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Maine Science Standards

A. CLASSIFYING LIFE FORMS 
Students will understand that there are similarities within the diversity of all living things. Modern classification systems are based on comparisons of the structure, function, life-cycles, and behavior of organisms.
   Grades 3- 4
1.Group the same organisms in different ways using different characteristics.

NatureWorks Episodes

1. Adaptation
2. Coloration
4. Migration
6. Marine Communities
7. Fresh Water Communities
8. Terrestrial Communities
9. The Wildlife Web I 
10.The Wildlife  Web II
11. Decomposers/Scavengers
13. Species Diversity
14. Niche
15. Invasive Species

2.Design and describe a classification system for organisms.

NatureWorks Episodes

1. Adaptation
2. Coloration
4. Migration
6. Marine Communities
7. Fresh Water Communities
8. Terrestrial Communities
9. The Wildlife Web I 
10.The Wildlife  Web II
11. Decomposers/Scavengers
13. Species Diversity
14. Niche
15. Invasive Species

3.Describe the different living things within a given habitat.

NatureWorks Episodes

5. Habitat
6. Marine Communities
7. Fresh Water Communities
8. Terrestrial Communities 4.Compare and contrast the life cycles, behavior, and structure of different organisms.

NatureWorks Episodes

All Episodes
   Grades 5-8

1.Compare systems of classifying organisms including systems used by scientists.

NatureWorks Episodes

13. Species Diversity

2.Decipher the system for assigning a scientific name to every living thing.

NatureWorks Episodes

13. Species Diversity

3.Describe some structural and behavioral adaptations that allow organisms to survive in a changing environment.

NatureWorks Episodes

1. Adaptation
2. Coloration
3. Natural Communication
4. Migration
   

B. ECOLOGY 
Students will understand how living things depend on one another and on non-living aspects of the environment. Balance in ecosystems is based on an intricate web of relationships among populations of living organisms and on non-living factors such as water and temperature. Changes in specific populations or conditions affect other parts of the ecosystem. Individual systems continually change in response to human and other factors.

   Grades 3- 4

1.Describe a food web and the relationships within a given ecosystem.

NatureWorks Episodes

9. The Wildlife Web I 
10.The Wildlife  Web II
11. Decomposers/Scavengers
12. Population Dynamics

2.Explain the difference between producers (e.g., green plants), consumers (e.g., those that eat green plants), and decomposers (e.g., bacteria that break down the "consumers" when they die), and identify examples of each.

NatureWorks Episodes

9. The Wildlife Web I 
10.The Wildlife  Web II
11. Decomposers/Scavengers
12. Population Dynamics

3.Compare and contrast physical and living components of different biomes - i.e., regions characterized by their climate and plant life - (e.g., tundra, rain forest, ocean, desert).

NatureWorks Episodes

5. Habitat
6. Marine Communities
7. Fresh Water Communities
8. Terrestrial Communities

4.Investigate the connection between major living and non­living components of a local ecosystem.

NatureWorks Episodes

5. Habitat
6. Marine Communities
7. Fresh Water Communities
8. Terrestrial Communities
   Grades 5-8

1.Describe in general terms the chemical processes of photosynthesis and respiration.

NatureWorks Episodes

9. The Wildlife Web I 

2.Analyze how the finite resources in an ecosystem limit the types and populations of organisms within it.

NatureWorks Episodes

12. Population Dynamics

3.Describe succession and other ways that ecosystems can change over time.

NatureWorks Episodes

12. Population Dynamics
14. Niche
15. Invasive Species

4.Generate examples of the variety of ways that organisms interact (e.g., competition, predator/prey, parasitism/mutualism).

NatureWorks Episodes

9. The Wildlife Web I 
10.The Wildlife  Web II
11. Decomposers/Scavengers

5.Describe various mechanisms found in the natural world for transporting living and non-living matter and the results of such movements.

D. CONTINUITY AND CHANGE 

Students will understand the basis for all life and that all living things change over time. Fossils show past life, extinct species, and environmental changes over time. Organisms change and new species may arise due to genetically coded adaptations.

   Grades 3- 4

1.Identify present day organisms that have not always existed, and past life forms that have become extinct.

NatureWorks Episodes

16. Life at Risk

2.Describe how fossils form. 3.Explain how adaptations, in response to change over time, may increase a species' chances of survival.

NatureWorks Episodes

1. Adaptation
2. Coloration
4. Migration
16. Life at Risk

4.Describe ways in which organisms may be similar to and different from their parents and explore the possible reasons for this.
   Grades 5-8

1.Describe how fossils can be used by scientists to trace the history of a species. 2.Explain how scientists use fossils to prove that life forms, climate, environment, and geologic features in a certain location are not the same now as they were in the past. 3.Provide examples of the concept of natural and artificial selection and its role in species changes over time.

NatureWorks Episodes

1. Adaptation
2. Coloration
3. Natural Communication
4. Migration

4.Compare how sexually and asexually reproducing species transfer genetic information to offspring.



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