This resource has 107 correlations with the National Standards.  
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• Life Science
  • Reproduction and heredity
    • Reproduction is a characteristic of all living systems; because no individual organism lives forever, reproduction is essential to the continuation of every species. (5-8)
    • Some organisms reproduce asexually (5-8)
    • Some organisms reproduce sexually. (5-8)
    • In many species, including humans, females produce eggs and males produce sperm. (5-8)
    • Plants also reproduce sexually--the egg and sperm are produced in the flowers of flowering plants. (5-8)
  • Regulation and behavior
    • All organisms must be able to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment. (5-8)
    • How a species moves, obtains food, reproduces, and responds to danger are based in the species' evolutionary history (5-8)
  • Populations and ecosystems
    • All populations living together and the physical factors with which they interact compose an ecosystem. (5-8)
    • Populations of organisms can be categorized by the function they serve in an ecosystem. (5-8)
    • Decomposers, primarily bacteria and fungi, are consumers that use waste materials and dead organisms for food. (5-8)
    • Energy entering ecosystems as sunlight is transferred by producers into chemical energy through photosynthesis. (5-8)
    • Given adequate biotic and abiotic resources and no disease or predators, populations (including humans) increase at rapid rates. (5-8)
  • Diversity and adaptations of organisms
    • Millions of species of animals, plants, and microorganisms are alive today. (5-8)
    • Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed through gradual processes over many generations (5-8)
    • Species acquire many of their unique characteristics through biological adaptation, which involves the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations. (5-8)
    • Biological adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment (5-8)
  • The cell
    • Cells can differentiate, and complex multicellular organisms are formed as a highly organized arrangement of differentiated cells. (9-12)
    • In the development of multicellular organisms, the progeny from a single cell form an embryo in which the cells multiply and differentiate to form the many specialized cells, tissues and organs that comprise the final organism. (9-12)
    • Cells have particular structures that underlie their functions. (9-12)
    • Most cell functions involve chemical reactions. (9-12)
    • Cells store and use information to guide their functions. (9-12)
    • Cell functions are regulated. Regulation occurs both through changes in the activity of the functions performed by proteins and through the selective expression of individual genes. (9-12)
    • Plant cells contain chloroplasts, the site of photosynthesis. (9-12)
  • Molecular basis of heredity
    • In all organisms, the instructions for specifying the characteristics of the organism are carried in DNA, a large polymer formed from subunits of four kinds (A, G, C, and T). (9-12)
    • Most of the cells in a human contain two copies of each of 22 different chromosomes. (9-12)
    • Changes in DNA (mutations) occur spontaneously at low rates. (9-12)
  • Biological evolution
    • Species evolve over time. (9-12)
    • The great diversity of organisms is the result of more than 3.5 billion years of evolution that has filled every available niche with life forms. (9-12)
    • Natural selection and its evolutionary consequences provide a scientific explanation for the fossil record of ancient life forms, as well as for the striking molecular similarities observed among the diverse species of living organisms. (9-12)
    • The millions of different species of plants, animals, and microorganisms that live on earth today are related by descent from common ancestors. (9-12)
    • Biological classifications are based on how organisms are related. (9-12)
  • Interdependence of organisms
    • The atoms and molecules on the earth cycle among the living and nonliving components of the biosphere. (9-12)
    • Energy flows through ecosystems in one direction, from photosynthetic organisms to herbivores to carnivores and decomposers. (9-12)
    • Organisms both cooperate and compete in ecosystems. (9-12)
    • Living organisms have the capacity to produce populations of infinite size, but environments and resources are finite. (9-12)
    • Human beings live within the world's ecosystems. (9-12)
  • Matter, energy, and organization in living systems
    • All matter tends toward more disorganized states. (9-12)
    • Living systems require a continuous input of energy to maintain their chemical and physical organizations. With death, and the cessation of energy input, living systems rapidly disintegrate. (9-12)
    • The energy for life primarily derives from the sun. (9-12)
    • Energy stored in bonds between the atoms (chemical energy) can be used as sources of energy for life processes. (9-12)
    • The chemical bonds of food molecules contain energy. (9-12)
    • Energy is released when the bonds of food molecules are broken and new compounds with lower energy bonds are formed. (9-12)
    • The complexity and organization of organisms accommodates the need for obtaining, transforming, transporting, releasing, and eliminating the matter and energy used to sustain the organism. (9-12)
    • The distribution and abundance of organisms and populations in ecosystems are limited by the availability of matter and energy and the ability of the ecosystem to recycle materials. (9-12)
    • As matter and energy flows through different levels of organization of living systems--cells, organs, organisms, communities--and between living systems and the physical environment, chemical elements are recombined in different ways. (9-12)
  • Behavior of organisms
    • Multicellular animals have nervous systems that generate behavior. (9-12)
    • Organisms have behavioral responses to internal changes and to external stimuli. (9-12)
    • Like other aspects of an organism's biology, behaviors have evolved through natural selection. (9-12)
    • Behavioral biology has implications for humans, as it provides links to psychology, sociology, and anthropology. (9-12)

• Science as Inquiry
  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
    • Ask a question about objects, organisms, and events in the environment. (K-4)
    • Use data to construct a reasonable explanation.
    • Communicate investigations and explanations.
    • Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
    • Design and conduct a scientific investigation.
    • Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
    • Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
    • Think critically and logically to make the relationships between evidence and explanations.
    • Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations. (9-12)
    • Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic and evidence. (9-12)
    • Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models. (9-12)
    • Communicate and defend a scientific argument. (9-12)
  • Understandings about scientific inquiry
    • Scientific investigations involve asking and answering a question and comparing the answer with what scientists already know about the world. (K-4)
    • Scientists develop explanations using observations (evidence) and what they already know about the world (scientific knowledge). Good explanations are based on evidence from investigations. (K-4)
    • Scientific explanations emphasize evidence, have logically consistent arguments, and use scientific principles, models, and theories. (5-8)
    • Scientists usually inquire about how physical, living, or designed systems function. (9-12)
    • Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, they may wish to discover new aspects of the natural world, explain recently observed phenomena, or test the conclusions of prior investigations or the predictions of current theories. (9-12)
    • Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. (9-12)
    • Mathematics is essential in scientific inquiry. (9-12)
    • Scientific explanations must adhere to criteria such as: a proposed explanation must be logically consistent; it must abide by the rules of evidence; it must be open to questions and possible modification; and it must be based on historical and current scientific knowledge. (9-12)
    • Results of scientific inquiry--new knowledge and methods--emerge from different types of investigations and public communication among scientists. (9-12)

• Science and Technology
  • Understanding about science and technology
    • Many different people in different cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and technology. (5-8)

• Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
  • Science and technology in society
    • Societal challenges often inspire questions for scientific research, and social priorities often influence research priorities through the availability of funding for research. (5-8)
    • Technology influences society through its products and processes. (5-8)
    • Social needs, attitudes, and values influence the direction of technological development ways. (5-8)
  • Sci and Tech in local, natl, and global challenges
    • Understanding basic concepts and principles of science and technology should precede active debate about the economics, policies, politics, and ethics of various science- and technology-related challenges. (9-12)
    • Individuals and society must decide on proposals involving new research and the introduction of new technologies into society. (9-12)
    • Decisions involve assessment of alternatives, risks, costs, and benefits and consideration of who benefits and who suffers, who pays and gains, and what the risks are and who bears them. (9-12)
    • Students should understand the appropriateness and value of basic questions--"What can happen?"--"What are the odds?"--and "How do scientists and engineers know what will happen?" (9-12)

• History and Nature of Science
  • Science as a human endeavor
    • Individuals and teams have contributed and will continue to contribute to the scientific enterprise. (9-12)
    • Scientists have ethical traditions. (9-12)
    • Scientists value peer review, truthful reporting about the methods and outcomes of investigations, and making public the results of work. Violations of such norms do occur, but scientists responsible for such violations are censured by their peers. (9-12)
    • Scientists are influenced by societal, cultural, and personal beliefs and ways of viewing the world. (9-12)
  • Nature of scientific knowledge
    • Science distinguishes itself from other ways of knowing and from other bodies of knowledge through the use of empirical standards, logical arguments, and skepticism, as scientists strive for the best possible explanations about the natural world. (9-12)
    • Scientific explanations must meet certain criteria. (9-12)
    • First and foremost, scientific explanations must be consistent with experimental and observational evidence about nature, and must make accurate predictions, when appropriate, about systems being studied. (9-12)
    • Scientific explanations should be logical, respect the rules of evidence, be open to criticism, report methods and procedures, and make knowledge public. (9-12)
    • Because all scientific ideas depend on experimental and observational confirmation, all scientific knowledge is, in principle, subject to change as new evidence becomes available. (9-12)

• Process Standards for Professional Development
  • Evaluation
    • Clear, shared goals based on a vision of science learning, teaching, and teacher development congruent with the National Science Education Standards . (NSES)
  • Research-Based
    • Prepares educators to apply research to decision making. (NSDC)
    • Connect and integrate all pertinent aspects of science and science education. (NSES)
  • Design
    • Uses learning strategies appropriate to the intended goal. (NSDC)
  • Learning
    • Build on the teacher's current science understanding, ability, and attitudes. (NSES)
    • Applies knowledge about human learning and change. (NSDC)
    • Incorporate ongoing reflection on the process and outcomes of understanding science through inquiry. (NSES)

• Content Standards
  • Equity
    • Prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students, create safe, orderly and supportive learning environments, and hold high expectations for their academic achievement. (NSDC)

• Teaching Standards
  • Teachers of science plan an inquiry-based science program for their students.
    • Select teaching and assessment strategies that support the development of student understanding and nurture a community of science learners.
  • Teachers of science guide and facilitate learning. In doing this, teachers
    • Orchestrate discourse among students about scientific ideas.
    • Challenge students to accept and share responsibility for their own learning.
    • Recognize and respond to student diversity and encourage all students to participate fully in science learning.
  • Teachers of science engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning.
    • Analyze assessment data to guide teaching.
    • Use multiple methods and systematically gather data about student understanding and ability.
    • Guide students in self-assessment.
  • Teachers provide students with the time, space, and resources needed to learn science.
    • Create a setting for student work that is flexible and supportive of science inquiry.
    • Ensure a safe working environment.
  • Teachers of science develop communities of science learners that reflect the intellectual rigor of scientific inquiry.
    • Model and emphasize the skills, attitudes, and values of scientific inquiry.
    • Display and demand respect for the diverse ideas, skills, and experiences of all students.
    • Nurture collaboration among students.