Sparta High School Zoology and Animal Behavior
Unit: Foundations of Zoology
Crosscutting Idea: Ecology+Genetics+Time=Evolution
Established Goals:
5.3 Life Science: All students will understand that life science principles are powerful conceptual tools for making sense of the complexity, diversity, and interconnectedness of life on Earth. Order in natural systems arises in
accordance with rules that govern the physical world, and the order of natural systems can be modeled and predicted through the use of mathematics.
A. Organization and Development : Living organisms are composed of cellular units (structures) that carry out functions required for life. Cellular units are composed of molecules, which also carry out biological functions.
B. Matter and Energy Transformations : Food is required for energy and building cellular materials. Organisms in an ecosystem have different ways of obtaining food, and some organisms obtain their food directly from other organisms.
5.3.12.B.1; Cite evidence that the transfer and transformation of matter and energy links organisms to one another and to their physical setting.
C. Interdependence : All animals and most plants depend on both other organisms and their environment to meet their basic needs.
5.3.12.C.1; Analyze the interrelationships and interdependencies among different organisms, and explain how these relationships contribute to the stability of the ecosystem.
E. Evolution and Diversity: : Sometimes, differences between organisms of the same kind provide advantages for surviving and reproducing in different environments. These selective differences may lead to dramatic changes in
characteristics of organisms in a population over extremely long periods of time.
5.3.12.E.2; Estimate how closely related species are, based on scientific evidence (e.g., anatomical similarities, similarities of DNA base and/or amino acid sequence).
5.3.12.E.3; Provide a scientific explanation for the history of life on Earth using scientific evidence (e.g., fossil record, DNA, protein structures, etc.).
Students will understand that
Essential Questions:
 The world does not work in the naïve way we think the world works.
 The primary process for adaptive evolution is natural selection.
 Niche is a lot like a collective identity. And when a niche is vacant, natural selection will favor those whose exploit it. (A
niche is the sum total of everything that a living thing is: adaptations, habits, range of tolerance, and interactions.)
 Animal species exist in temporal and spacial contexts that influence their evolutionary fate.
 Change is the only constant.
 Frame of reference influences our perspectives of success, time, and charisma.
 Humans depend on functioning ecosystems for our wellbeing; and human beings have a profound effect on the world
around them.
 Animal interactions exist in a dynamic context of exploitation and cooperation.
Unit
Students will know:
Students will be able to:
Concepts:
 Species concept
 Niche concept
 Carrying capacity
 Feedback
 Natural selection
 Coevolution
 Conservation of matter
 Conservation of energy
 Range of Tolerance
 Homology vs. Analogy
 Inference
 Evolutionary tradeoffs
 Phylogenetics
Content
 Evolutionary mechanisms include: natural selection, genetic drift, genetic
recombination, mutation, and sexual selection.
 Interactions
 Invasive species
 The HIPPO problem
 The 4-7 main points of the theory of natural selection.
 The difference between convergent and divergent evolution.
 DKPCOFGS
 Patterns of population growth
 Types of limiting factors and their effects on populations.
 Reproductive patterns
 Survivorship curves
 Limiting factors explain population dynamics.
 Interactions represent selective pressures on populations.
 Habitat and range are determined through range of tolerance and ecological
relationships.
 Niches are partitioned in evolutionary time resulting in more diversity and
less competition.
 Enzymes
 The 4 types of biological macromolecules
 Levels of organization in animals
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 Why do we study Zoology?
 How did the huge diversity of animal kingdom get here over time? (What
are the biological mechanisms that explain how animal life changes over
time?)
 How is the statement, “No species is an island.” true?
 How are the challenges of life for a single cell magnified and answered
through multicellularity?
Course
 How do we know what is really true?
 What is the justification for saying that the earth and life on it have evolved
together and that each has deeply influenced the other?
 What makes an animal an animal? What are the criteria for dividing
animals into different phyla?
 What can we learn about ourselves by studying the behaviors, structures,
and fundamental ecological roles of members of the animal kingdom?
 Humans often consider themselves to be the most successful animal on
the planet, but are there other ways to define “most successful”?
 If you were to draw a stereotypical animal, what would it look like?
 How should we treat the members of species other than our own?
 Apply the theory of natural selection to explain adaptive feature of
members of the animal kingdom.
 Produce an accurate timeline for the events of earth’s history
 Explain the evidence for evolution, common decent, and natural
selection.
 Read an evolutionary tree.
 Identify selective pressures, advantages and disadvantages.
 Explain coevolution and the concept of evolutionary trade-offs.
 Evaluate evidence in regard to four alternative hypotheses
concerning the origin and relationship of living things.
 Assemble and Interpret graphical data correctly.
 Use scientific concepts and data to inform decisions.
 Predict consequences/outcomes of human choices within
ecological settings.
 Explain why populations are dynamic.
 Explain why some populations can remain at carrying capacity for
long periods of time while others experience cycles of boom and
bust.
 Describe the adaptive value of various physical, physiological or
behavioral characteristics of animals.
Benchmark Assessments:
Other Evidence:
Under Development
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Learning Activities
Lecture:
 Zo Intro
 Population Genetics
 Mendelian Genetics
 Natural Selection
 SpeciationPhylogeny
 General Ecology/Niche
Concept
 Population Ecology
 Community Ecology
 Biodiversity
 Development
 Animal Origins
Graphs
Class discussion
Informal journal writing
Point/Counterpoint Debates
Use of scientific data to support claims
Quizzes
Ability to apply scientific concepts in class
conversations, debates and discussions.
Ability to play “devil’s advocate”
Use of appropriate vocabulary
Fast Five questions
Biweekly multiple choice 20 questions in 24
minutes (clickers or scantron quiz forms)
Reference Material
Disscusion:
 Heterozygote advantage
 Genetics and Evolution
 Evolution in schools
 Problems in Classification
 Homogenization of the
planet
 Limits to growth
 Stability
 How long is a long time?
Lab:
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Human Traits
Hardy Weinberg
Evodots
Natural Selection in
Technological design
Invertebrate Diversity
Phylostrat
Invasive Species
Mark & Recapture Study
Competition among protists
Nine Months that made you
Animalian Characteristics
Activity:

Integrated Principles of Zoology 14th Ed.
Hickman & Roberts
Zoology 5th Ed. Miller & Harley
Fish & Wildlife: Principles of Zoology and
Ecology, 3rd Ed. Burton
Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia: Evolution
Sparta High School Zoology and Animal Behavior
Unit: Origins of the Animal Kingdom
Crosscutting Ideas: Unity and Diversity (primitive vs. ancestral)
Established Goals:
5.3 Life Science: All students will understand that life science principles are powerful conceptual tools for making sense of the complexity, diversity, and interconnectedness of life on Earth. Order in natural systems arises in
accordance with rules that govern the physical world, and the order of natural systems can be modeled and predicted through the use of mathematics.
B. Matter and Energy Transformations : Food is required for energy and building cellular materials. Organisms in an ecosystem have different ways of obtaining food, and some organisms obtain their food directly from other organisms.
5.3.12.B.1; Cite evidence that the transfer and transformation of matter and energy links organisms to one another and to their physical setting.
C. Interdependence : All animals and most plants depend on both other organisms and their environment to meet their basic needs.
5.3.12.C.1; Analyze the interrelationships and interdependencies among different organisms, and explain how these relationships contribute to the stability of the ecosystem.
E. Evolution and Diversity: : Sometimes, differences between organisms of the same kind provide advantages for surviving and reproducing in different environments. These selective differences may lead to dramatic changes in
characteristics of organisms in a population over extremely long periods of time.
5.3.12.E.2; Estimate how closely related species are, based on scientific evidence (e.g., anatomical similarities, similarities of DNA base and/or amino acid sequence).
5.3.12.E.3; Provide a scientific explanation for the history of life on Earth using scientific evidence (e.g., fossil record, DNA, protein structures, etc.).
Students will understand that
Essential Questions:
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Unit
The world does not work in the naïve way we think the world works.
All groups of animals have the potential to be invasive.
All groups of animals are beneficial for research for pure science or technological application.
All Animals have a skeleton of some sort.
Every animal group has characteristics that humans would consider at the level of superpowers.
 How were the fundamental characteristics for animals established with the evolution of sponges,
cnidarians, and flatworms?
 What characteristics place sponges at the root of the animal family tree and maintain sponges as
successful organisms?
 Will alien life demonstrate radial symmetry? Why or Why not?
 Will alien life demonstrate bilateral symmetry? Why or Why not?
Course
 How do we know what is really true?
 What is the justification for saying that the earth and life on it have evolved together and that each
has deeply influenced the other?
 What makes an animal an animal? What are the criteria for dividing animals into different phyla?
 What can we learn about ourselves by studying the behaviors, structures, and fundamental
ecological roles of members of the animal kingdom?
 Humans often consider themselves to be the most successful animal on the planet, but are there
other ways to define “most successful”?
 If you were to draw a stereotypical animal, what would it look like?
 How should we treat the members of species other than our own?
 Why should I care about zoology/animals?
Students will know:
Students will be able to:
Concepts:
 Natural selection
 Selective advantage, disadvantage, pressure
 Niche
 Invasiveness (Impacts)
 Self-interest (point of view)
 Phylogenetics
 Coevolution
 Species concept
 Range of Tolerance
 Evolutionary tradeoffs
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Content
 Symmetry patterns: asymmetry, radial, bilateral
 Monophyletic vs. paraphyletic vs. polyphyletic
 Eight characteristics of Poriferans
 asconoid, syconoid, and leuconoid body types
 Poriferan anatomy: ostia, osculum, spongocoel,
apopyles, prosopyles, spicules
 Poriferan cell types: pinacocytes, choanocytes,
archaeocytes, sclerocytes, spongocytes,
collencytes
 skeletons of each class of Poriferan
 Poriferan systems
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Ten characteristics of Cnidarians
Hydrostatic skeleton
“jelly skeleton”
polyp and medusa phases in Cnidarians
Cnidarian anatomy: hydrorhiza, hydrocaulus,
coensosarc, perisarc, hydranth, gonangium,
manubrium, siphonoglyph; primary septa or
mesenteries; incomplete septa; septal fi laments;
acontia threads.
Cnidarian body systems
statocyst vs. rhopalium; scyphomedusae vs.
hydromedusae; scyphistoma, strobila, vs. ephyrae;
velum, velarium, vs. pedalium; Hexacorallia vs.
Octocorallia.
Intermediate & Primary Host
Cestode anatomy: scolex, microtriches, proglottids,
strobila.
Classes within Platyhelminthes: Turbellaria,
Monogenea, Trematoda, Cestoda
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Read phylogenetic trees
Apply tree thinking
Apply natural selection to specific scenarios in the Animal Kingdom.
Complete technical drawings of preserved specimens.
Use appropriate directional terminology in descriptions, diagrams, and dissections.
Analyze and identify clades as monophyletic, paraphyletic, or polyphyletic.
Benchmark Assessments:
Other Evidence:
Under Development
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Learning Activities
Lecture:
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Porifera
Cnidaria
Cnidaria/Toxins
Cnidaria/Osmosis
Platyhelminthes
 Platyhelminthes/Regeneration
Graphs
Class discussion
Informal journal writing
Point/Counterpoint Debates
Use of scientific data to support claims
Quizzes
Ability to apply scientific concepts in class
conversations, debates and discussions.
Ability to play “devil’s advocate”
Use of appropriate vocabulary
Fast Five questions
Biweekly multiple choice 20 questions in 24
minutes (clickers or scantron quiz forms)
Reference Material
Disscusion:
 How do you spell success?
 Medical Applications for
chemicals
 Behavior from a nerve net
 Organs vs Organ systems
Lab:
 Moon Jelly
 Osmosis
 Planaria Regeneration
Activity:
 Technical drawing
Integrated Principles of Zoology 14th Ed.
Hickman & Roberts
Zoology 5th Ed. Miller & Harley
Fish & Wildlife: Principles of Zoology and
Ecology, 3rd Ed. Burton
Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia:
Evolution
Sparta High School Zoology and Animal Behavior
Unit: Invertebrates: Spineless Superheroes
Crosscutting Idea: Variation on a Theme
Established Goals:
5.3 Life Science: All students will understand that life science principles are powerful conceptual tools for making sense of the complexity, diversity, and interconnectedness of life on Earth. Order in natural systems arises in
accordance with rules that govern the physical world, and the order of natural systems can be modeled and predicted through the use of mathematics.
B. Matter and Energy Transformations : Food is required for energy and building cellular materials. Organisms in an ecosystem have different ways of obtaining food, and some organisms obtain their food directly from other organisms.
5.3.12.B.1; Cite evidence that the transfer and transformation of matter and energy links organisms to one another and to their physical setting.
C. Interdependence : All animals and most plants depend on both other organisms and their environment to meet their basic needs.
5.3.12.C.1; Analyze the interrelationships and interdependencies among different organisms, and explain how these relationships contribute to the stability of the ecosystem.
E. Evolution and Diversity: : Sometimes, differences between organisms of the same kind provide advantages for surviving and reproducing in different environments. These selective differences may lead to dramatic changes in
characteristics of organisms in a population over extremely long periods of time.
5.3.12.E.2; Estimate how closely related species are, based on scientific evidence (e.g., anatomical similarities, similarities of DNA base and/or amino acid sequence).
5.3.12.E.3; Provide a scientific explanation for the history of life on Earth using scientific evidence (e.g., fossil record, DNA, protein structures, etc.).
Students will understand that
Essential Questions:




Unit
The world does not work in the naïve way we think the world works.
Success depends on point of view.
The world of life is dirty and intimate in ways that we usually don’t think about.
Certain animals on Earth really seem like aliens when you analyze their characteristics and
behavior.
 Patterns and characteristics of animals represent something like jazz improvisation… Start with
a basic theme and play with it and see what beauty comes out.
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What makes nematodes so successful?
How can clams, snails, and octopi be so different and still share a common ancestor?
Are burrowing worms the most ecologically important group of animals for the health of the planet?
What makes arthropods so hugely successful in terms of species diversity?
Why have echinoderms “opted for” radial symmetry when most of the animal kingdom has a head
and bilateral symmetry?
Course
 How do we know what is really true?
 What is the justification for saying that the earth and life on it have evolved together and that each
has deeply influenced the other?
 What makes an animal an animal? What are the criteria for dividing animals into different phyla?
 What can we learn about ourselves by studying the behaviors, structures, and fundamental ecological
roles of members of the animal kingdom?
 Humans often consider themselves to be the most successful animal on the planet, but are there
other ways to define “most successful”?
 If you were to draw a stereotypical animal, what would it look like?
 How should we treat the members of species other than our own?
 Why should I care about zoology/animals?
Students will know:
Students will be able to:
Concepts:
 Natural selection
 Selective advantages, disadvantages, pressures
 Niche
 Invasiveness (Impacts)
 Self-interest (point of view)
 Phylogenetics
Content
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





Read phylogenetic trees
Apply tree thinking
Apply natural selection to specific scenarios in the Animal Kingdom.
Complete technical drawings of preserved specimens.
Use appropriate directional terminology in descriptions, diagrams, and dissections.
Analyze and identify clades as monophyletic, paraphyletic, or polyphyletic.
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Benchmark Assessments:
Other Evidence:
Under Development
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Learning Activities
Lecture:
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Nemotoda
Nemotoda/Parasitology
Annelida: Polychaeta
Annelida: Oligochaeta
Annelida: Hirudinea/Medical
History
Mollusca: Bivalvia
Mollusca: Gastropoda
Mollusca: Cephalopoda/
Camoflage
Arthropoda: Insecta
Arthropoda: Chelicerata
Arthropoda: Crustacea
Echinodermata: Sea Stars
Echinodermata: Urchins
Echinodermata: Sea
Cucumbers
Graphs
Class discussion
Informal journal writing
Point/Counterpoint Debates
Use of scientific data to support claims
Quizzes
Ability to apply scientific concepts in class
conversations, debates and discussions.
Ability to play “devil’s advocate”
Use of appropriate vocabulary
Fast Five questions
Biweekly multiple choice 20 questions in 24
minutes (clickers or scantron quiz forms)
Reference Material
Disscusion:
 How do you spell success?
(Nematodes)
 Do parasites Rule the world?
 Snowball Earth
 Soil Health
 Leaches return to medicine
 What life is this? (Bivalves)
 Alien intelligence
(Cephalopods)
 How do you spell success?
(Arthropods)
 Bugs of the sea
(Crustaceans)
 Giving up Bilateral symmetry
 How do you spell success?
(Sea Cucumbers)
Lab:
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Parasitic Life Cycles
Earthworm Dissection
Clam Dissection
Snail locomotion and feeding
Squid Dissection
Grasshopper Dissection
Crayfish Dissection
Sea Star Dissection
Sea Cucumber Dissection
Activity:
 Technical drawing
Integrated Principles of Zoology 14th Ed.
Hickman & Roberts
Zoology 5th Ed. Miller & Harley
Fish & Wildlife: Principles of Zoology and
Ecology, 3rd Ed. Burton
Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia: Evolution
Sparta High School Zoology and Animal Behavior
Unit: Vertebrates: Skeletons in the Closet
Crosscutting Idea: Architecture
Established Goals:
5.3 Life Science: All students will understand that life science principles are powerful conceptual tools for making sense of the complexity, diversity, and interconnectedness of life on Earth. Order in natural systems arises in
accordance with rules that govern the physical world, and the order of natural systems can be modeled and predicted through the use of mathematics.
B. Matter and Energy Transformations : Food is required for energy and building cellular materials. Organisms in an ecosystem have different ways of obtaining food, and some organisms obtain their food directly from other organisms.
5.3.12.B.1; Cite evidence that the transfer and transformation of matter and energy links organisms to one another and to their physical setting.
C. Interdependence : All animals and most plants depend on both other organisms and their environment to meet their basic needs.
5.3.12.C.1; Analyze the interrelationships and interdependencies among different organisms, and explain how these relationships contribute to the stability of the ecosystem.
E. Evolution and Diversity: : Sometimes, differences between organisms of the same kind provide advantages for surviving and reproducing in different environments. These selective differences may lead to dramatic changes in
characteristics of organisms in a population over extremely long periods of time.
5.3.12.E.2; Estimate how closely related species are, based on scientific evidence (e.g., anatomical similarities, similarities of DNA base and/or amino acid sequence).
5.3.12.E.3; Provide a scientific explanation for the history of life on Earth using scientific evidence (e.g., fossil record, DNA, protein structures, etc.).
Students will understand that
Essential Questions:




The world does not work in the naïve way we think the world works.
Success depends on point of view.
The world of life is dirty and intimate in ways that we usually don’t think about.
Certain animals on Earth really seem like aliens when you analyze their characteristics and
behavior.
 Patterns and characteristics of animals represent something like jazz improvisation… Start with
a basic theme, play with it and see what beauty comes out.
 A fish is not necessarily a fish or is it?
Unit
Students will know:
Students will be able to:
Concepts:
 Natural selection
 Selective advantages, disadvantages, pressures
 Niche
 Invasiveness (Impacts)
 Self-interest (point of view)
 Phylogenetics
 neutral buoyancy
 countercurrent fl ow
 r vs. K reproductive strategies
 osmosis
 homeostasis
Content
 oviparous, ovoviviparous, viviparous
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 Who am I and what can my world tell me about myself?
 What characteristics of the vertebrate body plan enabled the largest animals the planet has ever
known come into being?
Course
 How do we know what is really true?
 What is the justification for saying that the earth and life on it have evolved together and that each
has deeply influenced the other?
 What makes an animal an animal? What are the criteria for dividing animals into different phyla?
 What can we learn about ourselves by studying the behaviors, structures, and fundamental ecological
roles of members of the animal kingdom?
 Humans often consider themselves to be the most successful animal on the planet, but are there
other ways to define “most successful”?
 If you were to draw a stereotypical animal, what would it look like?
 How should we treat the members of species other than our own?
 Why should I care about zoology/animals?







Read phylogenetic trees
Apply tree thinking
Apply natural selection to specific scenarios in the Animal Kingdom.
Complete technical drawings of preserved specimens.
Use appropriate directional terminology in descriptions, diagrams, and dissections.
Analyze and identify clades as monophyletic, paraphyletic, or polyphyletic.
Predict the habitat/niche of a fish from its body plan
 Characteristics of classes of fish
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Benchmark Assessments:
Other Evidence:
Under Development
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Learning Activities
Lecture:
 Vertebrata:
Chondrychthyes
Vertebrata:
Osteichthyes
 Vertebrata: Herps
 Vertebrata: Non-Herps
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Graphs
Class discussion
Informal journal writing
Point/Counterpoint Debates
Use of scientific data to support claims
Quizzes
Ability to apply scientific concepts in class
conversations, debates and discussions.
Ability to play “devil’s advocate”
Use of appropriate vocabulary
Fast Five questions
Biweekly multiple choice 20 questions in 24
minutes (clickers or scantron quiz forms)
Reference Material
Disscusion:
 “free” protein
 How do you spell
success?
Lab:
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Perch Dissection
Rat Dissection
Activity:
 Technical drawing
Integrated Principles of Zoology 14th Ed.
Hickman & Roberts
Zoology 5th Ed. Miller & Harley
Fish & Wildlife: Principles of Zoology and
Ecology, 3rd Ed. Burton
Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia: Evolution
Sparta High School Zoology and Animal Behavior
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