Mississippi Science ZOO.6.7
The Standard
- ZOO.6
- Students will understand the structure and function of phylum Echinodermata, and how they demonstrate the characteristics of living things.
Dissect representative taxa and compare their internal and external anatomy and complexity.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Phylum Echinodermata
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students dissect preserved sea stars and sea urchins and identify parts inside and out. They compare how the parts are arranged and how each animal feeds and moves.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can find the tube feet on both animals, the sea star's stomach, and the sea urchin's jaw apparatus. They use these parts to explain a difference in how the animals eat.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think sea urchins move only with their spines and overlook the tube feet. They may also assume a sea urchin is simpler because it has no arms, despite its specialized internal organs.
How to Assess It
- Give students outside and cut-open photos of each animal. Ask them to mark the tube feet and one feeding part on each, then explain one difference in how they eat.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
In goggles, dissect preserved sea stars and sea urchins, then sketch their tube feet, digestive organs, and mouthparts in two columns.
Ask: Why does a sea urchin have jaws while a sea star can push its stomach onto prey? Use your dissection notes.
Give pairs photos of dissected specimens and part-name cards; have them match each part to an animal and explain its job.
Show photos of urchins grazing kelp and sea stars eating mussels; ask students to circle the body parts that help each animal feed.
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Printable ZOO.6.7 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- ZOO.10.5
Dissect representative taxa and compare their internal and external anatomy and complexity.
- ZOO.7.7
The Grades 9–12 version of this standard.
- ZOO.4.6
Dissect representative taxa and compare their internal and external anatomy and complexity.
- ZOO.5.9
Dissect representative taxa and compare their internal and external anatomy and complexity.
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