Curated OER
Mystery of the Matching Marks
Students view a Power Point and complete activities related to genetic evidence of human evolution. In this molecular evolution lesson, students view and discuss a provide presentation. They search for the "tell-tale telomere" and...
Curated OER
Physiological Adaptations
Students investigate the concepts of genetics and how it is tied to the variations found within different species and how it is tied to adaptations. They review the theory of evolution and factors found to help create variation. The...
Curated OER
Case of the Threespine Stickleback
Students examine why some freshwater populations of stickleback fish. In this macroevolution instructional activity students read a study packet then answer questions.
Curated OER
What Can Pseudogenes Tell Us About Common Ancestry?
Students compare/constrast DNA sequence data for a portion of the rat GULO gene to the corresponding sequence in the inactive GULO gene in humans, chimpanzees, orangutans, and crab-eating macaques by identifying the shared sequences in...
Curated OER
Global Awareness
High schoolers read about how scientists are arriving at current theories of human origin and migration through mitochondrial DNA analysis. They then piece together a map showing the data from mitochondrial DNA analysis to plot the...
Curated OER
Why do we need Vitamin C in our diet? Or Why do we carry old inactive genes in our genome?
Students explore and explain how mutations in the DNA sequence of a gene may be silent or result in phenotypic change in an organism and in its offspring. They analyze how evolution and biodiversity are the result of genetic changes that...
LABScI
Taxonomy: Who is in My family?
Find similarities in seemingly unlike organisms. The second instructional activity in a series of 12 builds the concept of a taxonomy and explores the use of a dichotomous key. Learners begin in part one by attempting to group a set of...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Zebrafish and Skin Color
You may not know if that zebrafish in your fish tank is a model citizen—but it is definitely a model organism! What can we learn about ourselves from a tiny zebrafish? Discover more about the polygenic trait of skin color through a...
Curated OER
Genetic Testing
Complete a variety of activities to examine the pros and cons and ethical issues behind genetic testing. Your high school students will role play and examine various scenarios to determine if genetic testing is justified.
Curated OER
Chromosome Fusion
Students see how patterns can reveal events of the past, thereby merging elements of both experimental and historical science.
Curated OER
The Chromosome Connection
Learners evaluate the degree of chromosome similarity and difference between humans and apes. Students infer about the relationship between a human and ape based on similarities found.
Curated OER
Arsenic and Human Health
Ninth graders concentrate on arsenic poisoning as an example of the connections among health, geography, and geology as they develop a persuasive presentation about the dangers of arsenic in the drinking water, targeting a specific...
Other
The Evidence for Evolution
These pages are part of a site called "Evolution," that accompanies a textbook by the same name. Mark Ridley is the author, and in this section he discusses the evidence for evolution.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Life Science: Molecular Evidence for Evolution
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Chimpanzees and humans turn out to be very similar - if you look at their DNA. When scientists determined the entire genetic code of both humans and chimpanzees,...
Other
Evidence for Evolution: Genetic Code
These pages are part of a site called Evolution that accompany a textbook by the same name. Mark Ridley is the author. In this section: the universal genetic code provides evidence that life has a common ancestor.
Indiana University
Ensi: Comparison of Human: Chimpanzee Chromosomes Lesson
This is a great lesson plan that combines Karoytypes and evolution. Students will recognize that the chromosomes of chimpanzees and humans are remarkably similar, then correlate that to their evolutionary relationship.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Dna From the Beginning: Living Things Share Common Genes
This multimedia article includes animations, pictures, video, biographical information, and quiz questions that are accessed by clicking on buttons along the bottom of the page. Here you can see how common genes are evidence for common...
University of California
Ucmp: Island Biogeography and Evolution
This is a lesson designed by a biology teacher. In it, students use maps and evidence of island age, molecular genetics, morphology, and distance apart to determine how the islands came to be occupied by different species of lizards. It...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Answers to Exploration Questions: Human Evolution
On this site, find answers to the exploration activity on human evolution. Questions discuss both physical traits of hominid as well as DNA evidence.
National Health Museum
Access Excellence: Making a Phylogenetic Tree Lesson Plan
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...
National Health Museum
Nhm: Restriction Maps to Cladograms Lesson
This lesson plan requires students to analyze DNA restriction maps to determine the differences in the sequence for several primates and humans. They then use the information to create a cladogram.
CPALMS
Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: Evolution: Examining the Evidence
Strengthen understanding of how different types of scientific evidence support the theory of evolution, including direct observation, fossils, DNA, biogeography, and comparative anatomy and embryology.
CPALMS
Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: Classification Using Dna
Identify the differences in genetic and non-genetic classification methods. Why is genetic evidence powerful for understanding evolutionary relationships among organisms? Find out!
National Health Museum
Nhm: Amino Acid Sequences Show Evolution
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.