New Hampshire Science Curriculum Frameworks
Introduction Broad Goals Science as Inquiry Science, Technology, and Society
Life Science Earth/Space Science Physical Science Unifying Themes and Concepts
Life Science
A fundamental goal of the life sciences is for students to understand the essential processes of life as well as the processes to maintain life on earth. The life science curriculum in grades K-6 should emphasize a study of nature (plants, animals, humans- characteristics and diversity in the local environment) and biological phenomena (growth, reproduction, adaptation, behavior, and other topics). In middle/junior high school life science, the emphasis should be understanding oneself as a human being. Issues focusing on health, nutrition, environmental management, and human adaptation are appropriate for middle school students. The study of these issues in the biosocial context usually involves ethical considerations. General biology in the high school should emphasize biological knowledge in a social/ecological context. The focus should be on biological concepts as they relate to human well-being and the common good. Advanced level courses in high school biology should be taught in the context of a discipline emphasizing its structure, its modes of inquiry, its theoretical underpinnings, and its career opportunities.
At all grade levels there should be an emphasis upon scientific modes of thought. Students should be expected to acquire skills in making careful observations, collecting and analyzing data, thinking logically and critically, and making quantitative and qualitative interpretations.
Students need an understanding of basic biological concepts and principles if they are to responsibly apply what they are learning in their daily lives. These concepts should be acquired in terms of the human organism with extensions to other forms of life. Among the basic concepts in the life sciences that have personal and societal dimensions are: genetics, nutrition, evolution, behavior, reproduction, structure/function, disease, diversity, integration of life systems, life cycles, energetics, and the dynamic relationships that exist among all forms of life and the physical environment. The student should also acquire an understanding of how bioengineering and biotechnology are being used to modify or sustain natural systems in organisms, and be aware of the ethical issues surrounding these new scientific fields of exploration.
Special efforts should be made in the teaching of life science at all grade levels to develop bridges or connections between biology and other school subjects such as mathematics, social studies, and the physical sciences.
Curriculum Standard 3a
Students will demonstrate an increasing ability to recognize patterns and products of evolution, including genetic variation, specialization, adaptation, and natural selection.
Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade six students will be able to:
- Classify a variety of organisms based on their characteristics, and use this scheme as a tool to organize information about the diversity of life forms.
- Describe/identify random differences between individuals of the same species of plant or animal, e.g. students can examine parts of plants of the same species and recognize variations, and can construct graphs and charts showing the variations.
- Describe/identify similarities and differences among multiple offspring of same parents, and between parents and offspring.
- Collect data on inherited characteristics and use the data to explain how traits are passed from generation to generation.
- Identify major body structures of some common organisms, e.g. when shown a picture of the human skeleton students can identify, by common name, the major bones in their body.
- Relate the structure of body parts to function, e.g. when presented with teeth (or models of teeth) from various animals, students can make inferences concerning what the animal eats.
- Create examples of food chains and webs in several types of ecosystems, e.g. deciduous forest, fresh water, desert, etc.
Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade ten students will be able to:
- Identify and give examples of representative life forms in the five kingdoms (see curriculum standard 3d) of living things.
- Identify and describe similarities and differences among organisms of different, but closely related taxa (groups), e.g. conifers, rodents, big cats, etc.
- Relate different kinds of animals and plants to their habitat by observing their physical characteristics.
- Interpret simple genetic crosses and predict/explain the patterns that emerge.
- Explain how the characteristics of living things depends upon genes.
- Estimate the degree of kinship among organisms or species, e.g. from the similarity of their DNA base-pair sequences, anatomy, physiology, or behavior.
- Develop appropriate food webs for the major biomes of the earth and accurately describe the major biogeochemical cycles which control the interactions between the biotic and physical worlds.
- Construct a "timeline" that depicts how life forms change over time as they interact in and with the environment.
- Describe how genetic material is passed from parent to offspring during asexual and sexual reproduction, e.g. mitosis, meiosis.
- Research a human genetic trait and trace its appearance/presence through a family history and predict the inheritance patterns and probabilities through the next generation.
- Explain how new genetic traits can arise and become established in a population, e.g. mutation of DNA, new gene linkages, crossing over, etc.
Curriculum Standard 3b
Students will demonstrate an increasing ability to understand how environmental factors affect all living systems (i.e. individuals, community, biome, the biosphere) as well as species to species interactions.
Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade six students will be able to:
- Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the process of photosynthesis and its importance for all life forms.
- Identify and describe the basic requirements for sustaining life, e.g. plants and animals need food for energy and growth.
- Conduct an investigation which illustrates how the environment affects the viability of plants or animals within that environment.
- Describe and give examples of the various types of interactions that occur among organisms (e.g. predator-prey, symbiotic, producer-consumer-decomposer, host-parasite) to demonstrate how organisms compete or cooperate with each other to gain food, resources or space.
- Identify and describe examples of New Hampshire animals and plants that live together in one ecosystem, e.g. forest, seashore, lake, river, stream.
Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade ten students will be able to:
- Design a controlled investigation that demonstrates the interdependence of plants and animals found within a specific New Hampshire ecosystem, e.g. forest, seashore, lake, river, stream.
- Predict, with rationale, the effects of changing one or two factors in an ecosystem, e.g. What would happen if mosquitoes were to suddenly disappear?.
- Research and present a model that demonstrates how ecosystems are reasonably stable over hundreds or thousands of years, dependent on climate, limiting factors, carrying capacities, and biogeochemical cycles.
- Make predictions about changes in the size or growth rate of a population using mathematical models, e.g from graphs and charts, students can determine relationships among the species within an ecosystem.
- Trace the history of an interaction between man and the environment that demonstrates how human activities can deliberately or inadvertently alter the equilibrium in an ecosystem.
Curriculum Standard 3c
Students will demonstrate an increasing ability to understand that organisms are linked to one another and to their physical setting by the transfer and transformation of matter and energy to maintain a dynamic equilibrium.
Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade six students will be able to:
- Identify common materials that cycle through the environment, e.g. carbon, water, carbon dioxide, oxygen.
- Explore through models, experiments, and observations how matter and energy interact in any ecosystem.
- Describe how organisms can acquire energy directly or indirectly from the energy of the sun.
Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade ten students will be able to:
- Design and perform an experiment to show that the number of living things any environment can support is limited by the available energy, water, oxygen, minerals, and ability of an ecosystem to recycle organic material.
- Construct models that demonstrate which chemical elements make up the molecules of substances found in living organisms and how these elements pass through food webs.
- Describe how essential materials enter cells and how waste and other materials leave the cell, e.g. diffusion, osmosis.
- Explain how cells use nutrients as a source of energy, e.g. respiration.
- Compare the transformation of matter and energy during photosynthesis and respiration.
Curriculum Standard 3d
Students will demonstrate an increasing ability to understand fundamental structures, functions, and mechanisms of inheritance found in microorganisms, fungi, protists, plants, and animals.
Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade six students will be able to:
- Describe similarities and differences between single celled and multicellular organisms, e.g. cell structures.
- Identify the major anatomical features of plants and animals, and the major function of each.
- Observe and describe major characteristics of various life forms, e.g. microorganisms, fungi, protists, plants and animals.
- Compare and contrast life processes in plants and animals, e.g. growth and development, nutrition, reproduction, etc.
- Describe/identify major organ systems of the human body, state their major functions, and describe some of their interactions, e.g. the heart and lungs working together in respiration.
- Explain how the human body remains healthy and fights-off disease, i.e. the immune system, the influence of diet, food and exercise, the influence of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, protista).
- Explain the difference between acquired and inherited characteristics or traits of an organism.
Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade ten students will be able to:
- Use tools and models to demonstrate that all cells have specialized structures that carry out specialized functions, e.g. microscopic evidence, photographic evidence.
- Describe the major functions of the living cell and discuss how different groups of cells perform interrelated functions in any organism.
- Explain, in general terms, the role DNA plays in controlling cell functions.
- Discuss, using observation, experimentation, and modeling, the connections between the structure and function of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems.
- Describe/explain homeostasis (the maintenance of internal stability within organisms), i.e. regulation and communication between parts of the body on a macrocellular scale.
- Describe the life cycles of representative organisms that cause human diseases.
- Describe the use of technology in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, e.g. sanitation. medicines, organ transplants, adequate food and water supplies.
- Investigate behavioral patterns found in different life forms, e.g. communication, orientation, hormonal regulation, learning, and conditioning.
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