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Content Lesson Plan: 45 minutes
Living Environment
Unit 10: Evolution
The entire lesson is designed to be completed over three, 45 minute periods.
This is part 1 of 3
Essential Question/Aim: How or why do species become extinct?
Objectives: SWBAT explain the factors that affect the evolution of a species.
SWBAT explain how variation of organisms within a species
increases the likelihood that some members of the species will
survive under changed environmental conditions.
SWBAT describe how biological changes occur over time.
SWBAT explain the difference between genetic variation and
natural selection.
Set up/Announcements:
2 mins
Students enter, collect notebooks, turn in assignments, clear desks and begin
Warm-up
Warm up:
5 mins
Answer the following question in 5 COMPLETE SENTENCES!
Do you agree with Darwin’s theory of evolution? Why or why not?
Share:
5 mins
Share out responses to warm up
Mini-Lesson:
12 mins
Using outline as basis for notes, students will write outline on the left side of their
notebook and take guided notes as I go through the outline.
I. Discussion of the factors that lead to the evolution of species
Predator-prey relationship
Changes in environmental conditions
Random genetic mutation
Reproduction of species
II. Discussion of how extinction occurs when the adaptive characteristics of a
species is insufficient to allow for survival when environmental changes occurs.
Activity:
10 mins
Natural Selection Activity
Give a brief explanation of activity: Students will work in teams to simulate
natural selection with the use of colored gravel. The colored gravel represents a
community with each color representing a different population within the
community.

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
Break students up into teams of five
Students will record the names of their team members in notebook
Each team will elect a game warden with the other members being predators
Closing:
10 mins
Review with students the factors that might affect the different populations’ ability
to survive. Create a T-Chart with students of factors and their predicted effects.
Clean-up
Students put away notebooks and prepare for dismissal.
1 min
Content Lesson Plan: 45 minutes
Living Environment
Unit 10: Evolution
The entire lesson is designed to be completed over three, 45 minute periods.
This is part 2 of 3
Essential Question/Aim: How or why do species become extinct?
Objectives: SWBAT explain the factors that affect the evolution of a species.
SWBAT explain how variation of organisms within a species
increases the likelihood that some members of the species will
survive under changed environmental conditions.
SWBAT describe how biological changes occur over time.
SWBAT explain the difference between genetic variation and
natural selection.
Set up/Announcements:
2 mins
Students enter, collect notebooks, turn in assignments, clear desks and begin
Warm-up
Warm up:
5 mins
Name as many animals that you know that have become extinct
Share:
5 mins
Share out responses to warm up
Mini-Lesson:
12 mins
Discussion of why the species that students have identified have become extinct
based on what they know about the species and what was discussed in the
previous class.
Explanation of the second part of the natural selection activity:
Game warden will collect bags of colored gravel together the team will count and
record the number of each population in the community (first generation).
The game warden will then spread the gravel over the square of fabric. The first
trial will involve the predators “eating” as much of the community that they can in
20 seconds. The number of each remaining population will be recorded and three
additional organisms will be added to simulate reproduction (second generation).
A second “feeding” will occur and the remaining population will be counted and
recorded (third generation).
Activity:
10 mins
Natural Selection Activity Part 2

Students will break up into their respective teams and complete the activity as
per discussion with teacher guiding each step.
Closing:
6 mins
Students discuss what their impression of the environment would be like from the
perspective of the predator and from the perspective of the population.
Clean-up:
5 min
Students put gravel in bags, put away notebooks and prepare for dismissal.
Content Lesson Plan: 45 minutes
Living Environment
Unit 10: Evolution
The entire lesson is designed to be completed over three, 45 minute periods.
This is part 3 of 3
Essential Question/Aim: How or why do species become extinct?
Objectives: SWBAT explain the factors that affect the evolution of a species.
SWBAT explain how variation of organisms within a species
increases the likelihood that some members of the species will
survive under changed environmental conditions.
SWBAT describe how biological changes occur over time.
SWBAT explain the difference between genetic variation and
natural selection.
Set up/Announcements:
2 mins
Students enter, collect notebooks, turn in assignments, clear desks and begin
Warm-up
Warm up:
5 mins
True or false: Genetic is the only way that a characteristic can be passed on from
one generation to another.
What is your answer and why? (In COMPLETE SENTENCES!)
Share:
5 mins
Share out responses to warm up
Mini-Lesson:
7 mins
Discussion of the impact of sexual reproduction and genetic changes on
evolutionary change and the differentiation between evolutionary change and
changes that occur over the lifetime of an individual organism.
Activity:
15 mins
Natural Selection Activity Part 3
Using master graphs that are set up on the board, have representatives from
each group come up and plot on the graph the results of their activity. Each
graph will indicate the color of the “population” on the X-axis and the number of
the “population” on the Y-axis. There will be one graph for each generation (bar
graph).
Pair students to discuss and answer the following questions in their notebooks:
1. Which, if any, colored populations survived better than others in the secondand third-generation?
2. What might be the reason that predators did not select these colors as much
as they did other colors?
3. What effect did capturing a particular color dot have on the numbers of that
color in the following generations?
Closing:
10 mins
Share out and discussion of answers to questions about data interpretation.
Clean-up:
Students put away notebooks and prepare for dismissal.
1 min