Weekly Learning Targets
Wk
8-9
6
days
1
4
Days
1-2
9
Days
3-4
10
Days
Benchmark
Benchmark J: Summarize
the historical development
of scientific theories and
ideas, and describe
emerging issues in the
study of life sciences.
Benchmark J: Summarize
the historical development
of scientific theories and
ideas, and describe
emerging issues in the
study of life sciences.
Benchmark I: Explain
how natural selection and
other evolutionary
mechanisms account for
the unity and diversity of
past and present life forms.
Benchmark A: Explain
that cells are the basic unit
of structure and function of
living organisms, that once
life originated all cells
come from pre-existing
cells, and that there are a
variety of cell types.
Benchmark I: Explain
how natural selection and
other evolutionary
mechanisms account for
the unity and diversity of
past and present life forms.
Marking Period: 3rd
Subject: Biology
Indicator
J27 - Describe advances in life
sciences that have important longlasting effects on science and society
(e.g., biological evolution, germ
theory, biotechnology and discovering
germs).
J28 - Analyze and investigate
emerging scientific issues (e.g.,
genetically modified food, stem cell
research, genetic research and
cloning).
J27 - Describe advances in life
sciences that have important longlasting effects on science and society
(e.g., biological evolution, germ
theory, biotechnology and discovering
germs).
J28 - Analyze and investigate
emerging scientific issues (e.g.,
genetically modified food, stem cell
research, genetic research and
cloning).
I25 - Explain that life on Earth is
thought to have begun as simple, one
celled organisms approximately 4
billion years ago. During most of the
history of Earth only single celled
microorganisms existed, but once cells
with nuclei developed about a billion
years ago, increasingly complex
multicellular organisms evolved.
A1c – Explain that living cells come
from pre-existing cells after life
originated.
Big Ideas
We are learning to:
A.) Analyze current issues in genetics.
I25 - Explain that life on Earth is
thought to have begun as simple, one
celled organisms approximately 4
billion years ago. During most of the
history of Earth only single celled
microorganisms existed, but once cells
We are learning to:
A.) Describe historical scientific developments that occurred in evolutionary thought.
B.) Analyze how natural selection and other evolutionary mechanisms provide a scientific
explanation for the diversity and unity of past life forms.
We are looking for:
A1.) Pros and cons of genetically modified food, stem cell research, and cloning.
Sex-linked Traits
We are learning to:
A.) Analyze current issues in genetics.
We are looking for:
A1.) Pros and cons of genetically modified food, stem cell research, and cloning.
We are learning to:
A.) Explain that life on Earth is thought to have begun as simple, one celled organisms and
evolved into more complex organisms.
We are looking for:
A1.) During most of the history of Earth only single celled microorganisms existed, but once cells
with nuclei developed about a billion years ago, increasingly complex multicellular organisms
evolved.
A2.) Atmospheric Conditions mainly dealing with the change in oxygen and carbon dioxide
levels and how it facilitated the explosion of life
A3.) The various theories of the origin of life: Spontaneous Generation, Extraterrestrial
Material, and Chemical Evolution.
A4.) Explain the evidence for the chemical evolution theory using the Urey Miller Experiment
We are looking for:
Weekly Learning Targets
Benchmark A: Explain
that cells are the basic unit
of structure and function of
living organisms, that once
life originated all cells
come from pre-existing
cells, and that there are a
variety of cell types.
Benchmark E: Explain
how evolutionary
relationships contribute to
an understanding of the
unity and diversity of life.
Benchmark H: Describe a
foundation of biological
evolution as the change in
gene frequency of a
population over time.
Explain the historical and
current scientific
developments, mechanisms
and processes of biological
evolution.
Subject: Biology
with nuclei developed about a billion
years ago, increasingly complex
multicellular organisms evolved.
A1c – Explain that living cells come
from pre-existing cells after life
originated.
I24 - Analyze how natural selection
and other evolutionary mechanisms
(e.g. genetic drift, immigration,
emigration, mutation) and their
consequences provide a scientific
explanation for the diversity and unity
of past life forms, as depicted in the
fossil record, and present life forms.
E13 - Explain that the variation of
organisms within a species increases
the likelihood that at least some
members of a species will survive
under gradually changing
environmental conditions.
H21 - Explain that natural selection
provides the following mechanism for
evolution; undirected variation in
inherited characteristics exist within
every species. These characteristics
may give individuals an advantage or
disadvantage compared to others in
surviving and reproducing. The
advantaged offspring are more likely
to survive and reproduce. Therefore,
the proportion of individuals that have
advantageous characteristics will
increase. When an environment
changes, the survival value of some
inherited characteristics may change.
H22 - Describe historical scientific
developments that occurred in
evolutionary thought (e.g., Lamarck
and Darwin, Mendelian Genetics and
modern synthesis).
E14 - Relate diversity and adaptation
to structures and their functions in
living organisms (e.g., adaptive
radiation).
Marking Period: 3rd
Evolution- change in populations over time
A1.) Charles Darwin
1. All species evolve from ancestors
2. Mechanism for evolution  natural selection
A2.) Jean Baptiste Lamarck
-Evolution-according to Lamarck was toward greater complexity
Lamarck’s Mechanism for Evolution
1. Most used body structures develop and unused structures waste away.
2. Acquired Characteristics- modifications acquired during lifetime
can be passed to offspring (ex. Long giraffe neck)
B1.) Natural Selection
-Process by which favorable heritable traits become more common in successive
generations of a population of reproducing organisms, and unfavorable heritable traits
become less common.
B2.) Natural selection explains how evolution has happened:
1. Better-adapted individuals (the "fit enough") are more likely to survive and
reproduce, thereby passing on copies of their genes to the next generation.
B3.) Types of Natural Selection:
1.) Stabilizing Selection - Occurs when natural selection works against the 2
extremes of a trait to make the population more uniform.
2.) Directional Selection - Selects the extreme of 1 trait.
3.) Disruptive Selection - Selects against the mean of the population.
B4.) Evidence for Evolution
1.) Adaptations: changes in a species that occur over a long period of time that make a
species more successful in an ecosystem
2.) Fossils: Record of life and changes in organisms that have occurred over time.
3.) Anatomy:
a. Homologous Structures: Features with a common evolutionary origin,
homologous structures are similar in arrangement and/or function.
b. Analogous Structures: Have similar arrangement and/or function but do not
have a common evolutionary origin.
c. Vestigial Structures: A body structure that has no function in a present day
organism but was probably useful to an ancestor.
4.) Embryology
5.) Biochemistry: By comparing the DNA and RNA of different species, we can
determine their relationships.
Same 20 amino acids are found in most organisms
B5.) Population Genetics
Understand what mechanisms cause a population to stay the same.
1.) Population size is large
2.) No gene flow in the population. No new organisms introducing more alleles
3.) No mutations
Weekly Learning Targets
4-5
5
Days
Benchmark E: Explain
how evolutionary
relationships contribute to
an understanding of the
unity and diversity of life.
Benchmark F: Explain the
structure and function of
ecosystems and relate how
ecosystems change over
time.
Benchmark D: Explain the
flow of energy and the
cycling of matter through
biological and ecological
systems (cellular,
organismal and ecological).
Benchmark G: Describe
how human activities can
impact the status of natural
systems.
Subject: Biology
H20 - Recognize that a change in gene
frequency (genetic composition) in a
population over time is a foundation
of biological evolution.
E12 - Describe that biological
classification represents how
organisms are related with species
being the most fundamental unit of the
classification system. Relate how
biologists arrange organisms into a
hierarchy of groups and subgroups
based on similarities and differences
that reflect their evolutionary
relationships.
F15 - Explain how living things
interact with biotic and abiotic
components of the environment (e.g.,
predation, competition, natural
disasters and weather).
D9 - Describe how matter cycles and
energy flows through different levels
of organization in living systems and
between living systems and the
physical environment. Explain how
some energy is stored and much is
dissipated into the environment as
thermal energy (e.g., food webs and
energy pyramids).
F16 - Relate how distribution and
abundance of organisms and
populations in ecosystems are limited
by the ability of the ecosystem to
recycle materials and the availability
of matter, space and energy.
F17 - Conclude that ecosystems tend
to have cyclic fluctuations around a
state of approximate equilibrium that
can change when climate changes,
when one or more new species appear
as a result of immigration or when one
or more species disappear.
G18 - Describe ways that human
activities can deliberately or
inadvertently alter the equilibrium in
Marking Period: 3rd
4.) No environmental factors causing natural selection. No trait is favorable over another
5.) Random mating must occur
We are learning to:
A.) Describe that biological classification represents how organisms are related
B.) Explain how living things interact with biotic and abiotic components of the environment
C.) Describe how matter cycles and energy flows through an ecosystem.
D.) Describe ways that human activities can deliberately or inadvertently alter the equilibrium in
ecosystems.
We are looking for:
A.) Biological Classification (KPCOFGS)
-Dichotomous Key
B1.) Biotic Factors : All the living organisms that inhabit an environment.
Abiotic Factors : The nonliving parts of an organisms environment. (Air currents, temp.,
moisture, light, and soil)
Niche : the role and position a species has in its environment – how it meets its needs for food and
shelter, how it survives, and how it reproduces. (Includes all its interactions with the
biotic and abiotic parts of its habitat.)
B2.) Symbiosis – The relationship in which there is a close and permanent association among
organisms of different species.
1.) Commensalism – Symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other
species is neither harmed nor benefited.
2.) Mutualism – Symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.
3.) Parasitism – Symbiotic relationship in which one organism derives benefit at the
expense of the other.
B3.) Food Chains : shows how matter and energy move through an ecosystem.
- Autotrophs: Organisms that use energy absorbed from the sun to
manufacture their own nutrients
- Heterotrophs: Organisms that can’t make their own food and must feed on
other organisms
- Decomposers: Organisms that break down and absorb nutrients from dead
organisms
- Herbivore : Feed on grass and other plants. Primary Consumers
- Carnivore : Eat animals
-Carnivores that eat Herbivores  Secondary Consumers
-Carnivores that eat other carnivores  Tertiary Consumers
- Omnivore : Eat both plants and animals.
C1.)Pyramids of numbers and energy
Weekly Learning Targets
5-8
8
days
8-9
Benchmark B: Explain
the characteristics of life as
indicated by cellular
processes and describe the
process of cell division and
development.
Subject: Biology
ecosystems. Explain how changes in
technology/biotechnology can cause
significant changes, either positive or
negative, in environmental quality and
carrying capacity.
G19 - Illustrate how uses of resources
at local, state, regional, national, and
global levels have affected the quality
of life (e.g., energy production and
sustainable vs. nonsustainable
agriculture).
B4 - Summarize the general processes
of cell division and differentiation,
and explain why specialized cells are
useful to organisms and explain that
complex multicellular organisms are
formed as highly organized
arrangements of differentiated cells.
Marking Period: 3rd
C2.) Food Webs
C3.) The Water Cycle
The water cycle is the process by which water travels from the Earth's surface to the atmosphere
and then back to the ground again.
C4.) The Carbon Cycle - the process in which carbon atoms are recycled over and over again on
Earth.
D.) Describe a few ways humans have impacted our environment.
We are learning to:
A.) Explain that complex multicellular organisms are formed as highly organized arrangements
of differentiated cells.
We are looking for:
A1.) If a sperm penetrates the egg, fertilization results. Tiny hair-like cilia lining fallopian tube
propel fertilized egg, zygote, through the tube toward the uterus.
A2.) Morula: a zygote consisting of about 12-32 cells in a solid ball that reaches uterus in about 34 days after fertilization
A3.) Blastocyst: hollow ball of cells that forms between 5-8 days after fertilization
A4.) Gastrula: A structure made up of two layers of cells with an opening at one end
a. Cells that are folding inward form a cavity lined with a second layer of cells
A5.) Gastrulation forms three distinct tissue layers
a. Layer on the outer surface of the gastrula is called the ectoderm
1. Ectoderm continues to divide & eventually forms the skin & nervous tissue
b. Layer on the inner surface of the gastrula is called endoderm
1. Endoderm continues to divide & eventually develops into lining of the
digestive tract & organs associated with digestion
c. Gastrula continues to develop until a layer of cells called the mesoderm forms
1. Mesoderm is the third cell layer found in the developing embryo between
ectoderm and endoderm (“meso” means middle)
2. Mesoderm continues to grow & divide and eventually develops into muscle
cells, circulatory system, excretory cells, bone cells, & connective tissue.
We are learning to:
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5
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Weekly Learning Targets
6
Subject: Biology
Marking Period: 3rd
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