Virtual Galápagos
Ancestry
Tortoise Curriculum: Unit 4
Stage 1 - Desired Results
Essential Question:
- Why do tortoises that live in nearby proximity on the Galápagos Islands have different shell shapes, namely domed and saddleback, and how might these differences come about over time and in relation to place?
Questions for Students:
- How and why are there several types of tortoises?
- Are tortoises that have different traits related?
- How and why are there tortoises with different traits?
- How and why do traits change over time?
- How can we organize species relatedness?
- “Are Galapagos tortoises Becki (saddlebacked) and Tomas (domed) related?”
Next Generation Science Standards:
3-LS3-2: Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
3-LS3-1: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.
3-LS4-2: Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
3-LS3-2: Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
3-LS3-1: Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.
3-LS4-2: Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
Factual Knowledge
Students will know:
- DNA is a part of all living things
- DNA is responsible for the different traits we all have
- Beneficial trait changes are passed down generation to generation because they help animals survive better
- When a group of animals become different enough from their original population (different traits, can’t reproduce), then a new species is formed
- Species evolve from a common ancestor
Procedural Knowledge
Students will be able to:
- Read and construct simple phylogenetic trees, showing genetic relatedness and connection to other species and a common ancestor
- Define a species as a group of living things which share traits (physical characteristics) and can reproduce
- Explain that DNA provides instructions to our body about how to build itself
Conceptual Knowledge
Students will understand:
- Adaptations allow organisms to survive and reproduce in a specific environment
- Natural selection is the process in which advantageous traits are favored and become more fixed in the gene pool through generations
- Phylogenetic trees show genetic relatedness using branches, connecting species that diverged from each other. All species are connected to a common ancestor
Stage 2 - Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:
- Students will define species and traits, and demonstrate understanding of species’ fitness to survive in particular environments
- Students will demonstrate their understanding of DNA, how traits are inherited when parents pass down their DNA down to their offspring, and how genetic variation increases with each successive generation.
- Students will describe the process of natural selection and demonstrate the relation between the processes of adaptation and natural selection
- Students will demonstrate conceptualization of common ancestry and provide reasoning as to why common ancestry is of interest.
- Students will assemble a phylogenetic tree and provide reasoning as to why they placed each species where they did on the model.
Unit Pre-Assessment
- Students make an initial claim in the Unit 4 Scientific Notes.
- Scientific Field Notes page for the Ancestry module at various check-in points throughout the lesson
- Fieldbook activities for Unit 4 Ancestry
- Build-A-Species activity with questions
- DNA video guided notes handout
- Pom-Pom Inheritance activity with questions
- Adaptations Video guided notes
- Natural Selection Questions
- Common Ancestor Video Guided Notes
- Tortoise Phylogenetic Tree
The Teach Genetics Utah website contains many digital lessons that could be used as a companion to this module.
Extensions and Differentiation Considerations
There are multiple differentiation considerations for access to content as well as each activity (see lesson plans for more detailed and specific ideas). In general, the fieldbook for teachers and students can be printed or accessed online. Font and text size can be changed by making a copy of the google doc versions of the student and teacher field books. Additionally, we encourage teachers to adjust each activity and deliver the content in ways that are most accessible for you and your student(s). Some general suggestions include, but are not limited to, pairing and grouping students in different ways up to the teacher’s discretion and using technology such as speech to text assistance or a screen reader. Further, teachers can opt to instruct students to complete written activities verbally instead - in more of a discussion-like format. Learning activities can be done collaboratively or individually. Assessments can be conducted in creative ways such as asking students to write and perform skits or songs, have a conversation with the teacher or a peer, do an art project such as a drawing or a diorama, and so on.
There are multiple differentiation considerations for access to content as well as each activity (see lesson plans for more detailed and specific ideas). In general, the fieldbook for teachers and students can be printed or accessed online. Font and text size can be changed by making a copy of the google doc versions of the student and teacher field books. Additionally, we encourage teachers to adjust each activity and deliver the content in ways that are most accessible for you and your student(s). Some general suggestions include, but are not limited to, pairing and grouping students in different ways up to the teacher’s discretion and using technology such as speech to text assistance or a screen reader. Further, teachers can opt to instruct students to complete written activities verbally instead - in more of a discussion-like format. Learning activities can be done collaboratively or individually. Assessments can be conducted in creative ways such as asking students to write and perform skits or songs, have a conversation with the teacher or a peer, do an art project such as a drawing or a diorama, and so on.
Stage 3 - learning plan
Learning Activities
- As a pre-assessment, students will complete the Beaks of Finches lab. Students use provided tools to pick up two different size beans and compare the results.
- Students will create their own species, record definitions of species and traits, and explain how depicted traits help species to be best suited for their environments.
- Students will record information provided about DNA in a guided notes handout and then write definitions of DNA and inheritance in their own words.
- Students will complete the “Pom-Pom Inheritance” activity to demonstrate how traits are inherited when parents pass their DNA down to their offspring and how genetic variation increases with each successive generation, followed by a series of questions about the activity.
- Students will read and discuss provided infographic about mutations and make connections to the “Pom-Pom Inheritance” activity and other DNA content.
- Students will complete the Adaptations Video guided notes handout.
- Students will complete the “Natural Selection Video Worksheet” where they will describe the process of natural selection in their own words and consider what trait changes may have been caused by natural selection for the tortoise species.
- Students will do a creative project or performance, such as a skit, song, or news article, where they demonstrate their understandings of adaptations and natural selection by defining each and giving an example of each.
- Students will record information provided about common ancestry using a guided notes handout. Then, students will provide reasoning as to why common ancestry is of interest.
- Students will assemble a phylogenetic tree of provided tortoise and sea turtle species to model relatedness. Additionally, students will locate common ancestors on the model and provide reasoning as to why they placed each species where they did on the model.
Lesson Descriptions
Lesson 1: DNA and Inheritance →
This lesson begins with the “Build Your Own Species” activity in the field book along with the “Species and Traits” video. Next, students watch the DNA video and complete the “DNA guided notes” handout. Students then do the “Pom-Pom Inheritance” activity. Lastly, students engage with the “Mutations Infographic.”
Lesson 2: Adaptations and Natural Selection →
Students watch the “Adaptations” Video and fill in the “Adaptations Video Guided Notes” handout. Then, students watch the “Natural Selection” video and respond to the “Natural Selection Questions” handout. Afterwards, students engage with the “Natural Selection and Evolution” infographic. Lastly, students show what they have learned by doing the “Adaptations, Natural Selection, and Evolution Creation” activity.
Lesson 3: Common Ancestry →
Students watch the “Common Ancestry” video with the corresponding handout. Then, students learn about phylogenetic trees by watching the phylogenetic tree video. Students then apply this knowledge to the tortoise phylogenetic tree by arranging and labeling their own phylogenetic tree.
Lesson 1: DNA and Inheritance →
This lesson begins with the “Build Your Own Species” activity in the field book along with the “Species and Traits” video. Next, students watch the DNA video and complete the “DNA guided notes” handout. Students then do the “Pom-Pom Inheritance” activity. Lastly, students engage with the “Mutations Infographic.”
Lesson 2: Adaptations and Natural Selection →
Students watch the “Adaptations” Video and fill in the “Adaptations Video Guided Notes” handout. Then, students watch the “Natural Selection” video and respond to the “Natural Selection Questions” handout. Afterwards, students engage with the “Natural Selection and Evolution” infographic. Lastly, students show what they have learned by doing the “Adaptations, Natural Selection, and Evolution Creation” activity.
Lesson 3: Common Ancestry →
Students watch the “Common Ancestry” video with the corresponding handout. Then, students learn about phylogenetic trees by watching the phylogenetic tree video. Students then apply this knowledge to the tortoise phylogenetic tree by arranging and labeling their own phylogenetic tree.
This unit was designed by Andrew Lass and Regan Todd, and edited by Ava Wojtaszek and Sarah Jekel.
You can download the unit plan here:
Virtual Galápagos
virtualgalapagos.colgate.edu
