Florida SC.7.E.6.4
The Standard
Explain and give examples of how physical evidence supports scientific theories that Earth has evolved over geologic time due to natural processes.
Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Science
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students examine rock layers, fossils, landforms, and age data. They connect each kind of evidence to natural processes that changed Earth over long periods.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given a rock cross section or evidence set, students reconstruct the sequence of past events. They explain how several observations support an account of Earth’s history.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think a scientific theory is only a guess. They may assume landforms formed quickly or that deeper rock is always older, even where layers are folded or faulted.
How to Assess It
- Show a canyon cross section with layered rock, an ash layer, and marine fossils. Ask students to name two pieces of evidence and explain what past change each supports.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build layered sediments in a clear cup, tilt them, cut a channel, and use the model to reconstruct the sequence of events.
Write a claim explaining how marine fossils in inland rock support a past environmental change, using two observations as evidence.
Sort evidence cards into erosion, deposition, volcanism, or plate movement, then defend one match to a partner.
Examine photos of Florida limestone, fossils, and sinkholes, then explain how ancient seas and groundwater shaped the state.
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Printable SC.7.E.6.4 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- SC.6.E.6.1
Describe and give examples of ways in which Earth's surface is built up and torn down by physical and chemical weathering, erosion, and deposition.
- SC.7.L.15.1
Recognize that fossil evidence is consistent with the scientific theory of evolution that living things evolved from earlier species.
- SC.4.N.1.7
Recognize and explain that scientists base their explanations on evidence.
- SC.7.N.3.1
Recognize and explain the difference between theories and laws and give several examples of scientific theories and the evidence that supports them.
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