Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Living Organisms to Explain Evolution

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students investigate evolution in its most fundamental form: the observation of living organisms. By comparing variations that exist among living animals, students formulate their own hypotheses and conclusions about the evolution of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Darwinist Dogma?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students debate whether teachers should be mandated to present theories challenging evolution in their classrooms. For homework, they write letters to their local school board expressing their own opinions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Peter Rabbit Meets Charles Darwin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students start to think of evolution in terms of populations. The class follows a cartoon scenario of a rabbit population in which there is selection and change of gene frequency. They receive copies of the scenario or the whole thing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Selection and the Peppered Moth

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students study natural selection and its process in the peppered moth. In this evolution activity, students read about the concept of natural selection as suggested by Charles Darwin. Students then complete a natural selection simulation...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who was Charles Darwin?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students trace major developments in the history of evolutionary science. They discuss the connections between major events in world history and major events in the development of evolutionary thought by creating timelines.
Lesson Plan
ARKive

Primate Evolution- Family Ties

For Teachers 7th - 12th
If humans evolved from apes, why are there still apes? Using captivating pictures and videos of our primate cousins, young biologists examine evidence to dispel one of the most common misconceptions about human evolution. Depending on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Methods of Teaching Evolution To Middle School Children

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study evolutionary thought. They examine how characteristics are inherited and that they are a source of variation. They illustrate the perpetuation, elimination, and variation made among members of a species. They determine...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Darwin's Finches

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders engage in a study of the Theory Of Evolution with the use of Darwin's finches as examples while making a connection to adaptive radiation. They use class discussion in order to further the lesson and focus upon...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Critical Analysis of Evolution

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders discuss anomalies in nature and science. They discuss times that anomalies led to the collection of data that explained the phenomena and contributed to changing scientific understandings. Students work in groups to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lamarck And Darwin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers compare Lamarck's mechanism for evolution with Darwin's theory of natural selection.
Lesson Plan
ARKive

Adaptations for Movement

For Teachers 6th - 8th
What animals are best suited for moving around a rainforest, or a desert? Design your own animal species based on a particular habitat, focusing on the characteristics it will need for optimal movement. Great as a group lesson or...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Darwin Day

For Students 7th - 8th
In this Darwin Day worksheet, students read or listen to a tape passage about Charles Darwin, then match phrases, fill in the blanks, choose words, unscramble words and sentences, put sentences in order, write discussion questions and...
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Theory of Evolution

For Students 9th - 10th
For this biology worksheet, students identify and locate various vocabulary terms pertaining to the Theory of Evolution. There are 30 biology terms related to evolution located in the word search.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Charles Darwin's Hardware Shop

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Students construct an evolutionary tree representing specialization, diversity, and selection using easily obtained materials. They use at least twenty pieces of hardware to classify then develop "evolutionary" relationships between the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Selection

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students use discussion questions, handout information and research topics to explore several issues related to natural selection and evolution. They examine Darwin's research on the finch and antibiotic resistance.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The History of Evolutionary Theory

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars are introduced to the concept of evolution by natural selection from a historical standpoint. They examine the evidence and arguments that support the theory of natural selection.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Survival of the Fittest -- Battling Beetles

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students experiment with traits. For this Science lesson, students test the strength of beetles using M&M candies in lieu of the insects. Students use the Hardy-Weinberg Equation to calculate possible offspring traits of further...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fantastic Fossil

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students discuss the discovery of a transitional animal, Tiktaalik, and its impact on the theory of evolution. They research theories of evolution and creationism.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Galapagos Project

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Young scholars explore Darwin's trip to the Galapagos Islands. In groups, students create a field guide for one of the five major islands in the Galapagos.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Peter Rabbit Meets Charles Darwin

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore evolution. They study a cartoon scenario of a rabbit population in which there is selection and a change of gene frequency. Students discuss frequencies, evolution, and speciation.
Lesson Plan
Berkeley Engineering and Mentors

Darwin's Finches

For Teachers 5th - 12th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evolution

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders are introduced to the topic of evolution. Using the internet, they discuss Charles Darwin's life and work in this field of science. They examine fossils and discuss how they support the theory of evolution. They participate...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Life on Earth Began

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders investigate the concept of evolution and how it was a mechanism for the foundation of life on Earth. They conduct research and attempt to make cognitive connections with the evidence to agree with the presupposition of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evolution: Is It Fact and/or Theory?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Learners explore the concepts of evolution. In this biology lesson, students read articles from the internet. They discuss the article within the group and answer their handouts.