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Subtopic: Evidence for Evolution

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Resource	Grade Level	Media Type
Animal Body Plans: Homeobox Genes The homeobox genes that define the basic body plan of mice and fruit flies are illustrated in this graphic from The Human Evolution Coloring Book by Adrienne Zihlman. The accompanying article describes how these genes act as "molecular architects" in all animal species.	9-12	PDF Document
Are We Alone? This video segment adapted from NOVA features a variety of scientific perspectives on the age old question, "Are we alone in the universe?" Animations make vivid the improbability that we could intercept a radio wave signaling extra terrestrial intelligence.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Becoming a Fossil This video segment describes how the Australopithecus afarensis skeleton known as Lucy could have been fossilized. Footage courtesy of NOVA: "In Search of Human Origins."	6-12	QuickTime Video
Caves: Extreme Conditions for Life This video segment adapted from NOVA raises the provocative idea that if life can exist in the most extreme environments on Earth — such as in dark, toxic caves — then perhaps living things can also survive in harsh environments on other planets.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Continental Divide: The Breakup of Pangaea Examine geological evidence found in fossils, rock deposits, and ancient mountains that supports the theory of continental drift in this interactive activity adapted from the Exploratorium.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Dating Lava Flows on Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawaiʻi In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists search for carbonized remains of plants preserved in lava flows to find out how long it has taken rain forests on Hawaiʻi to regenerate after a volcanic eruption.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Deep Time Explore 4 billion years of life on Earth and discover major transformations, geological changes, and extinction episodes in this Evolution Web feature.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Deep Time and the History of Life Students explore geologic time, visiting an interactive timeline, creating their own timeline and comparing deep time with the calendar year.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Evidence for Evolution In this Evolution WebQuest you will investigate a variety of types of evidence for evolution.	9-12	HTML Document
Evidence for Evolution Students learn about the fossil record, the primary type of evidence scientists use to piece together the history of life and to support and refine the theory of evolution.	6-8	Lesson Plan
Evolution of Camouflage This video segment from Evolution: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" illustrates the remarkable camouflage of a praying mantis against its leafy backdrop.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Evolution of the Eye Zoologist Dan-Erik Nilsson demonstrates how the complex human eye could have evolved from simple light-sensitive cells. From Evolution: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea."	9-12	QuickTime Video
Evolving Ideas: How Do We Know Evolution Happens? This video from Evolution focuses on one of the several lines of evidence for evolution -- fossils, highlighting the evolution of whales from land-dwelling mammals to the aquatic creatures we know today.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Exploring the Arctic Seafloor In this interactive activity adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn what some of the first imagery ever shot on the Arctic Ocean seabed tells us about life in extreme environments.	6-12	Flash Interactive
Finding Lucy This Evolution video segment depicts the landmark hominid fossil finds by Don Johanson and his team in Ethiopia.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Fish with Fingers In this video segment from Evolution: "Great Transformations," paleontologist Jenny Clack explains that vertebrates evolved fingers before they invaded land.	6-12	QuickTime Video
The Fossil Evidence for Evolution Students learn about the fossil record, one form of evidence for evolution.	9-12	Lesson Plan
Fossils: An Ancient Sea in Indiana In this interactive activity from the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Indiana, examine a piece of the ancient Borden Sea in what is now central Indiana. Explore the types of fossils found there and the clues they offer to ancient life on Earth.	3-12	Flash Interactive
Genetic Tool Kit The shared set of genes for body segments, possessed by all animals, are discussed in this video segment from Evolution: "Great Transformations."	6-12	QuickTime Video
Homo Sapiens Versus Neanderthals This video segment, adapted from NOVA, explores reasons why Homo sapiens had an advantage over Neanderthals in the pursuit of territory and natural resources.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Ingredients for Life: Water This video segment adapted from NOVA goes on a whimsical journey in search of life forms thriving in extreme conditions on Earth and in outer space. Animations show ice on Jupiter's moon, Europa, and signs that water once existed on Mars.	3-12	QuickTime Video
Laetoli Footprints This Evolution video segment describes how the famous track fossils known as the Laetoli footprints might have been formed and what they can reveal about the creatures who left them.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Laetoli Trackways Diagram View a diagram of the hominid footprints that archaeologist Mary Leakey's team found at Laetoli in Tanzania.	9-12	JPEG Image
Life's Grand Design Are nature's complex forms evidence of "intelligent design"? In this Evolution essay, biologist Kenneth Miller explains how the processes of evolution account for complex structures such as the human eye.	9-12	HTML Document
Life's Little Essential: Liquid Water Why is water necessary for life? Why is it the best and possibly only liquid to do the job? This illustrated essay from NOVA Online answers these questions, explaining why planetary scientists are on the lookout for water elsewhere in the solar system.	6-12	HTML Document
Mike Novacek: Fossils in the Gobi Biologist Mike Novacek discusses his discovery of mammal fossils in the Gobi Desert and what we can learn from them. From Evolution: "Extinction!"	9-12	HTML Document
Molecular Clocks: Proteins That Evolve at Different Rates From The Human Evolution Coloring Book by Adrienne Zihlman, four different proteins from humans and horses are compared in this graphic and article, and the reasons each protein evolves at its own characteristic rate are discussed. Each protein is useful for measuring evolutionary change over a different time scale.	9-12	PDF Document
The Molecular Evidence for Evolution Students learn how modern-day scientists can take advantage of a tool not available in Darwin's time: molecular evidence.	9-12	Lesson Plan
Molecular Evidence for Evolutionary Relationships Students learn about the evolutionary relationship between humans and other organisms by comparing amino acid sequences in cytochrome c from a variety of species.	9-12	Lesson Plan
Permian-Triassic Extinction In this video segment from Evolution: "Extinction!", geologist Peter Ward discusses evidence for a Permian-Triassic mass extinction.	9-12	QuickTime Video
Radiometric Dating In this video segment from A Science Odyssey: "Origins," scientists explain how Earth's age was determined by radiometric dating.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Record of Time Enter the exciting world of dating ... fossil dating, that is. From Record of Time by anthropologist Dennis O'Neil.	6-12	PDF Document
Riddle of the Bones In this Evolution Web feature, piece together clues to how one of our early ancestors looked as you examine images from four significant fossil finds of Australopithecus afarensis.	9-12	Flash Interactive
Root Systems of Trees at the Congaree Swamp Learn about root systems of trees in the Congaree Swamp National Park in this video segment from NatureScene.	3-8	QuickTime Video
Ted Daeschler and Neil Shubin: Early Tetrapod Fossils In this transcript of an interview filmed for Evolution: "Great Transformations," Ted Daeschler and Neil Shubin describe the discovery and significance of some of their key fossil finds.	9-12	HTML Document
Tetrapod Limbs This illustration from Evolution by Monroe W. Strickberger shows the remarkable similarities between the bones in the forelimbs of various tetrapods, all of whose limbs serve very different functions.	6-8	JPEG Image
Tiktaalik: Evolution of a "Fishapod" In this media-rich lesson, students learn about transitional fossils and explore the similarities and differences between the structures of different animals. They focus particularly on Tiktaalik, a transitional fossil between aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates.	9-12	Lesson Plan
Transitional Fossils In this media-rich activity designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn that transitional fossils provide scientists with evidence to establish how different major animal groups are related to one another in evolution.	5-12	Student Activity
Transitional Tetrapod Fossil In this video segment from NOVA: "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial," learn about the discovery of a well-preserved transitional fossil and how such transitional fossils support the theory of evolution.	6-12	QuickTime Video
Whales in the Making This graphic from Evolution, traces the evolution of whales from land-dwelling mammals to the aquatic creatures we know today.	6-12	PDF Document
What Killed the Dinosaurs? In this Evolution Web feature, find clues to one of life's most compelling mysteries, and discover how evidence can support a variety of hypotheses.	6-8	Shockwave Interactive