Standards

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
This lesson is building toward:
PERFORMANCE EXPECTATION (PE)
MS-LS4-1
Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on finding patterns of changes in the level of complexity of anatomical structures in organisms and the chronological order of fossil appearance in the rock layers.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the names of individual species or geological eras in the fossil record.]
MS-ESS3-4
Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evidence include gradeappropriate databases on human populations and the rates of consumption of food and natural resources (such as freshwater, mineral, and energy). Examples of impacts can include changes to the appearance, composition, and structure of Earth’s systems as well as the rates at which they change. The consequences of increases in human populations and consumption of natural resources are described by science, but science does not make the decisions for the actions society takes.]

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES (SEP)
Asking Questions and Defining Problems
  • Ask questions that arise from careful observation of phenomena, models, or unexpected results, to clarify and/or seek additional information.
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
  • Apply scientific reasoning to show why the data or evidence is adequate for the explanation or conclusion.
Engaging in Argument from Evidence
  • Construct, use, and/or present an oral and written argument supported by empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support or refute an explanation or a model for a phenomenon or a solution to a problem.
Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
  • Critically read scientific texts adapted for classroom use to determine the central ideas and/or obtain scientific and/or technical information to describe patterns in and/or evidence about the natural and designed world(s).
DISCIPLINARY CORE IDEAS (DCI)
(This is the Engage part of the learning sequence; students do not build understanding of this, but this sets the stage for future learning.)
LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
  • The collection of fossils and their placement in chronological order (e.g., through the location of the sedimentary layers in which they are found or through radioactive dating) is known as the fossil record. It documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms throughout the history of life on Earth. (MS-LS4-1)
ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
  • Typically as human populations and per-capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise. (MS-ESS3-4)
CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS (CCC)
Patterns
  • Patterns can be used to identify cause and effect relationships.
  • Graphs, charts, and images can be used to identify patterns in data.
Cause and Effect
  • [Some] phenomena may have more than one cause, and some cause and effect relationships in systems can only be described using probability.
Stability and Change
  • Explanations of stability and change in natural or designed systems can be constructed by examining the changes over time and processes at different scales, including the atomic scale.
Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
  • Phenomena that can be observed at one scale may not be observable at another scale.

“Disciplinary Core Ideas, Science and Engineering Practices, and Crosscutting Concepts” are reproduced verbatim from A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/13165. National Research Council; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Board on Science Education; Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards. National Academies Press, Washington, DC. This material may be reproduced for noncommercial purposes and used by other parties with this attribution. If the original material is altered in any way, the attribution must state that the material is adapted from the original. All other rights reserved.

Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
CCSS ELA SPEAKING & LISTENING
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS ELA WRITING
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.9
Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
CCSS MATH FUNCTIONS
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.F.B.5
Describe qualitatively the functional relationship between two quantities by analyzing a graph (e.g., where the function is increasing or decreasing, linear or nonlinear). Sketch a graph that exhibits the qualitative features of a function that has been described verbally.

© Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

California English Language Development (ELD) Standards
CA ELD
Part 1.2 Interacting with others in written English in various communicative forms (print, communicative technology, and multimedia)
EMERGING
EXPANDING
BRIDGING
P1.8.2 Engage in short written exchanges with peers and collaborate on simple written texts on familiar topics, using technology when appropriate.
P1.8.2 Engage in longer written exchanges with peers and collaborate on more detailed written texts on a variety of topics, using technology when appropriate.
P1.8.2 Engage in extended written exchanges with peers and collaborate on complex written texts on a variety of topics, using technology when appropriate.
In addition to the standard above, you may find that you touch on the following standards in this lesson as well:

1.8.1: Exchanging information and ideas with others through oral collaborative discussions on a range of social and academic topics
1.8.3: Offering and justifying opinions, negotiating with and persuading others in communicative exchanges
1.8.6: Reading closely literary and informational texts and viewing multimedia to determine how meaning is conveyed explicitly and implicitly through language
1.8.11: Justifying own arguments and evaluating others’ arguments in writing
2.8.5: Modifying to add details

© 2014 by the California Department of Education All rights reserved.

California's Environmental Principles and Concepts (EP&Cs)
EP&C
Principle 2
People Influence Natural Systems
The long-term functioning and health of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems are influenced by their relationships with human societies.
Principle 3
Natural Systems Change in Ways that People Benefit From and Can Influence
Natural systems proceed through cycles that humans depend upon, benefit from, and can alter.

California Education and the Environment Initiative. 2016. California’s Environmental Principles and Concepts. https://californiaeei.org/epc/