G R A D E   8

Reference	Expectations	The Wetlands	The Rainforest	The Desert
	By the end of this course, students will:
Life Systems:   Cells, Tissues, Organs and Systems	Investigate basic cellular processes and certain specialized cells in plants	Photosynthesis	Botany screens	Plant Adaptations, Plant Organism screens
	Identify unicellular organisms and multicellular organisms	Organism screens, Migration	Botany screens: Algae, Bacteria, Fungi, Organism screens
	Investigate ways in which unicellular organisms meet their basic needs	Organism screens: Green Algae, Wheel-Animalcule	Botany Screens: Algae, Bacteria, Fungi, Organism screen: Green Algae
	Explain the function of selectively permeable membranes in cells	Photosynthesis	Botany screens: Stomata, Roots, Leaves
	Describe and explain the structure and function of specialized cells and tissues in different parts of plants		Botany screens	Plant Adaptations screens (e.g. Storing Water, Protection,
	Recognize that cells in multicellular organisms need to reproduce to make more cells to form and repair tissues		Botany screens
	Explain how the structures of a plant permit the movement of food, water and gases	Nutrient Cycles, Plant Adaptations	Botany screens: Roots, Stems, Leaves	Plant Adaptations screens, Plant Organisms screens
	Compare the structures of different plants which enable them to live in specific conditions	Organism screens: Algae, Plants, Wetland Types, Classifications	Botany screens: Algae, Bacteria, Fungi, Flowering Plants, Trees, Vines, Epiphytes	Plant Adaptations screens, Plant Organisms screens
	Describe, using observation, the movement of gases and water during diffusion and osmosis	Nutrient Cycles, Photosynthesis	Botany screens: Stomata, Stems, Roots, Leaves	Plant Adaptations: Water Efficiency
	Describe similar and different functions of comparable structures in different groups of living things	Organism screens, Migration	Organism screens, Botany screens	Organism screens, Plant and Animal Adaptations
Earth and Space Systems: Water Systems	Demonstrate an understanding of how the earth’s water systems were formed, the similarities and differences among them, and how they influence the climate and weather of the region in which they are located.	Wetland Types, Swamp, Marsh, Carr, Peatland, Bog, Fen, Groundwater, Flooding, Water Cycle, Bog Study section, Bog Formation animations	Water Cycle,	Water Availability
	Investigate the major features of the earth’s water resources (e.g., oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers, ice-caps, snowfall, and clouds) and the effects of large bodies of water on global climate and ecosystems.	Wetland Types, Swamp, Marsh, Carr, Peatland, Bog, Fen	Water Cycle, Climate	Climatic Influences, High Pressure Zones, Rain Shadows, Continental Interiors, Cold Ocean Currents, Water Availability
	Examine how humans use resources from the earth’s different water systems and identify the factors involved in managing these resources for sustainability.	Endangered Wetlands, Conservation, Habitat, Pollution		Water Availability, Human Impact
	Identify the various states of water on the earth’s surface and the conditions under which they exist (e.g., glaciers, snow on mountains, and polar ice-caps are solid states of water, oceans, lakes, rivers, and groundwater are liquid states of water; the atmosphere contains water in its gaseous state.)	Water Cycle, Solid — Bog Formation & Succession (glaciers) Liquid - Wetland Types, Swamp, Marsh, Carr, Peatland, Bog, Fen Gas — Water Cycle	Liquid, Gas -Water Cycle,	Solid- Deserts of the World — Polar Liquid — Water Availability, Liquid / Gas — Climatic Influences screens
	Describe the distribution and circulation of water on the earth (e.g., oceans, glaciers, rivers, groundwater, the atmosphere)	Water Cycle	Water Cycle	Water Availability, Climatic Influences screens
	Describe wave formation and the effects of waves on coastal features (e.g., bays, rocky headlands, beaches)	Erosion
	Investigate how large bodies of water affect the weather and climate of an area (e.g., lakes affect snow precipitation)			Cold Ocean Currents, Continental Interiors (absence of large water body)
	Investigate, using simulations or models, the movement of ocean currents and their impact on regional climates (e.g., Gulf Stream, Labrador Current, Alaska Current)			Cold Ocean Currents