Natural selection Lesson Plans

Students 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 their research.

Students explore natural selection using an interactive online website. In this biology lesson, students research about a specific natural selection topic. They create a visual aid about it and share their findings in class.

Students solve the following problem concerning the evolution of seed color in pinto bean plants: "How does natural selection change the frequency of genes or traits over many generations?" They use the constructivist approach to studying as they work in teams to design and conduct an experiment that solves this natural selection "problem."

Learners study variation within a species and how natural selection acts on the phenotype of an organism.  In this evolution lesson learners view a PowerPoint presentation and complete a worksheet.

In this lesson learners 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.

In this lesson students define the concept of classification. In groups, they categorize a series of objects into categories they identify. As a class, they participate in a variety of activities to examine the concept of natural selection. To end the lesson, they create a classification system of their own.

In this lesson students 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.

Students explain how natural selection leads to organisms that are well suited for survival in particular environments. They researhc how scientists use the fossil record and morphological comparisons to construct a timeline of whale evolution.

Students conduct a scientific investigation. They conclude that the characteristics of populations of organisms can change over time in response to environmental pressures. Students identify natural selection as a mechanism of biological change.

Students discover genetics as it relates to the population. In this biology lesson, students examine mitosis and mutations. They discuss the shift in genetics due to natural selection and genetic drift.