From the Top of the World...

The science standards (Earth & Space, Life Sciences, Physical Science, Nature of Science) below were developed by the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL). They surveyed and consolidated many national- and state-level efforts to identify what K-12 students should know and be able to do in a variety of subject areas. They also consulted 116 national- and state-level documents that address standards and benchmarks in various subject domains. Click here to see their original document. (Copyright 1997 - 2000; Used with permission).

NOTE that, in some cases, McREL's descriptions of content standards have been modified (i.e., shortened) to better reflect the content of "From the Top of the World... to the Bottom of the Food Web." McREL's full text versions of these standards are available by following links below and clicking on the standard in McREL's database.


	Knows that the tilt of the Earth's axis and Earth's revolution around the Sun affect seasons
	Knows that the Sun is the principal energy source for phenomena on the Earth's surface (e.g., plant growth)
	Knows how winds and ocean currents are produced on Earth's surface
	Knows the major external and internal sources of energy on Earth (e.g., the Sun is the major external source of energy)

	Knows that hereditary information is contained in genes (located in the chromosomes of each cell)

	Knows that plants and animals have features that help them live in different environments
	Knows that each plant or animal has different structures which serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction
	Knows that organisms have a great variety of body plans and internal structures that serve specific functions for survival
	Knows that all organisms are composed of cells, which are the fundamental units of life; most organisms are single cells, but other organisms (including humans) are multicellular
	Knows that cells convert energy obtained from food to carry on the many functions needed to sustain life (e.g., cell growth and division, production of materials that the cell or organism needs)
	Knows the levels of organization in living systems -- including cells, tissues, organs, whole organisms, ecosystems -- and the complementary nature of structure and function at each level

	Knows that living things are found almost everywhere in the world and that distinct environments support the life of different types of plants and animals
	Knows that plants and animals need certain resources for energy and growth (e.g., food, water, light, air)
	Knows that an organism's patterns of behavior are related to the nature of that organism's environment (e.g., kinds and numbers of other organisms present, availability of food and resources, physical characteristics of the environment)
	Knows that changes in the environment can have different effects on different organisms (e.g., some organisms move in, others move out; some organisms survive and reproduce, others die)
	Knows that all organisms (including humans) cause changes in their environments, and these changes can be beneficial or detrimental
	Knows that the transfer of energy (e.g., through the consumption of food) is essential to all living organisms
	Knows the organization of simple food chains and food webs (e.g., green plants make their own food with sunlight, water, and air; some animals eat the plants; some animals eat the animals that eat the plants)
	Knows ways in which organisms interact and depend on one another through food chains in an ecosystem (e.g., producer/consumer, predator/prey, etc.)
	Knows that all individuals of a species that exist together at a given place and time make up a population, and all populations living together and the physical factors with which they interact compose an ecosystem
	Knows factors that affect the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support (e.g., available resources; abiotic factors such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures; competition from other organisms within the ecosystem; predation)
	Knows how energy is transferred through food webs in an ecosystem (e.g., energy enters ecosystems as sunlight, and green plants transfer this energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis; this chemical energy is passed from organism to organism)
	Knows how matter is recycled within ecosystems (e.g., matter is transferred from one organism to another repeatedly, and between organisms and their physical environment)
	Knows how the interrelationships and interdependencies among organisms generate stable ecosystems that fluctuate around a state of rough equilibrium for hundreds or thousands of years (e.g., growth of a population is held in check by environmental factors, increased loss due to larger numbers of predators)
	Knows ways in which humans can modify ecosystems, causing potentially irreversible effects (e.g., human destruction of habitats through direct harvesting, pollution, and atmospheric changes)
	Knows that as matter and energy flow through different levels of organization in living systems and between living systems and the physical environment, chemical elements (e.g., carbon, nitrogen) are recombined in different ways

	Knows different ways in which living things can be grouped (e.g., plants/animals) and purposes of different groupings
	Knows ways in which living things can be classified (e.g., taxonomic groups; groups based on the details of organisms' features; groups based on functions served within an ecosystem such as producers, consumers, and decomposers)
	Knows how variation of organisms within a species increases the chance of survival of the species, and how the great diversity of species on Earth increases the chance of survival of life in the event of major global changes

	Knows that the Sun supplies heat and light to Earth
	Knows that light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object
	Knows that light can be reflected, refracted, or absorbed
	Knows that energy is a property of many substances (e.g., heat energy is in the disorderly motion of molecules and in radiation; chemical energy is in the arrangement of atoms, etc.)
	Knows how the Sun acts as a major source of energy for changes on the Earth's surface (i.e., the Sun loses energy by emitting light; some of this light is transferred to the Earth)
	Knows ways in which light interacts with matter (e.g., transmission, including refraction; absorption; scattering, including reflection)

	Knows that learning can come from careful observations and simple experiments
	Knows that tools (e.g., thermometers, magnifiers, rulers, balances) can be used to gather information and extend the senses
	Knows that scientific investigations involve asking and answering a question and comparing the answer to what scientists already know about the world
	Knows that scientists use different kinds of investigations (e.g., naturalistic observation of things or events, data collection, controlled experiments), depending on the questions they are trying to answer
	Plans and conducts simple investigations (e.g., fomulates a testable question, makes systematic observations, develops logical conclusions)
	Uses appropriate tools and simple experiment to gather scientific data and extend the senses (e.g., rulers, thermometers, magnifiers, microscopes, calculators)
	Designs and conducts a scientific investigation (e.g., formulates hypotheses, designs and executes investigations, interprets data, synthesizes evidence into explanations, proposes alternative explanations for observations, critiques explanations and procedures)
	Uses appropriate tools (including computer hardware and software) and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret scientific data
	Knows possible outcomes of scientific investigations (e.g., some may result in new ideas and phenomena for study; some may generate new methods or procedures for an investigation; some may result in the development of new technologies to improve the collection of data; some may lead to new investigations)
	Designs and conducts scientific investigations (e.g., formulates testable hypotheses, identifies and clarifies the method, controls, and variables; organizes, displays, and analyzes data; revises methods and explanations; presents results, receives critical reponse from others)
	Knows that when conditions of an experiment cannot be controlled, it may be necessary to discern patterns by observing a wide range of natural occurrences
	Uses technology (e.g., hand tools, measuring instruments, calculators, computers) and mathematics (e.g., measurement, formulas, charts, graphs) to perform accurate scientific investigations and communications
	Knows that scientists conduct investigations for a variety of reasons (e.g., to discover new aspects of the natural world, to explain recently observed phenomena, to test the conclusions of prior investigations, to test the predictions of current theories)