Target Level: Defend why reproduction may or may not result in offspring with different traits.

Precursor Level: Make a claim supported by evidence that parents and offspring may have different traits.

Initial Level: Compare traits of parents and offspring.

Target Level: Use a model to illustrate the organization and interaction of major organs into systems (e.g., circulatory, respiratory, digestive, sensory) in the body to provide specific functions.

Precursor Level: Identify which organs work for a specific function.

Initial Level: Recognize that different organs have different functions.

Target Level: Use a model to illustrate how growth occurs when cells multiply.

Precursor Level: Use a model to relate the number of cells to the size of a body.

Initial Level: Recognize that organisms are composed of cells.

Target Level: Use a graphical representation to explain the dependence of an animal population on other organisms for food and their environment for shelter.

Precursor Level: Recognize the relationship between population size and available resources for food and shelter from a graphical representation.

Initial Level: Identify food and shelter needs for familiar wildlife.

Target Level: Explain how the traits of particular species that allow them to survive in their specific environments.

Precursor Level: Identify factors in an environment that require special traits to survive.

Initial Level: Match particular species to their various environments.

Target Level: Collect data from an investigation to show how different organisms react to changes (e.g., heart rate increases with exercise, pupils react to light). Precursor Level: Compare before and after data on changes that occur to an organism. Initial Level: Identify changes in the data display (e.g. objects, pictures, graphs, charts, etc.).

Target Level: Use a graphical representation to explain changes over time in the population size of an animal species (e.g., currently on the endangered list).

Precursor Level: Use a graphical representation to show changes in population size.

Initial Level: Recognize that there was a change in the population size.