Science - Biology
Lesson Plans

Standard 5

Students will understand that biological diversity is a result of evolutionary processes.

Objective 1

Relate principles of evolution to biological diversity.

• Breeding Bunnies
  In this activity, students will examine natural selection in a small population of wild rabbits.
• Ecosystem Survey Using Classification and Plant ID
  Scientists use many tools to evaluate the health of a habitat. One way to classify and determine the health of a habitat is to identify the organisms that live there and compare those to other habitats. To do this biologists use identification keys. In this exercise students will use identification keys to identify plants in various habitats and determine adaptations for success / evolution of different species.
• Peppered Moths
  Students get to be blue jays and hunt moths on different backgrounds (tree trunks) in this engaging simulation of the change in populations of the peppered moth over time during the industrialization of England.
• Survival of the Flattest
  In this activity students will model natural selection. They will do this by acting as a predator and collecting "dots" in different environments. They will see how different characteristics allow some organisms to survive and reproduce in different environments.
• Teddy Grahams and Natural Selection
  Students will model natural selection and how that has an impact on population size.
• The Evolution of Canis pedatus
  Students will evaluate an isolated population and infer the effects of natural selection and reproductive isolation. They will identify environmental forces that drive evolution and will also investigate the definition of a species.

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