Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Survival of the Fittest - Variations in the Clam Species Clamys sweetus
It's not often that you come across a clever laboratory activity that is both imaginative and comprehensive! Using M&M's and Reese's peanut butter candies to represent two different clam species, young biologists test for "relative...
University of Pennsylvania
Evolution by Natural Selection
A diagram, data table, and reading passage top this resource. Through it, biology beginners are introduced to the concept of natural selection. They answer some questions and then participate in a simulation using fabric as a habitat and...
Curated OER
Fittest of the Survivors
students consider the reality television show 'Survivor' as a means to contemplate what it means to be a survivor. They create fictional characters and explore how different personal qualities would help and hinder their success on...
Curated OER
Life's Lessons: Survival of the Fittest
Students analyze Jack London's use of anthropomorphism to identify the importance of adaptability in life. In this literature lesson, students use the novel The Call of the Wild to identify key elements in survival. Students complete...
Curated OER
Animal Adaptations
Fifth graders discover the adaptation of species through analyzing pictures. In this scientific discovery lesson, 5th graders discuss the concept of adaptation in order for survival. Students view many images of extinct animals and...
Curated OER
Structural and Behavioral Adaptations
Students participate in a role playing lab that allows students to experience how different beak adaptations play a role in the type of food the animal can eat, therefore playing a role in the survival of the species.
Columbus City Schools
Diversity of Living Things
Here's a topic classes can really dig—the fossil record. Use the well-organized and thoughtful road map to take eighth graders back in time to unearth the answer. Learn how our climate has changed, and how organisms have changed along...
Curated OER
Survival of the Fittest Microbes
Students explore the harsh conditions of Spain's Rio Tinto River and research the microbes that nonetheless manage to thrive there. They synthesize their knowledge by creating a reality television show set in the Rio Tinto with microbes...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Making of the Fittest: The Birth and Death of Genes
Adaptations must be made as environments change. This fabulous presentation features Icelandic icefish, a transparent, scaleless specimen that even has colorless blood. Genetics and adaptations concepts are explored as scientists study...
Curated OER
Dining Out With Fishes and Birds of the Hudson
The class will make observations to determine how environment has shaped the way particular birds and fish eat. They will view a series of photographs, read two short articles, and then consider how food availability has determined how...
American Physiological Society
Sticky Adaptations A Lesson on Natural Selection
Now you see it, now you don't! The stick bug exhibits the ability to disappear into a wooded environment. Why does this adaptation manifest in some species, but not in others? Life science young scholars explore animal adaptations in...
Curated OER
Survival of the Fittest
Students explore plant needs and growth. In this plant science lesson plan, students use a cereal box to complete a plant growth graph activity.
Curated OER
Survival Of The Fittest
Seventh graders examine the concept of an ecosystem and how there is a variety of representations of life that exist there. They look at the equilibrium that is reached in stable communities and how the variable of change in...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Color Variation over Time in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
A species-specific look at natural selection, the resource herein examines how adaptations have helped the population of rock pocket mice survive in a changing landscape. To begin, middle or high schoolers watch a 10.5 minute video,...
Curated OER
Allele and Phenotype Frequencies in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
In the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, some tiny creatures show just how quickly natural selection can turn a mutation into an advantageous adaptation. Watch a video about rock pocket mice, who show that one small change can make all...
Serendip
Evolution and Adaptations
Survival of the fittest isn't just for the movies! A five-part lesson explores several different species with known adaptations and analyzes them for their survival strategies. Using both video and research data, scholars draw...
Curated OER
Survival of the Fittest – Battling Beetles
Students explore natural selection. For this genetic adaptation lesson, students discover why certain traits continue and some traits disappear. Students discover how species evolve and change. Resources are provided.
Curated OER
Survival of the Fittest -- Battling Beetles
Students experiment with traits. In 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...
Curated OER
Survival of the Sneakiest
In this natural selection worksheet, students read a cartoon about cricket mating that explains natural selection, fitness and evolution. They answer four questions about each of these topics.
Curated OER
Escape! Survival of the Fittest Grasshopper
Fourth graders, in groups, design a paperclip grasshopper. They determine its ability to survive a prey by jumping high, far, or with a distracting behavior.
Curated OER
Hide and Survive: A Natural Selection Activity
Students explore the theory of natural selection given certain scenarios. In this biology lesson, students graph data taken from the experiment. They explain the factors that contribute to the survival of the fittest.
Bill of Rights Institute
The Gilded Age, Robber Barons and the Rise of Big Business
Survival of the fittest! Scholars investigate an AP review video to discover the era of big business during the Gilded Age. Viewers examine the place of Robber Barons in society and its impact on the workforce in America. This is the...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Using Primary Sources to Examine the History of Eugenics
Eugenics philosophy takes survival of the fittest to a whole new level. With a research-focused lesson, young scientists examine the history of the eugenics movement and its impact on society. Pupils engage with a video clip, primary...
Curated OER
Evolution Number Two
Are you looking for evidence that your high schoolers are adapting to the concepts of natural selection and evolution? Assess their knowledge with a pretest and posttest. Naturally, you can select and adapt the worksheet to be the...