1-LS3-1 lessons
Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.
The Next Generation Science Standards code 1-LS3-1 asks students to: “Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.” These Fieldbook lessons teach it hands-on, with everyday materials, a printable teacher guide and a student sheet.
Like Parent, Like Baby? Traits and Families Grades 1–3
- Do baby animals look like their parents? 40–50 min
Teams match twelve drawn cards of young and adult plants and animals, then sort them: some young already look like small adults, others look different now but grow to be like their parents. They find one way each young is like its parent and one way it is not, and build an evidence-based account that young are like, but not exactly like, their parents.
- Why don't puppies from the same parents look the same? 45–60 min
Teams read family files on a Labrador litter, a cat litter and a pea pod, then the whole class becomes a living bar graph of 32 pea cards and compares it with the 8,023 peas Gregor Mendel counted. Students use the data to explain that young inherit traits from their parents and that brothers and sisters still vary.
NGSS is used as written in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming, so the code 1-LS3-1 matches there. Other states word and number their own versions: see curriculum alignment for your state's codes.
More NGSS standards for Grade 1
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