NETS-S and Essential Standard Scenario

Grade/Subject NETS-S Standard Essential Standard High School Biology Standard 3: Research and Information Fluency Performance Indicator: b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media. Bio.3.4 Explain the theory of evolution by natural selection as a mechanism for how species change over time. Bio.3.4.2 Explain how natural selection influences the changes in species over time.

Lesson Scenario The instructor will lecture the class on how natural selection allows for the evolution of species over a period of time. Students will learn the definition of evolution and how evolution is possible, as well as how natural selection aids in the evolution of species over a period of time. Students will learn that the theory of evolution is the process by which living organisms came to be by descent with modification from ancestor species, as worded by Charles Darwin. They should grasp that species alive today have undergone evolution from species that were previously on earth. Students will also learn the definition of natural selection, which is that members of a species create varying fitness by reproduction which in turn causes genotypic differences. They will learn that individuals with the capability of surviving over others will have the ability to reproduce and pass on their traits to offspring. Students will also learn that traits are passed on through the genes of the mother and father. The take home message should be that inheritance of traits over time will allow for various advantages to accumulate, and sometimes will lead to new species. Students should be able to identify that natural selection is a theory that explains how evolution takes place. They should grasp that it does not take a single generation for evolution to occur, and that it may take thousands of years and occurs by gene inheritance. For students to apply what they learned about natural selection, they will need to form small groups (of 2 or 3) and develop a Popplet on the web. Students will be expected to do research using various sources (i.e. web, journal, textbook, etc.) on an organism which has undergone evolution via natural selection. The Popplet should include an organized way of portraying what organism has evolved, a specific trait the organism has acquired, how it is beneficial to the organism and what possible challenges the organism may face with the new trait. In addition there should be brief background on the organisms life history traits.