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Great Books: Origin of Species
Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: 9–12
Curriculum Focus: Life Science
Lesson Duration: Two class periods
Program Description
Darwin’s theory of natural selection has provoked acclaim and debate since it was detailed in his
Origin of Species in 1859. Explore the book that revolutionized science and culture. The program
examines evolutionary theory from its beginnings with Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the famous Scopes
Monkey trial, and how political leaders such as Adolf Hitler have twisted Darwinian theory and used
it for their own purposes.
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
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Discover that Charles Darwin presented a theory of evolution in 1859 that has been accepted
and debated since then.
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Produce a timeline to show how botanists, zoologists, geologists, geneticists, and other scientists
have contributed to the study of evolution since the 18th century.
Materials
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Reference materials about the history of the science of evolution
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Roll paper
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Rulers
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Index cards
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Staples, pushpins, tape, or another fastening device to attach roll paper to the wall and index
cards to the roll paper
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Great Books: Origin of Species video
Procedures
1. Discuss Charles Darwin and his discoveries about plant and animal life with students. A
good way to introduce this topic is to view portions of the Great Books: Origin of Species video.
Tell students that they will produce a large-scale timeline, called “The History of the Science of
Evolution.” This timeline will have dates and, above or below the dates, will provide details
Great Books: Origin of Species
Teacher’s Guide
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about the people who have played major roles in advancing knowledge about the evolution of
plants and animals. Go on to tell students that after they collaborate to finish the timeline, they
will individually write a brief analysis of what the overall timeline shows.
2. Ask students, perhaps those who most often display mathematical intelligence, to figure out
how long a piece of roll paper they should mount horizontally for the timeline, beginning with
the year A.D. 1700. (If you have room to give 1 foot to every decade from 1700 to today,
students will need at least 30 feet of paper, plus some paper for left and right margins; if you
don't have that much room, ask students to calculate a new length per decade or to propose an
alternative to ticking off every 10 years.)
3. On the large piece of roll paper—stapled, pinned, or taped to the wall—direct one or several
students to draw a continuous horizontal line and to tick off on it the equal segments of 10 years
each (or to proceed with the alternative mathematical plan). They should begin on the left with
A.D. 1700 and end on the right with the current year. The students should label each tick mark
with its corresponding year. Note the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means
of Natural Selection at 1859.
4. Assign one or more of the following names to individual students or pairs of students; the
names are listed here in alphabetical order:
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Bateson, William
Buffon, George
Crick, Francis, and
Watson, James
de Vries, Hugo
Dobzhansky, Theodosius
Eldredge, Niles, and
Gould, Stephen Jay
Haldane, J.B.S
Hardy, G.H., and
Weinberg, W.
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Hutton, James
Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste
Linnaeus, Carolus
Lyell, Charles
Mayr, Ernst
Mendel, Gregor
Ray, John
Simpson, George
Stebbins, G. Ledyard
Wallace, Alfred Russel
Wegener, Alfred
Explain to students that the list consists of scientists who preceded or followed Darwin or
worked at the same time as he. It will be each student or pair's responsibility to prepare one or
more 3” × 5” cards with information about their assigned scientist's contribution(s) to or against
the theory of evolution. The card should also carry the date of the scientist's contribution.
Acknowledge that not only Darwin himself but other scientists, too, won and lost favor over
time among the scientific community. The final timeline as prepared by your students may
carry more than one card for a given scientist in order to show when he was in and out of favor
or to show that he contributed more than one idea to the theory of evolution.
Since students will be writing about a scientist's work on a small index card, they must write
succinctly. Students cannot go into enormous detail; they must make every word count.
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Great Books: Origin of Species
Teacher’s Guide
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5. Identify which printed and Internet resources students may use to identify key events in
building the theory of evolution.
6. Ask each student or pair to submit a draft of the index card(s) to you for review. If a card
needs revision or editing, send the student or pair back to do more research or to focus the
writing more.
7. When you've signed off on each card, have students attach them to the roll paper at the
appropriate date.
8. After students have finished their individual or paired work, review with them the timeline
as a whole. Give students time to study the timeline on their own or in small groups. Then ask
each student to write a short analysis of what the timeline says about forming a theory of
evolution; three paragraphs will do.
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students’ work during this lesson.
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3 points: Students wrote concise and articulate statement on index card of scientist’s
contribution(s) to the theory of evolution; included a clearly written analysis with thesis
statement and many examples.
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2 points: Students wrote an adequate statement on index card; included an adequately
written analysis with thesis statement and some examples.
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1 point: Students wrote an inadequate statement on index card, requiring teacher’s or
another student’s input before posting card to timeline; included a weak written analysis
lacking meaningful thesis statement and enough examples.
Vocabulary
eugenics
Definition: A science that deals with the improvement (by control of human mating) of
hereditary qualities of a race or breed
Context: Eugenics is the idea that we should somehow apply principles to make us evolve
into a superior species.
evolution
Definition: A theory that the various types of animals and plants have their origin in other
preexisting types and that the distinguishable differences are due to modifications in successive
generations
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Teacher’s Guide
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Context: Darwin visualized the progress of evolution as being like a tree of life.
heredity
Definition: The sum of the qualities genetically derived from one's ancestors
Context: In the random shuffle of heredity, each new individual is born slightly different
from others.
naturalist
Definition: A student of natural history, such as a field biologist
Context: It took a naturalist and trained observer named Charles Darwin to hold the world
up to the microscope of his mind and see what everyone else had seen in a way no one else
ever had.
natural selection
Definition: A natural process that results in the survival and reproductive success of individuals
or groups best adjusted to their environment and that leads to the perpetuation of genetic
qualities best suited to that particular environment
Context: Darwin's explanation for the diversity of animals was based on his theory of natural
selection. He reasoned that the more different the members of a species became, the better able
they would be to take advantage of diversified places in nature.
mutate
Definition: To change either the physical relation of chromosomes or the genetic sequence in
an organism
Context: Unlike bacteria and viruses, which can mutate and adapt with astonishing speed,
man cannot.
sociobiology
Definition: The comparative study of social organization in animals including humans,
especially with regard to genetic basis and evolutionary history
Context: Sociobiology is a field of study that attempts to understand present-day behaviors such
as aggressiveness, competitiveness, or jealousy from an evolutionary perspective.
Academic Standards
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences provides guidelines for teaching science in grades K-12 to
promote scientific literacy. To view the standards, visit this Web site:
http://books.nap.edu/html/nses/html/overview.html#content.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
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Great Books: Origin of Species
Teacher’s Guide
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History and Nature of Science: Science as a human endeavor; Nature of scientific
knowledge; Historical perspectives
Unifying Concepts and Processes: Evolution and equilibrium
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL’s Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12
Education addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
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Science: Life Sciences—Understands biological evolution and the diversity of life
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Language Arts: Viewing—Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret
visual media; Writing: Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process, Gathers
and uses information for research purposes; Reading: Uses reading skills and strategies to
understand and interpret a variety of informational texts
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
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http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
DVD Content
This program is available in an interactive DVD format. The following information and activities are
specific to the DVD version.
How To Use the DVD
The DVD starting screen has the following options:
Play Video—This plays the video from start to finish. There are no programmed stops, except by
using a remote control. With a computer, depending on the particular software player, a pause
button is included with the other video controls.
Video Index—Here the video is divided into sections indicated by video thumbnail icons; brief
descriptions are noted for each one. Watching all parts in sequence is similar to watching the video
from start to finish. To play a particular segment, press Enter on the remote for TV playback; on a
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Great Books: Origin of Species
Teacher’s Guide
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computer, click once to highlight a thumbnail and read the accompanying text description and click
again to start the video.
Curriculum Units—These are specially edited video segments pulled from different sections of the
video (see below). These nonlinear segments align with key ideas in the unit of instruction. They
include onscreen pre- and post-viewing questions, reproduced below in this Teacher’s Guide. To
play a particular segment, press Enter on the TV remote or click once on the Curriculum Unit title
on a computer.
Standards Link—Selecting this option displays a single screen that lists the national academic
standards the video addresses.
Teacher Resources—This screen gives the technical support number and Web site address.
Video Index
I. Introduction (11 min.)
An introduction to Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection and a discussion of the famous
Scopes Monkey Trial in which a teacher was charged with teaching evolution in the classroom.
II. History of Evolution (11 min.)
A look at evolutionary theory from its beginnings with Jean-Baptiste Lamarck all the way
through to Darwin’s theory of natural selection and the modern use of artificial selection.
III. Biology and Human Evolution (13 min.)
Darwin publishes his theory after a young naturalist writes to him about his own observations
of natural selection in Malaysia. Learn about Darwin’s theory at work in modern science.
IV. Darwinian Theory Misused (10 min.)
Learn about Eve, humankind’s theoretic maternal ancestor. Discover how political leaders such
as Adolf Hitler twisted Darwinian theory and used it for their own purposes.
Curriculum Units
Segment 1. Introduction: Origin of Species
Pre-viewing question
Q: Why do you think there are so many different plant and animal species?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What is evolution?
A: Evolution is a theory that all living things originally came from a small group of organisms.
Through mutation and survival of those best adapted to their environment, these organisms
evolved over time to become higher life forms.
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Great Books: Origin of Species
Teacher’s Guide
Segment 2. Church vs. Evolution
Pre-viewing question
Q: Should educators be allowed to teach about controversial subjects?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What was the Scopes Monkey Trial?
A: A teacher named John Scopes was brought up on charges that he taught evolution in his public
school classroom. He was found guilty and fined $100. Although the verdict was overturned on a
technicality, the law against teaching evolution stayed on the books in Tennessee until 1967.
Segment 3. Charles Darwin
Pre-viewing question
Q: What was the industrial revolution?
A: A period in history when technology was growing by leaps and bounds.
People were experimenting with science and machines, and the steam engine was invented.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why did Darwin want his essay on natural selection published after his death?
A: He was afraid of the response to the theory by the Anglican Church, and was worried that he
would be persecuted for coming up with it.
Segment 4. Good Breeding
Pre-viewing question
Q: What is the difference between artificial and natural selection?
A: In artificial selection humans have selectively bred for traits and characteristics they desire.
In natural selection the best-suited organisms are the strongest, and these are the ones that will
reproduce.
Post-viewing question
Q: How have humans encouraged the evolution of resistance?
A: By overmedicating, vaccinating, and attempting to combat all viruses and diseases with
aggressive science, we have ensured that only the most resistant bacteria and viruses will survive.
After several generations the surviving bacteria or virus becomes resistant to whatever tried to
kill it.
Segment 5. Human Evolution
Pre-viewing question
Q: What ancient human traits are no longer be necessary for modern life?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Who was Eve?
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Great Books: Origin of Species
Teacher’s Guide
A: Eve is our theoretic maternal ancestor. Some 200,000 years ago a small group of hominids that
have collectively become known as Eve are thought to have begun human ancestry. There may
have been anywhere from about 2,000 to 10,000 “Eves.”
Segment 6. Misinterpretations of Darwin
Pre-viewing question
Q: What are some ways Darwin’s theories have been misinterpreted in the modern world?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: Why was Darwin uncomfortable with the notion of evolution?
A: Evolution implies that an organism is going from a lesser state to something better. Darwin’s
definition had no goal or direction.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
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