Unit 7 — Using Evidence to Understand Change in Environments
Description
Students develop an understanding of the types of organisms that lived long ago and the nature of their environments by analyzing fossils. Students learn that when environments change, different organisms respond in different ways. Students analyze and interpret data from fossils, make claims about design solutions to problems caused by environmental change, and define simple design problems reflecting needs related to environmental change.
Essential Questions
- What do fossils tell us about the organisms and the environments in which they lived?
- What happened to the plants and animals when the environment changes?
- How can we use evidence from the past to understand our world today?
- What design solutions help solve problems caused by environmental change?
Learning Objectives
- Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago
- Recognize that some kinds of plants and animals that once lived on Earth are no longer found anywhere
- 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
- Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost
- Describe a system in terms of its components and interactions
Supplemental Resources
- Printed fossil images and data sets for analysis
- Graphic organizers for recording fossil observations and interpretations
- Scenario cards representing different environmental changes for categorization activities
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science
Life Sciences
Crosscutting Concepts
Disciplinary Core Ideas
Science and Engineering Practices
Students read informational texts and cite textual evidence to demonstrate understanding of science concepts across all units. They ask and answer questions about weather, forces, traits, life cycles, ecosystems, and environmental change using content-specific texts. Students write opinion pieces, informative and explanatory texts, and conduct short research projects to build knowledge about science topics. They also report orally on topics with appropriate facts and descriptive details, and use information from illustrations, maps, and photographs to support scientific understanding.
Students apply mathematical reasoning and tools across science units to collect, represent, and analyze data. They measure liquid volumes and masses using standard units, draw scaled picture graphs and bar graphs to represent data sets, generate measurement data using rulers and display results on line plots, and reason abstractly and quantitatively when analyzing patterns and cause-and-effect relationships in investigations. Students also use operations and algebraic thinking when comparing and solving problems based on scientific data.
Formative Assessments
- Students observe and measure fossils and record observations in data tables
- Students make inferences about organisms and their environments based on fossil evidence
- Students categorize scenarios representing different environmental changes and discuss organism responses
- Students identify cause and effect relationships between environmental changes and organism survival
Summative Assessment
Students research an animal and its environment to create a diorama showing the plant and animal life cycles and the benefits of the animal living in a group
Benchmark Assessment
A short task in which students analyze a fossil image or physical fossil sample, record observations in a partially completed data table, and answer 3-4 written or oral questions about what organism lived there and what the environment was like based on fossil evidence.
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding through oral descriptions of fossil observations and environments recorded by a teacher or aide, or through labeled drawings with teacher-provided sentence frames instead of written explanations. Visual supports such as picture cards of extinct and living organisms may be provided to support comprehension and response.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students with IEPs may benefit from visual supports such as labeled fossil diagrams and graphic organizers that scaffold the process of moving from observation to inference, reducing the cognitive load of connecting fossil evidence to environmental conclusions. For data collection tasks, consider allowing oral responses, dictation, or partially pre-filled recording sheets so that students can demonstrate their scientific thinking without being hindered by writing demands. When students are developing their design problem or working on their summative diorama project, breaking the project into clearly sequenced steps with visual checklists and frequent teacher check-ins will support planning and task completion. Extended time and access to highlighted reference materials about extinction and environmental change can help students access and retain key content.
Section 504
Students with 504 plans should be given extended time on fossil observation and data recording tasks, as careful analysis requires sustained attention. Preferential seating during whole-group discussions about environmental change and organism responses will support focus and participation. Providing a printed copy of any directions or discussion prompts displayed on the board ensures students can reference instructions independently throughout the unit.
ELL / MLL
Multilingual learners will benefit from a visual word wall featuring key unit vocabulary — such as fossil, extinct, environment, organism, and adaptation — paired with illustrations or photographs to make abstract concepts more concrete. Directions for observation tasks and categorization activities should be given in short, simple steps, and students should be encouraged to sketch and label in addition to or instead of writing sentences when recording data. Where possible, connecting the concept of environmental change to examples familiar from students' home regions or cultures can build meaningful background knowledge and increase engagement with the content.
At Risk (RTI)
Students who need additional support should be connected to the unit's core ideas through concrete, hands-on engagement with fossil replicas or photographs before being asked to make inferences, ensuring they have a strong observational foundation to build reasoning on. Offering simplified cause-and-effect frames — such as sentence starters that link environmental change to organism response — can give students a structured entry point into scientific argumentation without reducing the rigor of the thinking involved. For the summative project, allowing students to begin with a familiar animal and its environment helps activate prior knowledge and makes the research process feel more accessible.
Gifted & Talented
Advanced learners can be challenged to investigate the relationship between multiple simultaneous environmental changes and organism survival, moving beyond single cause-and-effect pairs to consider more complex systems-level interactions. Students may be invited to research a real prehistoric organism and environment using primary or advanced secondary sources, then compare what fossil evidence can and cannot tell scientists — exploring the limits of evidence as a scientific practice. For the summative diorama, gifted students might extend their design problem by proposing and evaluating a nature-inspired engineering solution that addresses a specific constraint, connecting biological adaptation to human design thinking.