No More Monkeying Around

NGSS Standards

DCIs (Disciplinary Core Ideas)

LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity

• A1. Genetic information, like the fossil record, provides evidence of evolution. DNA sequences vary among species, but there are many overlaps; in fact, the ongoing branching that produces multiple lines of descent can be inferred by comparing the DNA sequences of different organisms. Such information is also derivable from the similarities and differences in amino acid sequences and from anatomical and embryological evidence.

ESS3.A Natural Resources

• A1. Resource availability has guided the development of human society.

Performance Expectations

• HS-LS4-1. Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.
• HS-LS4-5. Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species.
• HS-ESS3-1. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.

Other Relevant NGSS References

1. NGSS Appendix F (pdf): Science and Engineering Practices in the NGSS
2. NGSS Appendix G (pdf): Crosscutting Concepts
3. NGSS Appendix H (pdf): Understanding the Scientific Enterprise: The Nature of Science in the Next Generation Science Standards
4. NGSS Appendix J (pdf): Science, Technology, Society and the Environment

This is a beta version of Lesson Set Four.