Summary
In this lesson, students will learn about paleontologists who have helped shape our understanding of organisms’ evolutionary history. They will research and evaluate evidence that scientists have used to construct and continually use to reconstruct evolutionary history and environmental pressures that cause evolutionary shifts. This lesson is part two of a three-part series. Lesson 1, Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes, is intended to help students define evolution. This is a multimodality lesson, which means it includes face-to-face, online, and hybrid versions of the lesson. The attachments also include a downloadable Common Cartridge file, which can be imported into a Learning Management System (LMS) such as Canvas or eKadence. The cartridge includes interactive student activities and teacher's notes.
Snapshot
Engage
Students answer guiding questions while watching a video about the life of paleontologist Mary Anning, and then create an advertisement that celebrates her work.
Explore
Students view scientific evidence of a prehistoric whale.
Explain
Students research and present an evolutionary principle or type of selection and take notes as other students present.
Extend
Students play a game to assess their knowledge of the principles of evolution and types of selection.
Evaluate
Students identify and reflect on their own learning related to evolutionary principles.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Evolution Card Sort (attached, one per group of 3-4 students)
Ancient Whale Bones Questions handout (attached, one per student)
Evolution Presentation Instructions (attached, one per group of three students)
Evolution Research Draft handout (attached, one per group of three students)
Evolution Presentation Rubric (attached, one per student)
Evolution Cornell Notes handout (attached, one per student)
Paper clips or envelopes (for organizing the Card Sort cards)
Student devices with Internet access
Materials
Common Cartridge (attached)
Evolution Research Notes handout (attached)
Evolution Presentation Rubric (attached)
Evolution Cornell Notes handout (attached)
Materials
Common Cartridge (attached)
Lesson Slides (attached)
Evolution Presentation Instructions (attached, one per group of three students)
Evolution Research Draft handout (attached, one per group of three students)
Evolution Presentation Rubric (attached, one per student)
Evolution Cornell Notes handout (attached, one per student)
Engage (Face-to-Face)
20 Minute(s)
Use the attached Lesson Slides to follow along with the lesson. Begin with slide 3. Read aloud the essential question, and then move to slide 4 and share the objectives.
Go to slide 5. Inform students that they will be watching a video about paleontologist Mary Anning from BBC Ideas. As they watch the video, students should note any words that come to mind that help describe Anning’s life and work.
After the end of the video, go to slide 6. Provide students with the following prompt:
Imagine that you work at a museum and want to let people know about your new Mary Anning exhibit. Compose a Six-Word Memoir about Anning and her contribution to evolution that will help attract visitors to this exhibit.
After students are done writing, inform them that they will be voting on which memoir they believe is the most intriguing and would best attract people to the exhibit. Divide students into groups of four to read their memoirs and vote on the one they like the best. Have those with the most votes read their memoirs to the whole class and have the class vote on the best memoir for the Mary Anning exhibit.
Engage
20 Minute(s)
Students will begin the lesson by watching a brief video from BBC Ideas about the life and work of paleontologist Mary Anning titled The True Story of Mary Anning.
After viewing the video, students will pretend they work at a museum where an exhibit of Mary Anning will be opening and create an advertisement that celebrates Anning’s work. For the advertisement, they will craft a Six-Word Memoir to attract others to this exhibit by drawing attention to her contribution to evolution. Students will then add their memoirs to a discussion board within your class learning management system (LMS).
Engage
20 Minute(s)
Use the attached Lesson Slides to follow along with the lesson. Begin with slide 3. Read aloud the essential question, and then move to slide 4 and share the objectives.
Go to slide 5. Inform students that they will be watching a video about paleontologist Mary Anning from BBC Ideas. As they watch the video, students should note any words that come to mind that help describe Anning’s life and work.
After the end of the video, go to slide 6. Provide students with the following prompt:
Imagine that you work at a museum and want to let people know about your new Mary Anning exhibit. Compose a Six-Word Memoir about Anning and her contribution to evolution that will help attract visitors to this exhibit.
After students are done writing, inform them that they will be voting on which memoir they believe is the most intriguing and would best attract people to the exhibit. Divide students into groups of four to read their memoirs and vote on the one they like the best. Have those with the most votes read their memoirs to the whole class and have the class vote on the best memoir for the Mary Anning exhibit.
Explore
15 Minute(s)
Procedure 1: Pass out copies of the Ancient Whale Video Questions handout. Go to slide 7 and let students know that they will watch another paleontologist, Professor Philip Gingerich, report his findings about an ancient whale. Students should consider the questions as they watch the Ancient Whale Bones video.
After playing the video, give students time to complete their responses.
When they’re finished, create a Driving Question Board by having students share out the questions that they identified for item 6 in their handouts. Document the questions on butcher paper, on a giant sticky note, or in a Google Doc. Save these questions and inform students that you will revisit them later (during the Extend portion of the lesson).
Procedure 2: Organize students into groups of 3-4 and pass out the Evolution Card Sort cards. Instruct students not to open their cards until after you’ve finished giving the instructions. Go to slide 8. Tell students that they will complete a Card Sort related to the principles of evolution and the types of evolutionary shifts that take place over time. They should take a few minutes to match each definition with the image or graph they believe it is best associated with. When they are finished, instruct them to put the matching cards to the side. They will return to them later in the lesson.
Explore
15 Minute(s)
Procedure 1: Students will watch National Geographic’s Ancient Whale Bones video and respond to an accompanying set of questions posted in the Quizzes section of your LMS. Be aware that question 6 asks students to identify their own questions. Compile these students-generated questions into a Driving Questions Board using a Google Doc, or have students add their questions to a Padlet board. Inform students that you will revisit these questions later in the lesson.
Procedure 2: Students will next complete a Card Sort activity in the Quizzes section of your LMS to associate terms with images. Be sure to let students know that even though it appears in the Quizzes section, this is an assignment to check for what students may already know and not a quiz
Explore (Online)
15 Minute(s)
Students will watch National Geographic’s Ancient Whale Bones video and answer the associated questions in your LMS’s Quizzes section as they follow along. Compile students’ responses to question 6 into a Driving Question Board using a Google Doc, or have students add their responses to a Padlet board. Save the responses and inform students that you will revisit them later.
Next, students will complete a Card Sort activity in the Quizzes section of your LMS to associate evolution-related terms and definitions with images. Be sure to let students know that even though it appears in the Quizzes section, this activity will be graded as an assignment and not as a quiz.
Explain (Face-to-Face)
90 Minute(s)
Go to slide 9. Review the seven principles that have helped scientists reconstruct an organism's evolutionary history and three types of evolutionary selection, which represent the different ways that scientists graphically depict evolutionary change over time.
Inform students that they will be creating a slide related to one of the seven principles or three types of selection. On their slide, they should explain how the principle has reconstructed evolutionary history and provide examples. Students will add their slide to a class slideshow and present it to the class.
Split students into groups of three. Pass out the Evolution Presentation Instructions, Evolution Research Draft, and Evolution Presentation Rubric handouts. Go to slide 10 and inform students that they will start by compiling and constructing a rough draft of their assigned topic on the Evolution Research Draft handout. Have students review the instructions and the specific requirements detailed on the rubric and spend the class period researching the information for their slide for you to review. After you approve the content, groups should create and submit their slides. Remind students to double-check the rubric again before they finish.
Set a presentation date for students. Make sure to emphasize that each group member must present their own portion of the slide content. On presentation day, pass out copies of the Evolution Cornell Notes sheet and have students take notes as their peers are presenting. They should also write a short synopsis of their own topic on their note sheet.
Explain
90 Minute(s)
Introduce the seven concepts that have helped scientists reconstruct an organism's evolutionary history and three types of selection. These are the ways that scientists have graphically depicted evolutionary change over time.
Split students into groups of three and ask them to create a slide about one of the seven principles or three selection types. Their slide should explain how this principle has helped scientists reconstruct evolutionary history and provide examples.
Assign one of the 10 topics to each group:
Evolutionary Principles: Fossil Records, Homologous Structures, Vestigial Structures, Analogous Structures, Embryology, Biochemistry, and DNA Technology
Types of Selection: Directional, Disruptive, and Stabilizing
Provide students with copies of the Evolution Research Draft and Evolution Presentation Rubric handouts.
Each group member will need to submit the Evolution Research Draft for feedback.
After their drafts are approved, students will create and submit their group’s slide to be compiled for the class presentation. You can either create this presentation from the submitted slides or ask students to add their slides to a class Google Slides presentation.
Set a presentation day for students. Make sure to emphasize that each person must present their own portion of the slide. As students are presenting, have them take notes and write down any questions they have on the Evolution Cornell Notes handout. Inform them they will need to submit the notes for review after the presentations are complete. Consider pausing after each presentation and opening the floor for questions students might have before moving to the next presentation.
Explain
90 Minute(s)
Go to slide 9. Review the seven principles that have helped scientists reconstruct an organism's evolutionary history and three types of evolutionary selection, which represent the different ways that scientists graphically depict evolutionary change over time.
Inform students that they will be creating a slide related to one of the seven principles or three types of selection. On their slide, they should explain how the principle has reconstructed evolutionary history and provide examples. Students will add their slide to a class slideshow and present it to the class.
Split students into groups of three. Pass out the Evolution Presentation Instructions, Evolution Research Draft, and Evolution Presentation Rubric handouts. Go to slide 10 and inform students that they will start by compiling and constructing a rough draft of their assigned topic on the Evolution Research Draft handout. Have students review the instructions and the specific requirements detailed on the rubric and spend the class period researching the information for their slide for you to review. After you approve the content, groups should create and submit their slides. Remind students to double-check the rubric again before they finish.
Set a presentation date for students. Make sure to emphasize that each group member must present their own portion of the slide content. On presentation day, pass out copies of the Evolution Cornell Notes sheet and have students take notes as their peers are presenting. They should also write a short synopsis of their own topic on their note sheet. Consider using the Parking Lot strategy for students to compile any lingering questions they might have after each group’s presentation. You can use this strategy by sharing the slideshow file with students and asking them to add comments to the slides, creating a Google Doc for them to add questions to, or creating a Padlet for questions.
Extend
40 Minute(s)
Procedure 1: Create a free Blooket account. Students will use Blooket to assess their knowledge of the evolutionary principles and types of evolutionary selection by playing the She Sells Seashells by the Seashore game.
Log in to the Blooket account that you created, select the teacher option, and search for the She Sells Seashells by the Seashore game. Click the Host button to select the game mode.
Go to slide 11. Have students go to blooket.com/play or use the QR code provided on the slide and enter the game code and name. Tell students that their goal is to get as many questions correct as quickly as they can to outscore their peers and win the race.
Procedure 2: Go to slide 12. After completing the game, students will engage in a Spend A Buck activity. Students should access Mentimeter using the code you provide. Tell them that they have 100 points that they can distribute across the 10 concepts from the Explain activity based on where they believe the evolution of the whale from the Ancient Whale video falls in accordance with the principles of evolution and the types of selection.
After students are finished making their selections, share the class results.
Extend
40 Minute(s)
Procedure 1: Create a free Blooket account. Students will use Blooket to assess their knowledge of the evolutionary principles and types of evolutionary selection by playing the She Sells Seashells by the Seashore game.
Log in to the Blooket account that you created, select the teacher option, and search for the She Sells Seashells by the Seashore game. Click the Host button to select the game mode.
To play the game, students will need to go to blooket.com/play, enter the game ID, and join the game. Copy the game ID and share the code in the assignment description in your LMS. Students’ goal is to get as many questions correct as fast as they can to outscore their peers and win the race.
Procedure 2: After completing the game, students will complete a Spend A Buck activity. Students should access Mentimeter using the code you provide. From there, they will distribute their 100 points across the 10 concepts from the Explain activity based on where they believe the evolution of the whale from the Ancient Whale video falls in accordance with the principles of evolution and the types of selection.
Extend (Online)
40 Minute(s)
Procedure 1: Create a free Blooket account. Students will use Blooket to assess their knowledge of the evolutionary principles and types of evolutionary selection by playing the She Sells Seashells by the Seashore game.
Log in to the Blooket account that you created, select the teacher option, and search for the She Sells Seashells by the Seashore game. Click the Host button to select the game mode. To play the game, students will need to go to blooket.com/play, enter the game ID, and join the game. Copy the game ID and share the code in the assignment description in your LMS.
Students’ goal is to get as many questions correct as fast as they can to outscore their peers and win the race.
Procedure 2: After completing the game, students will complete a Spend A Buck activity. Students should access Mentimeter using the code you provide. From there, they will distribute their 100 points across the 10 concepts from the Explain activity based on where they believe the evolution of the whale from the Ancient Whale video falls in accordance with the principles of evolution and the types of selection.
Evaluate (Face-to-Face)
20 Minute(s)
Revisit the Driving Questions Board that you compiled from question 6 of the Ancient Whale video. Share the questions again and ask students to choose one question from the list.
Go to slide 13. On a piece of paper, have students indicate which one of the questions they chose and provide a 2-3 sentence answer based on what they have learned about the principles of evolution and the types of selection.
When they are finished writing their answers, have students discuss what they wrote with a small group and come up with a group summary. Have one student from each group share the summary with the class.
Evaluate
20 Minute(s)
Revisit the Driving Questions Board that you compiled during the Ancient Whale video activity. Create a discussion board where you post the questions or a link to the Google Doc or Padlet board containing the questions. Instruct students to choose one question from the list and reply to the post by specifying which question they chose and providing a 2-3 sentence answer based on what they have learned about the principles of evolution and the types of selection. In addition, ask students to respond to at least two of their classmates’ posts.
Evaluate
20 Minute(s)
Revisit the Driving Questions Board that you compiled from question 6 of the Ancient Whale video. Share the questions again and ask students to choose one question from the list.
Go to slide 13. On a piece of paper, have students indicate which one of the questions they chose and provide a 2-3 sentence answer based on what they have learned about the principles of evolution and the types of selection.
When they are finished writing their answers, have students discuss what they wrote with a small group and come up with a group summary. Have one student from each group share the summary with the class.
Resources
BBC Ideas. (2019, March 27). The true story of Mary Anning: The girl who helped discover dinosaurs | BBC ideas [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEbgTpdwRgI
K20 Center. (n.d.). Blooket. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/2386
K20 Center. (n.d.). EdPuzzle. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/622
K20 Center. (n.d.). Kahoot!. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/637
K20 Center. (n.d.). Mentimeter. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/645
K20 Center. (n.d.). Padlet. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/1077
K20 Center. (n.d.). Parking Lot. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/131
K20 Center. (n.d.). Six-Word Memoirs. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/75
K20 Center. (n.d.). Spend a Buck. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/154
Lyme Regis Museum (2020, June 23). Mary Anning’s story [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YBiYQXtdM8
National Geographic. (2009, February 4). Ancient whale bones | National Geographic [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK8i8_qsWjo
Research Rationale
Learners learn best when they can contextualize what they learn for immediate application, and they acquire personal meaning by reflecting on experiences while participating in a social-dialogical process (Piaget, 1950).
Approach to learning with technology: The aim of learning with technology is "knowledge construction, not reproduction, conversation, not reception; articulation, not repetition, collaboration, not competition; and reflection, not prescription" (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003).