Evolution
Teacher Resources
Driving Question: How did the evolution of life on Earth increase complexity?
Life first appeared on Earth 3.8 billion years ago, and it’s been evolving ever since. But guess what? Our understanding of evolution has evolved, too!
Learning Objectives:
- Define and explain adaptation and evolution.
- Evaluate how Earth has impacted the characteristics and distribution of life.
- Use evidence to test claims about life on Earth.
Vocab Terms:
- adaptation
- DNA
- evolution
- gene
- mutation
- RNA
- species
Opener: Evolution
To teach this lesson step, refer to page 2 of the Lesson 3.3 Teaching Guide.
Check out the OER Project Reading Guide to learn more about why we love using infographics in our courses.
We can imagine all living organisms as branches of an immense tree. But what would that tree look like?
The Instructions for Life
To teach this lesson step, refer to page 3 of the Lesson 3.3 Teaching Guide.
Want to see some different directions teachers have taken the Invent a Species activity. Check out this post and this post!
OK, so you know that life evolves in response to the challenges of its environment. We’ll use that knowledge to explore how those adaptations happen, and then it’s time to invent your own species.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.
While you watch
Look for answers to these questions:
- What is metabolism?
- What is an example of homeostasis?
- What does the structure of DNA resemble?
- What is natural selection?
After you watch
Respond to this question: Do you think new species are created today? Explain your reasoning.
Key Ideas
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- How do organisms adapt to their environments?
- Why are genes important?
- What is natural selection?
- What did Charles Darwin discover about finches on the Galapagos Islands?
- How can we see evidence of natural selection in our world today?
After you read
Respond to the following question: How did the evolution of life on Earth increase complexity?
Earth, Life, and Evolution
To teach this lesson step, refer to page 5 of the Lesson 3.3 Teaching Guide.
Looking to differentiate, modify or adapt these activities? Check out our Differentiation Guide.
This blog highlights the importance of using maps in social studies instruction.
Search for answers as you listen to this podcast clip and use your knowledge to figure out how plate tectonics might hold the key to answering this question.
Closer: Evolution
To teach this lesson step, refer to page 5 of the Lesson 3.3 Teaching Guide.
Want to provide feedback to your students about the quality of their claims. Check out the BHP Claim Testing Feedback Form. .
Put your new evolutionary know-how to work with some good old-fashioned claim testing.
An Immortal Legacy
To teach this lesson step, refer to page 6 of the Lesson 3.3 Teaching Guide.
Henrietta Lacks’s immortal cells made incredible contributions to science, but she didn’t receive credit for her role in these discoveries until recently.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the comic, paying attention to things like prominent colors, shapes, and types of text and fonts. How do you know where to start and in which direction to read? What’s in the gutters (the space between panels)? Who or what is the focus of the comic?
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- How did doctors at Johns Hopkins originally obtain a sample of Henrietta Lacks’s cells?
- Why are HeLa cells considered “immortal”?
- What breakthroughs in research and health care have HeLa cells led to?
- Why is it important that HeLa cells were publicly identified as belonging to Henrietta Lacks?
After you read
Respond to the following question: Why do you think the artist chose to include both an image of Henrietta’s son, Lawrence, and a DNA strand in the last frame of the biography?
