The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

Bunny Natural Selection - Day 2 (probably day 3)

Bunny Natural Selection - Day 2

A 8th grade STEM Lesson

Katherine Otwell

6/30/23

Notes for teachers

• This is a 2 day activity. However, it is more than likely a 3 day activity including assessment.
• Colorado PhET is a free resource.
• Bozeman science is a great resource and is used for the mini-lesson at the end of Day 1.
• Day 1

List of Materials

• Butcher paper or notebook paper or dry erase boards.
• Student computer with internet access
• Go to Colorado PhET Natural Selection
• Teacher Simulation Guide
• Simulation activity handout - you should make copies for each student.
• Vocabulary Sheet - copies for each student.
• EXPLORE Questions - are asked while students are working in simulation.
• EXPLAIN Questions - students complete on their own. It will create their own copy if you click on the link in Google drive.
• ELABORATE- groups of 4
• EVALUATE - handout on paper or use the online version.

AZ Standards

Az Science Standard 8.L4U1.11

Develop and use a model to explain how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.

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Az Science Standard 8.L4U1.12

Gather and communicate evidence of how the process of natural selection provides an explanation of how new species can evolve.

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STEM Standards

Develop and use a model to obtain, evaluate, and communicate information:

1. about how new species evolve gradually over time, leading to a pattern of increase in biodiversity.

4. to predict a specific trait outcome of a population over a time period.

5. about how populations change over time in response to environmental changes..

Engineering Standards

Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for phenomena.

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Conduct an investigation and/or evaluate and/or revise the experimental design to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence that meet the goals of the investigation.

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Develop and/or use a model to predict and/or describe phenomena.

Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.

Objective(s):

Today students will:

Develop and use a model to obtain, evaluate, and communicate information -

1. about how new species evolve gradually over time, leading to a pattern of increase in biodiversity.

2. to predict a specific trait outcome of a population over a time period.

3. about how populations change over time in response to environmental changes.

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Driving Question

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How does natural selection affect a population over time and create new species?

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Day 2 Agenda (50 min)

EXPLORE: (30 min)

1. Review what was discussed yesterday in class, and how the simulation works.
2. Complete the activity sheet that accompanies the simulation.
3. Answer the EXPLORE questions as students are working through the simulation.
4. Complete the vocabulary sheet using examples from the simulation.

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EXPLAIN: (15 min)

1. EXPLAIN Questions - Students can complete these questions online or on paper. Computers closed.

ELABORATE: (3rd day - 15 minutes)

1. Discuss answers to questions in EXPLAIN.
2. Students will work in groups of 4.

EVALUATE: (20 MIN)

1. Student handout or the online version.

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Hands-on Activity Instructions

1. Individual or pairs
2. Handout the simulation worksheet and vocabulary sheet. The EXPLORE QUESTIONS should be asked as students are working through the simulation.
3. EXPLAIN questions will be

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Handouts (partial images)

EXPLORE Questions

1. What are a few differences between the two possible environments?
2. Why do you think the wolves eat the white bunnies in the equator environment?
3. What does the simulation not consider?
4. How would you change the simulation to make it seem like a true ecosystem?
5. Based on what you know, how would you explain natural selection?
6. How do mutations alter a species?
7. How do mutations affect an organism?
8. What does the graph show?
9. How do animals adapt in different seasons?

EXPLORE Questions

10. What happens when you add the selection factor of Food, versus having No Factors?
11. Why do you think more bunnies die each generation with food, than without food?
12. How does the simulation environment differ from a real wilderness environment?
13. What parts of the simulation are living?
14. What parts of the simulation are not living?
15. How do the bunnies in the simulation differ from bunnies in a real wilderness environment?
16. How would you summarize what you did to answer challenge onethree?
17. What strategies did you use to answer the challenges?
18. If you were a scientist, when would a computer simulation be useful?
19. Why do you think scientists study adaptations/natural selection/mutations, etc.?

ELABORATE

ELABORATE

ELABORATE

EVALUATE

ASSESSMENT

This assessment was created by Paul Anderson in conjunction with the Common Core. I like it because it uses what they’ve learned in the simulation and applies it to a new topic. It also practices the ability to read graphs, practices math and the cause and effect relationship.

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? DID YOU ANSWER THE DRIVING QUESTION?

Differentiation

Remediation

Differentiation

Extension/Enrichment

KWL could be applied here.

Misconceptions

1. Adaptations occur at the individual level of an organism. a.Adaptations describe the ability of a species to survive in a specific ecological niche. Mutations occur at the individual level, and can eventually lead to adaptations of the species. Adaptations occur at the population level, not the individual level. An example of an adaptation might be the specific size of a bird’s beak so it can better eat seeds from a thorny plant.
2. All adaptations occur over a very short period of time. a.Adaptations take generations to fully come into play. Reproduction is the main idea when it comes to natural selection and evolution. An individual with a newly acquired adaptation must still reproduce and create more offspring with that adaptation. With enough generations, and if the adaptation creates a strong advantage, then eventually the adaptation will be common within a species.
3. Organisms choose to adapt. Students might think the organisms are able to choose particular physical outlook or ability. a.The physical traits (phenotypes) of an individual are the products of genes being expressed. Every trait of the organism comes from its genes, and nothing changes until the genes do. Organisms cannot simply will themselves to mutate or develop a particular trait.

Misconceptions

4. Mutations can only be harmful to animals. a.Most people think of radiation and humans sprouting third arms when they consider mutations, but mutations can be as small as changing one DNA nucleotide. Mutations in this context can be beneficial, and describe an organism that has a different DNA sequence from the majority of its species. Negative mutations often result in an individual dying early on in life, before being able to reproduce. Positive mutations help an organism to better survive and to better reproduce.
5. Natural selection always results in the "best" characteristics. a.Natural selection is an unbiased force in nature. It does not consider beauty or convenience necessarily when selecting the strongest organisms. Natural selection puts pressure on an organism to survive with the traits that it has. If it survives, then those genes are passed on during reproduction. If it doesn’t survive until reproduction, then those genes are not passed on. There is no “best” characteristic because traits that help an organism survive depend on the environment and circumstances the animal faces. If the environment or circumstances were to change, those originally good traits may no longer be favorable.