1. Longfellow Middle School Meeting the needs of all learners Inspiring excellence and

2. Environmental Science Content Process Skills

3. Units of Study Observing Living Things Heredity and Diversity Ecology

4. Observing Living Things Students will review the basic characteristics and needs of all living things. –Give examples of how plants and animals meet their basic needs. –Make detailed scientific drawings. –List qualitative and quantitative observations of organisms.

5. –Determine the key components of experimental design: dependent variable, independent variable, constants, control, and repeated trials. –Develop a clear and precise set of experimental procedures. –Construct appropriate data tables and graphs. Students will plan, design, conduct, and analyze experiments.

7. Students will analyze the structure and function of cells and tissues needed to conduct life processes. –Use a compound light microscope to observe a variety of microscopic cells and tissues. –Differentiate between a plant and an animal cell. –Distinguish between cells, tissues, organs, and systems. Using analogies to aid a high level of understanding

8. Give examples of how cell or tissue structure is related to its function within an organism. Describe basic life processes: growth, reproduction, movement, metabolism, response, osmosis, and diffusion. Analyze the cell cycle and compare mitosis to meiosis.

9. Students will investigate the passage of hereditary information from generation to generation. Use Punnett squares to make predictions showing combinations of inherited factors possible among single trait crosses. Construct a DNA model and demonstrate its role in passing on hereditary information. Summarize the major contributions of Mendel, Franklin, Watson, and Crick. Simulate genetic replication and mutation. Identify the benefits and risks of genetic engineering.

10. Differentiating Instruction and Projects

11. By questioning and extensions.

12. Students will cite evidence that organisms and their environment change over time. –Describe variation, mutation, adaptation, natural selection, and extinction. –Illustrate evidence of change over time among different species in the fossil record. –Analyze a timeline of the four major geological eras and the characteristics of the dominant organisms in each era. –Describe the formation of fossil fuels and limits on supplies. –Compare primary and secondary succession.

13. Students will compare the similarities among organisms from an analysis of their characteristics. –Use a classification system and a dichotomous key. –Observe and describe representatives of the six kingdoms and the major animal phyla and plant divisions. Students will investigate the interdependence of life in an ecosystem. –Differentiate between populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes. –Construct a model aquatic ecosystem. –Investigate limiting factors on a population. –Describe the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. –Trace the flow of energy from the sun through a food web. –Compare the water, carbon dioxide/oxygen, and nitrogen cycles. –Give examples of how a change in the population of one organism may affect the population of other organisms.

14. Students will evaluate the interrelationships of biotic and abiotic resources within their local ecosystem. –Examine the Chesapeake Bay as a case study of water pollution problems and solutions. –Given a situation in which a factor is altered, predict the expected change over time. –Conduct a variety of tests on water samples and analyze whether living things can survive in the sample. –Identify positive and negative influences that people have on the environment.

15. Analysis for All Students Using PDF versions of GIS overlays to synthesize information Using Arc View GIS software

16. Using GIS software to develop overlays and compare GPS data

18. Through inquiry Experimental design Analysis of real life situations and problems Depth and complexity for all students Guided and independent practice