This resource has 49 correlations with the National Standards.  
[HIDE CORRELATIONS]

• Life Science
  • The characteristics of organisms
    • Organisms have basic needs. For example, animals need air, water, and food; plants require air, water, nutrients, and light. (K-4)
    • Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs can be met. (K-4)
    • Each plant or animal has different structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct body structures for walking, holding, seeing, and talking. (K-4)
    • The world has many different environments, and distinct environments support the life of different types of organisms. (K-4)
  • Structure and function in living systems
    • Living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary nature of structure and function (5-8)
    • Important levels of organization for structure and function include cells, organs, tissues, organ systems, whole organisms, and ecosystems (5-8)
    • Each type of cell, tissue, and organ has a distinct structure and set of functions that serve the organism as a whole. (5-8)
  • Populations and ecosystems
    • A population consists of all individuals of a species that occur together at a given place and time. (5-8)
    • 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)
    • The number of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and abiotic factors, such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition.
    • Given adequate biotic and abiotic resources and no disease or predators, populations (including humans) increase at rapid rates. (5-8)
    • Healthy ecosystems ensure a healthy biosphere by regulating the flow of energy and the cycling of nutrients.
    • Lack of resources and other factors, such as predation and climate, limit the growth of populations in specific niches in the ecosystem. (5-8)
  • Diversity and adaptations of organisms
    • Biological adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment (5-8)
    • Extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and the adaptive characteristics of a species are insufficient to allow its survival. (5-8)
    • Fossils indicate that many organisms that lived long ago are extinct. (5-8)
    • Extinction of species is common; most of the species that have lived on the earth no longer exist. (5-8)
  • Biological evolution
    • 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)
    • Biological classifications are based on how organisms are related. (9-12)
    • Organisms are classified into a hierarchy of groups and subgroups based on similarities which reflect their evolutionary relationships. (9-12)
    • Species is the most fundamental unit of classification. (9-12)

• Earth Science
  • Properties of earth materials
    • Fossils provide evidence about the plants and animals that lived long ago and the nature of the environment at that time.
  • Structure of the earth system
    • Old rocks at the earth's surface weather, forming sediments that are buried, then compacted, heated, and often recrystallized into new rock. Eventually, those new rocks may be brought to the surface by the forces that drive plate motions, and the rock cycle continues. (5-8)
    • Soil consists of weathered rocks and decomposed organic material from dead plants, animals, and bacteria. (5-8)
    • Soils are often found in layers, with each having a different chemical composition and texture. (5-8)
  • Earth's history
    • The earth processes we see today, including erosion, movement of lithospheric plates, and changes in atmospheric composition, are similar to those that occurred in the past. (5-8)
    • Earth history is also influenced by occasional catastrophes, such as the impact of an asteroid or comet. (5-8)
    • Fossils provide important evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed (5-8)
  • Origin and evolution of the earth system
    • The sun, the earth, and the rest of the solar system formed from a nebular cloud of dust and gas 4.6 billion years ago. (9-12)

• Science as Inquiry
  • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
    • Plan and conduct a simple investigation. (K-4)
    • Employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses. (K-4)
    • Use data to construct a reasonable explanation.
    • Communicate investigations and explanations.
    • Identify questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
    • 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.
    • Use mathematics in all aspects of scientific inquiry.
  • Understandings about scientific inquiry
    • Types of investigations include describing objects, events, and organisms; classifying them; and doing a fair test (experimenting).
    • 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)

• History and Nature of Science
  • Science as a human endeavor
    • Science requires different abilities, depending on such factors as the field of study and type of inquiry. (5-8)
  • Nature of science
    • Scientists formulate and test their explanations of nature using observation, experiments, and theoretical and mathematical models. Those ideas are not likely to change greatly in the future. (5-8)

• Teaching Standards
  • Teachers of science plan an inquiry-based science program for their students.
    • Select science content and adapt and design curricula to meet the interests, knowledge, understanding, abilities, and experiences of 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
    • Encourage and model the skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity, openness to new ideas and data, and skepticism that characterize science.
    • Orchestrate discourse among students about scientific ideas.
  • 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.