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  • Middle School

    Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

Performance Expectations

  1. Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment. MS-LS4-4

    Clarification Statement and Assessment Boundary

A Peformance Expectation (PE) is what a student should be able to do to show mastery of a concept. Some PEs include a Clarification Statement and/or an Assessment Boundary. These can be found by clicking the PE for "More Info." By hovering over a PE, its corresponding pieces from the Science and Engineering Practices, Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Crosscutting Concepts will be highlighted.

Science and Engineering Practices

Disciplinary Core Ideas

Crosscutting Concepts

By clicking on a specific Science and Engineering Practice, Disciplinary Core Idea, or Crosscutting Concept, you can find out more information on it. By hovering over one you can find its corresponding elements in the PEs.

Planning Curriculum

Common Core State Standards Connections

ELA/Literacy

  • RST.6-8.9 - Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic. (MS-LS4-4)
  • SL.8.1 - Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. (MS-LS4-4)
  • SL.8.4 - Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation. (MS-LS4-4)
  • WHST.6-8.2 - Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes. (MS-LS4-4)
  • WHST.6-8.9 - Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis reflection, and research. (MS-LS4-4)

Mathematics

  • 6.RP.A.1 - Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. (MS-LS4-4)
  • 6.SP.B.5 - Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context. (MS-LS4-4)
  • 7.RP.A.2 - Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities. (MS-LS4-4)

Model Course Mapping

First Time Visitors

Resources & Lesson Plans

  • More resources added each week!
    A team of teacher curators is working to find, review, and vet online resources that support the standards. Check back often, as NSTA continues to add more targeted resources.
  • Do you have a great resource to share with the community? Click here.
  •  Legends of Learning - Natural Selection

    In this series of games, your students will learn about the ways species adapt to survive. The Natural Selection learning objective — based on NGSS and state standards — delivers improved student engagement and academic performance in your classroom,...

  •  Natural Selection.docx

    Students use an online simulation (https://www.biologysimulations.com/natural-selection) to explore how environment can impact fur color distribution in a population.

  •  Summary of Diversity of Traits

    The goal of the Diversity of Traits virtual lab is to allow students the opportunity to investigate how variations of traits can occur because of mutations. This virtual lab complements the Natural Selection virtual lab by addressing a common misconc...

Planning Curriculum gives connections to other areas of study for easier curriculum creation.