Unit: Evolution

State Standards Covered: 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 4b, 4c, 4d

Learning Targets & Progress

Learning Targets / Activities/Resources / 1st exp. / Before
Test
ESC 3a. Students know both genetic variation and environmental factors are causes of evolution and
diversity of organisms.
1. Explain what a variation is. / Natural Selection notes; Grass Beetles activity; Textbook pgs. 229-230; R.G. pgs. 111-114 / /
2. Explain how a species’ environment
affects natural selection. / Natural Selection notes; Grass Beetles activity; Textbook pgs. 230-231; R.G. pgs. 111-114 / /
3. Explain what an adaptation is. / Natural Selection notes; Grass Beetles activity; Textbook pg. 227; R.G. pgs. 111-114 / /
4. Explain the role that variation plays in
natural selection. / Natural Selection notes; Grass Beetles activity; Textbook pg. 230; R.G. pgs. 11-114 / /
5. Explain what mutations do. / Natural Selection notes; Grass Beetles activity / /
6. Explain what evolution is. / Intro to Theory and Evolution notes; Evolution of the Dog video; Textbook pg. 228 / /
ESC 3b. Students know the reasoning used by Charles Darwin in reaching his conclusion that natural
Selection is the mechanism of evolution.
7. Explain what natural selection is. / Natural Selection notes; Grass Beetles activity; Textbook pg. 229-231; R.G. pgs. 111-114 / /
8. Describe the six components of the theory
of natural selection. / Natural Selection notes / /
9. Explain what a species is. / Natural Selection notes; Textbook pg. 225; R.G. pgs. 111-114 / /
10. Describe a real life example of natural
selection in action. / Textbook pg. 226-227; R.G. pgs. 111-114 / /
11. Explain how Darwin’s finches change
over time due to natural selection. / Textbook pg. 226-227; R.G. pgs. 111-114 / /
ESC 3c. Students know how independent lines of evidence from geology, fossils, and comparative anatomy
provide the basis for the theory of evolution.
12. Name and describe the four pieces of
evidence that supports the theory of
evolution. / Evidence of Evolution notes; Textbook pg. 234-237; R.G. pgs. 115-119 / /
13. Explain what homologous structures are. / Evidence of Evolution notes; Textbook pg. 235; R.G. pgs. 115-119 / /
14. Explain what fossils are. / Evidence of Evolution notes; Textbook pg. 236-237; R.G. pgs. 115-119 / /
15. Explain how you know that two species
evolved from a recent common ancestor. / Evidence of Evolution notes; Textbook pgs. 255-256; R.G. pgs. 115-119 / /
3d. Students know how to construct a simple branching diagram to classify living groups of organisms by
shared derived characteristics and how to expand the diagram to include fossil organisms.
16. Name the two parts that make up an
organism’s scientific name. / Classifying Living Things notes; Textbook pgs. 248-252 / /
17. Explain what the levels of classification
show. / Classifying Living Things notes; Textbook pgs. 248-252 / /
18. Construct and read a branching tree
(cladogram or phylogenetic tree). / Classifying Living Things notes; Closest Relative activity; Textbook pgs. 255-256; R.G. pgs. 129-131 / /
19. Explain what a branching tree (cladogram
or phylogenetic tree) shows. / Classifying Living Things notes; Closest Relative activity; Textbook pgs. 255-256; R.G. pgs. 129-131 / /
20. Look at a branching tree (cladogram or
phylogenetic tree) and determine:
a. the ancestors of a species.
b. the common ancestors of 2 or more
species.
c. the most recent common ancestor of
two species.
d. common characteristics of species. / Classifying Living Things notes; Closest Relative activity; Textbook pgs. 255-256; R.G. pgs. 129-131 / /
3e. Students know that extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and that the adaptive
characteristics of a species are insufficient for its survival.
21. Identify the causes of mass extinctions. / Earth’s History notes; Textbook pgs. 291-297; R.G. pgs. 147-152 / /
22. Explain what extinction is and how it is
caused. / Earth’s History notes; Textbook pgs. 245-246; R.G. pgs. 120-124 / /
23. Explain how humans can change an
environment and what happens to
species in that environment. / Earth’s History notes; Textbook pgs. 245-246; R.G. pgs. 120-124 / /
4b. Students know the history of life on Earth has been disrupted by major catastrophic events, such as
major volcanic eruptions or the impacts of asteroids.
24. Identify what has caused the different
mass extinctions on Earth (such as the
dinosaurs). / Earth’s History notes; Textbook pgs. 291-297; R.G. pgs. 147-152 / /
25. Explain what volcanoes and large
asteroid impacts do to the Earth. / Earth’s History notes; Textbook pgs. 291-297; R.G. pgs. 147-152 / /
4c. Students know that the rock cycle includes the formation of new sediment and rocks and that rocks are
often found in layers, with the oldest generally on the bottom.
26. Explain what the law of superposition is. / What Rocks Tell Us notes; Textbook pg. 273; R.G. pgs. 136-139 / /
27. Identify the type of rocks that fossils are
found in. / What Rocks Tell Us notes; Textbook pg. 269; R.G. pgs. 136-139 / /
28. Contrast relative age to absolute age. / What Rocks Tell Us notes; Textbook pg. 272; R.G. pgs. 136-139 / /
4d. Students know that evidence from geologic layers and radioactive dating indicates Earth is
approximately 4.6 billion years old and that life on this planet has existed for more than 3 billion years.
29. Identify the absolute age of the Earth. / What Rocks Tell Us notes; Textbook pg. 282 / /
30. Identify how long ago life first appeared
on Earth. / Earth’s History notes; Textbook pg. 282 / /