Standards

Unpacking Standards

Standards

Standards were selected from the Office of State Superintendent of Education for the District of Columbia Website for High School Biology.

I chose two standards from Strand 2: Genetics and Evolution. Each Standard has several smaller clarifications.

Classroom Activities

B.10.4. Explain that evolution builds on what already exists, so the more variety there is, the more there can be in the future.

• Venn Diagram comparing the philosophies of the origin of species before and after Darwin and Wallace (B10.1, B10.2, B10.3 and B10.4)
• Create a story that is composed of several generations of organisms and how their kind has adapted to survive and what environmental factors have caused them to change. Start from a microorganism and finish with an animal observe today and include evolutionary factors (B10.1, B10.3, B10.4, B10.5)

• Students put together a dinosaur skeleton puzzle and a bird skeleton puzzle and explain how the changes in the environment resulted in such dramatically different species ( B.11.3 and B.11.2) and the characteristics of a population that that survives these changes by adapting (B.11.1)

Verb: Explain

Content: Evolution builds on what already exists, so the more variety there is, the more there can be in the future.

Standard 1.

Standard 2.

(Standard 10 on the DCPS Standards list)

Students should be cognizant of the Theory of Evolution. Specifically, students should be able to:

Students should appreciate Evolution as the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments. Specifically students

should be able to:

B.10.3. Research and explain that Darwin argued that only biologically inherited characteristics could be passed on to offspring, and that some of these characteristics would be different from the average and advantageous in surviving and reproducing; over generations, accumulation of these inherited advantages would lead to a new species.

B.11.3. Explain that biological diversity, episodic speciation, and mass extinction are depicted in the fossil record, comparative anatomy, and other evidence.

V: Research, Explain

Why I Chose This Standard

Verb: Explain

"Big Ideas" in Standards

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Content: Darwin argued that only biologically inherited characteristics could be passed on to offspring, and that some of these characteristics would be different from the average and advantageous in surviving and reproducing; over generations, accumulation of these inherited advantages would lead to a new species.

I have always loved Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace and think that many people do not understand their work, so it is a personal goal of mine to clearly explain their principals and how they both came to the same conclusions without any contact with the other.

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Content: biological diversity, episodic speciation, and mass extinction are depicted in the fossil record, comparative anatomy, and other evidence.

and he's so cute!

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B.10.1. Describe how life on Earth is thought to have begun as one or a few simple one-celled organisms about 3.5 billion years ago, and that during the first 2 billion years, only single-cell microorganisms existed. Know that, once cells with nuclei developed about a billion years ago, increasingly complex multicellular organisms could evolve.

B.10.2. Explain that prior to the theory first offered by Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace, the universal belief was that all known species had been created de novo at about the same time and had remained unchanged.

B.10.3. Research and explain that Darwin argued that only biologically inherited characteristics could be passed on to offspring, and that some of these characteristics would be different from the average and advantageous in surviving and reproducing; over generations, accumulation of these inherited advantages would lead to a new species.

B.10.4. Explain that evolution builds on what already exists, so the more variety there is, the more there can be in the future.

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"Big Ideas" in Standards

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B.10.2. Explain that prior to the theory first offered by Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace, the universal belief was that all known species had been created de novo at about the same time and had remained unchanged.

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B.11.1. Explain how a large diversity of species increases the chance that at least some living things will survive in the face of large or even catastrophic changes in the environment.

B.11.2. Research and explain how natural selection provides a mechanism for evolution and leads to organisms that are optimally suited for survival in particular environments.

B.11.3. Explain that biological diversity, episodic speciation, and mass extinction are depicted in the fossil record, comparative anatomy, and other evidence.

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B.11.1. Explain how a large diversity of species increases the chance that at least some living things will survive in the face of large or even catastrophic changes in the environment.

V: Explain

B.10.1. Describe how life on Earth is thought to have begun as one or a few simple one-celled organisms about 3.5 billion years ago, and that during the first 2 billion years, only single-cell microorganisms existed. Know that, once cells with nuclei developed about a billion years ago, increasingly complex multicellular organisms could evolve.

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Content 1: prior to the theory first offered by Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace, the universal belief was that all known species had been created de novo at about the same time and had remained unchanged.

B.11.2. Research and explain how natural selection provides a mechanism for evolution and leads to organisms that are optimally suited for survival in particular environments.

Activities for Both Standards

V: Describe, Know

V: Explain

V: Research, Explain

Content : natural selection provides a mechanism for evolution and leads to organisms that are optimally suited for survival in particular environments.

Content: a large diversity of species increases the chance that at least some living things will survive in the face of large or even catastrophic changes in the environment.

Content 1: life on Earth is thought to have begun as one or a few simple one-celled organisms about 3.5 billion years ago, and that during the first 2 billion years, only single-cell microorganisms existed.

Content 2: once cells with nuclei developed about a billion years ago, increasingly complex multicellular organisms could evolve.

Students have several weeks to design a fictional animal. Students will explain how this animal evolved from current (real) species by showing analogous structures and the mechanisms by which it evolved by explaining Darwin's theory of evolution. Students will also show five "steps" in the animals evolutionary tree. Students can present this information on a posterboard, powerpoint, or story format.

Over a series of several days, students will be presented with a case study that provides information on a fictional "mystery fossil". Students will analyze the fossil and hypothesize the origin and history of the animal. Students will need to answer a packet of questions that ask questions such as "why/how do you think this species evolved? What do you think X structure is for and why?" Students are required to reference Wallace's and Darwin's theories.