Lesson Plan

Lab dissection of a representative of Class Bivalvia. Supported by several Shape of Life segments, students interpret bivalve adaptations as a radical case of divergent evolution: A simple ancestral snail with a mobile lifestyle, single dome-shaped shell, bilateral symmetry, and a head (“cephalization”) transformed into a headless, double-shelled, sedentary filter-feeder whose bilateral form is obscure.

Lesson Plan

Lab dissection of a squid, a member of Class Cephalopoda (along with the octopus and nautilus). Supported by several Shape of Life segments, students interpret squid adaptations as a radical case of divergent evolution: A line of ancestral snails abandoned the life of sluggish grazing and foraging in favor of a new niche as speedy open water predators.

Lesson Plan

A list of questions about the characteristics of Molluscs to use after viewing the video Molluscs: the Survival Game.

Lesson Plan

Engaging Students with Echinoderm Phenomena, Adaptations, and Art

Lesson Plan

There are three separate lessons here based upon questions.A list of questions about the characteristics of echinoderms to use after viewing the video Echinoderms: The Ultimate Animal.A Shape of Life Echinoderms: The Ultimate Animal worksheet. Students make sketcfhes and write short answers to questions about the amazing world of echinoderms. This was created by Rachel Miller from Science from Scratch.A Powerpoint with questions to use while watching the video Echinoderms: The Ultimate Animal.

Lesson Plan

Students explore the evolution of the phylum Chordata by constructing a "family tree" - a diagram of evolutionary traits and animals.

Lesson Plan

There are three separate lessons here based on questions.A list of questions about the characteristics of chordates to use after viewing the video Chordates: We're All Family.A Shape of Life Chordata worksheet. Students make sketches and write short answers to questions about the amazing world of chordates. This was created by Rachel Miller from Science from Scratch.A Powerpoint with questions to use while watching the video Chordates: We're All Family.

Lesson Plan

Students will explore an animated "Tree of Life." They will record observations and questions about it and discuss them as a class. Create your own cartoon!

Lesson Plan

Students explore the evolution of life on earth by constructing a "tree of life" -- metaphorical art that arranges groups of organisms by characteristics and when scientists think they first evolved.For more BIG FUN, take a look at the new Animating Tree of Life Lesson Plan where students create their own cartoon!

Lesson Plan

Antoni Gaudi, the famous Spanish architect, found his inspirations from nature. From trees to light to whale bones, Gaudi used solutions from nature for structural support or decoration. He is not unique in using natural engineering to solve problems in our daily lives. In this lesson, we will investigate how, through the process of evolution, animals have solved their engineering problems and how people have mimicked those natural solutions.