The Voyages Through Time curriculum Standards

Standards and Benchmarks in Common Across the Voyages Through Time Modules

The content, abilities, and skills to be achieved by students in the Voyages through Time curriculum are based on standards from the National Science Education Standards (NSES), National Research Council, 1996, and on benchmarks from Benchmarks for Science Literacy (BSL), American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993

The following standards and benchmarks apply to the entire, six-module Voyages Through Time curriculum. To see additional module-specific standards and benchmarks, please click on the individual modules (below) .

Evolution

In evolutionary change, the present arises from the materials and forms of the past, more or less gradually, and in ways that can be explained. BSL, p. 275; see also NSES, p. 119

Science

Science distinguishes itself from other ways of knowing and from other bodies of knowledge through the use of empirical standards, logical arguments, and skepticism, as scientists strive for the best possible explanations about the natural world. NSES, p. 201

The historical perspective of scientific explanations demonstrates how scientific knowledge changes by evolving over time, almost always building on earlier knowledge. NSES, p. 204

Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological problems often results in new scientific knowledge. New technologies often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce new areas of research. NSES, p. 192

Inquiry

Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using logic and evidence. NSES, p. 175

Use tables, charts, and graphs in making arguments and claims in oral and written presentations. BSL, p. 297

Timeline Activities

Use ratios and proportions, including constant rates, in appropriate problems. BSL, p. 291

Make and interpret scale drawings. BSL, p. 197

Models are often used to think about processes that happen too slowly, too quickly, or on too small a scale to observe directly, or that are too vast to be changed deliberately, or that are potentially dangerous. BSL, p. 269