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Introduce your class to the concept of creating phylogenetic trees by playing a game of Telephone. Participants create a mixed-up message and through the use of distance matrices, the evolution of the message is recreated.
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NGSS:
Adaptable
Concepts
Additional Tags
Instructional Ideas
- Instead of individuals guessing the order, allow pairs to work together
- Make a shorter message to keep the possibilities limited
Classroom Considerations
- Part of the class will need to leave the room for a period of time
- When creating the distance matrix, the instruction needs to be very clear about how distance cells are calculated
Pros
- Many pupils are familiar with the game used in the demonstration
- The lesson provides a concrete example of a complex concept
Cons
- The solution method of the Telephone game may lose many
- No method is provided to assess understanding