Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, check out wing shapes for common ancestry! Beginning biologists compare wings as analogous structures and discover that environment influences evolution of adaptations. A third activity relies on...

Laboratory activities encourage evolutionary biology scholars to consider homologous structures as evidence of common ancestry. They learn how to formulate phylogenic trees and that environment influences to genetic variation. Activities...

Tenth graders observe collections of specimens and discuss their answers to provided questions. They explore common ancestry, homology, analogy, adaptive radiation, and evolution, while formulating creative answers based on their...

This is mostly an exploration of race through an interactive website, class readings, and discussion. Individuals take an online quiz about race, they answer questions on a worksheet by visiting another website, and discover that race is...

Students examine the three domains of life and explain that all living things share a common ancestor.  In this paleontology lesson students are introduced to the process of illustrating evolutionary relationships. 

Students explore prehistoric times by completing web activities in class. In this human ancestry lesson, students identify the archaeological discovery of the "Lucy" skeleton and what it meant for science. Students investigate the Leakey...

When it comes to the origin of the human species young scholars are full of misconceptions. Clear up the hominid confusion with this evolutionary activity focused on assisting students in understanding prehistoric man and his family...

One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...

Learners will love a weeks worth of bone study. They use bones and characteristics of bones to explore the evolution of hominoids. Bones are compared, categorized, and considered. A great way to bring physical anthropology and material...

Here is a two-part lesson that introduces learners to genealogy by having them create family trees, and map the movements of their ancestors. While this resource is designed for kids who live in Arkansas, it certainly can be adapted for...

Biology buffs simulate how genetic markers are passed among populations in order to understand how these markers can help anthropologists map human migration. A couple of volunteers leave the room while you walk the remaining learners...

Students compare differences in amino acids in the beta hemoglobin from representative primates, complete a matrix of those differences, and from these data, construct and interpret cladograms as they reflect relationships and timing of...

Students estimate how many different species of organisms inhabit the Earth. In groups, they match the pictures of embryos at the different stages of development. They compare and contrast animals from the sky, land, and water and...

Students explore dinosaur stance and the dinosaur-bird connection. They investigate what distinguishes dinosaurs from other reptiles? Students discuss how dinosaurs stand their legs positioned directly under their bodies. They are...

Students observe and compare a variety of living things and pictures of living things to note their similarities and differences.

Students investigate how to classify items based on similar characteristics. They study the scientific system of classification.

Students describe, measure and compare cranial casts from contemporary apes (chimpanzees and gorillas, typically), modern humans and fossil "hominids" (erect and bipedal forms evolutionarily separated from apes).

High schoolers examine animal kingdom classifications. They discuss how animals are placed into kingdom classifications and compare similarities and differences of animals within a kingdom.

Students create a model of the four basic whorls of flowers using a water bottle, construction paper and Q-tips. They then examine fresh flower specimens to see how the basic structure can vary in different species of flowering plants.

Tenth graders differentiate angiosperms and gymnosperms. In this biology activity, 10th graders construct a musical phylogenetic tree from information they gathered on resource websites. They present their project in class.