Download AltBiology_Standards

CHARLES CITY SCIENCE STANDARDS
Alternative Biology Standards and Benchmarks
MC/GF = Multicultual Gender Fair Approaches; CE=Career Education; GE=Global Education
ITBS/ITED
1. Understands the nature of scientific inquiry
MC/GF CE
GE
MC/GF CE
GE
Knows that in science, the testing, revising, and occasional discarding
of theories, new and old, never ends; this ongoing process leads
to an increasingly better understanding of how things work in
the world, but not to absolute truth
Designs and conducts scientific investigations by identifying and
clarifying the questions, method, controls and independent and
dependent variables; organizing and displaying data; revising
methods and explanation; presenting the results; and receiving
critical response from others
Knows that many scientific investigations require the contributions of
individuals from different disciplines
3. Understands diversity and unity that characterize life
Knows that evidence for simple, one-celled forms of life such as
bacteria and algae, extends back more than 3.5 billion years; the
evolution of life resulted in dramatic changes in the composition
of the Earth’s atmosphere, which did not originally contain
oxygen
Knows that initially most cells have the ability to become any kind of
cell because they contain the same genetic information and they
also retain the basic information that allows them to reproduce
themselves
Knows that organisms are classified into a hierarchy of groups and
subgroups based on their similarities and reflecting their
evolutionary relationships;
Knows that the variation of organisms within a species increases the
likelihood that at least some members of the species will survive
under changed environmental conditions, and a great diversity of
species increases the chance that at least come living things will
survive
Knows that the basic idea of evolution is that the Earth’s present-day
life forms have evolved from earlier, distinctly different species
Knows that the fact that the human body is formed from cells
containing two copies of each chromosomes (and, therefore, two
copies of each gene); this explains many feature of human heredity
Knows that organisms both cooperate and compete in ecosystems; the
interrelationships and inter dependencies of these organisms may
generate ecosystems that are stable for hundreds or thousands of years
Knows that humans are increasingly modifying ecosystems as a result
of population growth, technology, and consumption; human
destruction of habitats through direct harvesting, pollution,
atmospheric changes, and other factors is threatening global stability,
and if not addressed, ecosystems will be irreversibly damaged
Knows that plant cells contain chloroplasts, the sites of photosynthesis,
which provide the vital connection between the Sun and the energy
needs of living systems
6. Understands the relationships of science, technology, and social perspectives
MC/GF CE
Knows that science and technology are pursed for different purposes
GE
BIOLOGY UNITS
UNIT 1-“5-4-3-2-1.....1-2-3-4-5”: Scientific Method; Nature of Science; Science as Inquiry; Lab Safety
3 weeks
UNIT 2- “Big Things come in Little Packages”: Basic unit of structure and function; organelles; cell
processes; specialization and differentiation; plant structure and function; photosynthesis 5 weeks
UNIT 3- “The Circle of Life”: DNA-what it is, functions, processes;
punnett squares 4 weeks
Genetic fundamentals;
UNIT 4-”N.E.R.D. C.R.I.M.E.S.”: Main system is Reproductive-we use the NOVA Miracle of Life series;
Overview of the rest of the body systems; Inter relatedness of all systems; Levels of organization
and the components of the levels 12 weeks
UNIT 5- “Tic-Toc...........The Clock doesn’t stop”- Evolution-species change over time-humans and
animals; Classification 3 weeks
UNIT 6-”Two by Two”: Animals-vertebrates & invertebrates organs and
relationships; how they evolve; Kingdoms 5 weeks
functions; common
UNIT 7-”Putting the Pieces Together”: Ecology; food chains and food webs; energy levels; environmental
issues; species interdependence; energy cycling 4 weeks