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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.
# 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.”

Featured Reviews

“This was one of the best activities to explain natural selection I have ever seen. The videos are straightforward, easy to understand, and kept the kids engaged until the very end. So helpful with keeping to the science standards and presented in a kid-friendly way.”
· Christine · Teacher
“My students loved the activity. I loved how much understanding they gained of natural selection!”
· Lena · Teacher
“Excellent way to demonstrate natural selection. Thank you!”
· Joanne · Teacher
“ My best part was the part were the brown anols ate the green anols. ”
· Nazia · Homeschooler
“sticky toes.”
· Isaura · Teacher
“The students were engaged. Loved how they simulated selection.”
· Judy · Teacher
“Great discussions on the Anole lizards and the process of selection manmade or natural?”
· Connie · Teacher
“My students really liked being a baby and a parent to understand selection and the video connected to it in exploration. ”
· Dixie · Teacher
“The kids loved, loved, loved this lesson. They were on the edge of their seats wondering if their animal was going to survive.”
· Melissa · Teacher
“This helped them see how nature takes on the selection process in a very clear way. Thanks for the terrific, engaging lesson!”
· Carol · Teacher
“The kids thought it was so funny when they were making "lizard families"! :) ”
· Nikki · Teacher
“The students LOVED the lizard activity and extra video. I've never had them so attentive and quiet to learn new information!! ”
· Jackie · Teacher
“I really like the flow of the lessons with pauses for the kids to have partner discussions. Lizard Island was highly engaging, the kids loved it! They even named their lizards.”
· Angel · Teacher
“The best part was seeing how students made the connection of how traits can change from one generation to another.”
· Nasser · Teacher
“My students loved this lesson and lizard activity! An actual quote from one of my students today: "I used to hate Science in 2nd grade. This year, I love Science!" ”
· Amber · Teacher
“Excellent! I can't wait to go back to the Extra Mystery offered at the end. My 10 yr old daughter and I REALLY loved this. The Adopt a Lizard activity is similar to an activity I've done with General Biology college students. Even though the activity was geared for classrooms, I was easily able to adapt it for my single homeschool student without printing tons of pages. ”
· Renee · Homeschooler
“The Students really enjoyed the activity and some have referenced it since so I know they understood the concept.”
· Celeste · Teacher
“It was easy to adapt for my one student, even though it was designed for a larger group. Another great lesson!”
· Andrea · Homeschooler
“My daughter loved playing the lizard island game. I did too-- I thought the activity was very well thought out and provided lots of room to adjust the activity for my first grader. The activity really helped her understand natural selection at a basic level. ”
· Julia · Homeschooler
“My students loved the Lizard Island game. They grasped it so much easier than if I were to try to explain it. Phenomenal lesson!”
· Whitney · Teacher

Lesson details

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

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Exploration

4 mins

Hands-On Activity

30 mins

Wrap-Up

6 mins

Lesson details

Grade 3

Fossils & Changing Environments

Heredity, Variation, & Selection

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

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Animals Lesson 5: Can selection happen without people?

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