Classroom Resources

This activity builds on information presented in the video Selection for Tuskless Elephants. Students use scientific evidence and reasoning to construct an explanation of and develop an argument for tusklessness in elephant populations.

This data-driven activity accompanies the video Selection for Tuskless Elephants. It engages students in analyzing data to make evidence-based claims about the occurrence of tusklessness in elephant populations.

Several questions are embedded within the short film The Making of the Fittest: Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture, which explores the genetics of lactase persistence and evolution of the trait in some human populations.

In this activity, students develop arguments for the adaptation and natural selection of Darwin’s finches, based on evidence presented in the film The Beak of the Finch.

A number of questions are embedded within the short film The Origin of Species: The Beak of the Finch, which explores four decades of research on the evolution of the Galápagos finches.

In this activity, students formulate a hypothesis and collect and analyze real research data about how quickly natural selection can act on specific traits in a population as a result of predation. It is accompanied by a short video that describes the experiment this activity is based on.

A number of questions are embedded within the short film The Making of the Fittest: The Birth and Death of Genes, which illustrates how gene duplications and mutations have led to remarkable physiological adaptations in Antarctic fish.

Several questions are embedded within the short film The Day the Mesozoic Died, which tells the story of the scientific quest to explain one of the greatest, long-standing scientific mysteries: the sudden disappearance of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period.

This interactive, modular lab explores the evolution of the anole lizards in the Caribbean through data collection and analysis.

This activity reinforces concepts presented in the short film The Making of a Theory. Using a map of the Malay Archipelago and information about the animals found on different islands, students discover the Wallace Line: a sharp boundary that separates distinct Asian and Australian fauna.

In this activity, students collect and analyze data from a hands-on model to discover why even slight variations in beak size can impact a bird’s ability to obtain food and survive.

In this activity, students analyze and graph data taken from a population of Galápagos finches before and after a major drought.