Mississippi Science FB.5.1
The Standard
- FB.5
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of Earth’s fossil record and its indication of the diversity of life over time.
Investigate through research the contributions of scientists to the theory of evolution and evolutionary processes (e.g., Needham, Spallanzani, Redi, Pasteur, Lyell, Lamarck, Malthus, Wallace, Darwin).
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Biological Evolution
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students research what different scientists tested or proposed. They trace how those ideas shaped or challenged later explanations, and separate tests of spontaneous generation from explanations of evolution.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain how Lyell’s work on Earth’s age and Malthus’s ideas about populations informed Darwin and Wallace. They can also explain that Pasteur’s broth experiment tested spontaneous generation, not natural selection.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may confuse Lamarck’s idea about inherited acquired traits with natural selection. They may think Pasteur disproved evolution, when his experiment addressed spontaneous generation.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Explain one way Lyell or Malthus informed Darwin and Wallace. Then name the question Pasteur’s broth experiment tested.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs scientist cards, experiment sketches, and claim cards to match, then have them separate spontaneous generation tests from evolution ideas.
After reading short source excerpts, ask: Which idea from Lyell or Malthus helped Darwin and Wallace, and how?
Play a match-up game with scientist and contribution cards; teams must explain each match before keeping it.
Show a hospital poster about antibiotic resistance; ask students whose ideas explain resistant bacteria and why Pasteur’s broth test does not.
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Printable FB.5.1 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- L.8.4A.1
Use various scientific resources to analyze the historical findings of Charles Darwin to explain basic principles of natural selection.
- ESS.2B.1
Research, analyze, and evaluate the contributions of William Smith, James Hutton, Nicolaus Steno, Charles Lyell, and others to physical geology.
- FB.1.1
Identify and communicate the contributions of famous scientists and their experiments that formed fundamental scientific principles (e.g., Robert Hooke, Schleid...
- FB.5.3
Obtain and communicate information to explain how DNA evidence and fossil records support Darwin’s theory of evolution.
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