Alternate Assessment Standards for Students with Severe Disabilities
The Living Environment
Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.
Key Ideas & Performance Indicators:
Key Idea 1: Living things are both similar to and different from each other and nonliving things.
- explore the characteristics of and differences between living and nonliving things
- identify simple life processes common to all living things
Key Idea 2: Individual organisms and species change over time.
- explore how living things change over their lifetime
- observe that differences within a species may give individuals an advantage in surviving
Key Idea 3: The continuity of life is sustained through reproduction and development.
- observe the major stages in the life cycles of selected plants and animals.
- observe evidence of growth, repair, and maintenance, such as nails, hair and bone, and the healing of cuts and bruises
Key Idea 4: Organisms maintain a dynamic equilibrium that sustains life.
- identify a few basic life functions of common living specimens (guppy, mealworm, gerbil). • identify some survival behaviors of common living specimens
- participate in activities that help promote good health and growth in humans
Key Idea 5: Plants and animals depend on each other and their physical environment.
- participate in activities that demonstrate how plants and animals, including humans, depend upon each other and the nonliving environment
- participate in activities that demonstrate the relationship of the sun as an energy source for living and nonliving cycles
Key Idea 6: Human decisions and activities have had a profound impact on the physical and living environment.
- participate in activities which show how humans have changed their environment and the effects of those changes