8.LS4.6: Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how…

Natural Selection: How Living Things Change Over Time Grades 6–8

A peppered moth hunting game over four generations, the Grants' real Galápagos finch data from the 1977 drought, whale fossils in rock-layer order with a forelimb bone comparison, and five case stations on selective breeding and antibiotic resistance. Every lesson runs on printed sheets alone: no materials to buy.

• Why do some animals survive and others don't? 50–60 min

  Teams play hungry birds hunting printed light and dark peppered moths on printed clean and sooty bark, over four generations, and graph how the moth population changes. Then they explain the real peppered moth story: variation, survival and reproduction, not moths trying to change.

• What did the Grants find on the Galápagos? 50–60 min

  Teams play out a drought on a Galápagos island with printed finch and seed cards, then graph the real data Peter and Rosemary Grant collected when a drought in 1977 killed most of the medium ground finches. Students calculate how much the average beak changed and explain why.

• How fast can people change a species? 50–60 min

  Teams rotate through five printed case stations: one wild plant that became cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi and Brussels sprouts; dog breeds; the tame foxes of Siberia; bacteria that make human insulin; and bacteria that beat antibiotics. They graph real fox data and decide, case by case, who did the choosing: people or nature.

Printable practice for 8.LS4.6

• Natural Selection: How Living Things Change Over Time workbook included with the unit

  3 practice pages, 3 readings, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.

Need just this outcome? Build a custom pack from these pages, with its answer key, in about a minute. Custom packs come with All-access and school licences.