In this unit, students focus on the biosphere and how living things depend on their environment and one another for survival. In this first lesson of the unit, they explore the science phenomena of the flow of energy through a food web. This page outlines key parts of the lesson.
In this unit, students investigate phenomena related to how organisms pass on traits to their offspring. Students begin, in this lesson, with an investigation into how DNA codes for proteins, which determine an organism’s traits. This page provides a high level overview of this lesson.
In this unit, students continue their exploration of the cell with a focus on the phenomenon of DNA. Students use models to compare and contrast asexual and sexual reproduction and to investigate how traits are passed down from parents to offspring. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.
In this unit, students figure out connections between genes and heredity to evolution, focusing on figuring out the phenomena of how both genetic information and the environment influence how a population develops over time. Students investigate different kinds of evidence for life’s shared ancestry and then experiment with how adaptations help some organisms survive. Students end with an investigation into artificial selection.
In this unit, students figure out the interconnectedness of genetics, heredity, and evolution. For this lesson, students create an experiment to observe the phenomenon of natural selection determining which organisms are most likely to survive and pass on their traits. This page showcases parts of key components of the lesson.
In this unit, students apply what they know about genes and heredity to evolution, focusing on how both genetic information and the environment influence the phenomena of how a population develops over time. In this lesson, students explore the phenomena of how adaptations help some organisms survive. Students also investigate artificial selection. This page showcases key parts of this lesson.
In this unit, students focus on the phenomena of rocky shore ecosystems and the science phenomena of how organisms interact. For this lesson, students analyze how adaptations allow for the survival of different organisms, specifically sea star structures. This is a high-level extract of this lesson.
In this unit, students analyze how matter cycles between the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. They compare plant and animal cells, figuring out how internal structures help an organism get energy. Then, in this lesson, students figure out how energy flows and matter cycles through a food web, and investigate the phenomena of how plants convert non-food sources, such as light, air, and water, into food sources. This page showcases key elements of this lesson.
In this unit, students focus on the biosphere, analyzing the science phenomena of how living things interact with one another and their environment for survival. In this lesson, students focus on the role of decomposition as they design a compositing solution. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.
In this unit, students evaluate the science phenomena of how a change to an ecosystem can impact the living things that make it up. In this lesson, students explore how a change to the kind of plants in an environment results in a ripple effect phenomena on predation in the area. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.
In this unit, students explore the phenomena of diversity of life on Earth and consider how living things pass on traits to their offspring while also adapting to meet the needs of the environment. In this lesson, students figure out how scientists use the fossil record for clues to how life has evolved over time. This page highlights key parts of this lesson.
In this unit, students explore forest ecosystem phenomena, investigating the science phenomena of interactions between living things and the environment. In this lesson students discover the phenomena of tree rings and analyze how resource availability affects the ability of different organisms and populations to grow. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.
Standards citation: NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.