Content Standard(s):
Literacy Standards (6-12) 2 ) Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.
Unpacked Content
Strand: Reading (RST)
CCR Anchor:
Key Ideas and Details
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
determine the central ideas or conclusions of science texts
determine the central ideas or conclusions of technical texts
compose (writing or speaking) an accurate summary of a science or technical text
trace a text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept Teacher Vocabulary:
determine
central ideas
conclusions
text
trace
explanation
depiction
complex process
complex phenomenon
complex concept
accurate summary Knowledge:
Students know:
techniques for determining central ideas or conclusions from science texts
techniques for determining central ideas or conclusions from technical texts
qualities of an accurate summary of a science and technical text
techniques for tracing a text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept
VOCABULARY: summary Skills:
Students are able to:
determine central ideas or conclusions from science texts
determine central ideas or conclusions from technical texts
summarize accurately (in writing or speaking) science and technical texts
trace the text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept Understanding:
Students understand that an accurate summary of a science or technical text may include tracing the text's explanation or description of a complex process, phenomenon, or process.
Literacy Standards (6-12) 4 ) Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Unpacked Content
Strand: Writing (WHST)
CCR Anchor:
Production and Distribution of Writing
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
are flexible in the use of development, organization, and style to produce clear and coherent writing appropriate to task, audience, and purpose
apply this skill to a variety of styles of writing (argument, informative / explanatory, and narrative) Teacher Vocabulary:
clear and coherent writing
development
organization
style
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
grade-specific expectations Knowledge:
Students know:
qualities of clear and coherent writing
purposes for a variety of types of writing
potential audiences for a variety of types of writing
techniques for developing ideas
techniques for organizing writing
techniques for creating consistent, appropriate style Skills:
Students are able to:
produce clear and coherent writing
analyze a writing task to determine what is required
adapt writing to fulfill a specific purpose
adapt writing to meet the needs of an audience
develop ideas appropriate to task and purpose
apply these skills to a variety of types of writing Understanding:
Students understand that the development, organization, and style of clear and coherent writing pieces are determined by task, purpose, and audience.
Literacy Standards (6-12) 5 ) Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
Unpacked Content
Strand: Writing (WHST)
CCR Anchor:
Production and Distribution of Writing
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students develop and strengthen writing by:
planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach to best address purpose and audience. Teacher Vocabulary:
develop and strengthen writing as needed
planning
revising
editing
rewriting
trying a new approach
how well audience and purpose have been addressed
conventions Knowledge:
Students know:
qualities of well-developed and strong writing
techniques for planning writing
techniques for editing writing
techniques for rewriting
a variety of approaches to writing Skills:
Students are able to:
use planning, revision, editing, rewriting, or a new approach to strengthen writing
explain techniques used to make writing appropriate for purpose and audience
produce writing that is well-developed and strong Understanding:
Students understand that planning, revising, editing, rewriting, trying a new approach, and focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed are critical to the development of strong writing pieces.
Science 13 ) Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain how organisms are
classified by physical characteristics, organized into levels of taxonomy, and
identified by binomial nomenclature (e.g., taxonomic classification, dichotomous
keys).
a. Engage in argument to justify the grouping of viruses in a category
separate from living things.
Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Engaging in Argument from Evidence; Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: Unity and Diversity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
Use major features to classify unfamiliar organisms using accepted classification schemes and justify classification.
Use binomial nomenclature and tools such as dichotomous keys to classify unfamiliar organisms and determine where they fit into accepted taxonomic schemes.
Identify characteristics of organisms within each of the six kingdoms of life.
Distinguish biotic from abiotic materials using the scientifically accepted characteristics of life.
Create a logical argument based on evidence and reasoning, to support the premise that viruses are not living things. Teacher Vocabulary:
Classification Taxonomy Binomial nomenclature Taxon Genus Family Order Class Phylum Division Kingdom Domain Dichotomous key Virus Capsid Lytic cycle Lysogenic cycle Retrovirus Prion Knowledge:
Students know:
Historical systems of classification (Aristotle, Linnaeus).
Taxa are organized into a hierarchal system—each taxa contained within another, arranged from broadest to most specific.(domain ← kingdom ← phylum ← class ← order ← family ← genus ← species)
Characteristics of living things: made of cells, obtain and use energy, grow and develop, reproduce, respond to their environment, adapt to their environment.
Viruses do not exhibit all the characteristics of life: they do not possess cells, nor are they cells, they have no organelles to take in nutrients or use energy, they cannot make proteins, they cannot move, and they cannot replicate on their own. Skills:
Students are able to:
Organize items based on physical characteristics and/or DNA sequences, etc. and communicate reasoning to others.
Design a classification scheme (e.g., dichotomous key) for a collection of common but not necessarily related objects.
Correctly write an organism's name using binomial nomenclature.
Research viruses using a variety of sources—analysis should include viral life cycles, reproductive strategies and their structure and function.
Argue from evidence whether a virus is living or not. Understanding:
Students understand that:
Biologists find it easier to communicate and retain information about organisms when organisms are organized into groups.
Though viruses exhibit several of the characteristics of life, they are not considered to be living things and are not included in the biological classification system. AMSTI Resources:
ASIM Module:
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
Science 15 ) Engage in argument from evidence (e.g., mathematical models such as
distribution graphs) to explain how the diversity of organisms is affected by
overpopulation of species, variation due to genetic mutations, and competition
for limited resources.
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
NAEP Statement::
Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect
Disciplinary Core Idea: Unity and Diversity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
Analyze evidence to describe the main ideas behind natural selection (overproduction of offspring, competition for limited resources, inherited variation in phenotypes and differential survival/reproduction).
Use mathematical models to test the concept that organisms with favorable adaptations are more likely to survive and reproduce.
Develop a logical argument for a proposed mechanism of evolution, including necessary adaptations, mutations, and environmental changes. Teacher Vocabulary:
Variation Adaptation Fitness Biodiversity Habitat Ecosystems Diversity Population Population density Limiting factors Carrying capacity Genetic mutation Competition Natural selection Genetic recombination Knowledge:
Students know:
As species grow in number, competition for limited resources can arise.
Individuals in a species have genetic variation (through mutations and sexual reproduction) that is passed on to their offspring.
Genetic variation can lead to variation of expressed traits in individuals in a population.
Individuals can have specific traits that give them a competitive advantage relative to other individuals in the species.
Individuals that survive and reproduce at a higher rate will provide their specific genetic variations to a greater proportion of individuals in the next generation.
Over many generations, groups of individuals with particular traits that enable them to survive and reproduce in distinct environments using distinct resources can evolve into a different species.
Natural selection is a process while biological evolution can result from that process. Skills:
Students are able to:
Identify examples of adaptations among various organisms that increase fitness—camouflage, mimicry, drought tolerance, defensive coloration, beak adaptations.
Use reasoning to connect the evidence to construct an argument.
Interpret data.
Defend a position.
Use evidence to correlate claims about cause and effect. Understanding:
Students understand that:
Natural selection occurs only if there is both variation in the genetic information between organisms in a population and variation in the expression of that genetic information (trait variation) that leads to differences in performance among individuals.
Evolution is the consequence of the interaction of four factors:
The potential for a species to increase in number.
The genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction.
Competition for an environment's limited supply of the resources that individuals need in order to survive and reproduce.
The ensuing proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment. AMSTI Resources:
ASIM Module:
Science 6 ) Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to describe how human
activity may affect biodiversity and genetic variation of organisms, including
threatened and endangered species.
NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect; Systems and System Models
Disciplinary Core Idea: Earth and Human Activity
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
Obtain and evaluate information about how human activity may affect biodiversity, including threatened and/or endangered species.
Obtain and evaluate information about how human activity may affect genetic variation of organisms (for multiple species).
Use at least two different formats (e.g., orally, graphically, textually, and mathematically) to communicate scientific information regarding the effect of human activity on biodiversity and genetic variation of organisms. Teacher Vocabulary:
speciation
extinction
genetic variation
anthropogenic
overpopulation
overexploitation
habitat destruction/habitat alteration
pollution
invasive species
climate change
threatened species
endangered species
habitat fragmentation
desertification
deforestation
urbanization
manufacturing
globalization
ecological indicators Knowledge:
Students know:
Biodiversity is increased by the formation of new species (speciation) and decreased by the loss of species (extinction).
Humans depend on the living world for the resources and other benefits provided by biodiversity.
Anthropogenic (caused by humans) changes in the environment can disrupt an ecosystem and threaten the survival of some species.
Examples of human activities that may adversely affect biodiversity and genetic variation of organisms include but are not limited to: overpopulation, overexploitation, habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and introduction of invasive species.
Knowledge of the various formats to communicate scientific information (e.g., oral, graphical, textual, and mathematical). Skills:
Students are able to:
Evaluate scientific and/or technical information from multiple credible sources about the effects of various human activities on biodiversity and genetic variation of organisms.
Synthesize evidence to describe how human activities, like overpopulation, urbanization, pollution, etc. affect biodiversity and genetic variation of organisms.
Communicate informative/explanatory conclusions through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. Understanding:
Students understand that:
Changes in the physical environment can be created by naturally occurring events or may be human induced. Regardless of the cause, these changes may have contributed to the expansion of some species, the emergence of new and distinct species and the decline, and the possible extinction, of some species.
Biodiversity is increased by the formation of new species and decreased by the loss of species.
Humans depend on the living world for the resources and other benefits provided by biodiversity. But human activity is also having adverse impacts on biodiversity through overpopulation, overexploitation, habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of invasive species, and climate change.
Sustaining biodiversity so that the functioning of an ecosystem can be maintained is essential to supporting and enhancing life on Earth. Sustaining biodiversity also aids humanity by preserving landscapes of recreational or inspirational value. AMSTI Resources:
ASIM Activities include:
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
