MS-LS4-1: Fossil Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on finding patterns of changes in the level of complexity of anatomical structures in organisms and the chronological order of fossil appearance in the rock layers.

Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the names of individual species or geological eras in the fossil record.

The following assessments were shared by teachers implementing the NGSS.  Many of these are drafts and should be used accordingly.  Feel free to improve these assessments or contribute your own.  Learn more here.

Master List of Phenomenon

ELA/Literacy

• RST.6-8.1 - Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. 

• RST.6-8.7 - Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). 

Mathematics

• 6.EE.B.6 - Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set. 

*Next Generation Science Standards is a registered trademark of Achieve. Neither Achieve nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.  Visit the official NGSS website.