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This Mystery is out of date! Please proceed to Animals Through Time to see the updated version.
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Can selection happen without people?
Animals Through Time Unit | Lesson 5 of 3
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Can selection happen without people?

Animals Through Time Unit | Lesson 5 of 3
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Predict: What do you think might have happened to the green anoles, once the brown anoles arrived in Florida and started to get hungry?




Predict: Not all of the green anoles are exactly the same. Which green anoles do you think the brown anoles are most likely to catch?

Here's one possibility...

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Predict: What do you think is going to happen to...

    ...the excellent climbers? (Why do you think that?)
    ...the good climbers? (Why do you think that?)
    ...the not-so-good climbers? (Why do you think that?)

(You'll be finding out what happens as the activity continues in the next video. But try to make a prediction before you find out!).

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Discuss: What has changed? How is the group of baby lizards different from the group of parent lizards?

Hint: Compare your two graphs.

Reveal answer

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#Want to know more about how scientists study lizards?
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# Extensions
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration which you just completed.
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# Bonus mystery ##### Why do some animals live in groups?

This bonus mystery is made up of discussion questions and videos that are available on line. By observing and discussing, your students will discover some of the reasons that animals live in groups.

Before class, open teacher instructions , which include links to all the videos and images. Print instructions for use as a script and open all the videos and photos on your computer. In class, follow the instructions, show the photos and videos, facilitate discussion, and have fun.

This mystery meets NGSS Grade 3 content standard related to “social interactions and group behavior.”

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Grade 3

Fossils & Changing Environments

Heredity, Variation, & Selection

3-LS4-3, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS4-2, 3-LS4-4

Activity Prep

Print Prep

In this Mystery, students will play a simulation based on a real-life experiment called “Lizard Island.” The simulation shows an example of how nature, not human beings, can slowly change the appearance of an animal using the process of selection. Note: This activity is designed for 15-30 students.

Preview activity

Note: This activity is designed for a group of 15-30 students.

Before class, print the following papers:

  • 10 copies of Adopt-A-Lizard sheet A, 10 copies of Adopt-A-Lizard sheet B, and 10 copies of Adopt-A-Lizard sheet C. (You’ll find all three sheets here. You'll end up with a total of 30 "Adopt a Lizard" sheets.)
  • 16 copies of the Baby Lizard card file . Cut each copy in half to make 32 Baby Lizard cards.
  • For each student, one How Many Lizards worksheet

For the activity, each student will need:

  • a single copy of the "How Many Lizards?" worksheet you printed out
  • a pen or pencil
  • one or more Adopt-A-Lizard sheets (as explained in the activity video)
  • one or more Baby Lizard cards (as explained in the activity video)

Activity Summary

In an interactive simulation, students will discover how natural selection affects a group of tree-climbing green lizards when their island is invaded by hungry brown lizards. To escape the brown lizards, the green lizards must climb high in the trees. Guided by the video, students will:

  • adopt one or more green lizards;
  • count each lizard’s sticky toe scales. (More scales means the lizard is a better climber.);
  • divide the lizards into excellent climbers, good climbers, and not-so-good climbers and graph the numbers;
  • find out what happens to lizards in each group;
  • determine what sort of babies the surviving lizards have; and
  • divide the baby lizards into excellent climbers, good climbers, and not-so-good climbers and graph the numbers.

This simulation starts with 30 lizards, represented by 30 Adopt-A-Lizard cards. Because you need to pass out all 30 Adopt-A-Lizard cards, this activity works well with 15-30 students. (In smaller classes, some students may adopt two lizards). If you have more than 30 students, some students will have to share a lizard. If you have fewer than 15 students, some students will have to adopt 3 or more lizards. This can work, but it is not ideal.

From Chemical Magic: Setup Maps

Setup Instructions

Exploration

4 mins

Hands-On Activity

30 mins

Wrap-Up

6 mins

Grade 3

Fossils & Changing Environments

Heredity, Variation, & Selection

3-LS4-3, 3-LS3-1, 3-LS4-2, 3-LS4-4

Extend this lesson

Assessments

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