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Evolution Research Project

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Evolution Project

Check out this evolution research project! You students will choose an organism and research it’s evolutionary history.

This aligns perfectly with all of the Next Generation Science Standards for evolution by natural selection.

The evolution worksheet can be downloaded below.

The worksheet serves as a guide for students as they research the evolutionary history of the organism. There is also a rubric that can be downloaded in the members area of USBT.

Tips for Using this Evolution Activity

My student have produced some amazing presentations using this evolution research project.

BEWARE: One of the most challenging aspects of the assignment for the students is going to citing evidence for a specific type of speciation that occurred with their organism.

Get a Full Biology Curriculum!

I always tell my students to use a phylogenetic tree to help them identify the divergence between two species. I have them research the type of speciation that occurred between those two organisms.

Evolution Worksheet

Download Evolution Research Project

Your students will need to dig in and do real research on their organisms.

First, students will identify the organism by the Genus and Species name.

Next, your students will answer a series of questions about the evolution organism they chose to research.

Evolution Research Questions

  • What are some of the most recent common ancestors of the organism you are researching?

  • Search for the phylogenetic tree or a cladogram of the organism.

  • Analyze the phylogenetic and include a discussion about the shared characteristic in your presentation.

  • HS-LS4-1. What evidence supports your organism having the common ancestors you describe above?

  • HS-LS4-3 What advantageous heritable trait(s) does the organism have that has resulted in organisms with the trait to increase in proportion to organisms lacking this trait?

  • Identify and cite evidence for one type of speciation that occurred in the evolutionary history of your organism.

  • HSLS 4-5 Based on your research what types of selective or environmental pressures does/did your organism face?

  • HS-LS2-8  Does the organism you researched engage in a group or individual behavior that increases the chances for the individual or species to survive and reproduce?

  • What types genetic variation exist in individuals in the species due to mutation and sexual reproduction?

  •  What competition exists/ed for limited resources for your organism?

  • What makes your organism better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.

  • HS-LS4-4. Construct an explanation based on evidence from your research for how natural selection leads to adaptations of populations in your organism.         

After completing their research, students will build a presentation. I give my students options for the type of presentation that they can do.

Some of my students even implemented a green screen for recording their videos!

You can access the rubric and editable versions of this assignment inside the USBT community.

You can also access everything we have ever created, a FULL BIOLOGY CURRICULUM! all in one, nice, organized place with instructions on how to use it.

Get a Full Biology Curriculum!

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evolution

Evolution and Natural Selection Worksheets

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Teaching evolution is can be a delicate matter depending on the dynamic of the classroom and the community. Try our approach.

Get your Peppered Moth Natural Selection Worksheet Below!

With our detailed lesson plans and tips on how to approach teaching evolution you should be able to manage getting through the unit confidently using our lesson plans, evolution worksheets, activities and labs.

When teaching evolution it is important for your student to understand:

  1. How it occurs.
  2. It is supported by a large body of evidence.

For students to understand how it occurs they need to understand that environmental pressure is a major factor in selection for specific traits that allow the organism to survive and reproduce.

Misconception: Individual organisms can evolve.

To introduce students to this concept, you can use our Fish Evolution Activity. Students love this activity and it helps them develop an understanding for how populations can evolve.

One of my go-to websites for teaching natural selection is  https://askabiologist.asu.edu/peppered-moths-game/.  I have created a worksheet that goes along nicely with this activity (see below to download it!).

Using the animation, students get to see how certain traits (color) allow the organisms to survive better depending on the environment.

Natural Selection Worksheet

Using our Full Biology Curriculum, you will have access to a variety of pre-made games such as Kahoot’s and Quizlet live that will engage your students and help them master the content.

Every unit in the USBT curriculum includes guided notes that will help your students follow along with the notes and highlight key points.

Evolution Notes

You will be able to move through the notes at reasonable pace instead of having to wait for your students to write down every single word.

In addition to the natural selection activity worksheet, your students will complete an adaptations lab, analyze the selection for tuskless elephants, discuss the adaptation and evolution of skin pigmentation and analyze bones to determine species relatedness.

If you want to save a ton of time, our Full Biology Curriculum is just what you need. EVERYTHING you need is all done and organized for you. Help your students achieve!

Here’s a recent message I received from a member inside the USBT community.

“Brad,

I purchased the USBT full year curriculum with some skepticism. I have spent money on other teaching aids and lesson plans only to receive the product and realize I had wasted my time and money. The USBT Biology Curriculum Far exceeds my greatest expectations. I have cut my prep time in half, have a better grasp of my content, and my students are more engaged than before. Thank you.

-Todd C.”

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“You are the product of 3.8 billion years of evolution, act like it.”

Natural Selection

Evolution Activity

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Teaching evolution is a difficult topic for a variety of reasons however, this is one activity that my students truly enjoy.

To begin the class period, I give the students each several pieces of printer paper. I keep them in suspense about what they are actually going to do with it.

After all the students are ready I reveal my “artistic” rendition of a fish by revealing a PPT slide with my drawing on it like the one below.

 

 

 

 

 

After 60 seconds (formally 90 seconds. 60s gives more variation)  of drawing students are instructed to put their pencils down and tape their fish to the board.

I explain to them that the fish they drew represents it’s offspring and as they can see there are variations between them.

I continue to explain that though the differences in our fish are quite exaggerated, in sexually reproducing organisms variations exist. I then mention that environmental pressures also exist.

I ask the students to share some thoughts about what type of environmental pressures exist.

After the students identify the types of environmental pressure I then take the role of environmental pressure and start ripping their “beautiful” fish drawings off of the board to indicate that they have died and are not able to  reproduce.

In the end, 2 fish remain and the original female fish dies (old age or eaten by predator). At this stage, I ask the students to look at the two drawings and create an offspring fish drawing from the 2 parents. Students are given 90 seconds to complete their drawing. Again, they tape it to the board.

For round 2 of environmental pressure I include students as predators and also mention that some fish just die from freak accidents. This is done until only  2 fish remain. Sometimes I stop here and already have enough substantial structural differences in the fish to show how organisms change over time as a result of environmental pressure.

If more generations are needed and time permits the students will want to continue.

Students love this activity and you (teacher) will always have something to reference as you continue the discussion on how organisms change over time (evolve).

I start the class with this quick five question kahoot that touches on different pieces of evidence for evolution.