Download Phylogenetic Trees and Cladograms

Class: Biology
___________________________________________________________________
Lesson Topic: Phylogenetic Trees/Genetic Drift
Class Period:
Lesson Objectives:
S:LS3:11:2.4 Explain evolution in terms of how the Earth’s present-day life forms evolved from earlier, distinctly
different species as a consequence of the interactions of (1) the potential for a species to increase its numbers, (2)
the genetic variability of offspring due to mutation and recombination of genes, (3) a finite supply of the resources
required for life, and (4) the ensuing selection.
S:SPS2:11:4.4 Describe how in evolutionary change, the present arises from the materials and forms of the past,
more or less gradually, and in ways that can be explained.
Prior Knowledge Assumed: the fossil record is used to establish
relationships between past and present forms of organisms.
Materials: Phylogeny of Calminalcules
Evaluation
Phylogeny of
Calminalcules trees and
questions
Intelligences Addressed: Linguistic, Logical/ Mathematical, Spatial,
Musical, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal
Pyramid
Agenda

What
some
students
will
learn:


What
most
students
will
learn:
What
all
students
should
learn:

Review vocabulary as a class – vocab cards,
ask random students (10 minutes)
Students will finish Phylogenetic Tree of
Calminalcules with their partner. They must
be finished with their tree, questions can be
done as homework (60 – 90 minutes; gauge
where all students are at).
If students finish – give them time to work
on independent, out of class project until
entire class is finished.
If all students finish trees – short lecture on
cladograms and shared derived
characteristics (10-20 minutes)
Vocabulary
Natural Selection
Cladogram
Fossils
Clade
Phylogeny
Shared Derived
Characteristics
Pyramid of Knowledge
What some
students will
learn:
Transitional organisms are those that
exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group
and its descendents.
Fossils allow scientists
to classify organisms on an evolutionary
tree based on morphological characteristics
What all
students
should
learn:
What most
students will
learn:
A phylogenetic tree helps trace back the lineage of an
organism over millions of years.