Year 6: Evolution and inheritance
This list consists of lesson plans and activities to support the teaching of evolution and inheritance in Year Six. It contains tips on using the resources, suggestions for further use and background subject knowledge. Possible misconceptions are highlighted so that teachers may plan lessons to facilitate correct conceptual understanding. Designed to support the new curriculum programme of study it aims to cover many of the requirements for knowledge and understanding and working scientifically. The statutory requirements are that children are taught to:
• recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago
• recognise that living things produce offspring of the same kind, but normally offspring vary and are not identical to their parents
• identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways and that adaptation may lead to evolution.
Visit the primary science webpage to access all lists.
Education Pack: Seeds and Fruits - Adaptation *suitable for home learning*
Different kinds of birds eat different kinds of foods, because they are specialised. Their beaks have adapted to be the best shape for picking up the food they like best and is most available to them.
This experiment asks children to predict which ‘beak’ will be best for each ‘food’ type and test it simulating beak type with chopsticks, spoons, tweezers etc. This is a great way of showing children how beak shape is important for a species as if it had a beak which was incompatable with it's food source then it would eventually die out. It is important to point out that adaptation is a very gradual process which happens within a population rather than to an individual bird. Children will find this concept difficult to understand but it will form the basis of future learning in Key Stage Three and beyond.
This further activity looks at the way in which variation in beak shape is related to the available food sources within an environment. Children simulate bird feeding by using a ‘beak’ to collect food and place it into a stomach. There are four different beak shapes and a range of different food types to choose from.
Animals Over Winter (Age 7 to 11)
Children work scientifically to identify similarities and differences in the ways animals are adapted to survive throughout the winter, then looking at two case studies on species that are adapted to cold environments children choose an animal species and produce their own case study. Includes a powerpoint, teachers' notes and worksheets.
Often children assume the animal chooses to have a certain feature for example a polar bear chooses to have a white coat. Having a white coat in a winter habitat of ice and snow helps the animal survive in that habitat. An important point is that the animal has no control over how it may adapt to survive over winter. A common misconception is that organisms can adapt to new conditions in their lifetimes and pass these adaptations on to their offspring.’
Evolution MegaLab
This collection from Evolution Megalab introduces Darwin’s ideas on evolution by looking at variation, adaptation and distribution of banded snails. A video shows some teaching ideas from Professor Steve Jones as he introduces a Year Six class to genetic diversity. Children look at the observable similarities and differences between a sample of snails and then at the observable and hidden differences within the class. They investigate how they may classify and group themselves according to characteristics such as: eye colour, skin colour, tongue rolling, taste preference and finger print pattern and then produce a code to represent themselves as individuals.
Primary Evolution
This treasure chest of resources provides videos and hands-on activities around the tricky concepts of Variation, Adaptation, Natural Selection and Evolution. The news report on the Evolution of Life on Earth helps show the very long passage of time in which evolutionan occurs. Dinosaurs are used as a way of highlighing adaptations. Also included are: a simulation of how antibiotic resistant bacteria occurs through evolution and a video explaining how evolution works.
ARKive Darwin Collection
The Darwin Presentation looks at the Charles Darwin's work on evolution including his work looking at variation in the Galapagos finches and how they have gradually adapted to suit the Island on which they live. Using Darwin's Finches because of the clearly different beaks is a good way of showing how the beak has become adapted to the different islands on which they live. Children could observe the finches on the clips noting the differences then go on to create a classification key.
This activity is a useful way of demonstrating that evolutionary change is based on the genetic make up of populations over time.
ARKive's Adaptation: Design a Species Activity
This creative activity from ARKive is designed to teach Key Stage Two students about the concept of adaptation. Using the marine environment as an example, students learn about how different species are adapted physically or behaviourally to survive in a particular type of habitat. Students then design their own species adapted to a particular habitat.
Evolution
These resources take a look at the evolution of the horse and of the whale; they contain animations, comics and timeline activities. The animations show the evolution of the animals over millions of years, looking at how various features evolved. The complementary colourful comics provide further detail in a humorous way and provide many points for classroom discussion
BBC Bitesize: Adaptation, inheritance and evolution
Guides and class clips to support teaching of this topic.
Amazing Adaptations
Take a look at how plants and animals are adapted to survive in the rainforest. It includes worksheets and teachers notes designed for use during and after a visit to 'the living rainforest' however they could be used alongside video clips and photographs of the plants and animals.
Evolution - Darwin's Finches *suitable for home learning*
This worksheet looks at how finches in the Galapagos Islands show adaptations which suit the different environments in which they live. It provides an information sheet about the finches and questions to answer based on the sheet. It also contains pictures of six birds from around the world to research in order to identify their habitats, food sources and how their beaks are suited to their particular diet.
Evolution
This activity introduces ideas about evolution in the context of habitats and the environment. Children think of several possible features they would like humans to evolve and discuss how they would help us to survive more easily in modern habitats. They then design an adaptation that would help humans to survive in changing habitats and present their ideas to the class.
Survival of the Fittest
A selection of activities linked to the topic of evolution and inheritance.
Year 6 - Starters for Science* Suitable for Home Learning*
Starters for science provides the key learning, key vocabulary and 4 easy to run activities for each topic in Y6. These sheets may be sent home, so children can carry on learning science whilst self-isolating, or they can be used in class. There are further sheets for other year groups here.
Dinosaurs
In this resource pupils will learn about geological time, different geological periods and how old the earth is. They will also learn about dinosaurs, their various characteristics, and how they are both similar to, and different from, reptiles we see today. They will discover there are three main different types of dinosaur – the sauropods, ornithischians and the theropods and that modern birds evolved from a group of theropods that included T-rex and Velociraptor.
