Life Science Standards

FROM MOLECULES TO ORGANISMS: STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES

MS‐LS.1.1. Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many different number and types of cells.

I CAN: Distinguish differences between single-celled and multicellular organisms.

I CAN: Provide evidence that living things are made of cells.

I CAN: Summarize the accomplishments of a contributing scientist to this science domain.

MS‐LS.1.2. Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways parts of cells contribute to the function.

I CAN: Describe the structure and function of different parts of a cell.

I CAN: Demonstrate how parts of the cell work together to provide energy for life processes.

MS‐LS.1.3. Use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.

I CAN: Compare and contrast a variety of body structures/systems within organisms and their role for survival.

I CAN: Show the relationship between the levels of organization in living things: cells, tissues, organs, systems.

I CAN: Describe the interdependence of a human’s interactive systems.

I CAN: Recognize an organism's behaviors/physical adaptations.

I CAN: Compare and contrast different behaviors and adaptations (between species, in different environments).

MS‐LS.1.4. Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.

I CAN: Compare and contrast a variety of body structures/systems within organisms and their role for survival.

I CAN: Show the relationship between the levels of organization in living things: cells, tissues, organs, systems.

I CAN: Describe the interdependence of a human’s interactive systems.

I CAN: Recognize an organism's behaviors/physical adaptations.

I CAN: Compare and contrast different behaviors and adaptations (between species in different environments).

MS‐LS.1.5. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.

I CAN: Analyze the impact of changing one environmental condition on population growth.

I CAN: Analyze the impact of one genetic factor on survival.

MS‐LS.1.6. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

I CAN: Represent the chemical process of photosynthesis.

MS‐LS.1.7. Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reaction forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism.

I CAN: Represent the relationship between photosynthesis and respiration.

MS‐LS.1.8. Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories.

I CAN: Demonstrate how different types of neurons work together to transmit information to and from the brain/spinal cord.

ECOSYSTEMS: INTERACTIONS, ENERGY AND DYNAMICS

MS-LS.2.1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

I CAN: Recognize interactions between living and nonliving things in an environment.

I CAN: Recognize the competition of limited resources among organisms in an environment (food, water, oxygen) and analyze the effects on growth and reproduction.

MS-LS.2.2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.

I CAN: Identify and classify symbiotic relationships.

I CAN: Describe the eight biomes in terms of their distinct biotic and abiotic characteristics.

I CAN: Compare and contrast the pattern of interactions between organisms in varying environments.

MS-LS.2.3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

I CAN: Describe how plants are producers.

I CAN: Discover that plants influence other life processes.

I CAN: Create a model to demonstrate food web interactions in a particular ecosystem.

I CAN: Demonstrate energy transfer within a food web utilizing the energy pyramid.

I CAN: Trace the cycling of atoms between living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

MS-LS.2.4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

I CAN: Understand that through the process of succession, communities change over time.

I CAN: Infer changes in populations based on physical or biological components.

I CAN: Utilize a graph to analyze population change data.

MS-LS.2.5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

I CAN: Analyze ecosystem services (water purification, nutrient recycling, soil erosion) to maintain biodiversity and the health of a natural system.

I CAN: Compare the benefits & deficits of design solutions for maintaining biodiversity.

HEREDITY: INHERITANCE AND VARIATION OF TRAITS

MS-LS.3.1. Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.

I CAN: Identify the parts of a chromosome within the nucleus of a cell.

I CAN: Identify the chemical and structural properties of DNA and its role in specifying the characteristics of an organism within an organism.

I CAN: Describe how chromosomes are contained in both egg and sperm and carry instruction for the new individual.

I CAN: Demonstrate how genes can be affected by mutations.

I CAN: Create a pedigree chart.

I CAN: Describe how DNA makes proteins.

I CAN: Summarize the accomplishments of a contributing scientist to this science domain.

MS-LS.3.2. Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.

I CAN: Understand that sexual and asexual reproduction are necessary for the continuation to the species.

I CAN: Describe the stages of the cell cycle.

I CAN: Describe the stages of meiosis.

I CAN: Model and compute how an inherited trait is determined by one or more genes using a Punnett Square.

I CAN: Research types of genetic diseases and create a pedigree to explain the pattern of inheritance.

I CAN: Describe the process of genetic engineering and its effects on our society, remembering that God is the Author of all life and has a grand design for creation.

I CAN: Summarize the accomplishments of a contributing scientist to this science domain.

BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION: UNITY AND DIVERSITY

MS-LS.4.1. Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.

I CAN: Diagram sedimentary layers to indicate relative age of fossils.

I CAN: Calculate absolute age of a fossil using radioactive half-life formula/chart.

I CAN: Compare species within a range on the geological timeline.

MS-LS.4.2. Apply scientific ideas to construct an explanation for the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships.

I CAN: Compare and contrast skeletal systems of modern species, as well as compare/contrast modern to ancient.

I CAN: Construct a model (branching tree) to demonstrate relatedness.

MS-LS.4.3. Analyze displays of pictorial data to compare patterns of similarities in the embryological development across multiple species to identify relationships not evident in the fully formed anatomy.

I CAN: Describe the stages of development of a growing embryo and fetus.

I CAN: Identify patterns of similar characteristics.

MS-LS.4.4. 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.

I CAN: Simulate or create a visual to demonstrate the process of natural selection

I CAN: Create data table and/or graph to convey data of predator/prey within an environment.

I CAN: Summarize the accomplishments of a contributing scientist to this science domain.

MS-LS.4.5. Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.

I CAN: Project how current trends in human resource use and population growth will influence the natural environment, and show how current policies affect those trends.

MS-LS.4.6. Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.

I CAN: Recognize how organisms evolve, remembering that God is the Author of all life.

I CAN: Know the history of the Theory of Evolution.

I CAN: Explain how some of the changes on the earth are contributing to changes in the balance of life and affecting the survival or population growth of certain species.