Oklahoma Science ES.ESS2.7
The Standard
Engage in argument from evidence for how the simultaneous co-evolution of Earth’s systems and life on Earth led to periods of stability and change over geologic time.
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science (2026)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students use fossils and rocks to explain how life changed Earth’s air and oceans over billions of years. They also explain how those changes affected later life, including why conditions stayed similar for long stretches before shifting.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student uses stromatolite fossils, iron-rich rock layers, and red beds to support a timeline of rising oxygen. They explain that oxygen stayed low while it reacted with dissolved iron, then rose enough to change which organisms could survive.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think life only reacted to Earth’s conditions, rather than changing them too. They may also assume oxygen built up in the air as soon as microbes began producing it.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Give students three clues: stromatolite fossils, iron-rich bands, and later red beds. Ask why oxygen stayed low at first, what changed, and how rising oxygen affected life.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups dated cards for stromatolites, iron-rich rock layers, and red beds; have them build a timeline and mark when oxygen stayed low or rose.
Ask: If microbes made oxygen, why did it stay scarce for so long? Have students defend an answer using iron-rich ocean water.
Play evidence match: students pair rock and fossil cards with oxygen clues, then write one claim about how life and air changed each other.
Compare pond oxygen readings from dawn and afternoon; ask how photosynthesis changes the water and how oxygen levels affect fish.
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Printable ES.ESS2.7 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- EN.ESS2.2
Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedback and interactions that cause changes to other Earth systems.
- EN.ESS2.7
Engage in argument from evidence for how the simultaneous co-evolution of Earth's systems and life on Earth led to periods of stability and change over geologic...
- ES.ESS2.2
Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedback and interactions that cause changes to other Earth systems.
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