Guess Who Came To Dinner! (An Evolution Skit)
This project is adapted from original postings in the AP Biology
ETS list by Lori Gironda and Kim Foglia.
Read Chapters 22-26 in Campbell or other scholarly source on
evolution. Using that information, and any other information you may
gather from lecture, the Internet, or other sources, complete the
following assignment. The grade you will receive on this assignment
will depend upon how closely you follow instructions and how many of
the topics you address carefully.
You and your family are sitting
down to Sunday dinner with your good friend, Charles Darwin, when,
all of a sudden, the doorbell rings. Charles Lyell, Jean Baptiste Lamarck,
Ernst Mayr, Thomas Malthus, Gregor Mendel, Godfrey Hardy, Wilhelm
Weinberg, Alexander Oparin, Stanley Miller, Harold Urey and Stephen
Jay Gould arrive at your door and ask to come in and join you. But you
only have limited seating, so you choose only 7 additional guests. The
rest are invited back next week. Amidst the fun and festivities, a heated
debate about evolution ensues. Topics come up, such as:
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natural selection
geology: paleontology, gradualism, and uniformitarianism
the fossil record
the place of "man" in the universe
the origin of new species
punctuated equilibrium
genetics
heterotroph hypothesis
Theories (as well as, maybe, a few punches) are flying left and right.
Lucky for you, you have your tape recorder close at hand, because your
Biology teacher would never believe this in a million years!
[Procedure]
1. Create a seating chart for the table, including you and
your family members. Add a "cast of characters" section in which you
very briefly summarize the important theory or contribution of each of
the guests to the development of evolutionary theory as well as the years
in which the individual lived.
2. Write an account of the dinner in the form of a skit or play, which you
describe conversation around the table, between people sitting next to
each, and across from each other Be sure to have each character, as well
as your family members, contribute to the conversation. Feel free to add
humor! The paper must be typed and spell checked and the equivalent of
4-6 pages in length minimum, size 12 times new roman font. (but you
can go longer, if you are having fun).
3. Towards the end of dinner, there’s a knock at the door. You answer
and in barges an uninvited, and very unexpected, guest (someone from
any time in history, including the present). Who is this guest? And what
jaw-dropping pronouncement do they make to the dinner party?
Rubric
Requirement
Skit involves six additional invited guests
with humor and scientific accuracy
Skit involves both members of the group
with humor and scientific accuracy
Skit involves a surprise guest in the
evolution discussion and includes humor
and accuracy
Created a seating chart with members listed
in seating order along with their time frame
and brief description of the scientists
contributions
Paper must be typed and the equivalent of 4-6
pages in length minimum (single spaced if
written in play/ skit format), size 12 times new
roman font
Correct spelling (Fewer than 5 total errors,
neatness
Points
/ 55
/ 20
/ 10
/5
/5
/5