Appendix.
Implementing District Standards
Arizona State Standard website has its science standards for three areas to study. Physical science, earth science, and life science are categorized separately but are not by any means to be taught separately. Most science is core ideas. For sixth-grade life science standard, students learned about cells, genetics, traits, etc. The foundations are life science is introduced at first grade level and on to sixth grade level. The science core ideas are in sequential order but can be taught separately to meet the student's needs. Arizona public schools must teach at least 50 minutes per day or 250 minutes per week. The reading and researching components count a great deal of time, and I see my students working hours to search for content knowledge on evolutionary medicine. As a base to what the entire curriculum will be about, students will review the foundational information of cells, viruses, and bacteria. Once the students review the functions of cells, viruses, and bacteria, evolutionary medicine will be defined by using the back ground knowledge I have covered at the beginning of this curriculum.
Under 6th-grade life science, teachers are to teach, develop, and use models to demonstrate the interdependence of organisms and their environment, including biotic and abiotic factors.
In sixth grade, the ideas of teaching life science are interrelated to the environment and what humans put into the environment that balances the ecosystem. At the beginning of the school year, the four learning topics on genes, DNA, and characteristic traits of living organisms are taught. This unit of evolutionary medicine content can be added to the basic information of living organisms.
L1: Organisms are organized on a cellular basis and have a finite life span. This life science goal will allow the content area to teach the basics of evolution and connect the ideas that living organisms’ history to all living things help science understand genes and traits’ behaviors. This standard will be taught from district resources such as Beyond Textbook. Our sixth-grade textbook will be used to learn the specific living organisms. A short lab experience will be implemented to see how mold grows on food such as a slice of bread.
L2: Organisms require a supply of energy and material for which they often depend on or compete with other organisms. While teaching about obesity, students will write and take note of how extra food energy is stored in the body. What happens to the liver, kidney, heart, and sugar blood level when the extra food energy is stored? An anchor poster of how food is digested would be great to write about. In addition to this standard, students can create a standard-size poster board of the supply of energy in the body. In conclusion, they will demonstrate how the cells can not adjust to food with a lot of additives and preservatives. A quick comparison of how natural food is processed naturally and how process food makes human gain food. The digestive system is not able to leave the body easily.
L3: Genetic information is passed down from one generation of organisms to another. When covering this standard, students will write a short piece about how the “Paleo” diet and Native American diet can show how the genetics of traditional food gather and how hunters cope with digesting food. While writing about genetics of traditional food, students will compare this type of food to the “Paleo” diet.
L4: Evolution results in the unity and diversity of organisms, living and extinction. Students will use their notes about the evolutionary biology of living and extinct organisms to demonstrate this standard.
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