3rd Grade

S3L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the similarities and differences between plants, animals, and habitats found within geographic regions (BlueRidge Mountains, Piedmont, Coastal Plains, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau) of Georgia.

a. Ask questions to differentiate between plants, animals, and habitats found within Georgia’s geographic regions.

b. Construct an explanation of how external features and adaptations (camouflage, hibernation, migration, mimicry) of animals allow them to survive in their habitat.

c. Use evidence to construct an explanation of why some organisms can thrive in one habitat and not in another.

 

S3L2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the effects of pollution (air, land, and water) and humans on the environment.

a. Ask questions to collect information and create records of sources and effects of pollution on the plants and animals.

b. Explore, research, and communicate solutions, such as conservation of resources and recycling of materials, to protect plants and animals.

 

4th grade

S4E3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to demonstrate the water cycle.

a. Plan and carry out investigations to observe the flow of energy in water as it changes states from solid (ice) to liquid (water) to gas (water vapor) and changes from gas to liquid to solid.

b. Develop models to illustrate multiple pathways water may take during the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, and precipitation).(Clarification statement: Students should understand that the water cycle does not follow a single pathway.)

 

S4L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.

a, Develop a model to describe the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community. (Clarification statement: Students are not expected to identify the different types of consumers – herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and scavengers.)

b. Develop simple models to illustrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with sunlight and including producers, consumers, and decomposers.

c. Design a scenario to demonstrate the effect of a change on an ecosystem. (Clarification statement: Include living and non-living factors in the scenario.)

d. Use printed and digital data to develop a model illustrating and describing changes to the flow of energy in an ecosystem when plants or animals become scarce, extinct or overabundant

 

6th Grade

S6E6. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the uses and conservation of various natural resources and how they impact the Earth.

a. Ask questions to determine the differences between renewable/sustainable energy resources (examples: hydro, solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, biomass) and nonrenewable energy resources (examples: nuclear: uranium, fossil fuels: oil, coal, and natural gas), and how they are used in our everyday lives.

b. Design and evaluate solutions for sustaining the quality and supply of natural resources such as water, soil, and air.

c.  Construct an argument evaluating contributions to the rise in global temperatures over the past century. (Clarification statement: Tables, graphs, and maps of global and regional temperatures, and atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, should be used as sources of evidence.)

 

7th grade

S7L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to investigate the diversity of living organisms and how they can be compared scientifically.

a. Develop and defend a model that categorizes organisms based on common characteristics.

b. Evaluate historical models of how organisms were classified based on physical characteristics and how that led to the six kingdom system (currently archaea, bacteria, protists, fungi, plants, and animals). (Clarification statement: This includes common examples and characteristics such as, but not limited to, prokaryotic, eukaryotic, unicellular, multicellular, asexual reproduction, sexual reproduction, autotroph, heterotroph, and unique cell structures. Modern classification will be addressed in high school.)

 

HS Environmental Science

SEV4. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to analyze human impact on natural resources.

a. Construct and revise a claim based on evidence on the effects of human activities on natural resources.

b. Design, evaluate, and refine solutions to reduce human impact on the environment including, but not limited to, smog, ozone depletion, urbanization, and ocean acidification.

c. Construct an argument to evaluate how human population growth affects food demand and food supply (GMOs, monocultures, desertification, Green Revolution).

SES6. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how life on Earth responds to and shapes Earth’s systems.

a. Construct an argument from evidence that describes how life has responded to major events in Earth’s history (e.g., major climatic change, tectonic events) through extinction, migration, and/or adaptation.

b. Construct an explanation that describes how biological processes have caused major changes in Earth’s systems through geologic time (e.g., nutrient cycling, atmospheric composition, and soil formation).

c. Ask questions to investigate and communicate how humans depend on Earth’s land and water resources, which are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geological and environmental processes.

d. Analyze and interpret data that relates changes in global climate to natural and anthropogenic modification of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans

 

High School Environmental Science

SEV1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to investigate the flow of energy and cycling of matter within an ecosystem.

a. Develop and use a model to compare and analyze the levels of biological organization including organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biosphere.

b. Develop and use a model based on the Laws of Thermodynamics to predict energy transfers throughout an ecosystem (food chains, food webs, and trophic levels). (Clarification statement: The first and second law of thermodynamics should be used to support the model.)

c. Analyze and interpret data to construct an argument of the necessity of biogeochemical cycles (hydrologic, nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen, and carbon) to support a sustainable ecosystem.

d. Evaluate claims, evidence, and reasoning of the relationship between the physical factors (e.g., insolation, proximity to coastline, topography) and organismal adaptations within terrestrial biomes.

e. Plan and carry out an investigation of how chemical and physical properties impact aquatic biomes in Georgia. (Clarification statement: Consider the diverse aquatic ecosystems across the state such as streams, ponds, coastline, estuaries, and lakes.)

 

SEV2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to construct explanations of stability and change in Earth’s ecosystems.

a. Analyze and interpret data related to short-term and long-term natural cyclic fluctuations associated with climate change. (Clarification statement: Short-term examples include but are not limited to El Niño and volcanism. Long-term examples include but are not limited to variations in Earth’s orbit such as Milankovitch cycles.)

b. Analyze and interpret data to determine how changes in atmospheric chemistry (carbon,dioxide and methane) impact the greenhouse effect.

c. Construct an argument to predict changes in biomass, biodiversity, and complexity within ecosystems, in terms of ecological succession.

d. Construct an argument to support a claim about the value of biodiversity in ecosystem resilience including keystone, invasive, native, endemic, indicator, and endangered species.

 

SEV4. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to analyze human impact on natural resources.

a. Construct and revise a claim based on evidence on the effects of human activities on natural resources.

b. Design, evaluate, and refine solutions to reduce human impact on the environment including, but not limited to, smog, ozone depletion, urbanization, and ocean acidification.

c. Construct an argument to evaluate how human population growth affects food demand and food supply (GMOs, monocultures, desertification, Green Revolution).

 

SEV5. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the effects of human population growth on global ecosystems.

a. Construct explanations about the relationship between the quality of life and human impact on the environment in terms of population growth, education, and gross national product.

b. Analyze and interpret data on global patterns of population growth (fertility and mortality rates) and demographic transitions in developing and developed countries.

c. Construct an argument from evidence regarding the ecological effects of human innovations (Agricultural, Industrial, Medical, and Technological Revolutions) on global ecosystems.

d. Design and defend a sustainability plan to reduce your individual contribution to environmental impacts, taking into account how market forces and societal demands (including political, legal, social, and economic) influence personal choices.

 

High School Biology

SB5. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to assess the interdependence of all organisms on one another and their environment.

a. Plan and carry out investigations and analyze data to support explanations about factors affecting biodiversity and populations in ecosystems. (Clarification statement: Factors include population size, carrying capacity, response to limiting factors, and keystone species.)

a. Develop and use models to analyze the cycling of matter and flow of energy within ecosystems through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration.

• Arranging components of a food web according to energy flow.
• Comparing the quantity of energy in the steps of an energy pyramid.
• Explaining the need for cycling of major biochemical elements (C, O, N, P, and H)

b. Construct an argument to predict the impact of environmental change on the stability of an ecosystem.

c. Design a solution to reduce the impact of a human activity on the environment. (Clarification statement: Human activities may include chemical use, natural resources consumption, introduction of non-native species, greenhouse gas production.)

d. Construct explanations that predict an organism’s ability to survive within changing environmental limits (e.g., temperature, pH, drought, fire)