Georgia S7L5.b
The Standard
Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variation and environmental factors influence the probability of survival and reproduction of a species.
Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science · Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information from multiple sources to explain the theory of evolution of living organisms through inherited characteristics.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use data from several sources to explain why inherited differences affect which organisms survive and reproduce. They connect changes in the environment to changes in trait frequencies over generations.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students identify a heritable trait, describe the environmental pressure, and cite evidence showing a reproductive advantage. They explain outcomes as probabilities, not guarantees.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think individuals develop helpful traits because they need them. They may assume every variation is helpful or that an advantageous trait guarantees survival. Some confuse inherited traits with learned behaviors.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: On dark bark, 15 of 20 brown beetles survive bird feeding, but only 6 of 20 green beetles survive. Explain which inherited color may become more common and why.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Scatter two colors of paper dots on patterned fabric, let students collect them with spoons, then compare survival totals across backgrounds.
Ask students to write why thick fur could help in one environment but reduce survival in another.
Give groups trait cards and environment cards, then have them defend which organisms are more likely to reproduce in each round.
Graph antibiotic resistance data across several bacterial generations, then explain how antibiotic use changes which bacteria reproduce.
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Printable S7L5.b Worksheet
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Related Standards
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Use mathematical representations to evaluate explanations of how natural selection leads to changes in specific traits of populations over successive generation...
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- S7L3.a
Construct an explanation supported with scientific evidence of the role of genes and chromosomes in the process of inheriting a specific trait.
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