Activity Introduction
Quick summary: Evolution is the change of a gene pool over time. Some traits will be better suited to the environment, and these will help the organism survive and reproduce, enabling the trait to potentially be passed on to the next generation.
In this lesson, students will learn about the different forms of evolution that can occur in a population. They will then play a fun card game to simulate natural selection (a form of evolution), and use the game to describe how selection pressures change the traits in a population over time.
These lessons were made possible with thanks to Joshua Yeldham.
Cool Australia also wishes to recognise Ian Hutton. Ian is a trained biologist, amongst many other skills, and has been living on Lord Howe Island since 1980. He is the author of 11 books on Lord Howe Island, including the most recent 264 page beautiful coffee table book on the World Heritage values of Lord Howe Island, contributed to some 60 papers and articles working with scientists across numerous fields, run a number of conservation and research project, and has been employed as a location guide for film documentary projects. If you are visiting Lord Howe Island, get in touch with Ian for a private guided tour, as he is keen to share his passion for the island and its environment.
Learning intentions:
- Students will understand how natural selection changes the frequency of traits in a population
- Students will understand how selection pressures affect individuals in a population.
21st century skills:
Australian Curriculum Mapping
Content descriptions:
Year 10 Science:
- The theory of evolution by natural selection explains the diversity of living things and is supported by a range of scientific evidence (ACSSU185)
Syllabus outcomes: SC5-14LW
General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability
Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability
Relevant parts of Year 10 Science achievement standards: Students evaluate the evidence for scientific theories that explain the origin of the universe and the diversity of life on Earth. They explain the processes that underpin heredity and evolution.
Topic: Biodiversity.
This lesson is part of the wider unit of work Lord Howe Island – Years 8 & 10.
Time required: 55+ mins.
Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate class discussion, explain and supervise game playing.
Resources required:
- Device capable of presenting a video to the class
- Instruction Sheet and game cards – printing one copy of this document per group of 3-4 students will provide enough cards for the game. You do not need to print some pages multiple times. Just one copy of the whole document.
- Student workbooks.
Keywords: Evolution, speciation, adaptation, natural selection, game, introduced species, Lord Howe Island, habitats, environmentalism, conservatorship
Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.
