MSHELTONREADS
8TH GRADE SEPTEMBER
Rubrics
Overview Document
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Life Science #1
Life Science #2
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Literacy #8
Videos
What is DNA and how does it work?
By Stated Clearly (youtube)
(Stated Clearly has an amazing amount of great videos - if you like this one, you could teach yourself the rest of genetics this way)
I can’t recommend Learn.Genetics enough. http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/
The five videos on the right-hand side cover so much of what you need to know.
Crash Course - Heredity on Youtube
Mendel’s Peas on Youtube
By TED-ed (full lesson here)
Genetics Playlist on Youtube
By the Amoeba Sisters (handouts available)
Race for the Double Helix NOT Youtube
This is a full length movie. I had to watch it in 9th grade Biology, so I thought I’d at least offer it.
FOSSILS UNIT
8th Grade - November
Overview
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Fossil Record:
Connecting Fossils to Now:
Embryo Development:
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Literacy #18
Volume of Writing: Literacy #13
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Other Resources
Life Sci #6
The archaeopteryx - LiveScience.com
Where to find fossils in West Virginia (link)
West Virginia’s state gem is a fossil, and we have a state fossil (link)
Prehistoric animals of West Virginia (link)
States that don’t have dinosaur fossils (link)
Sciencing.com Fossil Definitions | Types of Fossils | 10 Facts about Fossils
Mylearning.org Fossil Games - Kind of cheesey, but worth a look.
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Life Sci #7
This page is a work in progress and will be updated with additional resources as we locate them.
DECEMBER: THERMAL ENERGY
Overview
This overview gives a calendar of what we're doing when and some resources that may be helpful (including the informational and argumentative questions for this unit).
GENETICS
Videos & Websites
Perfect Execution
What is DNA and how does it work?
By Stated Clearly (youtube)
(Stated Clearly has an amazing amount of great videos - if you like this one, you could teach yourself the rest of genetics this way)
I can’t recommend Learn.Genetics enough. http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/
The five videos on the right-hand side cover so much of what you need to know.
Crash Course - Heredity on Youtube
Mendel’s Peas on Youtube
By TED-ed (full lesson here)
Genetics Playlist on Youtube
By the Amoeba Sisters (handouts available)
Race for the Double Helix NOT Youtube
This is a full length movie. I had to watch it in 9th grade Biology, so I thought I’d at least offer it.
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STANDARDS
S.8.LS.1
use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
S.8.LS.2
construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
S.8.LS.3
develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of an organism.
S.8.LS.5
gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.
S.8.LS.4
develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.
S.8.LS.9
construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals’ probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.
S.8.LS.10
use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.