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Who Was Charles Darwin?
Young scholars complete two activities to study Charles Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection. They read Darwin's journal from the voyage of the Beagle and look at the scientific ideas that influenced the development of his theory.
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How Does Evolution Work?
Students investigate how natural selection influences evolution. They complete a hands-on lab simulation of natural selection, and replicate a real experiment and examine the interplay between selection factors in a population of guppies.
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You Talkin' To Me?: Investigations in Animal Behavior
Students investigate a variety of animal behaviors, examine various modes of animal communication, and develop a catalog analyzing, interpreting, and reporting their results.
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The Creation of an Imaginary Species
Students explore the characteristics that distinguish different forms of animal life on Earth which are the results of natural selection and adaptations to their environment. The creatures are created using a game and then drawn by the...
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The Chips Are Down: A Natural Selection Simulation
Students, in teams, use different colored paper chips to represent prey and a piece of fabric as the environment.
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Natural Selection.... a Cumulative Process... it's in the cards!
Students working in pairs attempt to produce a full sequence of 13 cards of one suit (ace - to king). This must be done by shuffling the suit of cards for each round, then checking the cards.
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Lamarck And Darwin
Students compare Lamarck's mechanism for evolution with Darwin's theory of natural selection.
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Preying on Beans
Students act as predators searching for prey (beans) in two different settings to demonstrate the processes of adaptation and selection.
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The Rise and Fall of the Mammoths
Students develop an understanding of the evolution of species in the context of the woolly mammoth. They examine the fossil record to explain natural selection.
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Introduction to Natural Selection
High schoolers develop an understanding of natural selection, specifically, how it unfolds from generation to generation. They work in small groups to perform an experiment using beans. They use a worksheet imbedded in this plan to guide...
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WHAT DARWIN NEVER SAW: Evolution, Science, Biology, Natural Selection
Students 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.
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Not Just a Bag of Beans
Young scholars determine the types of natural selection and variation that exists in a population, using beans.
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The Beaks of the Finches
Learners 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.
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Natural Selection and Evidence Worksheet
Matching and fill-in-the-blank exercises give biology whizzes a chance to practice vocabulary associated with evolution. Terms to be reviewed focus on evidence for evolution, natural selection concepts, and some genetics words. You could...
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Classification and Binomial Nomenclature
Students practice identifying different groups of living organisms using a dichotomous key. Students also examine the history of an organism and its lineage by writing a paragraph about it and "three generations" of ancestors.
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Evolution Concept Map
In this biology worksheet, students complete a concept mp on the theory of evolution by natural selection. They fill in 8 blanks with the correct terms from the list.
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Scavenger Hunt: Simulating Natural Selection
Learners simulate natural selection using pinto beans. In this biology lesson, students identify the factors affecting organism evolution. They record data from the experiment and formulate a conclusion.
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Peppered Moth Simulation Activity
Students simulate peppered moth predators using SmartNotebook. In this life science lesson, students collect survival data and analyze results. They explain the importance of changes in species over time.
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Natural Selection: Exploring the 'Ohi'a Common Garden
Seventh graders examine natural variation by visiting the Ohi'a Common Garden in Volcano, Hawaii. In this natural selection lesson, 7th graders study background information about phenotypes, genotypes, and phenotypic plasticity before...
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Evolution: Natural Selection
Pupils analyze and discuss the evolutionary history of dinosaurs. In this investigative lesson students monitor different organisms in the environment and analyze the pressures that affect the chances of survival.
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Populations- The Survival of the Fittest
Students examine the ways that populations become diverse and how mutation changes the diversity of a population. In this exploratory lesson students study natural selection by completing a lab activity and discussing what they learned.
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How Evolution Works
Middle schoolers examine the term natural selection and what behavioral adaptations are. In this evolution lesson students view videos about evolution and perform experiments that simulate populations that interplay between the forces...
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The Theory of Evolution
In this theory of evolution worksheet, students review vocabulary words associated with evolution including the different types of evolution patters. This worksheet has 5 true or false and 5 matching questions.
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Evolution of Life
In this evolution learning exercise, learners review the natural selection process and how organisms' adaptations evolve over time. This learning exercise has 8 fill in the blank and 11 short answer questions.