| Lesson Title (Description) | Grade Level | Lesson Type |
Coping with Environmental Differences
Students will observe and conduct an experiment to see whether differences in salinity (the environment) have an affect on the hatching rate and survival of brine shrimp. |
3-5 |
Classroom activity |
Preying on Beans
Students act as predators searching for prey (beans) in two different settings to demonstrate the processes of adaptation and selection. |
3-5 |
Classroom activity |
Big Beans, Little Beans
Students measure and note the variation in the lengths of lima beans. Students then compare the growth rate of different sized beans. |
6-8 |
Classroom activity |
Clipbirds
Students learn about variation, reproductive isolation, natural selection, and adaptation through this version of the bird beak activity. |
6-8 |
Classroom activity |
Angling for evolutionary answers: The work of David O. Conover
Human activity has certainly affected our physical environment - but it is also changing the course of evolution. This research profile follows scientist David O. Conover as he investigates the impact of our fishing practices on fish evolution and discovers what happened to the big ones that got away. |
9-12 |
Article |
Breeding Bunnies
Students simulate breeding bunnies to show the impact that genetics can have on the evolution of a population of organisms. |
9-12 |
Classroom activity |
Candy Dish Selection
Students find that selection occurs in a dish of mixed candies. |
9-12 |
Classroom activity |
Clipbirds
Students learn about variation, reproductive isolation, natural selection, and adaptation through this version of the bird beak activity. |
9-12 |
Classroom activity |
Comparing Explanatory Models
This series of lessons introduces students to evolutionary reasoning and to the explanatory power of the Darwinian model of natural selection. |
9-12 |
Article |
Evo in the news: Another perspective on cancer
This news brief, from October of 2007, describes the evolutionary underpinnings of cancer. Recognizing cancer as a form of cellular evolution helps explain why a cure remains elusive and points the way toward new treatments. |
9-12 |
Article |
Evo in the news: Quick evolution leads to quiet crickets
The tropical island of Kauai has always been a quiet place, but now it may be getting even more quiet. This news brief, from December 2006, reveals how Kauai's cricket population has evolved into a "chirpless" variety in just a few years. |
9-12 |
Article |
Evo in the news: Seeing the tree for the twigs
Recent research has revealed that, in at least some ways, chimpanzees have evolved more than humans have. This news brief from May 2007 delves into this finding further and, in the process, debunks common misperceptions of human evolution. |
9-12 |
Article |
Evo in the news: Warming to evolution
Global warming increasingly affects many aspects of our environment—from the sea level to tropical storm strength. But that’s far from the full story. This news brief from July 2006 describes how global warming has already begun to affect the evolution of several species on Earth. |
9-12 |
Article |
Evolution and Antibiotic Resistance
Students learn why evolution is at the heart of a world health threat by investigating the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance in such menacing diseases as tuberculosis. |
9-12 |
Classroom activity |
Fire ants invade and evolve
Understanding the evolution of fire ants may help scientists control the spread of these pests, which have already taken over much of the U.S.! |
9-12 |
Article |
Interview: Douglas Futuyma on natural selection
This interview with one of the most influential evolutionary biologists of today addresses many aspects of natural selection: how it works, examples, misconceptions, and implications.
This article appears at ActionBioscience.org. |
9-12 |
Interview with Scientist |
Investigating Natural Selection
Students experience one mechanism for evolution through a simulation that models the principles of natural selection and helps answer the question: How might biological change have occurred and been reinforced over time? |
9-12 |
Classroom activity |
Monarch/Viceroy Case
Students work in groups to develop a Darwinian explanation for the bright coloration of monarch and viceroy butterflies and the similarity in color patterns seen between the two species. |
9-12 |
Classroom activity |
Natural selection: The basics
Darwin's most famous idea, natural selection, explains much of the diversity of life. Learn how it works, explore examples, and find out how to avoid misconceptions.
This article is located within Evolution 101. |
9-12 |
Tutorial |
Origami Birds
Students build and evolve and modify paper-and-straw “birds” to simulate natural selection acting on random mutations. |
9-12 |
Classroom activity |
Relevance of evolution: Medicine
Explore just a few of the many cases in which evolutionary theory helps us understand and treat disease. Bacterial infections, HIV, and Huntington's disease are highlighted. |
9-12 |
Article |
The Natural Selection Game
This is a board game that simulates natural selection. It is suitable for an introductory biology class and for more advanced classes where you could go into more detail on important principles such as the role of variation and mutation. |
9-12 |
Classroom activity |
Using Magnetotactic Bacteria to Study Natural Selection
In this lab students observe bacteria that are able to orient themselves using the Earth's magnetic field, demonstrating that living organisms possess incredible adaptations which enable them to survive. |
9-12 |
Classroom activity |
Viruses and Host Evolution
Students learn about natural selection in rabbits by observing the effects of a virus on the Australian rabbit population. |
9-12 |
Classroom activity |
Webcast: Endless forms most beautiful
In lecture one of a four part series, evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll discusses Darwin and his two most important ideas: natural selection and common ancestry.
This lecture is available from Howard Hughes' BioInteractive website. |
9-12 |
Lecture |
