Key Idea 1: Living things are both similar to and different from each other and from nonliving things.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.2: Describe and explain the structures and functions of the human body at different organizational levels (e.g., systems, tissues, cells, organelles).

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.2b: Humans are complex organisms. They require multiple systems for digestion, respiration, reproduction, circulation, excretion, movement, coordination, and immunity. The systems interact to perform the life functions.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.2c: The components of the human body, from organ systems to cell organelles, interact to maintain a balanced internal environment. To successfully accomplish this, organisms possess a diversity of control mechanisms that detect deviations and make corrective actions.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.2d: If there is a disruption in any human system, there may be a corresponding imbalance in homeostasis.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 1.2j: Receptor molecules play an important role in the interactions between cells. Two primary agents of cellular communication are hormones and chemicals produced by nerve cells. If nerve or hormone signals are blocked, cellular communication is disrupted and the organism’s stability is affected.

Key Idea 5: Organisms maintain a dynamic equilibrium that sustains life.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 5.1: Explain the basic biochemical processes in living organisms and their importance in maintaining dynamic equilibrium.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.1g: Enzymes and other molecules, such as hormones, receptor molecules, and antibodies, have specific shapes that influence both how they function and how they interact with other molecules.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 5.2: Explain disease as a failure of homeostasis.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2a: Homeostasis in an organism is constantly threatened. Failure to respond effectively can result in disease or death.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2b: Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other parasites may infect plants and animals and interfere with normal life functions.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2c: The immune system protects against antigens associated with pathogenic organisms or foreign substances and some cancer cells.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2d: Some white blood cells engulf invaders. Others produce antibodies that attack them or mark them for killing. Some specialized white blood cells will remain, able to fight off subsequent invaders of the same kind.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 5.2j: Biological research generates knowledge used to design ways of diagnosing, preventing, treating, controlling, or curing diseases of plants and animals.

Key Idea 3: Individual organisms and species change over time.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 3.1: Explain the mechanisms and patterns of evolution.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 3.1b: New inheritable characteristics can result from new combinations of existing genes or from mutations of genes in reproductive cells.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 3.1d: Mutations occur as random chance events. Gene mutations can also be caused by such agents as radiation and chemicals. When they occur in sex cells, the mutations can be passed on to offspring; if they occur in other cells, they can be passed on to other body cells only.

MAJOR UNDERSTANDING 3.1g: Some characteristics give individuals an advantage over others in surviving and reproducing, and the advantaged offspring, in turn, are more likely than others to survive and reproduce. The proportion of individuals that have advantageous characteristics will increase.

KEY IDEA 1: The central purpose of scientific inquiry is to develop explanations of natural phenomena in a continuing and creative process

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.2: Hone ideas through reasoning, library research, and discussion with others, including experts

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 1.3: Work towards reconciling competing explanations; clarify points of agreement and disagreement

KEY IDEA 3: The observations made while testing proposed explanations, when analyzed using conventional and invented methods, provide new insights into natural phenomena.

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR 3.1: Use various methods of representing and organizing observations (e.g. diagrams, tables, charts, graphs, equations matrices) and insightfully interpret the organized data

Uses a compound microscope/stereoscope effectively to see specimens clearly, using different magnifications: Compares relative sizes of cells and organelles

Makes observations of biological processes

Collects, organizes, and analyzes data, using a computer and/or other laboratory equipment

Organizes data through the use of data tables and graphs

Analyzes results from observations/expressed data

Reading: Key Ideas and Details

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.

Reading: Key Ideas and Details

Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text’s explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.

Reading: Craft and Structure

Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 9–10 texts and topics.

Reading: Craft and Structure

Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy). 

Reading: Craft and Structure

Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.

Reading: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

Reading: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.

Reading: Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently

Writing: Range of Writing

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.