Excellent lesson that is fully illustrated and includes student activities and questions.

1. The Evolution of Life on Earth
• Grades 9-10
•
1

2. 2
The Evolution of Life on Earth:
A Common Core Unit
Grades 9-10
By: Dean Berry, Ed. D.
Gregg Berry, B.A
.
Copyright Protected © 2013 Dean R. Berry
All Rights Reserved
No part of this document may be reproduced without the permission of the
author.

3. Teacher Instructions
This program contains 8 major parts that may
be presented over several weeks. Some parts
may be considered optional based on the
needs of each classroom.
Press Pause to stop for discussion

4. This Unit includes 8 Major
Learning Steps
• 1. View, Read, and Think
• 2. Interact, Brainstorm, and, Share
• 3. Research Project Number One
• 4. Research Project Number Two
• 5. Expand Your Depth of Knowledge
• 6. Prepare to Write an Essay
• 7. Present your Knowledge to Others
• 8. Final Unit Assessment
• Common Core Standards Listed in Video 7

5. Table of Contents
• Part One …..Slide Presentation...............................Video 1
• Part Two ……Collaboration Groups…………………Video 2
• Part Three …Research Project One……………… ..Video 2
• Part Four….Research Project Two…………………..Video 3
• Part Five Depth of Knowledge Project Three……….Video 4
• Part Six Write Your Essay………………………… Video 5
• Part Seven Present Your Knowledge ……………….Video 6
• Part Eight Unit Assessment…………………………...Video 7
• Common Core Standards Taught in This Unit………Video 7

6. Introduction
This unit of study will
help you learn the
following important
common core
curriculum standards.
6

7. Common Core Writing Standard
Write informative/explanatory
texts to examine a topic and
convey ideas and information
clearly.

8. Text Types and Purposes
Write arguments to support
claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts using
valid reasoning and relevant
and sufficient evidence

9. Speaking and Listening
Engage effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions with
diverse partners on topics and
texts, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly

10. Production and Distribution of
Writing
• Develop and strengthen writing as
needed by planning, revising, editing,
rewriting, or trying a new approach.
• Use technology, including the
internet, to produce and publish
writing as well as to interact and
collaborate with others.

11. Research
• Conduct short as well as more sustained
research projects to answer a question or solve
a problem; synthesize multiple sources on the
subject, demonstrating understanding of the
subject under investigation
• Gather relevant information from multiple print
and digital sources, using advanced searches
effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of
each source, and integrate the information while
avoiding plagiarism

12. Take Notes
As we proceed through
this unit of study, you will
need to take careful
notes. The information
you gather will be useful
in completing research
projects. 12

13. Part One
View, Read, and Think

14. 14
Life on earth began in the ocean.
Scientists believe that one celled
animals gradually developed into
more complex sea animals over
millions of years.

15. 15

16. 16
As some forms of life moved
onto land, the groups
included bacteria, fungi,
protists, plants, and animals.

17. For classification purposes
all life is divided into three
major domains.
17

18. The Three Domains of life include
bacteria, archaea and eukarya.
18

19. Discuss
What are the six
kingdoms of life?
19

20. The Six Kingdoms of Life
20

21. • Before 1970, most scientists used the five kingdoms of life
for classification. However, in the 1970’s a new kind of
organism was discovered and named archaebacteria.
These represent more ancient forms of bacteria and can
live in extreme environments like boiling water and acid
lakes. 21

22. Let’s look at the five kingdoms of
life with arachaebacteria added
as the sixth kingdom.
22

23. 23

24. Protists, such as the one celled
amoeba and paramecium,
originated billions of years ago.

25. Algae are plantlike protests that do not have roots
or leaves but are still able to use photosynthesis to
create their own food.

26. Mushrooms are part of the fungi kingdom
and rely on nutrients in the soil rather than
photosynthesis for its food supply.

27. The plant kingdom thrived on land and developed
more sophisticated structures such as roots and
leaves.

28. 28
Simple forms of plants evolved
into green plants with the ability
to convert sun energy and carbon
dioxide into sugar for plant
growth.

29. Discuss
• What is the term used to describe the
conversion of sunlight and carbon dioxide
into sugar?
• How does this process help humans and
animals?
29

30. Green plants make their own
food with sunlight and the
photosynthesis process.

31. 31

32. 32
Through photosynthesis plants
use chlorophyll, sunlight, and
carbon dioxide to create food
energy for plants and give off
oxygen into the environment.

33. The animal kingdom includes
insects, reptiles, birds, and
mammals.

34. Class Discussion
How many mammals
can you name?
34

35. The mammal class includes the
largest animals in the kingdom.

36. 36
Animals with different characteristics
were classified into different
categories such as mollusks,
reptiles, rodents, flying mammals,
sea mammals, and primates.

37. Discuss
What is an example of a mollusk?
Can you give three examples of a reptile?
Give an example of a rodent.
Can you name a mammal that lives in the
ocean?
37

38. 38

39. 39
Over millions of years animals’
characteristic’s gradually changed to
help them survive changing
environmental conditions. Darwin
called this idea “Natural Selection.”

40. 40

41. Moths that blend in with their environments
will survive longer and reproduce moths
with the same valuable characteristics.
41

42. Beetles with brown coloring will be harder for birds to
see on the bark of trees. As a result, the genes for
brown coloring will be passed on in greater numbers
and brown beetles will become more prevalent.
42

43. Discuss
If a population of birds eats
bugs that are imbedded in bark,
would the long beaked or short
beaked birds be more likely to
survive and have more
offspring? Why?
43

44. 44

45. Only the fastest prey can survive the speed of the
lion. Survivors live another day to reproduce
offspring with superior genes for speed.
45

46. Animals that need to reach the highest trees will
survive if their necks are long enough. Those with short
necks will not be able to eat, survive, and reproduce.
46

47. 47

48. Giraffes with the longest necks will pass on their
genes for neck length to their offspring, and giraffe
necks will tend to get longer if the only food
available is higher than usual.
48

49. Did you know that the tree of life
shows that the hippo and the
whale are “kissing cousins”?
49

50. Hippos and whales originated from the same branch
of life. The whale evolved and developed traits that
enabled it to function well in deep waters while the
hippo stayed put enjoying jungle rivers.
50

51. 51
Animal species share common
genes and a similar gene pool in
their cellular makeup. When they
breed within this species
population, they reinforce passing
common traits like color, size, and
skills on to their offspring.

52. 52

53. 53
A concentration of similar genes in an
animal population can be positive or
negative. Breeding between closely
related animals can result in poor
genes, such as diseases and
weaknesses, becoming dominant and
weakening the species.

54. Discuss
• If you compare mixed breeds to
purebreds, which group of dogs
would be the healthiest?
• Why would that be true?
54

55. 55

56. 56
Check-up and Review
Raise your green card if you believe
the statement is true or your red
card if you think it is false.

57. 57
True or False-1
During photosynthesis
plants use oxygen and
sugar to produce
nitrogen and carbon
dioxide.

58. 58
False-1

59. 59
True or False-2
“Natural Selection” has
caused many species of
animals to become
endangered or extinct.

60. 60
False-2

61. 61
True or False-3
Members of a species
population whose genetic
makeup provides them with
weaker traits will die off
sooner than members with
stronger traits.

62. 62
True-3

63. 63
True or False-4
If the main food source for
giraffes was grass, the
giraffes with the longest
necks would survive better
than those with shorter
necks.

64. 64
False-4

65. 65
True or False-5
Breeding animals that
are closely related
results in poor genes that
create higher rates of
disease and weaker
traits.

66. 66
True-5

67. 67
True or False-6
Early life moved from the
land into the ocean as it
developed into more
complex animals like
sharks and dolphins.

68. 68
False-6

69. 69
True or False-7
The Kingdoms of
Life include bacteria,
fungi, plants, and
animals.

70. 70
True-7

71. 71
Natural Selection Test
1. According to Natural selection, Giraffes
evolved with longer necks because long
neck Giraffes could reach higher food.
2. Animals with traits that make them poorly
adapted to their environment have a
better chance of surviving and
reproducing.
3. In-breeding helps bad traits become good
traits.
4. The fastest Gazelles survive and
reproduce and increase the gene pool for
faster offspring.