Synopsis:  Students explore the four basic analytical epidemiological study designs; including the fundamental experimental design used in a controlled trial, and the three designs used to observe "natural experiments;" the cohort study, case-control study, and cross-sectional study.  A "train analogy" is used to depict "the journey between exposure and disease" and the different ways exposure and outcome data are collected during the journey.  The train analogy helps students uncover how the study designs differ according to when during the journey the epidemiologist determines study participants' exposure and outcome status.

Conceptual and procedural schemes unify science disciplines and provide students with powerful ideas to help them understand the natural world. Because of the underlying principles embodied in this standard, the understandings and abilities described here are repeated in the other content standards.

Inquiry requires that students combine processes and scientific knowledge as they use scientific reasoning and critical thinking to develop their understanding of science. Engaging students in inquiry helps students develop an understanding of scientific concepts, an appreciation of "how we know" what we know in science, an understanding of the nature of science, the skills necessary to become independent inquirers about the natural world, and the dispositions to use the skills, abilities, and attitudes associated with science.

The science and technology standards establish connections between the natural and designed worlds and provide students with opportunities to develop decision-making abilities. They are not standards for technology education, rather, these standards emphasize abilities associated with the process of design and fundamental understandings about the enterprise of science and its various linkages with technology.

In learning science, students need to understand that science reflects its history and is an ongoing, changing enterprise. The standards for the history and nature of science recommend the use of history in school science programs to clarify different aspects of scientific inquiry, the human aspects of science, and the role that science has played in the development of various cultures.

Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention.

Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid health information and health-promoting products and services.

Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.

Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.

Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).