Natural selection and evolution
At Key Stage Two, students will now be learning about "how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways and that adaptation may lead to evolution." However, it is worth assessing students' prior knowledge and misconceptions here as adaptation arises via natural selection, which is not taught until Key Stage Three. For example, a common misconception is that organisms can adapt to new conditions in their lifetimes and pass these adaptations on to their offspring. Although students will have looked at fossils as evidence of evolution at Key Stage Two, they will not have looked at the mechanism for evolution.
Natural selection has moved from Key Stage Four to Key Stage Three and so it may be necessary to take the time to adapt resources previously aimed at Key Stage Four students so that they are more age appropriate. At Key Stage Three, students should learn that "the variation between species and between individuals of the same species means some organisms compete more successfully, which can drive natural selection."
The list provides a range of activities, lesson ideas, film clips, background information, practical tips and suggested teaching strategies.
Visit the secondary science webpage to access all lists: https://www.stem.org.uk/secondary-science
Whilst this list provides a source of information and ideas for experimental work, it is important to note that recommendations can date very quickly. Do NOT follow suggestions which conflict with current advice from CLEAPSS, SSERC or recent safety guides. eLibrary users are responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is consistent with current regulations related to Health and Safety and that they carry an appropriate risk assessment. Further information is provided in our Health and Safety guidance.
Ceri Evans' masterclass: evolution *suitable for home teaching*
You could show this film directly to your class, or you could watch it through and see which of Ceri's teaching strategies and ideas you can adapt and incorporate into your own teaching of this topic.
Ceri demonstrates a variety of hands-on activities which enable students to visualise the mechanism of natural selection and how it leads to evolution. He looks at mutation, variation, environmental change, competition and adaptation.
Adaptations to arid climates
Students learn about how different animals and plants are adapted to surviving in arid habitats. Working in groups, students design and carry out an experiment aimed at testing the effectiveness of different adaptations in reducing water loss.Using a worksheet as guidance, students also compare species in Barrow Island, Australia, with examples of species in other habitats around the world and decide whether the adaptations are behavioural or physical.
I'm a Worm Get Me Out of Here
Here is an example of a hands-on activity that is similar to the one used by Ceri in the resource above to illustrate how variation can affect survival.
Moths, Adaptations and Predators
This is a good resource for aspects of working scientifically, and the PowerPoint presentations are particulary useful for illustrating predator-prey relationships and how scientists investigated natural selection in the peppered moth.
In order to avoid predators, the caterpillars of some species of moths rest during the day by masquerading as twigs, well-camouflaged and keeping their bodies rigid and still. The aim of this investigation is to determine if caterpillars of the peppered moth show a preferred angle of rest.
It can either be carried out as a field trip, or students can look at images of larvae and measure the angle of rest of each one. Students use calculations and graphs, and perhaps a statistical test, to determine whether larvae do show a preferred angle of rest.
Darwin and Natural Selection *suitable for home teaching*
Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution by natural selection using four important observations:
1. All organisms produce more offspring than survive to adulthood
2. Populations remain more or less constant in numbers
3. Members of the same species show variation in characteristics
4. Some characteristics are inherited and so are passed on to the next generation
This customisable PowerPoint presentation illustrates these observations and starts to explore natural selection.
Sexual Selection: the Dating Game
The presentation in this resource defines the concept of sexual selection and how it relates to natural selection and evolution.
In the Dating Game, students use cue cards to work through two case studies; the first looks at mate choice in the greater bird of paradise and the second looks at competition for mates using reindeer as an example.
Selection in action
The case of banded snails – Cepaea nemoralis and Cepaea hortensis – is a well-known example of natural selection. Students are asked to interpret data, presented in the form of a table and graph, about changing populations using ideas about natural selection. This activity would make a good homework following work on natural selection or evolution. The resources also provide a link to Evolution Megalab - a project which is collating a survey on snail populations in the UK. Your students' data will be collated with data from other participants if they take part in the survey.
Wellcome Trust: Tree of life *suitable for home teaching*
This is an extensive resource which allows students to explore the evolutionary links between living organisms by selecting species, finding out information about them and seeing their evolutionary relationships.
You can download the interactive Tree of Life and install it on your network for use in class. The activities are designed give students a focus as they search through the interactive animation, but teachers will want to take some time to work through this themselves first to become familiar with it.
The film clip is narrated by Sir David Attenborough and was part of the BBC's Darwin season. It charts the process of evolution, from simple organic molecules in the primordial soup to the variety of species that is seen today.
Plant adaptation card sort - age 11 to 14
Invite pupils to explore how plants are adapted for different biomes with this card sorting activity.
