LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
Core Idea |
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LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity |
LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
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LS4.B: Natural Selection
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LS4.C: Adaptation
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LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans
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Content aligned with middle school LS4
Content aligned with high school LS4
In middle school, students develop an understanding of the disciplinary core ideas in the life science domain. The middle school performance expectations build on the elementary performance expectations, as well as on students’ prior knowledge of physical and Earth sciences. In LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity, performance expectations are designed for students to demonstrate an understanding of how organisms change over time in response to changes in the environment. Students should use scientific evidence to support their understanding of natural selection and evolution.
High school performance expectations in the life sciences expand on middle school performance expectations, allowing students to develop and refine their understanding of life science concepts. The high school performance expectations emphasize students’ proficiency in engaging in practices and using crosscutting concepts to organize and understand information while leaving room for more expanded and in-depth study in upper level high school courses. Performance expectations in high school LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity call for students to explore evidence of evolution and common ancestry. Students should be able to communicate and evaluate such evidence, as well as apply statistics and probability to explain trends in populations.