Classroom Resources

In this inquiry-based activity, students engage in science practices to figure out ways environmental factors drive the natural selection and adaptation of Galápagos finches.

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.

In this activity, students collect and analyze evidence for each of the major conditions for evolution by natural selection to develop an explanation for how populations change over time.

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.

This activity supports concepts covered in the film The Making of a Theory. Students develop their nonfiction reading comprehension by analyzing excerpts from texts written by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.

This activity challenges students to identify observations that Darwin and Wallace made during their travels, as shown in the short film The Origin of Species: The Making of a Theory. Students then evaluate claims about evolution by natural selection based on these observations.

This activity supports the viewing of the film The Making of a Theory. Students evaluate and discuss several claims relating to the history and evidence that led to the theory of evolution by natural selection.

This lesson supports concepts covered in the film The Birth and Death of Genes. After watching the film and reading a couple of scientific passages, students explain how understanding about icefish adaptations might help develop treatments for health conditions.