Clarification Statement - S.3.LS.2.1.CS:
Examples of groups could include a herd of cattle, a swarm of bees, a flock of geese, a pod of whales, etc

Science and Engineering Practices - 3-5.SEP7.1:
Construct an argument with evidence, data, and/or a model.

Disciplinary Core Ideas - S.3.LS.2.1.DCI:
LS2.D: Social Interactions and Group Behavior •(NYSED) Being part of a group helps some animals obtain food, defend themselves, and survive. Groups may serve different functions and vary dramatically in size. (Note: Moved from K–2)

Crosscutting Concepts - CC2.4:
Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified, tested, and used to explain change.

Clarification Statement - S.3.LS.4.1.CS:
Examples of data could include type, size, and distributions of fossil organisms. Examples of fossils and environments could include marine fossils found on dry land, tropical plant fossils found in Arctic areas, and fossils of extinct organisms.

Assessment Boundary - S.3.LS.4.1.AB:
Assessment does not include identification of specific fossils or present plants and animals. Assessment is limited to major fossil types and rel ative ages.

Science and Engineering Practices - 3-5.SEP4.1:
Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena using logical reasoning.

Disciplinary Core Ideas - S.3.LS.4.1.DCI:
LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity •Some kinds of plants and animals that once lived on Earth are no longer found anywhere. (Note: Moved from K–2) •Fossils provide evidence about the types of organisms that lived long ago and also about the nature of their environments.

Crosscutting Concepts - CC7.1:
Observable phenomena exist from very short to very long time periods.

Clarification Statement - S.3.LS.4.3.CS:
Examples of evidence could include needs and characteristics of the organisms and habitats involved. The organisms and their habitat make up a system in which the parts depend on each other.

Science and Engineering Practices - 3-5.SEP7.2:
Construct an argument with evidence.

Disciplinary Core Ideas - S.3.LS.4.3.DCI:
LS4.C: Adaptation •For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.

Crosscutting Concepts - CC2.4:
Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified, tested, and used to explain change.

Clarification Statement - S.3.LS.4.4.CS:
Examples of environmental changes could include both natural and human-influenced changes in land characteristics, water distribution, temperature, food, and other organisms.

Assessment Boundary - S.3.LS.4.4.AB:
Assessment is limited to a single environmental change. Assessment does not include the greenhouse effect or climate change.

Science and Engineering Practices - 3-5.SEP7.3:
Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem by citing relevant evidence about how it meets the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Disciplinary Core Ideas - S.3.LS.4.4.DCI:
LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience •When the environment changes in ways that affect a place’s physical characteristics, temperature, or availability of resources, some organisms survive and reproduce, others move to new locations, yet others move into the transformed environment, and some die. (secondary to 3-LS4-4) LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans •Populations live in a variety of habitats, and change in those habitats affects the organisms living there.

Crosscutting Concepts - CC3.2:
A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions.