Find photos of bird beaks or show a prepared four slide PowerPoint, "Extreme Beaks" to introduce your class to this special animal adaptation. Provide them with a data table and supplies to try gathering food with tools that each...

A video about the impact of climate change on butterfly populations and a PowerPoint about butterfly and bird adaptations warm science learners up for the activity to follow. Using a variety of tools that reprsent unique styles of bird...

One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...

Don't just tell your class about Darwin's finches ... show them! Sort some of science's most famous birds using an interactive lesson. Learners try their hand at classifying finches using song, sonogram, and beak appearance, as well as...

Darwin explained the connection between species of finches 150 years before scientists understood DNA. Technology and progressing science proved he was right, yet many struggle to understand how natural selection happens. Scholars use...

Students become birds and are given "beak-types". After completing the simulation, students relate results to adaptations and natural selection. Extensions of the simulation allow for comparative results and include population genetics.

How does nature select some adaptations over others? Scholars experiment picking up seeds with two different types of tools simulating beaks. After practicing, they experience a drought where one type of seed suddenly isn't available....

There's absolutely no error in using the tutorial! Learners use spreadsheets to create column or bar graphs with error bars. They also learn how to calculate the standard error of the mean in the tutorial. This is the third installment...

Teens experience natural selection firsthand (or first beak) in an activity that has them act as finches foraging for food. Using different household items  to act as different beak styles, your little finches will collect as much...

Emerging ecologists need a full understanding of life, from the inner workings of a cell to the complex relationships among organisms. This examination is meant to assess high schoolers after an entire year of courses on the living...

Environmental science enthusiasts show what they know at the end of the year by taking this full-fledged final exam. They answer multiple-choice, graph interpretation, and essay-analysis questions, 73 of them in all. Topics range from...

The living environment, from the interior of a cell to the complex relationships among populations, is queried in this final examination. Learners examine air pollution maps, cell diagrams, population graphs, and drawings of cells. They...

The New York Regents High School Examinations are comprehensive and include various question formats, including multiple choice and graph analysis. This particular version, the 2008 Living Environment exam, surveys a variety of topics....

The 2005 version of the Regents High School Examination in ecology is as comprehensive as previous years' exams. It consists of 40 multiple-choice questions on topics ranging from the structure of DNA to interactions within an ecosystem....

An environmental factor, such as a drought, sometimes speeds up the rate of natural selection. Scholars analyze data on the beaks of birds around the time of the drought. They compare those that survived to those that perished and find...

Students study finches and how they have evolved over time.  In this finch review lesson students fill out a key points worksheet then divide into teams and complete an activity. 

Learners examine how species evolve over time and how this can change a population.  In this environment lesson students complete a worksheet on finches.

Students explore the adaptations that birds have.  In this adaptations lesson plan students view a video and create a concept map of birds and their adaptive traits.

Try a twist on the old finch beak and chopsticks activity by using M&Ms on a Twister mat. Spoons, knives, forks, and chopsticks represent beaks and are randomly assigned to your little birds, who must collect as much food as possible...

Young scholars view video showing recent field work on a twenty two-year study of finch beaks on a small island in the Galapagos, showing natural selection clearly operating in the wild.

The author invested plenty of time in the presentation of this information; it is visually appealing, contains sound-effects, and displays creative animations and photos! Unfortunately, blank lines are included on most of the slides with...

Not all dogs are the same just like not all finches are the same. An interactive online lesson helps individuals learn about the causes and limitations to biodiversity. The clickable sections describe the basics of the genetics of...

In this online interactive history activity, high schoolers respond to 9 short answer and essay questions about Charles Darwin. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive activity. 

Why is diversity in biology so important for an ecosystem? Explore biodiversity, evolution, and natural selection with a presentation for your biology class. It features clear information, activities for further understanding, and...