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Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science Standard A—Science as Inquiry: grades 5-8, pp. 145-148; grades 9-12, pp. 175-176; also read "Developing Student Understanding," grades 5-8, pp. 143-144; grades 9-12, pp. 173-174. Note that Standard A specifies two separate aspects of science as inquiry: abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry, and fundamental understandings about scientific inquiry. Examine several lessons in the student and teacher materials to answer the following question: To what degree do the lessons provide students the opportunity to develop the abilities and understandings of scientific inquiry? Read through the text narrative, looking for student investigations and examining any suggestions for activities outside of class time. Are opportunities provided for students to develop abilities of scientific inquiry such as posing their own relevant questions, planning and conducting investigations, using appropriate tools and techniques to gather data, using evidence to communicate defensible explanations of cause and effect relationships, or using scientific criteria to analyze alternative explanations to determine a preferred explanation? Record page numbers where examples are found and make notes of explanation. What opportunities are provided for students to develop a fundamental understanding of scientific inquiry? In addition to the language of the text, examine the teacher's guide for suggestions that teachers can use to discuss the role and limitations of scientific skills such as making observations, organizing and interpreting data, and constructing defensible explanations based on evidence. Can you find a discussion of how science advances through legitimate skepticism? Can you find a discussion of how scientists evaluate proposed explanations of others by examining and comparing evidence, identifying reasoning that goes beyond the evidence, and suggesting alternative explanations for the same evidence? Are...