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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Mammoth extinction

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?DocID=328

A lesson plan for grades 9–12 Science

Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science


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In this Science NetLinks lesson, students will explore a Web resource that presents various hypotheses about why the woolly mammoth became extinct, with a special focus on an infectious disease as the cause. The website used in this lesson is a record of a 1998 research expedition to the Arctic Circle. As students explore the resource, they are encouraged to think about how species might become extinct, as well as how researchers look for evidence to support their hypotheses and theories.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Science (2005)

Grade 9–12 — Biology

  • Goal 1: The learner will develop abilities necessary to do and understand scientific inquiry.
    • Objective 1.03: Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models of biological phenomena using logic and evidence to:
      • Explain observations.
      • Make inferences and predictions.
      • Explain the relationship between evidence and explanation.
  • Goal 3: The learner will develop an understanding of the continuity of life and the changes of organisms over time.
    • Objective 3.05: Examine the development of the theory of evolution by natural selection including:
      • Development of the theory.
      • The origin and history of life.
      • Fossil and biochemical evidence.
      • Mechanisms of evolution.
      • Applications (pesticide and antibiotic resistance).
  • Goal 4: The learner will develop an understanding of the unity and diversity of life.
    • Objective 4.03: Assess, describe and explain adaptations affecting survival and reproductive success.
      • Structural adaptations in plants and animals (form to function).
      • Disease-causing viruses and microorganisms.
      • Co-evolution.