MS-LS2-5
The standard
Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Next Generation Science Standards
What this standard means
Students need to compare different human solutions meant to protect biodiversity or keep ecosystem services working, such as clean water, healthy soil, pollination, or nutrient cycling. They should use evidence to judge how well each solution works, what it costs, who it affects, and what tradeoffs come with it.
Mastery looks like a clear claim about the best solution for a specific ecosystem problem, backed by data and constraints. Students often get stuck by picking the solution they like best, ignoring costs or community needs, or treating biodiversity as just the number of species present.
Ways to teach it
- Build mini erosion trays with soil, grass, leaves, and bare dirt, then test which design best reduces runoff into a cup.
- Ask students to write: Which wetland protection plan should the town choose, and what tradeoff makes the choice difficult?
- Give three solution cards and a data table, then have students rank the solutions and justify the top choice in two sentences.
- Use a local example, such as stream buffers, pollinator gardens, or beach dunes, to identify the ecosystem service being protected.
Plan a lesson for MS-LS2-5
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related standards
- HS-ESS3-2
Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
- MS-ETS1-2
Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- HS-LS2-7
Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.
- 4-ESS3-2
Generate and compare multiple solutions to reduce the impacts of natural Earth processes on humans.