Mississippi Science FB.1.2
The Standard
- FB.1
- Students will relate the importance of significant historical biological experiments and their impact of these on research, development, and society.
Trace and model the historical development of scientific ideas and theories (e.g., creation of the microscope, discovery of cells/cell theory, discovery of DNA/RNA, double helical shape of DNA, evolution/natural selection, endosymbiosis) through the development of a timeline.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · History of Biology and Impacts on Society
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students place major biology discoveries on a timeline, including microscopes, cells, evolution, DNA and RNA, and endosymbiosis. They sketch models and explain what new tools or evidence changed scientists' ideas.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student puts key discoveries in order using approximate dates. They can point to evidence behind an idea and use a sketch to show what the idea explains.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Hooke saw living cells in cork, rather than the walls of dead cells. They may confuse the first discovery of DNA with the later discovery of its shape, or think one experiment proved natural selection.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Put Hooke's cork drawing, cell theory, and the DNA double-helix model in order. Sketch a cell and name one observation that helped scientists move from cork drawings to cell theory.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs six discovery cards, dates, string, and clips; have them build a timeline and sketch the model tied to each card.
Ask: Why did Hooke's cork drawing not show that all living things are made of cells? Use later plant and animal observations.
Play evidence match: teams pair cork drawings, finch populations, X-ray diffraction, and mitochondrial DNA with the ideas each supported.
Show a Pap smear image; ask students how microscopes and cell theory help doctors identify abnormal cells.
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Printable FB.1.2 Worksheet
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