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Know that living things have diverse forms, structures, functions, and habitats.
Kindergarten
1. Identify major structures of common living organisms (e.g., stems, leaves,
and roots of plants; arms, wings, and legs of animals).
2. Observe that differences exist among individual living organisms (e.g.,
plants, animals) of the same kind.
1st Grade
1. Know that living organisms (e.g., plants, animals) have needs (e.g., water,
air, food, sunlight).
2. Know that living organisms (e.g., plants, animals) inhabit various environments
and have various external features to help them satisfy their needs (e.g.,
leaves, legs, claws).
3. Describe the differences and similarities among living organisms (e.g.,
plants, animals).
4. Observe that living organisms (e.g., plants, animals) have predictable
but varied life cycles.
2nd Grade
1. Observe that diversity exists among individuals within a population.
2. Observe and describe various shapes of fungi.
3. Know that bacteria and viruses are germs.
3rd Grade
1. Know that an adaptation in physical structure or behavior can improve an
organism's chance for survival (e.g., horned toads, chameleons, cacti, mushrooms).
2. Observe that plants and animals have structures that serve different functions
(e.g., shape of animals' teeth).
3. Classify common animals according to their observable characteristics (e.g.,
body coverings, structure).
4. Classify plants according to their characteristics (e.g., tree leaves,
flowers, seeds).
4th Grade
1. Explain that different living organisms have distinctive structures and
body systems that serve specific functions (e.g., walking, flying, swimming).
2. Know that humans and other living things have senses to help them detect
stimuli, and that sensations (e.g., hunger) and stimuli (e.g., changes in the
environment) influence the behavior of organisms.
3. Describe how roots are associated with the intake of water and soil nutrients
and green leaves are associated with making food from sunlight (photosynthesis).
4. Describe the components of and relationships among organisms in a food
chain (e.g., plants are the primary source of energy for living systems).
5. Describe how all living things are made up of smaller units that are called
cells. A. Explain the diverse structures and functions of living things and
the complex relationships between living things and their environments.
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Know that living things have similarities and differences and that living things change over time.
Kindergarten
1. Observe and describe similarities and differences in the appearance and
behavior of living organisms (e.g., plants, animals).
2. Observe that living organisms (e.g., plants, animals) closely resemble
their parents.
1st Grade
1. Identify differences between living and nonliving things.
2. Recognize the differences between mature and immature plants and animals
(e.g., trees/seedlings, dogs/puppies, cats/kittens).
2nd Grade
1. Explain that stages of the life cycle are different for different animals
(e.g., mouse, cat, horse, butterfly, frog).
2. Observe that many characteristics of the offspring of living organisms
(e.g., plants or animals) are inherited from their parents.
3. Observe how the environment influences some characteristics of living things
(e.g., amount of sunlight required for plant growth).
3rd Grade
1. Identify how living things cause changes to the environments in which they
live, and that some of these changes are detrimental to the organism and some
are beneficial.
2. Know that some kinds of organisms that once lived on Earth have become
extinct (e.g., dinosaurs) and that others resemble those that are alive today
(e.g., alligators, sharks).
4th Grade
1. Know that in any particular environment some kinds of plants and animals
survive well, some survive less well, and others cannot survive at all.
2. Know that a change in physical structure or behavior can improve an organism's
chance of survival (e.g., a chameleon changes color, a turtle pulls its head
into its shell, a plant grows toward the light).
3. Describe how some living organisms have developed characteristics from
generation to generation to improve chances of survival (e.g., spines on cacti,
long beaks on hummingbirds, good eyesight on hawks). B. Understand how traits
are passed from one generation to the next and how species evolve.
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Know the parts of the human body and their functions.
Kindergarten
1. Use the senses (e.g., sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) to observe surroundings,
and describe the observations.
2. Identify the parts of the human body (e.g., legs, arms, head, hands) and
the functions of these parts.
1st Grade
1. Describe simple body functions (e.g., breathing, eating).
2. Describe the basic food requirements for humans.
3. Describe how some parts of human bodies differ from similar parts of other
animals (e.g., hands and feet/paws; ears).
2nd Grade
1. Identify a variety of human organs (e.g., lungs, heart, stomach, brain).
2. Know that various nutrients are required for specific parts and functions
of the body (e.g., milk for bones and teeth, protein for muscles, sugar for
energy).
3. Identify the functions of human systems (e.g., respiratory, circulatory,
digestive).
3rd Grade
1. Know that bacteria and viruses are germs that affect the human body.
2. Describe the nutrients needed by the human body.
4th Grade
1. Know that the human body has many parts that interact to function as systems
(e.g., skeletal, muscular) and describe the parts and their specific functions
in selected systems (e.g., the nose, lungs, and diaphragm in the respiratory
system).
2. Recognize that the human body is organized from cells, to tissues, to organs,
to systems, to the organism. C. Understand the structure of organisms and the
function of cells in living systems.
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Explain the diverse structures and functions of living things and the complex relationships between living things and their environments.
5th Grade
1. Identify the components of habitats and ecosystems (producers, consumers,
decomposers, predators).
2. Understand how food webs depict relationships between different organisms.
3. Know that changes in the environment can have different effects on different
organisms (e.g., some organisms move, some survive, some reproduce, some die).
4. Describe how human activity impacts the environment.
6th Grade
Populations and Ecosystems
1. Identify the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem and describe the
relationships among these components.
2. Explain biomes (i.e., aquatic, desert, rainforest, grasslands, tundra)
and describe the New Mexico biome.
3. Explain how individuals of species that exist together interact with their
environment to create an ecosystem (e.g., populations, communities, niches,
habitats, food webs).
4. Explain the conditions and resources needed to sustain life in specific
ecosystems.
5. Describe how the availability of resources and physical factors limit growth
(e.g., quantity of light and water, range of temperature, composition of soil)
and how the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles contribute to the availability
of those resources to support living systems.
7th Grade
Biodiversity
6. Understand how diverse species fill all niches in an ecosystem.
7. Know how to classify organisms: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order,
family, genus, species.
8th Grade
1. Describe how matter moves through ecosystems (e.g., water cycle, carbon
cycle).
2. Describe how energy flows through ecosystems (e.g., sunlight, green plants,
food for animals).
3. Explain how a change in the flow of energy can impact an ecosystem (e.g.,
the amount of sunlight available for plant growth, global climate change).
A. Understand how the survival of species depends on biodiversity and on complex
interactions, including the cycling of matter and the flow of energy.
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Understand how traits are passed from one generation to the next and how species evolve.
5th Grade
1. Know that plants and animals have life cycles that include birth, growth
and development, reproduction, and death and that these cycles differ for different
organisms.
2. Identify characteristics of an organism that are inherited from its parents
(e.g., eye color in humans, flower color in plants) and other characteristics
that are learned or result from interactions with the environment.
3. Understand that heredity is the process by which traits are passed from
one generation to another.
6th Grade
1. Understand that the fossil record provides data for how living organisms
have evolved.
2. Describe how species have responded to changing environmental conditions
over time (e.g., extinction, adaptation).
7th Grade
Reproduction
1. Know that reproduction is a characteristic of all living things and is
essential to the continuation of a species.
2. Identify the differences between sexual and asexual reproduction.
3. Know that, in sexual reproduction, an egg and sperm unite to begin the
development of a new individual.
4. Know that organisms that sexually reproduce fertile offspring are members
of the same species.
Heredity
5. Understand that some characteristics are passed from parent to offspring
as inherited traits and others are acquired from interactions with the environment.
6. Know that hereditary information is contained in genes that are located
in chromosomes, including:
determination of traits by genes
traits determined by one or many genes
more than one trait sometimes influenced
by a single gene.
Biological Evolution
7. Describe how typical traits may change from generation to generation due
to environmental influences (e.g., color of skin, shape of eyes, camouflage,
shape of beak).
8. Explain that diversity within a species is developed by gradual changes
over many generations.
9. Know that organisms can acquire unique characteristics through naturally
occurring genetic variations.
10. Identify adaptations that favor the survival of organisms in their environments
(e.g., camouflage, shape of beak).
11. Understand the process of natural selection.
12. Explain how species adapt to changes in the environment or become extinct
and that extinction of species is common in the history of living things.
13. Know that the fossil record documents the appearance, diversification,
and extinction of many life forms.
8th Grade
1. Understand that living organisms are made mostly of molecules consisting
of a limited number of elements (e.g., carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen).
2. Identify DNA as the chemical compound involved in heredity in living organisms.
3. Describe the widespread role of carbon in the chemistry of living systems.
B. Understand the genetic basis for inheritance and the basic concepts of biological
evolution.
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Understand the structure of organisms and the function of cells in living systems.
5th Grade
1. Understand that all living organisms are composed of cells from one to
many trillions, and that cells are usually only visible through a microscope.
2. Know that some organisms are made of a collection of similar cells that
cooperate (e.g., algae) while other organisms are made of cells that are different
in appearance and function (e.g., corn, birds).
3. Describe the relationships among cells, tissues, organs, organ systems,
whole organisms, and ecosystems.
6th Grade
1. Explain how fossil fuels were formed from animal and plant cells.
2. Describe the differences between substances that were produced by living
organisms (e.g., fossil fuels) and substances that result from nonliving processes
(e.g., igneous rocks).
7th Grade
Structure of Organisms
1. Understand that organisms are composed of cells and identify unicellular
and multicellular organisms.
2. Explain how organs are composed of tissues of different types of cells
(e.g., skin, bone, muscle, heart, intestines).
Function of Cells
3. Understand that many basic functions of organisms are carried out in cells,
including:
- growth and division to produce more cells (mitosis)
- specialized functions
of cells (e.g., reproduction, nerve-signal transmission, digestion,
excretion, movement, transport of oxygen).
4. Compare the structure
and processes of plant cells and animal cells.
5. Describe how some cells respond to stimuli (e.g., light, heat, pressure,
gravity).
6. Describe how factors (radiation, UV light, drugs) can damage cellular structure
or function.
8th Grade
1. Describe how cells use chemical energy obtained from food to conduct cellular
functions (i.e., respiration).
2. Explain that photosynthesis in green plants captures the energy from the
sun and stores it chemically.
3. Describe how chemical substances can influence cellular activity (e.g.,
pH). C. Understand the characteristics, structures, and functions of cells.
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Understand how the survival of species depends on biodiversity and on complex interactions, including the cycling of matter and the flow of energy.
Ecosystems
1. Know that an ecosystem is complex and may exhibit fluctuations around a
steady state or may evolve over time.
2. Describe how organisms cooperate and compete in ecosystems (e.g., producers,
decomposers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, predator-prey, symbiosis, mutualism).
3. Understand and describe how available resources limit the amount of life
an ecosystem can support (e.g., energy, water, oxygen, nutrients).
4. Critically analyze how humans modify and change ecosystems (e.g., harvesting,
pollution, population growth, technology).
Energy Flow in the Environment
5. Explain how matter and energy flow through biological systems (e.g., organisms,
communities, ecosystems), and how the total amount of matter and energy is
conserved but some energy is always released as heat to the environment.
6. Describe how energy flows from the sun through plants to herbivores to
carnivores and decomposers.
7. Understand and explain the principles of photosynthesis (i.e., chloroplasts
in plants convert light energy, carbon dioxide, and water into chemical energy).
Biodiversity
8. Understand and explain the hierarchical classification scheme (i.e., domain,
kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species), including:
- classification of an organism into a category
- similarity inferred from molecular
structure (DNA) closely matching classification based on anatomical
similarities
- similarities of organisms reflecting evolutionary
relationships.
9. Understand
variation within and among species, including:
- mutations and genetic
drift
- factors affecting the survival of an organism
- natural selection.
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Understand the genetic basis for inheritance and the basic concepts of biological evolution.
Genetics
1. Know how DNA carries all genetic information in the units of heredity called
genes, including:
- the structure of DNA ( e.g., subunits A, G, C, T)
- information-preserving replication
of DNA
- alteration of genes by inserting,
deleting, or substituting parts of DNA.
2.
Use appropriate vocabulary to describe inheritable traits (i.e., genotype,
phenotype).
3. Explain the concepts of segregation, independent assortment, and dominant/recessive
alleles.
4. Identify traits that can and cannot be inherited.
5. Know how genetic variability results from the recombination and mutation
of genes, including:
- sorting and recombination of genes in sexual reproduction result in a
change in DNA that is passed on to offspring
- radiation or chemical substances can
cause mutations in cells, resulting in a permanent change in DNA.
6. Understand the principles of sexual and asexual
reproduction, including meiosis and mitosis.
7. Know that most cells in the human body contain 23 pairs of chromosomes
including one pair that determines sex, and that human females have two X chromosomes
and human males have an X and a Y chromosome.
Biological Evolution
8. Describe the evidence for the first appearance of
life on Earth as one-celled organisms, over 3.5 billion years ago, and for
the later appearance of a
diversity of multicellular organisms over millions of years.
9. Critically analyze the data and observations supporting the conclusion
that the species living on Earth today are related by descent from the ancestral
one-celled organisms.
10. Understand the data, observations, and logic supporting the conclusion
that species today evolved from earlier, distinctly different species, originating
from the ancestral one-celled organisms.
11. Understand that evolution is a consequence of many factors, including
the ability of organisms to reproduce, genetic variability, the effect of limited
resources, and natural selection.
12. Explain how natural selection favors individuals who are better able to
survive, reproduce, and leave offspring.
13. Analyze how evolution by natural selection and other mechanisms explains
many phenomena including the fossil record of ancient life forms and similarities
(both physical and molecular) among different species.
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Understand the characteristics, structures, and functions of cells.
Structure and Function
1. Know that cells are made of proteins composed of combinations of amino
acids.
2. Know that specialized structures inside cells in most organisms carry out
different functions, including:
- parts of a cell and their functions (e.g., nucleus, chromosomes, plasma,
and mitochondria)
- storage of genetic material in DNA
- similarities and differences between plant
and animal cells
- prokaryotic and
eukaryotic cells.
3. Describe the mechanisms for cellular processes
(e.g., energy production and storage, transport of molecules, waste disposal,
synthesis of new molecules).
4. Know how the cell membrane controls which ions and molecules enter and
leave the cell based on membrane permeability and transport (i.e., osmosis,
diffusion, active transport, passive transport).
5. Explain how cells differentiate and specialize during the growth of an
organism, including:
differentiation, regulated through the selected expression of different genes
specialized cells, response to stimuli (e.g., nerve cells, sense organs).
6.
Know that DNA directs protein building (e.g., role of RNA).
Biochemical Mechanisms
7. Describe how most cell functions involve chemical reactions, including:
- promotion or inhibition of biochemical reactions by enzymes
- processes of respiration
(e.g., energy production, ATP)
- communication from
cell to cell by secretion of a variety of chemicals (e.g., hormones).
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