Download UNIT: Evolution LESSON PLAN #:4/8 TOPIC: Natural Selection

UNIT: Evolution
LESSON PLAN #:4/8
TOPIC: Natural Selection (Single Period)
INSTUCTORS: Caitlin Rejman
CONTEXT
Course/Subject: Living Environment
Grade Level: Mostly 9th graders, some 10th graders
Learners: 2nd Period- 20 students, range of IEPs
5th Period- 19 students, range of IEPs, health issues, ESL students
8th Period - 17 students, range of IEPs
CENTRAL FOCUS
This lesson will focus on what the theory of evolution actually implies through natural selection. Students
will learn how natural selection takes place when several factors take place, how they are all related, and
what can spark the factors to occur.
STATE/NATIONAL STANDARDS ADDRESSED
New York Living Environment Standards:
Key Idea 3: Individual organisms and species change over time.
3.1e Natural selection and its evolutionary consequences provide a scientific explanation for the fossil
record of ancient life- forms, as well as for the molecular and structural similarities observed among the
diverse species of living organisms.
3.1f Species evolve over time. Evolution is the 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 resources required for life, and (4) the ensuing selection by the
environment of those offspring better able to survive and leave offspring.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to:
1. Differentiate between artificial and natural selection.
2. Identify and describe when natural selection occurs.
3. Differentiate between natural selection and fitness.
CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES
The concept of natural selection is analyzed further in this lesson. Each factor that allows natural selection
to take place is looked at deeply and on an individual basis. Adaptation, variation, and fitness are all
looked at as separate things and then united together. We also address the idea of decent with
modification and associate that with the idea of common ancestry.
ASSESSMENT
Formative:
1. Half Sheet Review Questions- at the end of the lecture, students will answer three questions on a half
sheet of paper to be collected, but not graded.
Summative:
1. Students are assigned a “word dump” homework assignment today, due on Friday.
ACADEMIC L ANGUAGE
Vocabulary
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Artificial selection- nature provides the variations, but humans select the ones they find useful
Natural selection- process by which organisms that are most suited to their environment survive
and reproduce most successfully
Variation- differences in a same species
Adaptation- any heritable characteristic that increases an organism’s ability to survive and
reproduce in its environment
Fitness- describes how well an organism can survive and reproduce
Academic Language Function
Students will be expected to understand these terms, and how they act as evidence of evolution as
individual evidence, how they work together to support it, as well as how Darwin used them to formulate
his theory of evolution.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE/PREREQUISITE SKILLS
So far in this unit, student have looked at what influenced the theory of evolution, and what evidence
helps support it. This will be used to aid in their understanding of this lesson where the theory itself is
discussed.
HISTORICAL/CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND RELATION TO THE COMMUNITY
This lesson ties in the theory back to Darwin. His artificial selection experiments with pigeons are
discussed to support the topic of artificial selection.
NATURE OF SCIENCE/INQUIRY
As the laboratory activity concludes, the students will have had a chance to examine all stations that they
had not been able to complete. They will now be applying these observations to what they are learning in
the lecture.
LESSON PROCEDURES: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES AND LEARNING TASKS
Launch/Motivation/Introduction to Lesson:
Lesson Intro: As students come into the classroom, they will pick up a notes sheets, a half sheet, this
week’s homework, and follow the daily routine of filling out their calendar and the think question.
Step-by-Step Procedures:
Lecture: Students will get out their note sheet and follow along with my lecture as I go over the material.
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I will go through the lecture and prompt students to write down notes according to the headings
outlined on the notes sheet.
I will ask students to reread their notes to answer the three review questions on their second half
sheet.
I will collect the sheet.
Lesson Closure:
Reminders: General announcements will be made to remind the students they have an exam Friday and to
start reviewing notes.
DIFFERENTIATION
All periods: Several students will receive printed out note sheets. Several students must also sit in the
front of the classroom.
INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
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Power point
Smart board
Computer
Note sheets (one for every student)
Half sheets (one for every student)
Homework (one for every student)
EMERGENCY/ SAFETY TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES
No lab is being done this period, there are no additional safety requirements in the classroom. No extra
precautions outside of the usual safety/emergency policies posted above the classroom door, and stated in
the students safety contract.
POST-LESSON REFLECTION AND ANALYSIS