Mississippi Science FSL.1.1
The Standard
- FSL.1
- Students will relate the importance of significant historical experiments and their impact on research and development.
Trace and model the historical development of scientific ideas and theories (e.g., atomic theory, plate tectonics, evolution, genetics, discovery of cells) through the development of a timeline.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · History of Science and Impacts on Society
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students put dated discoveries on a timeline. They sketch how an atomic model changed and label the evidence behind each change.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can place Dalton, Thomson, and Rutherford in order and sketch each model. They can explain how cathode-ray and gold-foil results led scientists to revise their models.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think scientists replaced older models because they were simply wrong, rather than because new evidence showed their limits. They may credit Rutherford with discovering the electron instead of Thomson.
How to Assess It
- Give students three cards: Dalton (1803), Thomson (1904), and Rutherford (1911). Have them order the cards, sketch each model, and explain what the gold-foil results changed.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups clay, beads, and string to build Dalton, Thomson, and Rutherford models, then hang each beside a dated evidence card.
Ask, “How did the gold-foil results challenge Thomson’s model?” Have students write two sentences naming the observation and the model change.
Give pairs dated cards for Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, and Bohr; have them order the cards and match each to an evidence card.
Show a periodic table; students add Moseley’s 1913 finding to their timelines and explain why elements are ordered by atomic number.
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Printable FSL.1.1 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- P.7.5C.2
Use informational text to sequence the major discoveries leading to the current atomic model.
- FB.1.2
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/...
- E.8.7.1
Use scientific evidence to create a timeline of Earth’s history that depicts relative dates from index fossil records and layers of rock (strata).
- ESS.3.7
Cite evidence and develop logical arguments to identify the cause-and-effect relationships of the evolutionary milestones (e.g., photosynthesis and the atmosphe...
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