EVOLUTION: NATURAL SELECTION

General Concept:

Natural Selection occurs when environmental factors determine how well certain traits of
organisms help those organisms survive and reproduce. This means that if a certain organism does not
have the traits it needs in order to survive, it has to either adapt or the organism will become extinct.

Let's Write About It!

In this activity, students will work in groups and have an opportunity to write about how certain animals
will adapt to survive in their environment.

Materials:
 Writing paper
 Pencils
 Construction paper or drawing paper to illustrate the writing activity.

Procedure:

Prompt 1: There were two types of rabbits that were created. One type of rabbit can only eat berries.
The other type of rabbit can only eat greens (leaves and grass). Unfortunately, in Rabbit Haven Forest
there was a drought. The plants did not receive enough water to flourish as they normally do. The plants
could only grow their leaves and did not have enough energy to produce the berries.
Guide Questions:
1. Write about what will happen to the two types of rabbits in Rabbit Haven Forest.
2. What will happen to the rabbits that eat only greens?
3. What will happen to the rabbits that eat only berries?
4. Which type of rabbit will grow best and be able to reproduce?

Prompt 2: In Polar Bear City, there are two types of polar bears. One type of polar bear has a thin, cool
coat of fur. It can survive cold temperatures, but cannot live in a place where the temperature is below
freezing. The second type of polar bear has a thick, warm fur coat. This polar bear can survive in the
coldest of temperatures, even below freezing! In 2017, Polar Bear City had the coldest winter ever. The
temperatures remained below freezing for four months!
Guide Questions:
1. Write about your predictions on what will happen to the two types of polar bears.
2. What will happen to the polar bears with the thin, cool coat of fur?
3. What will happen to the polar bears with a thick, warm coat of fur?
4. Which type of polar bear will grow best in this type of environment?
 Artificial Selection

Selective Breeding Scrapbook

In this activity, students will work in groups and create pages to go in a selective breeding scrapbook.

Materials

Scrapbook paper
Scrapbook supplies (stickers, construction paper, markers, colored pencils)
Glue
Scissors (Materials must be cut at home and ready for gluing)
Access to print/online resources

Directions:

 The group will create a scrapbook page about an animal or plant that was created through
selective breeding.
 Each group should research an animal or plant created by selective breeding.
 On their scrapbook pages, students should include a picture of the plant or animal.
 It should also include information about how the animal or plant was bred to create the breed
or variety and what desirable traits motivated people to use selective breeding.

Discussion Questions:
1. Why would people use selective breeding?
2. What might go wrong if a breed of animal or variety of plant is constantly used to breed others?