All living things share a set of unique characteristics and processes that define life. While reviewing basic laboratory and microscopy techniques, students will explore the similarity and differences between unicellular and multicellular organisms, and observe the characteristics shared among all living things. In this unit, students will begin writing scientific explanations using a claim, evidence, and reasoning framework.

This unit includes a performance task, supports for constructing scientific explanations, Regents-aligned questions, and is organized into inquiry-based 5E model plans.

Food that humans eat are made of complex macromolecules that are broken down, transported, and re-built through the actions of physical and chemical changes at all levels. In this unit, students will investigate the contents of different foods, the breakdown of those foods through digestion, and the ways in which body systems supply nutrients and energy to cells. Students practice carrying out experiments to test biochemical processes including digestion and respiration, and they will design experiments by manipulating variables and posing questions.

This unit includes a performance task, supports for constructing scientific explanations, Regents-aligned questions, and is organized into inquiry-based 5E model plans.

Humans are complex organisms that maintain a narrow set of internal conditions through a system of feedback and communication mechanisms between multiple organ systems. In this unit, students will explore how body systems interact to effectively monitor and respond to both internal and external environmental changes. Students complete both Making Connections (a NY State required lab) and a human thermoregulation laboratory, both of which focus on skills of experimental design.

This unit includes a performance task, supports for constructing scientific explanations, Regents-aligned questions, and is organized into inquiry-based 5E model plans.

Reproduction and development are necessary for the continuation of any species, and as such all species have unique but related strategies for reproduction. In this unit, students learn about continuity and diversity of life in a variety organisms, including humans, and use their findings to discern evolutionary relationships. Exploring print texts, visuals, and hands-on experiences, students compare the mechanisms through which different living things reproduce, with a focus on comparisons to human reproduction.

This unit includes a performance task, supports for evaluating types of evidence, Regents-aligned questions, and is organized into inquiry-based 5E model plans.

DNA, as students learned earlier in the year, is found in all living things, and has a common role in heredity. In this unit, students investigate genetic processes including protein synthesis, inheritance, and gene expression. They then learn about modifications of these processes through the lens of genetic engineering and biotechnology. Students will investigate these questions through background readings, as well as hands-on experience with biotechnology labs.

This unit includes a performance task, supports for evaluating types of evidence, Regents-aligned questions, and is organized into inquiry-based 5E model plans.

Energy flows and matter cycles among organisms, and between organisms and their environment, creating dynamic interconnected systems. In this unit, students learn about the biotic and abiotic factors in a river ecosystem, using the Hudson River as a case study. They then investigate the impact of an invasive species (zebra mussels) on this ecosystem, using teaching case materials created by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History.

This unit includes a performance task, supports for constructing scientific explanations, the opportunity to explore authentic data sets, Regents-aligned questions, and is organized into inquiry-based 5E model plans.

Human population growth, globalization, and industrialization are having profound impacts on the long term health and stability of ecosystems, permanently altering the products of billions of years of evolutionary history on planet Earth. In this unit, students create plans to address the population decline of endangered species, gaining a greater understanding of how humans have altered ecosystems and what actions may be taken (including the use of biotechnology) to preserve biodiversity.

This unit includes a performance task, supports for incorporating leveled texts, Regents-aligned questions, and is organized into inquiry-based 5E model plans.