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Changes in the amount and availability of given resource may result in changes in the population of an organism.
  • Changes in the amount or availability of a resource may result in changes in the growth of individual organisms.
  • Resource availability drives competition among organisms, both within a population as well as between populations.
  • Resource availability may have an effect on a population's rate of reproduction.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Investigating Biodiversity and Interdependence
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.8a: All organisms cause changes in the environment where they live.

NAEP Statement::
L8.8b: Some of these changes are detrimental to the organisms or other organisms, whereas others are beneficial.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.7- Interpret data to see how changes in an ecosystem (e.g., drought, forest fires) affect the animal population in an area.
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 3
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 2
8 ) Construct an explanation to predict patterns of interactions in different ecosystems in terms of the relationships between and among organisms (e.g., competition, predation, mutualism, commensalism, parasitism).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Articulate a statement that similar patterns of interactions occur between organisms and their environment, regardless of the ecosystem or the species involved.
  • Use evidence and reasoning to construct an explanation concerning relationships between and among organisms within ecosystems.
  • Use multiple valid and reliable sources for the evidence to identify and describe quantitative or qualitative patterns of interactions among organisms that can be used to identify causal relationships within ecosystems.
  • Use reasoning to predict patterns in the evidence.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Interactions
  • Evidence
  • Reasoning
  • Quantitative
  • Qualitative
  • Patterns
  • Ecosystems
  • Relationships
  • Competition
  • Predation
  • Mutualism
  • Commensalism
  • Parasitism
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Competitive relationships occur when organisms within an ecosystem compete for shared resources.
  • Predatory interactions occur between organisms within an ecosystem.
  • Mutually beneficial interactions occur between organisms within an ecosystem; some organisms are so dependent upon one another that they can not survive alone.
  • Resource availability affects interactions between organisms (e.g., limited resources may cause competitive relationships among organisms; those same organisms may not be in competition where resources are in abundance).
  • Competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions occur across multiple, different ecosystems.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Articulate a statement that relates a given phenomenon to a scientific idea, including that similar patterns of interactions occur between organisms and their environment, regardless of the ecosystem or the species involved.
  • Use multiple valid and reliable sources of evidence to construct an explanation for the given phenomenon.
  • Identify and describe quantitative or qualitative patterns of interactions among organisms that can be used to identify causal relationships within ecosystems, related to the given phenomenon.
  • Describe that regardless of the ecosystem or species involved, the patterns of interactions are similar.
  • Use reasoning to connect the evidence and support an explanation using patterns in the evidence to predict common interactions among organisms in ecosystems as they relate to the phenomenon.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Although the species involved in relationships (e.g., competition, predation, mutualism, commensalism, parasitism) vary across ecosystems, the patterns of interactions of organisms with their environments, both living and nonliving, are shared.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Investigating Biodiversity and Interdependence
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.6a: Two types of organisms may interact with one another in several ways: They may be in a producer/ consumer, predator/prey, or parasite/ host relationship.

NAEP Statement::
L8.6b: Or, one organism may scavenge or decompose another.

NAEP Statement::
L8.6c: Relationships may be competitive or mutually beneficial. Some species have become so adapted to each other that neither could survive without the other.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.8- Identify relationships among organisms as competitive, mutually beneficial, parasitic, or neutral.
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 4
Lesson Plans: 2
Classroom Resources: 2
9 ) Engage in argument to defend the effectiveness of a design solution that maintains biodiversity and ecosystem services (e.g., using scientific, economic, and social considerations regarding purifying water, recycling nutrients, preventing soil erosion).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Crosscutting Concepts: Stability and Change
Disciplinary Core Idea: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Argue using evidence to support claims of the effectiveness of the design solution.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Evidence
  • Engineering design process
  • Design solution
  • Biodiversity
  • Ecosystem
  • Ecosystem service
  • Scientific argument
  • Criteria
  • Constraint
  • Economic considerations
  • Social considerations
  • Recycling nutrients
  • Soil Erosion
  • Water Purification
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Evidence about performance of the given design solution. Biodiversity describes the variety of species found in the earth's ecosystems.
  • The completeness of the biodiversity of an ecosystem is often used as a measure of health.
  • Changes in biodiversity can influence humans' resources and ecosystem services.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Identify and describe a given design solution for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
  • Identify and describe the additional evidence (in the form of data, information, or other appropriate forms) that is relevant to the problem, design solution, and evaluation of the solution.
  • Collaboratively define and describe criteria and constraints for the evaluation of the design solution.
  • Use scientific evidence to evaluate and critique a design solution.
  • Present oral or written arguments to support or refute the given design solution.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • There are processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet the criteria and constraints.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Investigating Biodiversity and Interdependence
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.9- Identify human behaviors that are harmful to the environment; compare the effectiveness of various solutions to these problems (e.g. recycling, preventing soil erosion, organic gardening).
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 9
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 8
10 ) Use evidence and scientific reasoning to explain how characteristic animal behaviors (e.g., building nests to protect young from cold, herding to protect young from predators, attracting mates for breeding by producing special sounds and displaying colorful plumage, transferring pollen or seeds to create conditions for seed germination and growth) and specialized plant structures (e.g., flower brightness, nectar, and odor attracting birds that transfer pollen; hard outer shells on seeds providing protection prior to germination) affect the probability of successful reproduction of both animals and plants.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Make a claim to support a given explanation including the idea that characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Evidence
  • Cause and effect
  • Scientific Reasoning
  • Characteristics
  • Behaviors
  • Specialization
  • Probability
  • Reproduction
  • Validity
  • Reliability
  • Relevance
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Animals engage in characteristic behaviors that increase the odds of reproduction.
  • Plants reproduce in a variety of ways, sometimes depending on animal behavior and specialized features for reproduction.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Make a claim to support a given explanation of a phenomenon, including the idea that characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
  • dentify the given evidence that supports the claim (e.g., evidence from data and scientific literature).
  • Evaluate the evidence and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence used to support the claim.
  • Use reasoning to connect the appropriate evidence to the claim, using oral or written arguments.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Many characteristics and behaviors of animals and plants increase the likelihood of successful reproduction.
  • Animal behavior plays a role in the likelihood of successful reproduction in plants.
  • Because successful reproduction has several causes and contributing factors, the cause and effect relationships between any of these characteristics and reproductive likelihood can be accurately reflected only in terms of probability.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Investigating Biodiversity and Interdependence
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 2
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
11 ) Analyze and interpret data to predict how environmental conditions (e.g., weather, availability of nutrients, location) and genetic factors (e.g., selective breeding of cattle or crops) influence the growth of organisms (e.g., drought decreasing plant growth, adequate supply of nutrients for maintaining normal plant growth, identical plant seeds growing at different rates in different weather conditions, fish growing larger in large ponds than in small ponds).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Predict, using analysis and interpretation of data, how both environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Analyze
  • Interpret
  • Data
  • Predict
  • Environmental
  • Conditions (e.g., weather, resource availability, etc.)
  • Genetics
  • Genetic Factors (e.g., selective breeding, etc.)
  • Organisms
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Environmental factors can influence growth.
  • Genetic factors can influence growth.
  • Changes in the growth of organisms can occur as specific environmental and genetic factors change.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Organize given data on how both environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms to allow for analysis and interpretation.
  • Analyze the data to identify possible causal relationships between environmental and genetic factors and the growth of organisms.
  • Interpret patterns observed from the data to provide causal accounts for events and make predictions for events by constructing explanations.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Genetic factors as well as local conditions affect the growth of organisms.
  • Because both environmental and genetic factors can influence organisms simultaneously, organism growth is the result of environmental and genetic factors working together.
  • Because organism growth can have several genetic and environmental causes, the contributions of specific causes or factors to organism growth can be described only using probability.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Investigating Biodiversity and Interdependence
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.10a: For some characteristics, inheritance is more important; for other characteristics, interactions with the environment are more important.

NAEP Statement::
L8.10b: The characteristics of organisms are influenced by heredity and environment.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.11- Predict how various environmental conditions affect our food supply; recognize that farmers use selective breeding of plants and animals to influence the growth and other factors of those plants and animals.
Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 3
Learning Activities: 1
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
12 ) Construct and use models (e.g., monohybrid crosses using Punnett squares, diagrams, simulations) to explain that genetic variations between parent and offspring (e.g., different alleles, mutations) occur as a result of genetic differences in randomly inherited genes located on chromosomes and that additional variations may arise from alteration of genetic information.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Developing and Using Models
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Identify and describe the relevant components of the model.
  • Develop a model for a given phenomenon involving the variations that arise between parent and offspring as a result of randomly inherited genes and alteration of genetic material.
  • Use a model to explain a given phenomenon involving the variations that arise between parent and offspring as a result of randomly inherited genes and alteration of genetic material.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Punnett square - monohybrid cross
  • Homozygous and Pure
  • Heterozygous and
  • Hybrid
  • Homologous
  • Dominant
  • Recessive
  • Models
  • Genetic variation
  • Parent
  • Offspring
  • DNA
  • Genes
  • Inheritance
  • Allele
  • Variation
  • Mitosis (introduced in Standard 2; use here for comparison to Meiosis)
  • Meiosis
  • Chromosome
  • Mutation
  • Probability
  • Gregor Mendel
  • Mendel's laws
  • Sexual reproduction
  • Asexual reproduction
  • Sperm
  • Egg
  • Zygote
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Chromosomes are the source of genetic information.
  • Organisms reproduce, either sexually or asexually, and transfer their genetic information to offspring.
  • Variations of inherited traits from parent to offspring arise from the genetic differences of chromosomes inherited.
  • In sexual reproduction, each parent contributes half of the genes acquired (at random) by the offspring.
  • Individuals have two of each chromosome, one acquired from each parent; therefore individuals have two alleles (versions) for each gene. The alleles (versions) may be identical or may differ from each other.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Construct a model for a given phenomenon involving the differences in genetic variation that arise from genetic differences in genes and chromosomes and that additional variations may arise from alteration of genetic information.
  • Identify and describe the relevant components of the model.
  • Describe the relationships between components of the model.
  • Use the model to describe a causal account for why genetic variations occur between parents and offspring.
  • Use the model to describe a causal account for why genetic variations may occur from alteration of genetic information.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • During reproduction (both sexual and asexual) parents transfer genetic information in the form of genes to their offspring.
  • Under normal conditions, offspring have the same number of chromosomes (and genes) as their parents.
  • In asexual reproduction: Offspring have a single source of genetic information and their chromosomes are complete copies of each single parent pair of chromosomes. Offspring chromosomes are identical to parent chromosomes.
  • In sexual reproduction: Offspring have two sources of genetic information that contribute to each final pair of chromosomes in the offspring because both parents are likely to contribute different genetic information, offspring chromosomes reflect a combination of genetic material from two sources and therefore contain new combinations of genes that make offspring chromosomes distinct from those of either parent.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.12- Compare and contrast traits of animal parents and their offspring (e.g., eye color, hair/fur color, size); recognize that variations between parents and offspring are the result of randomly inherited genes; recognize that genes are located on chromosomes which are found in the cells of living things.
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 2
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
13 ) Construct an explanation from evidence to describe how genetic mutations result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of an organism.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Use evidence and reasoning to construct an explanation describing how genetic mutations result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of an organism.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Explanation
  • Evidence
  • Gene
  • Genetic mutation
  • Chromosome
  • Protein
  • Trait
  • Structure
  • Function
  • Protein structure
  • Protein function
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Genes are located in the chromosomes of cells, with each chromosome pair containing two variants of gene.
  • Genes control the production of proteins.
  • Proteins affect the structures and functions of the organism, thus changing traits.
  • Genetic information can be altered because of mutations.
  • Mutations, though rare, can result in changes to the structure and function of proteins.
  • Mutations can be beneficial, harmful, or have neutral effects on organisms.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Articulate a statement that relates a given phenomenon to a scientific idea, including the relationship between mutations and the effects on organisms.
  • Identify and use multiple valid and reliable sources of evidence to construct an explanation that structural changes to genes (i.e., mutations) may result in observable effects at the level of the organism.
  • Use reasoning to connect the evidence and support an explanation that beneficial, neutral, or harmful changes to protein function can cause beneficial, neutral, or harmful changes in the structure and function of organisms.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Mutations are the result of changes in genes which may affect protein production and, in turn, affect traits.
  • Mutations can be harmful, beneficial, or have neutral effects on organisms.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 4
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 3
14 ) Gather and synthesize information regarding the impact of technologies (e.g., hand pollination, selective breeding, genetic engineering, genetic modification, gene therapy) on the inheritance and/or appearance of desired traits in organisms.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Gather information about at least two technologies, which influence the inheritance of desired traits, with attention given to accuracy, credibility, and bias.
  • Synthesize information from multiple sources to provide examples of how technologies have changed the ways that humans are able to influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Technology (e.g., hand pollination, selective breeding, genetic engineering, genetic modification, gene therapy)
  • Inheritance
  • Traits
  • Synthesize
  • Bias
  • Credibility
  • Accuracy
  • Probability
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Through technologies, humans have the capacity to influence certain characteristics of organisms.
  • One can choose desired parental traits determined by genes, which are then passed to offspring.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Gather information about multiple technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance and/or appearance of desired traits in organisms.
  • Use multiple appropriate and reliable sources of information for investigating each technology.
  • Assess the credibility, accuracy, and possible bias of each publication and method used in the information they gather.
  • Use their knowledge of artificial selection and additional sources to describe how the information they gather is or is not supported by evidence.
  • Synthesize the information from multiple sources to provide examples of how technologies have changed the ways that humans are able to influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
  • Use the information to identify and describe how a better understanding of cause-and-effect relationships in how traits occur in organisms has led to advances in technology that provide a higher probability of being able to influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Cause-and-effect relationships in how traits occur in organisms has led to advances in technology that provide a higher probability of being able to influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
Unity and Diversity
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 2
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
15 ) Analyze and interpret data for patterns of change in anatomical structures of organisms using the fossil record and the chronological order of fossil appearance in rock layers.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: Unity and Diversity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Analyze and interpret data, focusing on patterns, to describe the evolution of organisms.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Relative dating
  • Fossil
  • Evolve
  • Extinct
  • Mass extinction
  • Analogous structures
  • Homologous structures
  • Diversity
  • Vestigial structures
  • Species
  • Speciation
  • Anatomical structures
  • Chronological
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Oldest fossils are found deeper in the earth, younger fossils are found closer to the surface.
  • Life evolved from simple to more complex forms of life.
  • Periodic extinctions occurred throughout the history of earth.
  • Fossils found closer to the surface more resemble modern species.
  • Bacteria today closely resemble earliest fossils.
  • Fossils of transitional species exist, and suggest evolution from one species to another (e.g., whale hind leg bones).
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Organize the given data, including the appearance of specific types of fossilized organisms in the fossil record as a function of time, as determined by their locations in the sedimentary layers or the ages of rocks.
  • Organize the data in a way that allows for the identification, analysis, and interpretation of similarities and differences in the data.
  • Analyze and interpret the data to determine evidence for patterns of change in anatomical structures of organisms using the fossil record and the chronological order of fossil appearance in rock layers.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The collection of fossils and their placement in chronological order is known as the fossil record. It records the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms throughout the history of life on earth.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.11d: Fossils indicate that many organisms that lived long ago are extinct.

NAEP Statement::
L8.11e: Extinction of a species is common; most of the species that have lived on the Earth no longer exist.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.15- Identify patterns that indicate a change in a species over time.
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 2
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 1
16 ) Construct an explanation based on evidence (e.g., cladogram, phylogenetic tree) for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms, including living fossils (e.g., alligator, horseshoe crab, nautilus, coelacanth).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: Unity and Diversity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Use evidence to explain anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms.
  • Use evidence to explain anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and fossilized organisms, including living fossils.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Explanation
  • Evidence
  • Cladogram
  • Phylogenetic tree
  • Anatomical similarities
  • Anatomical differences
  • Organism
  • Fossil
  • Living fossil
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Anatomical similarities and differences among organisms can be used to infer evolutionary relationships among modern organisms and fossil organisms.
  • Anatomical similarities and differences between modern organisms (e.g., skulls of modern crocodiles, skeletons of birds; features of modern whales and elephants).
  • Organisms that share a pattern of anatomical features are likely to be more closely related than are organisms that do not share a pattern of anatomical features, due to the cause-and-effect relationship between genetic makeup and anatomy (e.g., although birds and insects both have wings, the organisms are structurally very different and not very closely related; the wings of birds and bats are structurally similar, and the organisms are more closely related; the limbs of horses and zebras are structurally very similar, and they are more closely related than are birds and bats or birds and insects).
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Articulate a statement that relates a given phenomenon to a scientific idea, including anatomical similarities and differences among organisms.
  • Identify and use multiple valid and reliable sources of evidence to construct an explanation for anatomical similarities and differences among organisms.
  • Use reasoning to connect the evidence and support an explanation for anatomical similarities and differences among organisms.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Organisms that share a pattern of anatomical features are likely to be more closely related than organisms that do not share a pattern of anatomical features.
  • Changes over time in the anatomical features observable in the fossil record can be used to infer lines of evolutionary descent by linking extinct organisms to living organisms through a series of fossilized organisms that share a basic set of anatomical features.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.12a: Similarities among organisms are found in anatomical features, which can be used to infer the degree of relatedness among organisms.

NAEP Statement::
L8.12b: In classifying organisms, biologists consider details of internal and external structures to be more important than behavior or general appearance.
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 1
Lesson Plans: 1
17 ) Obtain and evaluate pictorial data to compare patterns in the embryological development across multiple species to identify relationships not evident in the adult anatomy.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: Unity and Diversity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Obtain and evaluate pictorial data of embryological development across multiple species, with attention given to accuracy, credibility, and bias.
  • Identify patterns of similarities and changes in embryo development, which describe evidence of relatedness among apparently diverse species.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Embryo
  • Embryological development
  • Development
  • Species
  • Anatomy
  • Compare
  • Obtain
  • Evaluate
  • Pictorial data
  • Data
  • Patterns
  • Relatedness
  • Diverse
  • Accuracy
  • Bias
  • Credibility
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The more closely related the organisms, the longer the embryonic development proceeds in a parallel fashion (e.g., mammals and fish are more closely related than they appear based on adult features (presence of gill slits), human embryos have tails like other mammals but these features disappear before birth, etc.).
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Obtain pictorial data of embryological development across multiple species from published, grade-level appropriate material from multiple sources.
  • Organize the displays of pictorial data of embryos by developmental stage and by organism to allow for the identification, analysis, and interpretation of relationships in the data.
  • Analyze the organized pictorial displays to identify linear and nonlinear relationships.
  • Use patterns of similarities and changes in embryo development to describe evidence for relatedness among apparently diverse species, including similarities that are not evident in the fully formed anatomy.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Comparison of the embryological development of different species reveals similarities that show relationships not evident in the fully formed anatomy.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.17- Compare pictorial data of embryological development in multiple species; identify relationships in embryos of different species that are not evident in the adults of those species.
Science (2015)
Grade(s): 7
Life Science
All Resources: 4
Lesson Plans: 1
Classroom Resources: 3
18 ) Construct an explanation from evidence that natural selection acting over generations may lead to the predominance of certain traits that support successful survival and reproduction of a population and to the suppression of other traits.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Unity and Diversity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Use multiple valid and reliable sources for evidence Construct an explanation of how natural selection affects the frequency of occurrence and distribution of traits in populations.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Explanation
  • Evidence
  • Evolution
  • Extinct
  • Extinction
  • Natural selection
  • Generation
  • Predominance
  • Heredity
  • Trait
  • Overproduction
  • Reproduction
  • Population
  • Suppression
  • Adaptation
  • Variation
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Characteristics of a species change over time (i.e., over generations) through adaptation by natural selection in response to changes in environmental conditions.
  • Traits that better support survival and reproduction in a new environment become more common within a population within that environment.
  • Traits that do not support survival and reproduction as well become less common within a population in that environment.
  • When environmental shifts are too extreme, populations do not have time to adapt and may become extinct.
  • Multiple cause-and-effect relationships exist between environmental conditions and natural selection in a population.
  • The increases or decreases of some traits within a population can have more than one environmental cause.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Articulate a statement that relates a given phenomenon to a scientific idea, including natural selection and traits.
  • Identify and use multiple valid and reliable sources of evidence to construct an explanation for natural selection and its effect on traits in a population.
  • Use reasoning to connect the evidence and support an explanation for natural selection and its effect on traits in a population.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Adaptation by natural selection acting over generations is one important process by which species change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions.
  • Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment become more common; those that do not become less common. Thus, the distribution of traits in a population changes.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Studying the Development and Reproduction of Organisms
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L8.11a: Individual organisms with certain traits in particular environments are more likely than others to survive and have offspring.

NAEP Statement::
L8.11b: When an environment changes, the advantage or disadvantage of characteristics can change.

NAEP Statement::
L8.11c: Extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and the characteristics of a species are insufficient to allow survival.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.7.18- Recognize that healthy specimens of organisms live longer and reproduce in larger numbers than unhealthy specimens; recognize that natural selection may lead to the successful survival of a population by supporting certain traits and suppressing others.