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Lesson Plan14:03
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection in Humans

For Teachers 8th - Higher Ed Standards
Sickle cell disease only occurs when both parents contribute the trait, and mostly in those of African descent. Where did it come from? How did it evolve? Tony Allison, a molecular biologist, noticed a connection between sickle cell and...
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Lesson Plan
Saint Louis Zoo

Introduction to Natural Selection: Darwin & Lamarck

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
Charles Darwin and Jean Baptiste Lamarck are credited for developing the theory of natural selection. After teaching your beginning biologists about acquired characteristics, they read the included selection and answer questions that...
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Lesson Plan
University of California

Artificially Selecting Dogs

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Selective breeding has resulted in some novel and beautiful or useful dogs over the years. Using the American Foxhound as an example, genetics learners find out how and why they came about. Then, in small groups, they select breeds to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Selection and Variation in the Egyptian Origami Bird

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Using origami paper birds, your biology class will experiment with mutations and natural selection to determine wing position, length, and width. It would be helpful to provide a worksheet to go with the activity that includes a...
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Lesson Plan10:25
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation

For Students 8th - Higher Ed Standards
The pocket mouse can be light brown like the sands of the desert, or dark brown like the volcanic lava flows that are interspersed throughout New Mexico's Valley of Fire. It seems that predators have weeded out light colored mice in this...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Effect of Natural Selection on Genes, Traits and Individuals

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Rotating through five stations, evolutionary biologists explore the question of how changes in DNA facilitate the changes in a population over time. High-quality, colorful cards of animals, skeletons, skulls, and DNA sequences can all be...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Allele and Phenotype Frequencies in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Serendip

Evolution of Fur Color in Mice – Mutation, Environment and Natural Selection

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Most species of animals include a variety of fur or hair color, but why? Scholars watch a video about a changing environment for mice. As the rocks around them change hues, different colors of mice begin to thrive. Discussion questions...
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Lesson Plan
American Physiological Society

Sticky Adaptations A Lesson on Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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 students explore animal adaptations in nature...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers 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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Selection Day 1

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan14:52
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Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The Making of the Fittest: Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture

For Teachers 8th - Higher Ed Standards
Got milk? Only two cultures have had it long enough to develop the tolerance of lactose as an adult. Learn how the responsible genes evolved along with the cultures that have been consuming milk. This rich film is supplied with a few...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

WHAT DARWIN NEVER SAW: Evolution, Science, Biology, Natural Selection

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students 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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beans and Birds: A Natural Selection Simulation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Owl Family Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How do genetic mutations within a population lead to future variations? Provide your class with the resources to answer this question and more upon completing an activity on natural selection. The entire class participates in a fun role...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Simple Model for Natural Selection

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Do you have what it takes to survive as a fit predator or will elusive prey lead to your extinction? Find out in a creative natural selection activity. Using different colors and shapes of grains to represent different species and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Model for Natural Selection- Spaghetti Worms

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Does the early bird really get the worm? If so, which color of worm does it prefer? In an exciting and easy week-long field investigation, young field biologists set up a one square meter feeding area for birds. If you have a webcam,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pre-Activity Worksheet: Natural Selection

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Although the instructions include reading from a specific textbook, the tasks are appropriate for any unit dealing with how genotype frequency changes over time. Junior biologists define five vocabulary terms and then answer five...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Selection

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Kids act as scientists and preditors in this short natural selection activity; they collect and analyze data, then apply their new knowledge to real-world examples of natural selection. The layout of the worksheet is easy enough to use...
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Lesson Plan
ARKive

Natural Selection- the Peppered Moth

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Can human activity cause animals to evolve? Your budding biologists will find out the answer to some of the big questions in natural selection with a peppered moth activity. They will watch a few short videos, look at pictures, and...
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Lesson Plan
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Human Skin Color: Evidence for Selection

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Selection I

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders list the steps of Darwin's natural selection. They demonstrate the process of natural selection in a predation activity. Students create paper origami frogs to race across the floor and analyze the differences in the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Selection And Evolution

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders investigate the concept of natural selection and its relationship to the theory of evolution. They conduct research using a variety of resources and use the information to create a class presentation and open up the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Natural Selection Foldable

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students examine and identify examples of species that developed as a result of immigration, genetic drift, and adaptive radiation. They conduct Internet research and define key vocabulary terms, and use their species example on their...

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