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Subject Area - 3:
Science and Technology and Engineering Education
  • Standard Area - 3.1: Biological Sciences
  • Organizing Category - 3.1.A: Organisms and Cells
  • Grade Level - 3.1.8.A: GRADE 8
Standard - 3.1.8.A9

  • Compare and contrast scientific theories.
  • Know that both direct and indirect observations are used by scientists to study the natural world and universe.
  • Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations.
  • Formulate and revise explanations and models using logic and evidence.
  • Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models.
  • Explain the importance of accuracy and precision in making valid measurements.

Eligible Content:
38 Total
Assessments
Materials & Resources
  • Assessment Anchor - S8.A.1

    Reasoning and Analysis
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.A.1.1 Explain, interpret, and apply scientific, environmental, or technological knowledge presented in a variety of formats (e.g., visuals, scenarios, graphs).
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.1.1 Distinguish between a scientific theory and an opinion, explaining how a theory is supported with evidence, or how new data/information may change existing theories and practices.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.1.2 Explain how certain questions can be answered through scientific inquiry and/or technological design.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.1.3 Use evidence, such as observations or experimental results, to support inferences about a relationship.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.1.4 Develop descriptions, explanations, predictions, and models using evidence.
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.A.1.2 Identify and explain the impacts of applying scientific, environmental, or technological knowledge to address solutions to practical problems.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.2.1 Describe the positive and negative, intended and unintended, effects of specific scientific results or technological developments (e.g., air/space travel, genetic engineering, nuclear fission/fusion, artificial intelligence, lasers, organ transplants).
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.2.2 Identify environmental issues and explain their potential long-term health effects (e.g., pollution, pest controls, vaccinations).
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.2.3 Describe fundamental scientific or technological concepts that could solve practical problems (e.g., Newton’s laws of motion, Mendelian genetics).
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.2.4 Explain society’s standard of living in terms of technological advancements and how these advancements impact on agriculture (e.g., transportation, processing, production, storage).
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.A.1.3 Identify and analyze evidence that certain variables may have caused measurable changes in natural or human-made systems.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.3.1 Use ratio to describe change (e.g., percents, parts per million, grams per cubic centimeter, mechanical advantage).
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.3.2 Use evidence, observations, or explanations to make inferences about change in systems over time (e.g., carrying capacity, succession, population dynamics, loss of mass in chemical reactions, indicator fossils in geologic time scale) and the variables affecting these changes.
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.A.1.3.2a Identify the results of a specific change to a stable system (e.g., food webs, biological systems, electrical systems).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.3.3 Examine systems changing over time, identifying the possible variables causing this change, and drawing inferences about how these variables affect this change.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.1.3.4 Given a scenario, explain how a dynamically changing environment provides for the sustainability of living systems.
  • Assessment Anchor - S8.A.2

    Processes, Procedures, and Tools of Scientific Investigations
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.A.2.1 Apply knowledge of scientific investigation or technological design in different contexts to make inferences to solve problems.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.2.1.1 Use evidence, observations, or a variety of scales (e.g., mass, distance, volume, temperature) to describe relationships.
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.A.2.1.1a Use observations (limited to duration, weight, volume, distance, or temperature) to identify relationships (e.g., bigger/smaller, faster/slower, higher/lower).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.2.1.2 Use space/time relationships, define concepts operationally, raise testable questions, or formulate hypotheses.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.2.1.3 Design a controlled experiment by specifying how the independent variables will be manipulated, how the dependent variable will be measured, and which variables will be held constant.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.2.1.4 Interpret data/observations; develop relationships among variables based on data/observations to design models as solutions
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.2.1.5 Use evidence from investigations to clearly communicate and support conclusions.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.2.1.6 Identify a design flaw in a simple technological system and devise possible working solutions
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.A.2.2 Apply appropriate instruments for a specific purpose and describe the information the instrument can provide.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.2.2.1 Describe the appropriate use of instruments and scales to accurately and safely measure time, mass, distance, volume, or temperature under a variety of conditions.
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.A.2.2.1a Identify the appropriate instrument and unit of measure to accurately record time, weight, distance, volume, or temperature.
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.2.2.2 Apply appropriate measurement systems (e.g., time, mass, distance, volume, temperature) to record and interpret observations under varying conditions.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.2.2.3 Describe ways technology (e.g., microscope, telescope, micrometer, hydraulics, barometer) extends and enhances human abilities for specific purposes.
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.A.2.2.3a Identify ways a specific technology enhances human abilities or senses (e.g., computer, microwave).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
  • Assessment Anchor - S8.A.3

    Systems, Models, and Patterns
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.A.3.1 Explain the parts of a simple system, their roles, and their relationships to the system as a whole.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.3.1.1 Describe a system (e.g., watershed, circulatory system, heating system, agricultural system) as a group of related parts with specific roles that work together to achieve an observed result.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.3.1.2 Explain the concept of order in a system [e.g., (first to last: manufacturing steps, trophic levels); (simple to complex: cell, tissue, organ, organ system)].
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.3.1.3 Distinguish among system inputs, system processes, system outputs, and feedback (e.g., physical, ecological, biological, informational).
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.3.1.4 Distinguish between open loop (e.g., energy flow, food web) and closed loop (e.g., materials in the nitrogen and carbon cycles, closed-switch) systems.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.3.1.5 Explain how components of natural and human-made systems play different roles in a working system.
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.A.3.1.5a Identify the components of a simple human-made system based on function (e.g., electrical system, transportation system).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.A.3.1.5b Identify how the components or processes of natural systems affect one another (e.g., water cycle, weather systems, organ systems).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.A.3.2 Apply knowledge of models to make predictions, draw inferences, or explain technological concepts.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.3.2.1 Describe how scientists use models to explore relationships in natural systems (e.g., an ecosystem, river system, the solar system).
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.3.2.2 Describe how engineers use models to develop new and improved technologies to solve problems.
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.3.2.3 Given a model showing simple causeand- effect relationships in a natural system, predict results that can be used to test the assumptions in the model (e.g., photosynthesis, water cycle, diffusion, infiltration).
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.A.3.3 Describe repeated processes or recurring elements in natural, scientific, and technological patterns
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.3.3.1 Identify and describe patterns as repeated processes or recurring elements in human-made systems (e.g., trusses, hub-and-spoke system in communications and transportation systems, feedback controls in regulated systems).
      • Eligible Content - S8.A.3.3.2 Describe repeating structure patterns in nature (e.g., veins in a leaf, tree rings, crystals, water waves) or periodic patterns (e.g., daily, monthly, annually).
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.A.3.3.2a Sequence recurring patterns, cycles or trends found in nature (e.g., water cycle, lunar phases, organ systems).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
  • Assessment Anchor - S8.B.1

    Structure and Function of Organisms
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.B.1.1

      Describe and compare structural and functional similarities and differences that characterize diverse living things.
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.1.1.1 Describe the structures of living things that help them function effectively in specific ways (e.g., adaptations, characteristics).
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.1.1.2 Compare similarities and differences in internal structures of organisms (e.g., invertebrate/vertebrate, vascular/nonvascular, singlecelled/ multi-celled) and external structures (e.g., appendages, body segments, type of covering, size, shape).
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.1.1.3 Apply knowledge of characteristic structures to identify or categorize organisms (i.e., plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and protista).
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.B.1.1.3a Categorize plants or animals based on characteristic structures (e.g., seeds, leaves, fruits or mammals, invertebrates, birds).
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.1.1.4 Identify the levels of organization from cell to organism and describe how specific structures (parts), which underlie larger systems, enable the system to function as a whole.
  • Assessment Anchor - S8.B.3

    Ecological Behavior and Systems
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.B.3.1 Explain the relationships among and between organisms in different ecosystems and their abiotic and biotic components
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.3.1.1 Explain the flow of energy through an ecosystem (e.g., food chains, food webs).
        Assessments
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.B.3.1.1a Sequence the flow of energy through a food chain or a food web.
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.3.1.2 Identify major biomes and describe abiotic and biotic components (e.g., abiotic: different soil types, air, water sunlight; biotic: soil microbes, decomposers).
        Assessments
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.B.3.1.2a Recognize the association between different environments and their characteristics (e.g., climate, precipitation, vegitation.)
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.3.1.3 Explain relationships among organisms (e.g., producers/consumers, predator/prey) in an ecosystem.
        Assessments
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.B.3.1.3a Indentify the role of different organisms in an ecosystem (limted to producers, consumers, predator, and prey.)
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.B.3.2 Identify evidence of change to infer and explain the ways different variables may affect change in natural or human-made systems.
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.3.2.1 Use evidence to explain factors that affect changes in populations (e.g., deforestation, disease, land use, natural disaster, invasive species).
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.B.3.2.1a Recognize the impact that humans have on habitats and the animals or plants living there (e.g., deforestation and deer habitats.)
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.3.2.2 Use evidence to explain how diversity affects the ecological integrity of natural systems.
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.3.2.3 Describe the response of organisms to environmental changes (e.g., changes in climate, hibernation, migration, coloration) and how those changes affect survival.
    • Anchor Descriptor - S8.B.3.3 Explain how renewable and nonrenewable resources provide for human needs or how these needs impact the environment.
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.3.3.1 Explain how human activities may affect local, regional, and global environments.
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.3.3.2 Explain how renewable and nonrenewable resources provide for human needs (i.e., energy, food, water, clothing, and shelter).
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.3.3.3 Describe how waste management affects the environment (e.g., recycling, composting, landfills, incineration, sewage treatment).
        • Alternate Eligible Content - S8.B.3.3.3a Identify ways to reduce pollution through waste management (e.g., recycyling, composting.)
          Alternate Eligible Content is designed for students assessed using the PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA). Essentialized Example resources assist teachers in designing instruction that reduces content complexity while maintaining alignment to academic standards.
      • Eligible Content - S8.B.3.3.4 Explain the long-term effects of using integrated pest management (e.g., herbicides, natural predators, biogenetics) on the environment.
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