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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Constructing a Phylogenetic Tree

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars are given the opportunity to analyze DNA sequence differences between organisms in order to establish a reasonable picture of the evolutionary relationships between them (Phylogenetic Tree). In the simulation form they...
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Handout
University of Arizona

University of Arizona: Genetic Drift Simulation

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This site from the University of Arizona runs a two-step simulation of Genetic Drift. There are teacher's notes included. A great site to aid in understanding Genetic Drift.
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Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Hhmi: Bio Interactive: Lizard Evolution Virtual Lab

For Students 9th - 10th
Students explore the evolution of the anole lizard in this virtual lab. Students will collect and analyze data during the virtual lab that focuses on evolutionary biology and includes adaptation, convergent evolution, phylogenetic...
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Website
Texas A&M University

Eco Systems: Story Time: Stephen Jay Gould

For Students 9th - 10th
See how Stephen Jay Gould's early interest in baseball influenced his thought process as a scientist.
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Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Darwin, Evolution, and Faith

For Students 9th - 10th
Can ancient scriptural accounts of the world's creation by God be reconciled with Darwin's new story? This article looks at three responses to this question: Conflict, Contrast, and Convergence.
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Punctuated Equilibrium

For Students 9th - 10th
This brief explanation of punctuated equilibrium includes paragraphs on the history of the theory and the controversy surrounding it.
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Article
American Institute of Biological Sciences

Action Bioscience: Evolutionary Biologists Protect Madagascar's Wildlife

For Students 9th - 10th
Madagascar is a haven for biodiversity and therefore admired and heavily researched by scientists. Check out how researchers are working to protect the environment of this African island.
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Article
American Institute of Biological Sciences

Action Bioscience: Evolution's Importance to Society

For Students 9th - 10th
Take a look at this article and find out what things we do everyday that impact or are impacted by evolution. Resources and educator links provided.
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Handout
Other

Evolution: The Theory of Natural Selection (Part 1)

For Students 9th - 10th
These pages are part of a site called Evolution that accompany a textbook by the same name. Mark Ridley is the author. This section has an advanced discussion of determining allele and genotype frequencies using the Hardy-Weinberg ratio.
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Lesson Plan
National Health Museum

Nhm: Amino Acid Sequences Show Evolution

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson plan focuses on differences in the amino acid sequence of hemoglobin and myoglobin proteins. They use the number of differences to create a phylogenetic tree.
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Lesson Plan
National Health Museum

Access Excellence: Molecular Biology/primate Phylogeny

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson plan involves comparison of amino acids to create a phylogenetic tree of primates. Students will also use other species information to draw conclusions about evolutionary relationships.
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Article
Famous Scientists

Famous Scientists: Theodosius Dobzhansky

For Students 9th - 10th
Read a short biography about Theodosius Dobzhansky, a central figure in the field of evolutionary biology for his work in shaping the unifying modern evolutionary synthesis.
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Website
Australian Museum

The Australian Museum

For Students 9th - 10th
This site features links to information on Australia's museum.
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Lesson Plan
National Health Museum

Access Excellence: Making a Phylogenetic Tree Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Constructing phylogenetic trees may be a daunting task for students, but this lesson plan is a simulation of what molecular biologists must do to determine relationships. This plan is for students who have a good grasp of DNA structure...
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Article
Talk Origins Archive

Talk.origins: Introduction to Evolutionary Biology

For Students 9th - 10th
An article giving a brief introduction to evolutionary biology. The article addresses misconceptions as well as the basics of the theory of evolution.
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Handout
Other

Principia Cybernetica Web: Punctuated Equilibrium

For Students 9th - 10th
Starts with a definition of Punctuated Equilibrium, followed by an explanation of this "Observation," and how it fits with other evolutionary theory.
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Website
Other

Evogeneao: Evolution: All in the Family

For Students 9th - 10th
A website created to promote the teaching of evolution. The website features a Tree of Life that helps evolution be understood at a glance.