Next Generation Science Standards

NGSS Standards- A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas

Core Idea LS 1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

how individual organisms are configured
how structures function to support life, growth, behavior, and reproduction

Core Idea LS 2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

organisms’ interactions with each other and their physical environment
how changing environmental factors affect organisms and ecosystems

Core Idea LS 3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

the flow of genetic information between generations
the environmental and genetic causes of gene mutation and the alteration of gene expression

Core Idea LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

changes in the traits of populations of organisms over time
how variation of genetically-determined traits in a population may give some members a reproductive advantage in a given environment
natural selection can lead to adaptation, that is, to a distribution of traits in the population that is matched to and can change with environmental conditions

Life Sciences 6-13

Traits are passed from one generation to the next via genes. Topic includes genes, traits, alleles, chromosomes, sexual reproduction, mutations and variations, environmental variation, DNA, nucleotides, RNA

Biodiversity affects humans. Topics include biological evolution, evolutionary relationships, natural selection, genetic variation, adaptation, antibiotic resistance, naturally-occurring and human-induced changes in the physical environment, species extinction, and overpopulation.

Natural Selection and Evolution

HS-LS4-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results from four factors: 1) the potential for a species to increase in number, 2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, …and 4) the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.

HS-LS4-4. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations.

NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
http://www.nextgenscience.org/
http://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/default/files/HS%20LS%20topics%20combined%206.13.13.pdf