© 2017 Science Rocks

Evolution Writing Prompts

Topics Included:

1. Nature of Science- Theory vs. Law 2. Survival of the Fittest 3. Natural Selection- peppered moth 4. Adaptations 5. Vestigial Structures 6. Homologous Structures 7. Selection Graphs 8. Speciation 9. Fossil Record 10. Cladograms

Why use writing prompts in Science? This past year I taught a biology class of entirely ELL students. In order to get these students to pass the state language proficiency test, I needed strategies to help increase their literacy skills. I created a set of writing prompts with the goal of getting my students to think about scientific phenomena and be able to write about it. I used these prompts as homework before the content was taught. The goal wasn’t for students to correctly describe the science behind the concept, but just to get them thinking and writing. I would have students read their paragraphs aloud when they came to class the next day. Reading the paragraphs out loud is not only a great way to work on fluency and build vocabulary, but also helps uncover misconceptions and start classroom conversations. Throughout the course of the year I saw my students writing skills and confidence increase.

© 2017 Science Rocks

Evolution Writing Prompt #1 The theory of evolution is still a controversial topic. Many people say that if something is “just a theory,” then it means that it is just a guess. Describe what you think the difference is between the following words: theory, law, and hypothesis.

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© 2017 Science Rocks

Evolution Writing Prompt #2 “Survival of the fittest” is a term that we use in biology, meaning that the organism that is the “most fit” is the one that survives and gets to reproduce, passing on their genes to the next generation. Do you think that the organism that always survives is the one that is the biggest, fastest, and strongest? Use examples in your answer.

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© 2017 Science Rocks

Evolution Writing Prompt #3 Peppered moths come in two color varieties- light and dark. Originally, light colored moths were more common. During the industrial revolution, factories released pollution that stuck to the trees, causing the bark to look much darker. Sketch a graph of what you think would happen to the population of light and dark colored moths after the industrial revolution. (Sketch a double line graph. Don’t forget a key!) What do you think the moth population will look like in 10 years? Explain your answer.

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© 2017 Science Rocks

Evolution Writing Prompt #4 Birds come in all shapes and sizes. They have very different beaks too! Using the pictures below, make inferences about the 3 birds. What do they eat? Why is their beak shaped the way it is? What do you think the word “adaptation” means?

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© 2017 Science Rocks

Evolution Writing Prompt #5 Vestigial structures are parts of the body that have no function. They are “leftover” parts that our ancestors once used. An example is flightless birds like the Ostrich. Ostriches have wings, but cannot fly. We can assume that an ancient ancestor of the ostrich could fly millions of years ago. Can you think of an example of a vestigial structure in the human body? Explain why you think this body part is no longer needed.

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© 2017 Science Rocks

Evolution Writing Prompt #6 In science, the prefix “homo” means same. Homologous structures are structures that are set up the same way. Analyze the picture below of the limbs of a human, dog, bird, and whale.

Do these animals use their limbs the same way? Does the bone structure of these animals look similar? Explain any similarities and differences you see. ________________________________________________________________________

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© 2017 Science Rocks

Evolution Writing Prompt #7 Frogs with long tongues are able to catch more food. Frogs with short tongues can’t catch food as well, and usually don’t survive. If you were to graph the changes in the frog population over time, what would your graph look like? Explain your answer.

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© 2017 Science Rocks

Evolution Writing Prompt #8 Suppose a group of squirrels in Arizona got separated. One group decided to settle down on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. The other group of squirrels decided to settle down on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. After living apart for 100 years, do you think the two families of squirrels are still the same species? Can they still reproduce with each other? What about after 100,000 years? Explain your answer.

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© 2017 Science Rocks

Evolution Writing Prompt #9 Fossils help us learn about Earth’s history. What can fossils teach us about evolution? How can we use fossils to make predictions about our future?

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Evolution Writing Prompt #10 Cladograms are charts that show evolutionary relationships between organisms. Examine the cladogram below. Answer the following questions: Which organism do you think evolved first? What traits do tigers and gorillas have in common? Why do you think cladograms are useful? ________________________________________________________________________

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© 2017 Science Rocks

Teacher Notes/ Possible Answers: Below are some notes about the writing prompts. Included is basic information about each prompt so you can have some background knowledge about each topic. However, since I assign the prompt before the lesson is taught, I do not grade students on correctness. Writing Prompt #1 Hypothesis- A hypothesis is a testable explanation of what will happen in an experiment. Theory- A theory is a well-tested explanation of scientific phenomena. Theories explain laws, and are not just guesses. Law- A scientific law is a statement about a scientific phenomena based on repeated experiments. Writing Prompt #2 Survival of the fittest means that the organism with the best traits survives, reproduces, and passes those traits on to offspring. Having the best traits does not always mean that you are the biggest, strongest, or fastest. For example, lets look at Darwin’s finches. During the rainy season when there was an abundance of small soft seeds available, finches with small beaks were better at collecting food. After a period of drought, seeds stopped growing and all that was left was large hard seeds. The finches that were able to survive the drought were finches with big large beaks (See research from Peter and Rosemary Grant). This shows us that whichever organism is better suited for the environment survives, not always the biggest and strongest. Writing Prompt #3 Following the industrial revolution, dark colored moths became predominant because they were able to camouflage better with the dark colored trees. The light moths would be easily seen by predators and eaten before the dark moths. After 10 years we could predict the moth populations would follow this trend:

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Writing Prompt #4 An adaptation is a trait that has become common because it provides some improved function. Animals that are well adapted to their environments are better able to survive. The three birds pictured have very different beaks based on the food they eat. The hummingbird fits it’s beak into flowers to draw out nectar. Hummingbirds can also eat small insects and larvae. The hawk is a carnivore, eating mice, rats, squirrels, and rabbits. The pelican has a large beak to scoop up fish that swim towards the surface of the water. All the beak shapes help the birds eat effectively. Writing Prompt #5 Humans have a few vestigial structures, including the muscles around the ear, the tailbone, the appendix, wisdom teeth, and the semilunar fold on the inner corner of the eye. Writing Prompt #6 Even though these organisms use their limbs very differently (walking, swimming, or flying) their bone structures are set up the same way. All organisms have one bone at the top (humerus), connected to two bones (radius and ulna), which connects to wrist bones, hand bones, and finger bones. This indicates that we all shared a common ancestor and have evolved over time to use our limbs differently. Writing Prompt #7 The three graphs shown are:

a. Disruptive selection b. Stabilizing selection c. Directional selection

In the example, frogs with long tongues will catch food better than frogs with short tongues. Over time frogs with short tongues will not survive and the graph would match graph C. Writing Prompt #8 A species is typically defined as a group of organisms that can reproduce and have viable offspring. When a physical barrier separates the two species of squirrels, geographic isolation occurs. After a long period of time, it is possible that these two squirrels can become different species. Students might correctly predict that after 100 years the two groups of squirrels are likely still able to reproduce with each other, but after 100,000 years speciation may occur.

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Writing Prompt #9 • Fossils show us what life was like in Earth’s history. • They help us recognize geologic timescale. • Dying off of fossils show us Earth’s mass extinctions. • Fossils show us how species have evolved over millions of years. • Fossils help us analyze changes in climate and predict climate

changes in the future Writing Prompt #10

• The lamprey evolved first • Tigers and gorillas both have hair, dry skin, lungs, and jaws • Cladograms are useful because they show us evolutionary

relationships. We can see which species are most closely related and how they have evolved over time.

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