S.6.12.A | TEKS Guide

SCIENCE.6.12.A — Vertical Alignment

Vertical alignment shows student expectations in the same subject area at different grade levels that are related to or build upon one another.

Previous grade

S.1.12.A

classify living and nonliving things based upon whether they have basic needs and produce young;

S.1.12.B

describe and record examples of interactions and dependence between living and nonliving components in terrariums or aquariums; and

S.2.12.A

describe how the physical characteristics of environments, including the amount of rainfall, support plants and animals within an ecosystem;

S.3.12.A

explain how temperature and precipitation affect animal growth and behavior through migration and hibernation and plant responses through dormancy;

S.5.12.A

observe and describe how a variety of organisms survive by interacting with biotic and abiotic factors in a healthy ecosystem;

S.6.12.A

investigate how organisms and populations in an ecosystem depend on and may compete for biotic factors such as food and abiotic factors such as availability of light and water, range of temperatures, or soil composition;

AQUA.9.C

explain how tidal cycles influence intertidal ecology.

ENVIR.5.C

evaluate the effects of fluctuations in abiotic factors on local ecosystems and local biomes;

ENVIR.5.D

measure the concentration of dissolved substances such as dissolved oxygen, chlorides, and nitrates and describe their impacts on an ecosystem;

Next grade

Recurring themes and concepts — Connections to the content

Recurring themes and concepts provide a connective structure for scientific ideas across disciplines. The connection(s) below show some ways that teachers can help students understand how the content they are learning fits into the broader understanding of science. These connections do not represent all possible connections that might be made but highlight some that are appropriate for this grade level.

Patterns

Patterns are regular sequences that can be found throughout nature.

There are patterns in the availability of different biotic and abiotic resources such as seasonal variations in the amount of daylight or rainfall.

Cause-and-effect relationships

Cause-and-effect relationships are relationships between two or more variables or phenomena whereby one variable or event leads to a predictable response. Events have causes—sometimes simple, sometimes multi-faceted.

The presence and quantity of different resources in an ecosystem (cause) affects the number and types of organisms that can live there.

Model the interdependence and parts of a system

A system is a whole made of parts that work together. It has components and boundaries. It can interact with or be part of other systems.

The ecosystem contains organisms and the biotic and abiotic factors (parts) that support them. The organisms depend on the biotic and abiotic factors for survival.

Flow of energy and cycling of matter through systems

Matter and energy are conserved, changing forms but maintaining quantities. Energy flows within a system or between systems through transfers and transformations. Matter is cycled within systems through physical and chemical processes.

The biotic factors that organisms interact with are modeled through food webs, demonstrating the cycling of matter and flow of energy through ecosystems. A change in the availability of abiotic factors impacts the populations of various organisms, thereby altering the cycling of matter and flow of energy through the ecosystem.

Stability and change

Stability describes a system that does not change at the observed scale. In a stable system, a small disturbance will die out and the system will return to a stable state. Change in the system can come from modifying a factor or condition.

A healthy and sustainable ecosystem is stable. Overuse of resources caused by an increase in population or an event such as a drought causes a change to the ecosystem, impacting the survival of the organisms within it.

Cross-curricular Connections

The cross-curricular connections are designed to help educators make content connections between the science TEKS and math, English language arts and reading, social studies, and technology applications. The standards below illustrate alignment between grade level content areas which may help educators develop cross-curricular lessons. These connections do not represent all possible connections that might be made.

Expand All

Math

English Language Arts and Reading

Technology Applications

Science.6.12.A

SCIENCE.6.12.A — Vertical Alignment

Recurring themes and concepts — Connections to the content

Cross-curricular Connections