Patterns of Evolution Teacher Resources

Students identify key anatomical similarities and differences between great apes and humans. They infer likely anatomical features in ancient human ancestors and list principal anatomical changes in primates necessary for adaptation to...

High schoolers will understand the relationship between limiting factors and evolution. They will be able to hypothesize possible evolutionary pathways for modern day organisms.

In this theory of evolution instructional activity, high schoolers review vocabulary words associated with evolution including the different types of evolution patters. This instructional activity has 5 true or false and 5 matching...

Students examine the principles of electrophoresis. They evaluate both the agarose and polyacrylamide system of molecular separation. In order to bring the concepts of genetics and evolution full circle from DNA to protein, students...

Dimetrodon—the dinosaur that wasn't really a dinosaur! Explore the facts about an animal that lived before the Jurassic era with a fact-filled video from Brain Scoop. The narrator shows dimetrodon's characteristics, its common...

Students participate in a contrived natural selection simulation in which they build and modify simple paper airplanes. They study divergent and convergent evolution and how it is isolated in sub-populations.

How does the Earth continually repair itself? Explore the answer to this question, and others, with a unit on plate boundaries and interaction. Pupils classify the types of movement at plate boundaries and identify the...

Students create an evolutionary tree based on fossil morphology and their ages. In this fossil record lesson plan, students are given 23 pictures of fossil. They study their morphology and arrange the fossils by age and structures on a...

Students investigate the concepts of micro and macro evolution. They also research the effects of mutations in the process of genetic adaptation to different environments. They develop a hypothesis of how the environment can influence...

Students engage in solving a logic problem based on real organisms and real data. They develop phylogenies for seven related populations of lizards living on the Canary Islands.

Insects developed wings and the ability to fly earlier than any other animal—when exactly did that happen? Scientists know this fact but struggle to explain when insect wings developed and how this entirely new structure appeared. PBS...

One of the most diverse environments on Earth is the ocean. Young scientists explore the living things found in the ocean during an exciting seven-lesson unit. Their study includes organisms from plankton to invertebrates...

When was the last time you ate a dinosaur? Viewers might just be surprised when they learn the answer from a video that explains what is and what is not a dinosaur. Classification systems and definitions are picky things, and as the...

Fourth graders explore the Roman origins and evolution of our calendar.

Hollywood is the place to go if you want to make movies—right? Not necessarily. A fascinating video about the history of 20th century Asian cinema discusses the reflections of Japanese culture in the works of directors Yasujiro Ozu,...

Students use a NASA satellite data to contrast amounts of cloud coverage over different climate regions in Africa. They explore how Earth's major air circulations affect global weather patterns, and relate to local weather patterns.

Excellent diagrams, labels and summaries make this resource be valuable to your students throughout the topic of circulation. All types of circulation vessels are explained, their structure and function is detailed, and the overall...

A slideshow that covers the all-important details related to basic human circulation. The reasoning for exchange of material methods is presented and then labeled diagrams of the main human transfer systems are shown, along with...

A video focusing on the evolutionary history of simple animals reveals some amazing facts. Did you know that some deep-water sponges can live to be more than 200 years old? The narrator of the film explains what simple animals...

Students take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes and...

Both informative and open-ended, this presentation provides students with the features and benefits of various types of humor. The middle slides allow teachers or professors to elaborate on talking points such as the educational and...

Twelfth graders consider the survival of prairie plants. They examine how some tallgrass prairie species are adapted to the conditions of their ecosystem. They make a prediction of how a species might change given new conditions.

Unsuspecting George McFlys are presented into the craft workings of the science fiction genre of literature. Speculations are developed through teacher-led dialogs about how science fiction impacts science, technology, and comments on...

Students compare the anatomy of temperature and polar fishes. They explore the adverse effects of cold on metabolism and physiology and discuss how polar fishes adapt to their environments. Comparisons are also made to the DNA sequences...