The anchor phenomenon for the Structures of Life Module is the diversity of plants and animals we observe in our world. Students experience that organisms exhibit a variety of strategies for life, have a variety of observable structures and behaviors, have varied but predictable life cycles, and reproduce their own kind by passing inherited characteristics to offspring. Students explore how individual organisms have variations in their traits that may provide an advantage in surviving in a particular environment, and how our knowledge of animals that survived in past environments is inferred by studying fossil characteristics. The driving questions for the module are where do organisms come from, how do they survive, and how are all the different kinds of plants and animals able to continue to exist on Earth?
Students observe, compare, and categorize a selection of organisms. Students engage in science and engineering practices to investigate structures and learn how some of the structures function. Students look at the interactions between organisms of the same kind, among organisms of different kinds, and between the environment and populations over time. Students focus on these crosscutting concepts to develop understandings about organisms and population survival—patterns; cause and effect; scale, proportion, and quantity; systems and system models; structure and function; and stability and change.
Investigation 1: Origin of Seeds - Students conduct a seed hunt by opening fresh fruit and locating the seeds. They describe and compare seed properties. Students examine and sort a selection of seeds—bean, pea, sunflower, and corn. They investigate the effect water has on seeds by setting up seed sprouters and observing and recording changes over a week. Students systematically find out how much water lima beans soak up in a day. Students investigate seed dispersal mechanisms of plants.
Investigation 2: Growing Further - Students examine germinated seeds to determine similarities and differences in the way the organisms grow. They set up a hydroponic garden to observe the life cycle of a bean plant. Students go outdoors to investigate the roots and shoots of various plants. They use tools to dig up plants and compare the structures above ground to those below ground. Through direct experience and readings, students learn about plant structures and functions.
Investigation 3: Bones - Students observe the articulated human skeletal system in action, use posters and a sense of touch to estimate and refine a count of the 206 human bones, and build skeleton puzzles from memory. Students dissect rodent bones from owl pellets and compare them to human bones.
Investigation 4: Joints - Students explore joints and their role in movement focusing on opposable thumbs.
NOTE:
The Structures of Life kit we provide is a combination of activities from two older FOSS Kits. Investigations 1 & 2 come from the 2nd Edition Structures of Life Kit, and Investigations 3 & 4 are the first two investigations of the 2nd Edition Human Body Kit. We’ve combined these two kits to better fit the intent of the BGSS, to provide some Human Body activities asked for by the teachers, and to eliminate the need for Crayfish – an organism no longer allowed from out of state suppliers.
The documents below have been created to help consider the FOSS materials in the context of the Next Generation Science Standards. We recommend you review, at the very least, the following documents:
Unit Guide - A summary of materials, sequencing and content for the module.
Storyline - An overview of the sequencing and reasons for the various activities
Assessment - A collection of assessment tools including what to look for as students work on the activities.