The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion questions. Topics discussed in this unit include the following: Becoming Modern: America in the 1920s: Religion & Science. Includes a collection of commentaries on the religion-science debate of the 1920s, followed by a Felix the Cat cartoon where he goes to Africa to look for proof of Darwin's theory of evolution.

This video segment describes how the Australopithecus afarensis skeleton known as Lucy could have been fossilized. Footage courtesy of NOVA: "In Search of Human Origins." [2:34]

This article, reprinted from the fall 1979 LBL News Magazine, was written about Dr. Luis Alvarez and his part in the study of geological sediments and the great extinctions.

This video segment from Evolution: "Extinction!" shows the impact of invasive species on native ecosystems. [3:23]

Biology 2e is designed to cover the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester biology course for science majors. The text provides comprehensive coverage of foundational research and core biology concepts through an evolutionary lens. Biology includes rich features that engage students in scientific inquiry, highlight careers in the biological sciences, and offer everyday applications. The book also includes various types of practice and homework questions that help students understand—and apply—key concepts. The 2nd edition has been revised to incorporate clearer, more current, and more dynamic explanations, while maintaining the same organization as the first edition. Art and illustrations have been substantially improved, and the textbook features additional assessments and related resources.

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the features that characterized the earliest animals and approximately when they appeared on earth
Explain the significance of the Cambrian period for animal evolution and the changes in animal diversity that took place during that time
Describe some of the unresolved questions surrounding the Cambrian explosion
Discuss the implications of mass animal extinctions that have occurred in evolutionary history

By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:

Define biodiversity in terms of species diversity and abundance
Describe biodiversity as the equilibrium of naturally fluctuating rates of extinction and speciation
Identify historical causes of high extinction rates in Earth’s history

This three-act film tells the story of the detective work that solved the mystery of what caused the disappearance of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. Shot on location in Italy, Spain, Texas, Colorado, and North Dakota, the film traces the uncovering of key clues that led to the discovery that an asteroid struck the Earth 66 million years ago, triggering a mass extinction of animals, plants, and microorganisms. Science practices in geology, physics, biology, chemistry and paleontology all contributed to the solution to this compelling mystery. Lesson plans are included that have students identify evidence and construct an explanation to tie it together. Summary questions are included at the end and a class discussion is recommended. (This activity will be the only one evaluated in this review.) Another resource is “Finding the Crater” where students “visit” different K-T boundary sites. There are also lessons where students analyze various characteristics of the asteroid such as its size and energy, chemical data about the asteroid, and the iridium fallout from an asteroid impact. A hands-on activity where students study the differences in foraminifera fossils below and above the K-T boundary is also included as well as an article that outlines more details about each of the discoveries covered in the film. You can view the film on the website or HHMI will send you a free DVD. Lesson plans including teacher notes and a student handout can be found at http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/following-trail-evidence.

The Dinosaur Museum is located in Blanding, Utah. Use this site to learn all about the exhibits and dinosaur information.

The Dinosauria provides the latest information about dinosaurs, including debunking myths, early dinosaur discoveries, characteristics of specific dinosaurs, life history, and discovery of dinosaur fossils.

Explore the evidence of evolution with this interactive worksheet based off of NOVA's Evolution Lab. This resource is designed to be completed while playing through the Evolution Lab game and contains multiple choice and free response questions and covers Mission 1 of the Evolution Lab game with embedded videos. Mission 1 introduces students to natural selection and how to interpret and create phylogenetic trees. Below are links to the remaining missions of the Evolution Lab.

Species extinction is happening at an alarming rate according to scientists. In this lesson, students are asked to consider why extinction is a problem that we should concern us. They are taught that destruction of habitat is the main reason many species are threatened. The lesson explores ways that engineers can help save endangered species.

Learn some facts about gorillas in this book. Includes audio narration in English and Spanish with text in English.

This STEM-based poultry curriculum uses immersive learning experiences and real genetic samples for your students to dive deep in the future evolution of our food. See how environment influences heredity, and explore the evidence that suggests T. rex as our modern chicken’s and turkey’s ancestor. This unit features 4 lessons and 10 files. Lessons are aligned to NGSS.

This interactive module explores the environmental factors and species involved in five major mass extinctions.

Bacteria reproduce asexually. This means that, when a bacteria cell splits, both halves of the split are identical -- they contain exactly the same DNA. The offspring is a clone of the parent.