State Standards , Benchmarks, and GLE's
Grades 2-4
LS-E-A1: identifying the needs of plants and animals, based on age-appropriate recorded observations (1, 2, 3, 4)
LS-E-A4: recognizing that there is great diversity among organisms (1)
LS-E-B1: observing and describing the life cycles of some plants and animals (1, 3)
LS-E-B3: observing and recording how the offspring of plants and animals are similar to their parents (1, 2, 3, 4)
LS-E-C1: examining the habitats of plants and animals and determining how basic needs are met within each habitat (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
LS-E-C2: describing how the features of some plants and animals enable them to live in specific habitats (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
SE-E-A1: understanding that an "ecosystem" is made of living and non-living components (1, 3, 4)
SE-E-A2: understanding the components of a food chain (1, 3, 4)
SE-E-A3: identifying ways in which humans have altered their environment, both in positive and negative ways, either for themselves or for other living things (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
SE-E-A5: understanding that most plant and animal species are threatened or endangered today due to habitat loss or change (1, 2, 4)
Grades 5-8
LS-M-C3: investigating major ecosystems and recognizing physical properties and organisms within each (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
LS-M-C4: explaining the interaction and interdependence of nonliving and living components within ecosystems (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
LS-M-D1: describing the importance of plant and animal adaptation, including local examples (1, 3, 4, 5)
LS-M-D2: explaining how some members of a species survive under changed environmental conditions (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
SE-M-A1: demonstrating knowledge that an ecosystem includes living and nonliving factors and that humans are an integral part of ecosystems (1, 3, 4, 5)
SE-M-A2: demonstrating an understanding of how carrying capacity and limiting factors affect plant and animal populations (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
SE-M-A4: understanding that human actions can create risks and consequences in the environment (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Grades 9-12
LS-H-D4: exploring how humans have impacted ecosystems and the need for societies to plan for the future (1, 2, 4, 5)
LS-H-F3: recognizing that behavior is the response of an organism to internal changes and/or external stimuli (1, 3, 4)
SE-H-A3: describing how habitat, carrying capacity, and limiting factors influence plant and animal populations (including humans) (1, 3, 4, 5)
SE-H-C1: evaluating the dynamic interaction of land, water, and air and its relationship to living things in maintaining a healthy environment (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
