Students did their final genetic disorder presentations on Monday. Overall, students did a great job on their projects! Projects will be graded and handed back by early next week.
This week, students were introduced to the concepts of adaptations, evolution, and natural selection. We discussed the voyage of Charles Darwin and the important discoveries that he made on the Galapagos Islands. Students are currently working on creating "designer animals." In this activity, students were given four environments to choose from, and they were required to design an animal with the adaptations necessary to survive in the chosen environment. Students had to consider what their animal would eat, how it would defend itself, maintain body temperature, care for its young, find shelter, etc. After designing everything, students will choose a card that explains how their current environment will change, and then students must decide whether their animal will still have the right adaptations to survive. On Monday, students will present their "designer animals" to the class. Next week, we will discuss several examples of natural selection that occur everyday, and students will do a "peppered moth" lab to simulate how natural selection occurs.
2 comments:
The Galapagos Islands are the most incredible living museum of evolutionary changes, with a huge variety of exotic species (birds, land and sea animals, plants) and landscapes not seen anywhere else.
Hi Mrs. Wagner,
This is my first year teaching 7th grade science. I was browsing the web searching for project ideas related to adaptations and natural selection. I stumbled across your blog, and I think you have some fantastic ideas! As I teacher I know how difficult it is to find a moment of free time, but I would very much appreciate it if you could send me anything related to your adaptations project. My email is mevans@sau40.com
Thanks,
Mark
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