Explorations Through Time
Life Has A History

PURPOSE

The purpose of this module is to give students a broad overview of the concepts used/needed to understand that all living things have a history. This module can be used as an introduction to the study of evolution and/or an introduction to other Explorations Through Time that address the concepts in more detail.

OVERVIEW

Students move at a self-selected pace through a series of screens that give an introduction to the history and diversity of life as a result of evolution. They learn about geologic time, fossils, ancestral relationships, cladograms, variation, natural selection, and extinction. As students proceed through the module they respond to on-line questions that are kept as a student journal and can be used for assessment.

OBJECTIVES

   Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following major concepts:

Life is very diverse and always has been.

The biodiversity we see is a result of evolution.

Evolution has occurred over geologic time.

Fossils provide the evidence for the history of life on Earth.

A fossil is any trace of an animal or plant that was once alive.

Fossil evidence indicates that life has changed over time.

Fossils help us to identify the relationships among groups of related organisms.

Closely related organisms share features inherited from common ancestors.

Scientists use diagrams called cladograms to illustrate evolutionary relationships.

Morphological features, and DNA can provide scientists with information about ancestry.

Even though related organisms inherit common features, variations exist within populations.

Variation contributes to the process of evolution.

Natural selection and variation together cause evolutionary change.

Natural selection is not the only mechanism of evolution.

During the process of evolution, only a small percentage of species has survived.

Though all living things are related through a common ancestry, life continues to change resulting in the biodiversity we see today.