Curated OER
Lamarck Is Dead!
High schoolers read Lamarck's obituary and respond to questions.Students can work individually or in small groups.This activity can be used at the beginning of an evolution unit.
Curated OER
Time Conceptualization
Students use this activity to establish a new mode of reference to the conceptualization of time. To present hominid evolution in terms of millions of years and endosymbiosis of eukaryotes in billions of years carries little meaning to...
Curated OER
Mimicry: An Example of Adaptation
Learners are able to explain the relationship between adaptation and ability for survival and reproduction. They are able to give examples of a series of adaptations that would support the idea that evolution is a series of minor...
Curated OER
Fishy Frequencies
Tenth graders demonstrate that natural selection is an agent of evolution. They quantitatively apply the Hardy-Weinberg Principle to an imaginary population of fish. They utilize math and graphing skills, collecting and analyzing data,...
Curated OER
But, Why Sex?
Students investigate the importance of sexual reproduction in evolution. In this sexual reproduction lesson plan, students simulate species with two traits: eye and skin color. They determine what characteristics are beneficial for the...
Curated OER
They're more evolved that way
Learners explore the notion of local evolution, or genetic selectivity among different continent-based human populations. They consider specific examples of local evolution, such as lactose tolerance, skin color, and cognitive capacity,...
Curated OER
Theory, Theory, Who's got the theory?
Learners analyze 5 separate theories of evolution in order to help them explain the different meanings of theory, how human values influence science, and that the scientific view of the origin of life does not involve supernatural forces.
Curated OER
Spork and Beans
Students examine natural selection, how it works and how it can cause microevolution. In this evolution lesson students complete a lab activity that shows the effects that natural selection has on organisms.
Curated OER
Bioinformatics
Students conduct a series of scientific investigation using bioinformatics. In this molecular biology lesson, students collect experimental data using different educational softwares. They calculate and analyze relationships using...
Serendip
How Eyes Evolved – Analyzing the Evidence
Octopodes existed for hundreds of thousands of years before humans, yet our eyes share many similarities. Scholars analyze the evidence to determine if the evolution of eyes best fits a homology or analogy model. They discuss the issue...
Curated OER
AP: Chapter 24: The Origin of Species
AP biology buffs define vocabulary terms and answer critical-thinking questions about evolutionary trends. They compare macroevolution to microevolution, differentiate ploidy possibilities, explain isolation barriers, and more....
Curated OER
AP: Chapter 29 and 30: Plant Diversity
It's a jungle out there! That is because of the tremendous diversity among plants. In this AP biology assignment, botanists answer questions about plant evolution, diversity, and reproduction. They differentiate between monocots and...
Curated OER
Viruses and Host Evolution
Students are organized into groups of four. On Day 1 they are given a worksheet about viruses and their effects on the evolution of a rabbit population. After about 30 minutes of group work, a class discussion of the material begins. ...
Curated OER
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Grasping the Idea of Evolution
Students compare and their performance of a series of tasks using their thumb and fingers to their performance of the same tasks without the use of their thumb. The class discussion that follows the activity defines and discusses the...
Curated OER
Raven Chapter 54 Guided Notes: Community Ecology
Providing a sweeping overview of population and community interactions, this ecology worksheet gets learners thinking. They differentiate between habitat and niche, describe and give exemplars of various animal and plant defenses,...
Curated OER
All in the Family: Calculating Cousins
Students view pictures of distant "cousins" to humans. They place them in order by their distance from humans. Students receive a packet of six pages featuring graphics and a cousins summary page. They work in groups to complete 5 cousin...
Serendip
Using Molecular and Evolutionary Biology to Understand HIV/AIDS and Treatment
HIV mutates rapidly, making treatments challenging to find. Scholars learn about why it mutates so quickly and how scientists race to find treatments. The resource approaches the issue from both a molecular and evolutionary perspective...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Human Skin Color: Evidence for Selection
Skin color is controlled by at least six genes. Young scientists learn about skin colors through a documentary. They discuss the topics of pigment, natural selection, and vitamin D absorption. They apply their knowledge to higher order...
Curated OER
Lizard Lab
In this detailed and comprehensive multi-day activity, budding evolutionary biologists use real data from lizard populations in the Canary Islands to examine evolution and natural selection.
Curated OER
Why Do People Fall in Love?
Students discuss human behavior, sexual selection and the underlying genetic and evolutionary reasons for mate selection. The, in groups, they rate the attractiveness of certain individuals and measure facial features for symmetry.
Curated OER
Bioluminescence
Young scholars differentiate chemiluminescence from bioluminescence. In this biology lesson plan, students explain how fireflies and other animals emit light. They discuss the applications of engineered bioluminescence.
Field Museum
The Case of Darwin's Finches
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...
Curated OER
Embryology as Evidence of Evolution
Students observe the two major developmental pathways (protostome and deuterostome). They analyze data regarding differences in nucleotide sequences and construct a phylogenetic tree. They observe the similar evolutionary history shared...
Curated OER
Evolution and Gene Frequencies: A Game of Survival and Reproductife Success
Students research the population of Bengal tigers and their existence as either dominant or recessive. They explore the presence of fur on these tigers and its lethal combinations. Determinating the effect of random mating in a...