Third Grade Highlights

CA NGSS 3-LS3-1. LS3.A. Inheritance of Traits and LS3.B. Variation of Traits: Appearance and behaviors can be passed from parent to offspring, but there are always slight differences and no two organisms are exactly the same. These processes allow populations to persist even when conditions in their environment change. In the face of change, those differences (variations) between individuals make the population as a whole strong. If changes in the environment happen too quickly or are too extreme, even a high degree of variation won’t be enough to help the population survive.

What Students Learn: Mosquitoes have persisted for millions of years because their populations contain many individuals with slight variations. This makes chemical control an impractical, long-term solution. Mosquitoes still don’t have a trait present in their population that allows them to grow without water. That makes source reduction a powerful tool that everyone can use to keep mosquitoes from growing in their backyards. Conclusion includes mosquito source identification, source reduction practices, and bite prevention information.