Grade 08 Science - EC: S8.B.2.1.2
Grade 08 Science - EC: S8.B.2.1.2
Continuum of Activities
The list below represents a continuum of activities: resources categorized by Standard/Eligible Content that teachers may use to move students toward proficiency. Using LEA curriculum and available materials and resources, teachers can customize the activity statements/questions for classroom use.
This continuum of activities offers:
- Instructional activities designed to be integrated into planned lessons
- Questions/activities that grow in complexity
- Opportunities for differentiation for each student’s level of performance
Grade Levels
8th Grade
Course, Subject
Science
Related Academic Standards / Eligible Content
Activities
- Define adaptations.
- Define extinction.
- Define survival.
- How are adaptations related to the theory of evolution?
- Explain the concept of natural selection.
- How can an individual’s adaptations affect the success of survival and reproduction in a species?
Answer Key/Rubric
- Adaptations are behaviors or physical attributes that help animals adjust to their surroundings and thrive.
- Extinction is when all members of a species are no longer surviving.
- Survival is the state of continuing to exist, either as an individual or species.
- Evolution is the theory that over time, species have inherited traits which help organisms adapt to their environment and survive. Adaptations are the result of evolution because in order to survive, species must adapt to their environment, altering their physical and/or behavioral traits.
- Natural selection is the process by which inherited traits in a species become more or less common in the offspring. It includes the notion that the organism with the more favorable traits are more likely to pass on those traits to increase the species’ chance of survival.
- Over time, adaptations may become part of a species’ genetics as certain traits become necessary for the species to continue over time. Individual members also may have some adaptations to help them survive. Natural selection involves the more favorable trait being passed on. This can affect the species because if this trait is not inherited, the species may continue to experience a difficult time surviving. If the population is dying off, the rate at which it is reproducing becomes affected, putting the species at risk of endangerment or possibly extinction.
