TEKS Addressed: 7.1A, 7.2A, 7.2B, 7.2C, 7.2D, 7.2E, 7.3A, 7.4A, 7.4B, 7.7B, 7.12C, 7.13A, 7.13B

Introduction

This unit bundles the Student Expectations that address how living organisms must be able to maintain balance of stable, internal conditions in response to external and internal stimuli and the effects of force on motion in living organisms.

Prior to this Unit

• Grade 1

  • 1.10B – Identify and compare the parts of plants.

• Grade 3

  • 3.10B – Investigate and compare how animals and plants undergo a series of orderly changes in their diverse life cycles such as tomato plants, frogs, and lady beetles.

• Grade 4

  • 4.6D – Design a descriptive investigation to explore the effect of force on an object such as a push or a pull, gravity, friction, or magnetism.

  • 4.10C – Explore, illustrate, and compare life cycles in living organisms such as beetles, crickets, radishes, or lima beans.

• Grade 5

  • 5.6D – Design a simple experimental investigation that tests the effect of force on an object.

  • 5.9A – Observe the way organisms live and survive in their ecosystem by interacting with the living and nonliving components.

• Grade 6

  • 6.8B – Identify and describe the changes in position, direction, and speed of an object when acted upon by unbalanced forces.

• Grade 7

  • 7.12C – Recognize levels of organization in plants and animals, including cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, and organisms.

During this Unit

Students use scientific practices and tools to investigate how organisms respond to external stimuli found in the environment such as phototropism. From previous units, students apply their knowledge of plant cells’ structures and functions, homeostasis, and organisms’ responses to internal stimuli to plant systems in order to describe and relate responses in organisms that may result from internal stimuli such as wilting in plants that allow them to maintain balance. Additionally, students apply their prior knowledge of how forces affect organisms to the context of plant systems by demonstrating that forces affect motion in everyday life such as the emergence of seedlings, turgor pressure, and geotropism. Additionally, students communicate and discuss their observations, and record and organize data in their notebooks. Students continue to demonstrate safe practices as outlined in Texas Education Agency-approved safety standards, and consider environmentally appropriate and ethical practices with resources during investigations.

After this Unit

In Grade 8, students will expand their understanding of force and motion to include the study of Newton’s laws of motion and their applications. Students will study the concept of plant systems and homeostasis in greater depth in Biology.