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Middle School

Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

 

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

Performance Expectations
 

 

Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms. MS-LS4-5

Clarification Statement and Assessment Boundary

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on synthesizing information from reliable sources about the influence of humans on genetic outcomes in artificial selection (such as genetic modification, animal husbandry, gene therapy); and, on the impacts these technologies have on society as well as the technologies leading to these scientific discoveries.

Assessment Boundary: none

Science and Engineering Practices

Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to evaluating the merit and validity of ideas and methods.

Gather, read, and synthesize information from multiple appropriate sources and assess the credibility, accuracy, and possible bias of each publication and methods used, and describe how they are supported or not supported by evidence. (MS-LS4-5)

Disciplinary Core Ideas

LS4.B:  Natural Selection

In artificial selection, humans have the capacity to influence certain characteristics of organisms by selective breeding. One can choose desired parental traits determined by genes, which are then passed on to offspring. (MS-LS4-5)

Crosscutting Concepts

Cause and Effect

Phenomena may have more than one cause, and some cause and effect relationships in systems can only be described using probability. (MS-LS4-5)

Connections to Nature of Science

Science Addresses Questions About the Natural and Material World

Scientific knowledge can describe the consequences of actions but does not necessarily prescribe the decisions that society takes. (MS-LS4-5)

Common Core State Standards Connections

ELA/Literacy
  • RST.6-8.1 - Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. (MS-LS4-5)
  • WHST.6-8.8 - Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. (MS-LS4-5)