NGSS 3-LS4 (1-4): Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

• 3-LS4-1: Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago. Students will handle and analyze tooth fossil replicas from three extinct animals to identify various types of fossil data (shape, size, shine, sharpness). With guidance from a museum educator, students will make inferences about the animals based on the data they have collected, including the animals’ approximate size, diet, and closest living relative.
• 3-LS4-2: Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing. Students will consider, observe, and handle real-world examples of plant and animal characteristics that enable survival and reproduction, including two species common in Maryland: peppered moths and maple trees.
• 3-LS4-3: Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. Students will analyze real skulls and teeth of three animals (African warthogs, sharks, and horses) to identify the adaptations that enable these animals to survive and thrive in their native habitats. With guidance from a museum educator, students will discuss what would happen if any two of these animals swapped environments—would their adaptations help them survive in their new environments? Why or why not?
• 3-LS4-4: Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change. Students will revisit three species previously discussed in the program and consider imaginary shifts to the environments of each of the species (peppered moths, roses, and horses). Students will brainstorm potential ways each species might adapt to survive and learn about real-world examples of how the species (or similar species) have adapted to survive the very same challenges.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY: Speaking and Listening

• ELA.LITERACY.SL.3.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. Students will engage with a museum educator, peers, teachers, and chaperones during fossil identification and animal observation activities.
• ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.2: Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. Students will encounter presentation of information in a variety of media formats, including visual and quantitative presentations throughout the museum, oral presentations from the museum educator, and video presentations by external organizations including the Smithsonian Institution. Through various activities, students will determine the main ideas of presented information.
• ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.3: Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail. Students will engage with a museum speaker to ask and answer questions related to presented information.

NGSS 4-LS1 (1-2): From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

• 4-LS1-1: Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. Students will encounter many examples of internal and external plant and animal structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction. Items will include animal skulls and teeth from the museum’s collection as well as the seeds of a common Maryland species (the maple tree).
• 4-LS1-2: Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways. Students will engage in a sensory activity using Jelly Belly jellybeans which models the ways animals use their senses to receive and process information about their environments. Following the activity, a museum educator will lead the students in a follow-up discussion to help students relate their experience to the ways animals use their senses to help them survive, grow, behave, and reproduce.

ELA-LITERACY: Speaking and Listening

• ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. Students will engage with a museum educator, peers, teachers, and chaperones during discussions and activities about the structures and processes of plant and animal organisms.
• ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.2: Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. Students will encounter presentation of information in a variety of media formats, including visual and quantitative presentations throughout the museum, oral presentations from the museum educator, and video presentations by external organizations and creators. Through various activities, students will determine the main ideas of presented information.
• ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.3: Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points. Students will engage with a museum speaker to ask and answer questions related to presented information.