Science
SCI.III.4.2
Grade: 8th
Strand III:
Using Scientific Knowledge in Life Science
Standard 4:
Evolution - All students will explain how scientists construct and
scientifically test theories concerning the origin of life and
evolution of species; compare ways that living organisms are
adapted (suited) to survive and reproduce in their environments;
and analyze how species change through time.
Benchmark 2: Explain how a new species or variety may originate through
the evolutionary process of natural selection.
Constructing and Reflecting:
SCI.I.1.4 – Gather and synthesize information from books and other sources of information.
SCI.I.1.5 – Discuss topics in groups by making clear presentations, restating or summarizing what others have
SCI.II.1.1 –
SCI.II.1.3 –
SCI.II.1.4 –
SCI.II.1.6 –
SCI.II.1.7 –
said, asking for clarification or elaborating, taking alternative perspectives and defending a position.
Justify plans or explanations on a theoretical or empirical basis.
Show how common themes of science, mathematics and technology apply in real world contexts.
Discuss the historical development of key scientific concepts and principles.
Develop an awareness of and sensitivity to the natural world.
Describe the historical, political, social and economic factors influencing the development of Darwin’s
theory of evolution by natural selection.
Vocabulary
Context
Concept of species; how new species or varieties
are established:
• Natural selection
• Inheritable/non-inheritable characteristics
• Species variation
• Speciation
• Survival of the fittest
• Gene pool
• Populations
• Adaptations
• Artificial selection
• Camouflage
• Mimicry
Common contexts:
•
contemporary examples of natural
selection
¾ bacteria resistance to antibiotics
¾ insect resistance to pesticides
•
examples of artificial selection
¾ agricultural selection to increase
production
¾ selecting desired traits for pets
•
historical examples of naive explanations
of evolution such as the Lamarckian
explanation of the evolution of the giraffe’s
long neck
Knowledge and Skills
Students will:
• Describe how changes within the environment
affect the survival and reproduction of certain
individuals.
•
Resources
Coloma Resources:
Book: Holt Science & Technology
Book C Chapter 5 pgs 106-133
Predict how the selection for specific traits
might result in the development of a new
species.
•
Relate natural selection to the development of
new populations (e.g. a strain of bacteria
becoming resistant)
•
Identify the differences between inherited and
non-inherited traits
Other Resources:
• Evolution and the Nature of Science
Institute
Excellent site with units and lessons
dedicated to The Nature of Science,
Evolution, The Origin of Life and DNA.
•
Brain POP Movies
•
•
Scope Unit – Taxonomy of Evolution
Michigan Teacher Network – 14 resources
for this benchmark
•
Howard Hughes Medical Institute –
incredible free resources
•
http://www.thirteen.org/wnetschool/origless
ons/evolution/ “Scopes monkey trial”
Videoconferences Available
For more information, see
www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl or call Janine Lim
471-7725x101 or email jlim@remc1.k12.mi.us
III.4.HS.2
Animal Adaptations from the Toledo Zoo
Instruction
Assessment
• Grow bacterial colonies on agar plates
containing 0.5% concentration of antiseptic
(Lysol). Transfer surviving bacteria to
increasingly more concentrated antiseptic
agar. When maximum concentration is
reached (about 15%), then some of the
original stock colony (0%) will be
transferred directly to another plate with the
highest concentration (15%). Growth on
the two plates with the highest
concentration will be analyzed. Develop an
explanation for the difference between the
two plates. (A new population has
developed through natural selection when
the surviving bacteria was transferred from
plate to plate of increasing concentration.)
Corresponds to standard I.1.2
Constructed response question:
• Suppose that an earthquake separates
Michigan from its surrounding states
preventing animals from living together. The
common deer population that lives in
Michigan and in the once surrounding states
can no longer live together and mate.
Explain how, through time, two different
species of deer may evolve from the
common ancestor, the white-tailed deer
common in Michigan now that there are two
separate populations. Corresponds to
standard II.1.5
(Evaluation rubric in MI-CliMB)
**Only use purchased bacteria that are acceptable
for classroom use.
Criteria
Correctness of
responses
Apprent.
Answers
with two
correct
responses
Basic
Answers
with three
correct
respons-es
Meets
Answers
with four
correct
responses
Exceeds
Answers
with five
correct
responses
Teacher Notes:
Focus Question: How are new populations developed through natural selection?
Explain how scientists construct and scientifically test theories concerning the origin of life
and evolution of species.
Are there patterns of similarity among organisms alive today? Are there relationships among
organisms that lived in the past and organisms alive today? Where did humans come from in the
history of the world? What is the evidence that might give us some clues to these questions? Many
students come to the science classroom with strongly held beliefs that don't allow them to openly
examine the scientific explanations to these questions. The challenge in the science classroom is to
help students distinguish between a scientist's way of thinking and understanding from those
practiced by some theologians, poets, or philosophers.
Students need working definitions of key terms with clear examples to provide a framework for their
thinking. This should help them demarcate where science begins and ends. Words such as fact,
theory, hypothesis, and law are terms students encounter in casual conversation in everyday life. In
science these terms have a very specific meaning. A fact is an observation that has been repeatedly
confirmed but facts can change. It was a scientific fact for many years that human cells had 24 pairs
of chromosomes. Improved techniques of microscopy revealed that they actually have 23 pairs.
People commonly use the word theory to mean a "guess" or "hunch". "My theory is..." in common
usage would be better stated as "My hypothesis is....". In science, a hypothesis is a testable
statement about the natural world. A theory, in science, is a well-substantiated explanation of some
aspect of the natural world. It is a powerful idea that represents our best explanation at this time.
The abundance of supporting evidence makes the subsequent abandonment of a theory unlikely.
Theories can be continually refined and even replaced with an alternative theory in light of new and
compelling evidence.
Finally, laws are generalizations that describe phenomena whereas theories explain phenomena.
The laws of thermodynamics describe what will happen under certain circumstances;
thermodynamic theories explain why these events occur. A clear understanding of these terms
should provide students the structure needed to begin the study of evolution.
It is important for students to be able to distinguish between evolution and the proposed mechanism,
which accounts for its occurrence. Evolution is the historical change in life forms that is well
substantiated and is generally accepted as fact by scientists. Students should explore the similarities
of vertebrate's limb structures such as the forelimb of a chicken or bat, human, whale, cat, and
lizard. They may also study similarities in the early development of vertebrate embryos. Students
need an opportunity to observe, from the fossil record, kinds of organisms that once lived on earth
but now are extinct such as the Petoskey stone's, Hexagonaria percarinata, trilobites, or crinoids.
They can examine the apparent relatedness of fossils to one another and to organisms living today.
This will begin to lay the groundwork for evidence of common ancestry.
Students are naturally drawn to questions of their own ancestry. Students can perform a simple
comparison for similarities and differences when given pictures or models of a gorilla, a modern
human, and a hominid fossil skull. Patterns will emerge as students discover intermediate traits and
forms. Further study of the relationships of humans to other selected animal groups can be done by
looking at DNA and blood protein similarities. Vestigial structures such as the appendix, tailbone,
wisdom teeth, and ear muscles also give evidence to common ancestry with selected animal groups.
Patterns and evidence of change, as well as recognizing the diversity and apparent relatedness of
species, needs to be firmly established before delving into possible mechanisms for evolution. To
better understand natural selection students can survey the examples of artificial selection occurring
today with common pets like cats and dogs, or numerous agricultural products.